schrute's journal

schrute

Hey Dub! FI is waaay down the road for me, probably shouldn't even be mentioning it yet. Someday...

Yeah we'll have similar suspension setups for sure. We'll have to compare notes. Now I just have to find the time to get all this stuff on the car!

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370zdub

^^I have the same problem.. Hopefully i can get it all put on by the end of march!

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2010 Ford 6.4L Power Stroke Diesel: 588whp/1082wtrq
2007 Dodge 6.7L Cummins Diesel: 788whp/1405wtrq, runs 12's @ 7400lbs, Still miss my 370z!

schrute

WOOT! FI exhaust showed up today. A big to tbonesteak for the great deal and to Tony at FI for the help shipping these to me. How many vendors would help ship a product they had already sold and installed - not too many! Thanks Tony!

And tbonesteak is a great guy who made this deal as easy as it gets. Thanks man! Maybe I can get this beauty installed this weekend

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tbonesteak

Haha Thanks man. You are pretty awesome to deal with as well. Post some detailed review! Enjoy!

tbonesteak

Dude i received your picture messages!!! Post a review and weight the 18s already! lol

schrute

^Haha OK!

Tim, are you sure you sold me a used CBE? I think Tony may have switched your "used" one and sent me a new one. From the condition of the exhaust to the way it was packaged - looked new to me! Tony included a new bag of hardware/gaskets/instructions, etc. Two to Tony for treating me just like a customer who bought directly from him. I'm impressed!

I spent a few hours in the garage today installing my new CBE and listening to college basketball on the radio. Doesn't get much better than that

F.I. TDX vs. stock


I need a bigger garage


Sound - 10/10

Holy ____! This is exactly what I was hoping for. Sounds fantastic! My car sounds like a sports car should, alive! I love it. Perfect. The first cold startup after installation was deep and loud. Out on the road it has just enough sound in the cabin - not too quiet, not too loud. Drone at 3k RPM on the highway is minimal, I've had much worse with other aftermarket exhausts on other vehicles. I told my wife it's a little louder than I expected and she asked if that's a problem, I said not for me, she said not for her either - good!

Another unexpected benefit from the added volume is I have a better feel for my engine speed - my shifts tonight while testing out the new exhaust were as smooth as they've ever been - nice.

I'm still on the fence about adding HFCs, it sounds so good now I don't want to mess it up. If I do get HFCs I'll go with resonated HFCs from Tony.

Performance - 10/10

The butt dyno approves. Definitely feel the gain with these. I'll try to get it on a real dyno sometime but it's not a priority right now. I forgot to reset the ECU before going out for a test drive and I could tell the car wasn't used to the CBE, on/off throttle was a little jerky. Right after install I cleaned up then drove with the wife to the hospital to visit my Dad (knee replacement), so I kept it pretty tame except for opening it up once or twice. Can't wait to get some more miles on these to get a better feel for the gains.

Installation - 10/10

The hardest part of this install was breaking the nuts loose on the stock exhaust. I had to use some penetrating oil and hit the socket wrench with a rubber mallet to break a couple of them loose (air tools didn't work). Once the stock exhaust was off it was super easy thanks to well-written instructions (with photos) and a complete set of necessary nuts and bolts. Trimming the heat shield was no big deal, very simple. Anyone on the fence about installing these yourself should feel confident. Although I would recommend a lift, my two jack-stand method didn't give me a lot of room under the car . No shims were necessary to align the tips - they were spot on.

Looks - 10/10

While under the car installing the CBE I was impressed with how good these look. The mirror finish polish on the mufflers, resonators and tips looks fantastic. The tips in particular look great and my wife agreed - she likes 'em.

Clearance - 5/10

This is the only negative for me. When I pulled out of the garage I was not happy to hear my new CBE scraping at the bottom of the driveway. My driveway is a little steep, with a taller than average lip at the asphalt/gutter edge from a recent repaving. When I pulled back into the driveway tonight I took it at an angle and didn't scrape, which is good, but plans to install the eibach springs I already bought are on hold until I figure out how this is going to work. Somebody on here had Tony weld on some skid plates - might be a good idea if you have a steep driveway.

All in all I'm happy, now if I can talk the wife into a new house with a bigger garage and better driveway

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fairladyZ34

my driveway had nice 1- 1.5" drop from the driveway to the street. Home depot sells cold patch pothole filler that i use to fill in the dip and make it so i clear it most of the time pretty easily and im not even lowered! stupid aero package

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From Z to G to BMW and back to a G! Nismo for life

travisjb

congrats. sometimes changing the angle of the car as you steer through the spot where you bottom out can help with clearance.

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2009 370Z #104
*For Sale*

speedworks

I was that guy, definately should do it, whats a few extra bucks for the insurance. Worst case, you don't need them, and you can't tell you have them.

Looks good, and how you feel about this exhaust, is exactly how I feel. I love driving this car, with this exhaust.

280z/300zx

Is trimming the heat shield necessary? I hadn't read that yet and plan to do my own install. If necessary what did you use to trim it? All I have are basic tolls (nothing to cut with) so I want to make sure I have everything I need to do the install. thanks

schrute

^Thanks guys.

Yes it's necessary to trim the heatshield. It's right above the mufflers at the very rear of the car. It's very easy. I used a pair of snips I had in my toolbox, if you don't have a set they're not very expensive (if you have a Harbor Freight Tools near you they sell them cheap). The shield is very thin metal, even a pair of heavy shop scissors would get the job done.

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azn370z

How long was the wrench you used to loosen the nuts? Hopefully I get my berks next week. Thanks

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2010 k23
H&R sport springs / Spc rear camber arms / SSR SP1 / Berk cbe / Varis cf lip / Nismo S-Tune side skirts

tbonesteak

Haha I told you they were literally 60 miles old! and Tony is an awesome dude who goes the extra mile to help a brother out. As far as the clearance goes, maybe you can post some more pics of the undercarriage and other angles and Tony can chime in? I've never had problems going thru the steepest driveways with the exhaust on, and I pushed it pretty far. All in all I'm glad it worked out and once your car gets used to the exhaust, the gains will be much more apparent. Good stuff!!

Tim

schrute

The wrench I was using was a standard 3/8" socket wrench, probably 5-6" long. If I would have had more room under the car I would have slid a cheater pipe over the wrench and it would have broken loose easy I'm sure, but I didn't have enough room. If you have access to a lift that would make this job an easier one. The nuts that gave me trouble were the 4 nuts at the very front of the exhaust (2 on either side), I suggest spraying some penetrating oil on them the day before if you can, giving it some time to soak in would help.

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schrute

Good suggestion Tim, I'll take some pics. Yeah I'm excited to get out and drive it today, I'll be able to have a little more fun driving it without a passenger to consider

Thanks again man, sorry you couldn't keep it for yourself. I can see why it might me too much for the 50-70 year old non-enthusiast set. You hooked me up bro, I got a discount and got to cut in line

Jeff

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