Hi folks, I thought I'd share my thoughts and experience with respect to my new ARK Grip Type 2 exhaust. After countless hours of reading exhaust posts and listening to sound clips, I came to the conclusion that not only is the ARK system one of the most affordable on the market, it's also by far the best sounding (to me).
When I saw the flyers from ARK advertising their Black Friday sale, I pounced. I ordered direct from ARK via the phone. Painless process and I had my exhaust a week later. Never did get my promised order confirmation. I called to confirm the order and was told it would be in the box. I had the exhaust shipped to my work as I didn't want to risk it getting stolen off my front porch. When it arrived, my warehouse manager in our receiving department called to tell me I had a very large, very beat up, package. I rushed downstairs and found my package with several holes punched in it, from the inside out. The largest of which was approx. 7" x 3".
I got the box home and opened it up to find each pipe individually wrapped but completely loose in the box. There were a couple scraps of foam sheet thrown in but they were worthless at preventing the pipes from flying around in the box, punching through the box, and slamming into each other. No receipt, invoice, or any paperwork. I unwrapped and inspected each piece. The pipes were very nicely polished and the welds were superb. I know there were some concerns over weld quality on some of the ARK systems. Let me tell you, any issues with weld quality were certainly addressed on the system I got. Unfortunately, the inside of the box was not the only thing damaged in transport. Those loose pipe flying around caused some damage.
In all honesty, I was not all that concerned about the ding as it was never going to be visible, and, I soon found out I had bigger issues. I laid out all the pipes and discovered not only was I missing the gasket kit, I was also missing an entire pipe section.
I sent photos to ARK and discussed with them on the phone. 3 different people over the course of 3 different phone calls. They were all very pleasant but it got old explaining the story each time to whomever happened to answer the phone. Each time I got a name and asked for those people on subsequent calls, only to be told they were not there. It all just seemed disorganized. Anyway, they agreed to expedite the missing pipe and gasket kit to me right away so that I could keep my install appointment. True to their word, the package arrived on the East Coast, 3 days later. I shook my head in disbelief when it got dropped off at my desk, hanging 1/2 way out of a hole in the side of the box.
Took the exhaust in for the install and had a chat with the installer about the difficulties some people had with clearing the cross member. I explained the bolt tightening sequence and then left it in his capable hands. 15 minutes later the mechanic pops into the waiting room. "We have a problem" he tells me. Wonderful. Seems the gasket kit contained gaskets for the interconnections between the ARK pipe sections but not for the Cat to ARK connection. I told him to re-use the OEM ones as the car has 4k miles on it and they'll be fine to re-use. The rest of the install was uneventful and was completed in under an hour. Crossmember clearance is about 3/4 of an inch.
I fired the car up and let me tell you, the sound is heavenly. Any aggravation over dented X pipes, missing pipes, damaged boxes, just melted away. The car has a very pleasant low rumble at idle and an aggressive deep growl under acceleration. Best of all, I found that if you simply short shift and drive like you are trying to save on fuel, you can quiet it down if you need to, to the point it sounds totally stock. Great for folks who may have a disapproving wife or GF.
So I leave the shop and meet my wife for coffee. Afterwards, she follows me home. I just out, excitedly, and ask "So, how's it sound? How's it look?" She says it sounds great, but, "why is the right muffler hanging lower than the left and what's up with the orientation of the ARK name?"
I squatted down to see what she was talking about and sure enough, she was right. The leading edge of the right can hangs a solid 1/2" lower than the left can. Also, the "ARK Grip" stampings are mis-oriented. It's just sloppy looking. I poked around thinking the installer may have goofed and everything looked in order. I consulted this forum and was shocked to find that not only was I not alone, promo pictures from ARK themselves showed the same problem.
Obviously it's not an install issue and it's not the sort of thing asking for a replacement would remedy as all the kits are likely built from the same jig and are going to be the same. It's just not worth the hassle to pull the exhaust off, put mine back on, and ask for a replacement. So, I guess I'll live with it. It's unfortunate though, as the system does sound absolutely incredible.
So, to sum it all up on the old 1 - 10 scale:
Sound - 10
Value - 9
Customer Service - 7
Quality - 7
Attention to detail - 4 (misaligned stampings on Cans, missing parts in box, no paperwork, one can hanging lower than the other)
Packaging - 2 (cheap boxes, loose parts, damaged parts)
All in all, am I happy? Yes. When I drive I'm thrilled. When I look at it from the back, I'm a bit annoyed. When I consider it cost me less than a grand, I accept the short comings. Hopefully this review is helpful to others who are considering buying this exhaust.
