Brand name vs custom exhaust?

Huck

A few years ago when I had my civic I was in a car club, and one of the members worked at the local muffler shop. I was talking to him about all the exhausts I wanted for my car and how expensive they were and he told me to come to his shop and he would hook me up. Long story short he ended up making a custom exhaust from some piping he had laying around, a 12" resonator, and a Borla muffler on for like $200. Seat of the pants dyno said that there were noticeable gains, although I had that raspy river sound (blech). So here's my question: what are the benefits of a brand name exhaust (F.I., HKS, etc) as opposed to a custom exhaust from the local guy? I mean even if you got 5 or 6 more hp, is it worth the extra $1000? I mean, I'm not gonna track my car so I'm not worried about a custom exhaust weighing a few more pounds, or it being shiny underneath the car. As long as the tips look nice and it improves performance, isn't that good enough? Or am I being stupid again and there's something I'm missing as far as quality or performance?


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