Help me guys! I'm panicking
 

I installed my ark dts exhaust about two weeks ago.
The sound was amazing and I quite satisfied at first.
BUT! when I got home after installing the exhaust, I found out that only the passenger side tip kinda slightly turned into purple..(I wish I could put pictures but I'm new to this forum and I don't know how to insert pictures)so I called ark and they told me that the tip tuned into purple because it is not centered correctly when installed causing the one end of the tip to be closer to the exhaust than the other therefore the heat caused a discoloration of stainless.
So I adjusted tip so it doesn't get heat like before.

But here comes the problem.. as you guys know the tip is double layered whatsoever right? Now, the outer most tips are even but the inner tips are not even! the passenger side inner tip is way shorter than the driver side one.. I took pictures of them and e-mailed ark. I didn't get an answer so finally I called them today, they admitted that the tips are not even and they gave me a few options.
1. Cut the inner tip of the driverside so it can balance with the shorter passenger one.
2. Return and get a new muffler.
3. Leave as it is.

They told me that they opened and checked bunch of new exhaust they have and seems like they are all defective(length of the inner tips are not even)
Simply they are saying even though I get a new muffler, it won't be different.
WTF?! and even I should send my muffler first because it is their return policy! so I asked them. You mean I should remove the exahsut and put my stock exhaust back, send and wait till new exhaust arrive, and remove stock exhaust and install it again? Yes it is out policy.
Based on what they said, if I go through these hassle, I will be ending up with spending about 300~400 bucks(Installing,removing,shipping) and getting uneven new exhaust! wow...

I am kinda panicking right now... can't think of anything...
What would you guys do if you guys were in this situation?
Sorry it's long and my writing is messy..

I would return it for full refund ... put the stocker back on and look else where for something better ;)

Um... It's an exhaust... Relax...


I'd get the new muffler, but why 300-400?!?!?! I can unbolt my muffler without lifting my car, lol

:iagree:

Ark has had a long history of beyond acceptable, uneven exhausts for our cars.

Get a refund... Ark quality is in aesthetics, not fit...
Fast Intentions
AAM
Berk
CNT
etc

All are better examples of a quality exhaust for the money.

Pricier HQ exhausts
Amuse
meisterschaft
HKS
etc

ARKperformance.com will only offer a refund on unopened items. Defective items may be returned for a same-item exchange only.
Damn, I don't think I can get a full refund.

I'm seriously horrible at DIY things.. I don't wanna mess it up..
I live in Canada so I guess shipping alone can cost more than 50? or 100?

I finally figured out how to insert pics

http://www.the370z.com/members/vanco...ure62188-a.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/vanco...ure62186-a.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/vanco...ure62187-a.jpg

wow.. how is that missed? that's more than a noticeable difference... you could always make the other side go purple too and everything is fine?
just an amateurs opinion >_<

make the other side burnt too n u r all set!! looks kinda neat

Double purple it Or try and sell it on the forums. I'm sure somewhere someone doesn't care about decoloration. great sounding exhausts though. If I were you I'd just keep it. purple isn't bad LOL

If the sound and performance were as good as you've mentioned, I think I'd learn to live with them. They tend to blacken anyway. Best of luck.

Looks kinda cool if were both sides.

At first, I told him that I like purple better :p but then 3 days after.... :roflpuke2:

:shakes head:Seriously they are just TIPS. Really???

:wtf2:

A lot of people rave about Ark here on the forums, but I find their products to be overpriced and of cheap quality.

I had the Ark Grip v2 and the holes for the flanges didn't line up properly and had to be drilled. One side hung lower than the other and it just looked really ugly. They told me I could get money from them for doing before and after dynos, but after they saw that you get about 1 whp gain they told me that they are busy and will "look into it" every time I inquired.

I eventually swapped the Grip out for the Berk and couldn't be happier.

Also their packaging was terrible, parts were sticking out of the box - compared to the packaging from Berk which was completely padded everywhere and came in two boxes.

Just my 2cents.

It would look cool if both sides are purple. Just keep it, or sell it on here and get something else. If you like the blue tips get an invidia exhaust or something. I have it... It looks nice but isn't loud at all. Yolo lol

For the price... Honestly. The muffler coloration looks shytty. no shine or anything. Did you pay their $1300+ MSRP for that???

I think its funny that you slam a product for a small minor defect and put them out on blast. Its COMSETIC! I understand that you want something when you pay that much for it. I have my grip exhaust and don't have any problems at all with it. People are human and they make mistakes but I think that you are going a little far off the deep end by slamming and slandering the comany's name this way. Just my :twocents:

go double purple. id rock it. who honestly cares about the inner tips? the outer tips are there for that reason right?

First of all, its not just COSMETIC.

