How I'm spending my tax return
You asked for input, and people gave it to you. Now you are complaining about the input you received. What do you want to hear? "Yeah man, you've got it nailed perfectly, perfect decision, I wouln't do anything different"?
"A couple extra bucks"? $265 vs. $1000 is more than a couple bucks, it's more than 3 times as expensive. Yes, AMS exhaust is one of the nicest available, and proven. It might perform better than the $265 TBE, but will it perform and fit 370% better? NO! I have an HKS exhaust, considered pretty damn nice for a Japanese exhaust, and I can honestly tell you, it really doesn't perform, fit, or look any better than the Megan exhausts, and costs an arm and a leg. I only have it because it came on the car when I bought it, so it was free, and my car has nice power because of it, so I am not changing it. If I were doing it all over again, I'd get whatever has been shown to fit and perform well for the lest amount of money. In the end, it's all stainless tubing that either flows higher than stock or not, and fits or not. There are cheap exhausts that have been proven to do both.
I could be wrong, and don't want to judge, but you sound like you are relatively new to modifying cars. There's nothing wrong with that and I won't hold it against you, but I also used to have an attitude of "only the best", which I also though meant expensive, and popped for pricey Blitz TBE, and in the end it performed just like my friend's Megan. Only difference was I spent 3X as much as him. Just being able to say it was a Blitz TBE wasn't worth THAT much. In the end, it comes down to how much performance gain per dollar I get now. Every $50 spent on my car I see as something that could go towards something else, so I choose and buy carefully.
"A couple extra bucks"? $265 vs. $1000 is more than a couple bucks, it's more than 3 times as expensive. Yes, AMS exhaust is one of the nicest available, and proven. It might perform better than the $265 TBE, but will it perform and fit 370% better? NO! I have an HKS exhaust, considered pretty damn nice for a Japanese exhaust, and I can honestly tell you, it really doesn't perform, fit, or look any better than the Megan exhausts, and costs an arm and a leg. I only have it because it came on the car when I bought it, so it was free, and my car has nice power because of it, so I am not changing it. If I were doing it all over again, I'd get whatever has been shown to fit and perform well for the lest amount of money. In the end, it's all stainless tubing that either flows higher than stock or not, and fits or not. There are cheap exhausts that have been proven to do both.
I could be wrong, and don't want to judge, but you sound like you are relatively new to modifying cars. There's nothing wrong with that and I won't hold it against you, but I also used to have an attitude of "only the best", which I also though meant expensive, and popped for pricey Blitz TBE, and in the end it performed just like my friend's Megan. Only difference was I spent 3X as much as him. Just being able to say it was a Blitz TBE wasn't worth THAT much. In the end, it comes down to how much performance gain per dollar I get now. Every $50 spent on my car I see as something that could go towards something else, so I choose and buy carefully.
I just don't trust ebay or parts from companys that are reletively unknown. I like to read and value others opinions greatly. Def. gonna take another look at Megan's turbo back. Maybe that is a better choice. Anyway, hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings if they have ebay parts. Didn't mean to come off snobby. I'm just trying to choose parts carefully as well. Thanks for taking the time to make a honest reply.
hey, you know, it's a new day, and i can definitely feel where you are coming from with that, especially on a mint new IX, i'd probably be more picky than i have been on my car too. i have also experienced my share of disappointments, so i can feel you on that. cracking exhaust pieces sucks, and i've done that too. you could probably do well in scooping up gently used premium parts on this forum too, if you want bang for buck. either way, you are on the right track to having a bolt-on monster with a IX and a few well-chosen parts 
I don't understand why some people don't like to spend money on parts? Why would you spend 25-30K on a car and then put a $300 TBE on it? I guess I believe in giving my car the best (within reason). The parts I listed I would by for 2000K are pretty much top of the line. I can't justify spending money for generic ebay parts just to save a couple of bucks. I'd rather just save up a couple extra months for quality. Would you let someone on ebay tune your ride if they only charged you $100? Would you rock Addias with 2 stripes? Pay to play anyone?
Putting American Racing wheels on your EVO...then I could see what youre saying, but we're talking about an exhaust system, not wheels or a tune, which is where money SHOULD be spent generously. The AMS exhaust is very nice and sounds great too, just pay a little premium for the name and customer service, which some people dont mind paying!
We're talking about huge hunk of steel and a muffler welded on the end, not a tune or wheels. The Megan exhaust fits well, sounds great and has perfect welds and is priced much lower than others.
Putting American Racing wheels on your EVO...then I could see what youre saying, but we're talking about an exhaust system, not wheels or a tune, which is where money SHOULD be spent generously. The AMS exhaust is very nice and sounds great too, just pay a little premium for the name and customer service, which some people dont mind paying!
Putting American Racing wheels on your EVO...then I could see what youre saying, but we're talking about an exhaust system, not wheels or a tune, which is where money SHOULD be spent generously. The AMS exhaust is very nice and sounds great too, just pay a little premium for the name and customer service, which some people dont mind paying!
Also, I don't know if you are interested in AutoX, but I now find myself in a position where I will be AutoX, but have mods that are illegal for the class I want to race in. Something to consider if you think you may want to race besides in a straight line 
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68wsteve
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Oct 26, 2010 09:30 AM