Stillen exhaust has been installed, and the verdict is...
 

...GUILTY! Of being an amazing exhaust!

Ok...so as some of you may know, I started off my modification adventure by putting on an OEM Nismo Exhaust. I had read on here that the general consensus was that it just wasn't deep or aggressive enough for most tastes, and after a few weeks, I had come to agree. Keep in mind, that I'm 39 years old and a white collar professional, so despite the fact that I'm a little beyond the point of wanting a ridiculously loud and obnoxious sound, the Nismo just left me wanting a little bit more.

So my search began once again. The FI was out because it didn't even come close to resembling a stock look, which was very important to me. Berk was out because it looks like they won't be available until the summer of 2018. All the exhausts out there with burnt tips didn't do it for me either, so that pretty much left the Stillen. I was a little hesitant due to the fact that some of the pictures I've seen showed the tips sticking out quite a bit, however others showed them to be very flush. So I took a chance, crossed my fingers and put in the order. In short, I'm really glad I did. Here's my evaluation.

Appearance: It's a very good looking exhaust, very similar in appearance to the Nismo. The tips are pretty big at 4.5 inches (same size as the Nismo) but the way the tips are rolled, it gives the appearance that they're a bit smaller. The installer was able to align the tips flush with the cutouts and for that I was very pleased. The overall appearance MIGHT give the impression that it's an aftermarket exhaust, but only to someone that's a car enthusiast. To the untrained eye, the setup flows very naturally with the overall look of the car. As it stands today the tips are ever so slightly misaligned, and I think I'm going to have to take it back for one final adjustment, but for the most part I'm very happy with the look.

Sound: Wow. I've had so much fun in the last two days really giving my car a workout. Keep in mind that I also have the Stillen Intake. Previously, I really didn't have anything to look forward to sound wise until I hit at least 5500RPM when the amazing howl of the intake kicked in. Now that I've added the exhaust, the entire RPM band is now my personal pleasure dome. How do describe the sound? Well, unlike the Berk, which I've heard in person, it doesn't have that super rich and deep euro sound. Someone else on here described the Stillen as having an F1 racecar sound, and I would have to agree wholeheartedly. It is worlds apart from the Nismo. Louder, deeper and much more freeflowing. There is absolutely zero drone and with some forethought, you can definitely keep the sound down to stock levels while traveling down quiet streets. Mash the pedal to the floor and it's like an entirely different car has come alive. Downshifting and accelerating hard through overpasses is now absolutely mandatory. Every time you don't, it's a missed opportunity to fill your soul with the raucous sound this setup delivers. All these things said, for me...it's still qualifies as a tasteful and refined setup. I believe it comes very close to perfectly matching the personality of the car, and this driver.

Pics attached, vids to follow shortly. Hope this review was helpful. Oh...and chicks dig my dog. :tiphat:

Im glad you like it... I woulda let you hear mine, but i have test pipes....

Stillen is an awesome system... I feel like people on this site are brain warped into thinking F.I. is the only way to go, and all though it is also a very good system, Stillen is top notch as well, gives good power and sounds awesome!

Your reasons for getting the system were the same reasons I went with stillen ...

I am more than pleased with mine , Im happy you like it...

We need more threads like that to help with stillen's rep around here...

Your car is coming along very nicely! Its prob so sweet with the top down too ..... Must be nice!

Your still on stock cats right ? Id like to meet up with you and hear the difference between the system with stock cats and test pipes... Maybe next weekend or a weeknight we can meet up, we are right down the block from each other.

I think Stillen is a good choice for a roadster.

Thanks. Alot of the FI guys don't think there's any other exhaust out there that's worthy of any praise. Appreciate the support!

I agree with you Craniac, this is an awesome exhaust.

Congrats, Joe! I don't blame you for going with the Stillen after reading the latest Berk drama. So tell me, how loud is it on the LIE with the top down now? :driving:

Excellent review buddy, it looks awesome on your car. I made the F1 car comment because with my HFC's installed, thats what i've heard the sound likened to from bystanders. You think it sounds awesome now, throw some HFC's or test pipes on that bad boy, it'll really scream then.

We all feed each others Beast I love it :tup:

I love my Stillen CBE, especially since I added the HFCs. This morning I had a guy driving along side me and I was inadvertently dropping the hammer occasionally. When I happened to glance over at the guy, he was looking at the Z with a big smile on his face.

When I made it into work, a fellow resident came up to me and said "That's your 370? That exhaust sounds amazing". I agree that it matches the car perfectly.