I'm not slamming them, I'm giving objective feedback. Slamming implies I'm badmouthing them with non-factual information.

When you spend $1400 on an exhaust, and it comes with parts sticking out of the box, and have to drill holes because they don't even line up, do you feel like you got a quality product? When they told you it has perfect fitment and try as you might to line up the tips but you can't, do you feel like you've purchased a quality product?

When you compare what you get with the Berk, nicer mounting hardware, nicer fit, nicer welds and fit and finish, nicer packaging, and nicer customer support, for a cheaper price, you tell me which is the better deal here.

Maybe I'm a little picky but this exhaust was the first mod ever done in my life. I paid almost $1600 for this exhaust(exhaust $1350+shipping+install). I'm a student and my parents don't like tuning. It means I saved money for 3months to get this exhaust. How can I be not picky?
when you see the tip in person, I'm pretty sure you guys are gonna say "Holy F***" .
and Trust me, It's not cool anymore. I thought it was cool too but now it's yellow+purple.

I'm pretty sure they should stop producing and fix the problem first. Ark said, they opened and checked other boxes for my return but seems like all of them are not even like mine. They admitted that they got some problems. I don't think I would buy it if I knew the tips were gonna be like that. Why would I buy defective product(Even if it's just tips)? Would you guys buy defective product when there are lots of quality products with same price?

I think you should already know the answer to your question! I would make them take it back.

Sucks OP, but you don't have a whole lot of options here. Speak with ArK. They're the only ones that can resolve this for you. If the uneven tips and discoloration is killing you that much, move on and replace the exhaust with something else. Sell it.

Ark should really give a full refund because this is a craftsmanship issue. At the very least they need to cover the shipping on the new exhaust and fix this problem ASAP. Talk it out and get someone on the line that can solve this for you. Worst case scenario, file a lawsuit with an obviously defective part.

No need to bad mouth the company and this certainly isn't the place for it. Every situation is different and I know a lot of people who are more than satisfied with their products.

I don't think anyone is badmouthing here. Obviously many people love their Ark products, but the point of a forum is to discuss their experiences both positive and negative, so that other people can make more informed decisions.

That said, OP, hopefully their customer service is easier to deal with than what I had to go through and I hope you get this resolved.

Unsatisfied ARK Grip V2 owner here
 

I can relate. After owning the exhaust, paying high coin for it and it not lining up and the right side hang lower than the left. This really pissed me off. Then when I got my FI LTHs it exposed the weakness of this exhaust which I won't get into.


I should of just went with FI the first time around but it's a 2K lesson that I learned.

To each his own..

What's causing the tip to discolor?

Oh I see, the uneven ness of the inside pipe

OP, why can't ARK just send you a new tip?

I bought the DT-S exhaust the first week it came out. I had no problems with the exhaust at all, no fitment issues, no discoloration on the tips, and was packaged very well. I have since sold it for a Litespeed exhaust, only because I got a good deal on it and wanted something lighter.

I read somewhere that metal polisher like Brasso can cause burnt exhaust tips to discolor. Not sure how much truth there is to that....

And the unevenness can be adjusted. Mine came the same way, takes an allen wrench and about 5 minutes to fix.

Just get them to send you a new tip for free, take it to a muffler shop and have them cut a bit of the inner pipe off and install the new tip. Costing you more but it should be reasonable and it's problem solved in one day.

vinyl wrap it in desired color, problem solved.:tup:

Um I think that might melt? The discoloration is from heat right.

The discoloration happened on Day 1(actually on my way home after getting installation).The uneveness of inner tip is the result of adjustment of the outer tip(I will get nothing from adjusting tip since the inner tip is not adjustable). Ark said I will be getting for the return will be not even too, so I said I see every dts exhaust pictures online are even. I don't know if it's BS, but they said it was even at first but recently produced ones are all uneven. I'm just gonna ask for the refund or at least return without shipping cost on Monday.

If it makes you feel any better.......After I installed my stillen HFC's with the CNT exhaust, the mid pipe bracket was rubbing on the driveshaft......Thats a design flaw and something I had to worry about lol. Me and a friend actually just sawed off the upper bracket to get it out of the way.....

Makes me glad I waited and went Fast Intentions, the fitment was perfect. :tup:

They should cover 100% of the return cost

Thing is... IT'S AN EXHAUST
Call them and tell them to pay for you going to an exhaust shop to have the inner and outer tips adjusted
It can't be more than $100, and it'll be 100% to the tee perfect and you can have it adjusted higher, lower, and sticking out more or less

I agree, Tanabe is my favorite, Amuse second , can't be beat for the overall package. For me it's always been JDM when it comes to an exhaust.:tiphat:

Sucks man, hope everything works out!