Custom vs purpose built exhausts
- Thread starter Ed
- Start date
- Messages
- 93
Purpose built, off the shelf:
+ reviews, you can research and find out what you are getting for your money
+ Tried and tested fit, quality and sound (or lack of!)
+ Hold their value when sold second hand
+ Some level of modularity, matching b pipes with various backboxes etc
- Generally expensive
- Not always great quality, despite the prices
- you are limited to what is on sale.
Custom:
+ You can get exactly what you want, especially handy if no off the shelf item meets your requirements
+ Generally cheaper
+ Can be excellent quality if you go to the right place
+ The ultimate aggressive setups*
- Good places have long waiting lists
- Not worth much to sell on second hand, regardless of quality
- can be rubbish quality (Powerflow!)
*I had some very specific requirements for my exhaust. I had an unsilence B pipe and wanted plenty of volume, and getting a very aggressive tone was key. For this top level of rortiness, you need (imo) and unsilenced b pipe and minimal backbox silencing. Even the "very loud" Buddy Club Spec III has a small centre silencer. I knew I wanted a straight-pipe exhaust (no silencing at all) like a Buddy Club Spec II, but they don't make one for the EP3. I also wanted it to look like it had a jap can backbox with a 4" slash cut tip. At this point, I knew that no off the shelf exhaust would do so I went custom. I had a straight pipe exhaust made with a "sleeved" backbox, so it looks like an angled Spec III but is in effect a Spec II. I got it for what I think was a very reasonable price, the quality is great, though not up there with the ultra-neat stuff like Blitz, but at a fraction of the price I can't complain, I'm super happy with it. The only downside was that after paying my deposit, there was a 7 week waiting list, as I went to a very well reputed and in-demand place locally.
On the flipside, a friend got a Powerflow exhaust for his Fiesta ST, which is basically a franchised place where they download a blueprint for an exhaust for your car from a central database, weld it up and fit it to your car. The quality is dependant on how good the fabricator is, in my mate's case he was not amazing. Solid but aesthetically very sloppy welding, looked like a high-schoolers design technology class build! The sound was not so hot either. I suppose Powerflow sort of bridge the gap between off the shelf and custom, but they have so many designs on their database I'd be surprised if they ever built a prototype of each and every one they had CAD'd up, so you can end up with a poorly designed, expensive exhaust costing like an off the shelf system, with the potential for poor workmanship you would find at a bad custom place.
+ reviews, you can research and find out what you are getting for your money
+ Tried and tested fit, quality and sound (or lack of!)
+ Hold their value when sold second hand
+ Some level of modularity, matching b pipes with various backboxes etc
- Generally expensive
- Not always great quality, despite the prices
- you are limited to what is on sale.
Custom:
+ You can get exactly what you want, especially handy if no off the shelf item meets your requirements
+ Generally cheaper
+ Can be excellent quality if you go to the right place
+ The ultimate aggressive setups*
- Good places have long waiting lists
- Not worth much to sell on second hand, regardless of quality
- can be rubbish quality (Powerflow!)
*I had some very specific requirements for my exhaust. I had an unsilence B pipe and wanted plenty of volume, and getting a very aggressive tone was key. For this top level of rortiness, you need (imo) and unsilenced b pipe and minimal backbox silencing. Even the "very loud" Buddy Club Spec III has a small centre silencer. I knew I wanted a straight-pipe exhaust (no silencing at all) like a Buddy Club Spec II, but they don't make one for the EP3. I also wanted it to look like it had a jap can backbox with a 4" slash cut tip. At this point, I knew that no off the shelf exhaust would do so I went custom. I had a straight pipe exhaust made with a "sleeved" backbox, so it looks like an angled Spec III but is in effect a Spec II. I got it for what I think was a very reasonable price, the quality is great, though not up there with the ultra-neat stuff like Blitz, but at a fraction of the price I can't complain, I'm super happy with it. The only downside was that after paying my deposit, there was a 7 week waiting list, as I went to a very well reputed and in-demand place locally.
On the flipside, a friend got a Powerflow exhaust for his Fiesta ST, which is basically a franchised place where they download a blueprint for an exhaust for your car from a central database, weld it up and fit it to your car. The quality is dependant on how good the fabricator is, in my mate's case he was not amazing. Solid but aesthetically very sloppy welding, looked like a high-schoolers design technology class build! The sound was not so hot either. I suppose Powerflow sort of bridge the gap between off the shelf and custom, but they have so many designs on their database I'd be surprised if they ever built a prototype of each and every one they had CAD'd up, so you can end up with a poorly designed, expensive exhaust costing like an off the shelf system, with the potential for poor workmanship you would find at a bad custom place.
- Messages
- 307
Im thinking about going custom as well just because you take it to the shop, say what you want, they make it there and then and fit it. Instead of buying it online, paying shipping, find someone to fit it and paying extra labour charges.
Im sure if you go to the right place theres not that much difference between a custom and an off the shelf job.
Im sure if you go to the right place theres not that much difference between a custom and an off the shelf job.
- Messages
- 6,195
I will be going custom with the Mx5, the ones available in the uk are pants. The shipping from Japaneans the cheapest works out to be £600+ all in.
I had a buddyclub prospec on the civic, from new. Was awesome. Then when I went boost, full custom 3 inch system. Again awesome.
So from my point of view, either or.
I had a buddyclub prospec on the civic, from new. Was awesome. Then when I went boost, full custom 3 inch system. Again awesome.
So from my point of view, either or.
- Messages
- 27
So who are some of the custom builders to be trusted?
- Messages
- 93
Depends where you live, no point everyone plugging their local place, you need to tell us where you live (and it's not in your profile either) so someone can recommend somewhere near, if anyone has used one near you that is. I could tell you where to go and where not to go in Newcastle, but that's no use if you live in London!
- Messages
- 27
I live in Lincoln, but willing to travel.