Nissan 370Z Forum - Stillen Exhaust install

I had a local shop install my Stillen exhaust today. Many thanks to John and Mark at Autoworks in Prescott Valley for their fine work. It took just a little over an hour and they were kind enough to let me take pictures as they worked.

First let me say that I am surprised at how small and puny the stock exhaust system seems to be. It amazes me that it sounds as good as it does when you compare it to a good aftermarket system. The install went perfectly and everything lined up and all the flanges matched perfectly. It's obvious that the people at Stillen take quite a bit of care to be sure that the fit and finish is first rate. Some have complained about the welds and such, but when you see the exhaust up close you can tell that those that put it together know what they are doing.

My impressions - This is the way that the Z should have sounded from the factory! It starts and idles with a deep bass note that is very cool. When taking off easily and keeping the rev's low it is not obtrusive at all. When you decide to get up over 5K the sound is intoxicating. I have not have much of a chance to do a lot of highway cruising but there does not seem to be a drone at normal highway speeds at all. I have not had a chance to open her up yet so I can't comment on performance. My butt dyno is not in good calibration anyway.

After everything was in and before everything was tightened up the passenger side was riding a little bit lower than the drivers side. They used an trick that was mentioned here where you put a hose clamp around the rubber hanger and adjust things. It worked perfectly and I couldn't be happier!

Here are some pictures:

The stock pipes from the cats.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...643-stock1.jpg

Rear pipes to stock muffler.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...643-stock1.jpg

Stock muffler removed.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...ck-muffler.jpg

Side by side.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...-side-side.jpg

New muffler - Very shiny!
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...y-mufflers.jpg

New resonators.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...resonators.jpg

Before "hose clamp" adjustment.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...adjustment.jpg

After adjustment.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...adjustment.jpg

Perfect fit!
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...erfect-fit.jpg

Finished and back on the ground.
http://www.the370z.com/members/azroa...r-complete.jpg