Stillen gen 3 intake and exhaust review

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I know I'm late to the party with these, but I thought some people (like me) go around and around, reading every scrap of information before they buy.

I seriously considered just about every exhaust on the market, with or without HFCs. Finally I decided that HFCs would probably be louder than I wanted around town. I also decided a Ti exhaust was just too pricey for the weight saved.

From the beginning, I liked the sound of the Stillen at the top end, but the low end was a bit breathy. I narrowed it down to:
Stillen
Fast Intentions
...and that Boombopshop thing

The last one actually really caught my ear. I liked the fact that it was so simple - no resonators or anything - but the sound was clean, low, and not ridiculously loud. Unfortunately, Boombop didn't have the parts in, and I was finally sick of waiting.

My thought with the FI exhaust was that I didn't like the reduced ground clearance (sorry, but there's a reason no one else ran direct mufflers), and it just sounded a bit too ricey on the videos (no offense to anyone who has one). The singing of the Stillen almost reminded me of V12 cars...

So the Stillen it was. It went in without a hitch, along with the CAI (the oil cooler, apparently, required slightly different hose routing than that called out by Stillen, but that's another thread). So, my comments on the exhaust/CAI combo (I had both installed at the same time, so I can't comment on one or the other alone):

When they first pulled it around, I was worried about the sound. It was almost too whooshy; too much air, not enough fire. It sounded great at the top end right out of the gate. Now, after as much breaking in as one should probably do in a day, it sounds pretty much perfect. It has a nice startup rumble, but is generally quiet at moderate rpms. Then it's quick to howl. The howl is addictive. I keep putting my foot down just to hear it.

The ECU took a bit of driving, some stops and starts, but it seems to be figuring out the new setup. The car is definitely faster, no question about it. I feel like the Z is getting legitimately fast with these mods - probably 370-375 at the crank, if you add 15% to the dyno gains people have gotten. I actually feel like I'm going to have to be careful on my 10/8 track day with this car; it's one of the faster cars I've driven.

Two potential issues:

1. The exhaust is slightly offcenter. I will have to have the shop do more on this. It could be their fault, but since someone else had this problem, I'm assuming the exhaust needs tweaking.

2. Those tips are frickin' huge. They are a bit too bling for me. I'd seen the photos, but I still wasn't prepared. Whatev.

So anyway, sorry to write a novel. This was really just a way to thank Stillen for the parts. I just got back from a drive on the twisties and wanted to give a shout out. The motor music is great, and a perfect fit to the car... thanks.