I completely agree with you're description of the Stillen exhaust. I got both the Stillen exhaust and the Stillen intakes installed on my 370 3 days ago, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Joe, congrats on the install. glad u r enjoying it. once 2018 comes around and my Berk cbe is installed we'll meet up for listens. curious, did u go to VTR for the install or somewhere else?

Awesome review..Thanks for sharing..Having the tips flushed was a good call, and it turned out prett dam nice...the 4.5" exhaust tip look sweet....

I honestly think that the Stillen exhaust is under rated here...I've had the opprotunity to hear one in person, and let me tell ya...I was wishing that the owner would open it up more just to let me enjoy the exhaust note...

It sounds good with stock cats and even with HFCs, but I heard it on one car with headers and HFCs that sound like total rice crap. :shakes head:

I can imagine, it sounds racey with the hfcs, i imagine that if you open it up even more, racey would turn to ricey for sure, but it seems any exhaust coupled with long tubes other than a V8 sounds very rice.

Man, I'm feeling lonely! I never see any other 370z's when I'm driving around on Long Island. Hopefully if I see any loud convertibles I'll know who it is!

i was looking at stillen for my roadster, hows the noise while driving with the top up and also with the top down

Everything I wrote in my review was from the perspective of having the top down. With the top up, it fills the cabin with a nice deep sound when accelerating heavily. At crusing speed, it's essentially silent.

thanks, stock is just not good enough

then you'll be very pleased with this one.

I got Stillen Headers, HFCs and Catback and it does not rasp that bad. It does a little when its cold, but once it warms up it sounds great. Its just a louder crisper version of the same sound.

BTW, I was once watching a video i took of my car and sped it up 2X. Sounds exactly like an F1 car. If I have time one of these days I'll get something.

i'd like to check out your exhaust too. i'm looking into what CBE to get but want to hear it in person. i'm right over in smithtown.

This was in reference to the FI long tubes coupled with the stillen setup, i would imagine that it sounds great with the shorties being that they arent too different from the stock exhaust manifold.

I've got the stillen too with the berk HFC's and love the sound, I'm just curious, how did you get the tips to line up without heating and bending the pipes back? or is that what you guys did? cos mine stick out a bit and from memory there wasn't much movement...

No heating and bending necessary. There are some slip joints on the exhaust that allow for a fair amount of adjustability. I didn't install it myself, so I can't exactly say what one needs to do in order to get them flush...all I can say is that if the installer knows what they are doing it should be no problem.

That's amazingly flushed fit! I like it a lot.:tup: It's a great exhaust (sound wise) and one of the oldest exhaust on the market for the Z. Job well done sir. Any sound clips? :excited:

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...m/IMAG0006.jpg

Thanks! I'll be taking several vids before the week is over.

Thanks for answering all my questions craniac! +1 rep for you!

I have to say...after putting 500 miles on this exhaust it's sounding even better. The note has really smoothed out and it just works so perfectly with the Stillen intake. The sound is so addicting, I don't even want to think about what my MPG has been, I've been riding it so hard. I only hope the vids I take do it justice! :tiphat:

Thanks to RCZ, Spearfish and Red370 for providing some of the reviews that helped me pull the trigger!

You're welcome and again congrats on a great exhaust.

agree love my stillen exhaust

I can vouch for Joe (craniac) and his driving skills. I estimate he gets about 12 MPG. We went for a very brisk run on I-95 so I could hear the Gen3's before I installed them.

(Joe, don't tell them about my pass of the bus near Exit 9 when I was giving you the run-through of my CBE. Thanks, buddy.)

In for video updates!

no problem man, yeah I definitely noticed the change in tone once the exhaust burned in, it really mellows out a bit, even with HFC's, but she still screams like a virgin on prom night when ya get on it, glad you're happy with your decision.

Sweet! that is my one complaint about my Stillen CBE. I am not crazy about the tips and I have considered changing them out. I like the ones that have the Bluish effect but I cant remember the manufacture.

Try to get them adjusted by someone that knows what they're doing. If you want to go with burnt tips, check out Greddy and Invidia.

Ronkonkoma!!!!!!!! REPRESENT LOL... I live right over in Patchogue.... Any way the car looks sick with those bigger tips out the back. I had a stillen CBE on my 06 Spec V and my 08 Altima and I loved them both. But once I get my dam Z (y is it taking so long) I want to do an exhaust fast. I was set on the FI cause I love the look and sound, but now that I read your post and see your pics of the exhaust sitting flush I might really have to think about it. Once I get my Z I would love to meet up with some of the other LI Z guys and here your exhaust. Might help me make my decision.