dmpsk8

Speed Element EVO2 copy exhaust - run for your life.


Well, after a few years of faithful service my GReddy EVO II exhaust cracked near the flanged pipe. I could have had it welded, but I opted just throw on a new muffler.

So, after much debate I went with a knock-off copy of the Evo2 (BBP Brand) from Speed Element Motorsports. These kind and lovely folks can be found here:

http://www.speed-element.com
http://stores.ebay.com/Speed-Element...id=p4340.l2568

So I picked up the exhaust thru eBay for $100 shipped. Good deal? I wasn't sure, but I took the risk since the genuine GReddy EVO II was in the $350 range. In short, it's the worst 100 dollars I've ever spent. If you see this exhaust around, run for your life.




Below is a detailed set of pics showing how poorly fit this product is. It placed side by side without he genuine exhaust to show the issues.

The muffler did arrive looking decent on the outside. I started to paint the tail end of it (duplicator high heat) to protect the messy welds from oxidation. No need to finish now, this thing won't be going on my ride…

Let's start at the beginning.

The knock-off is noticeably lighter and thinner feeling than the real thing. The rear edge of the tip looks weak and thin by comparison. The welds are messier than the GReddy, but I expected that much.







I installed this thing and immediately noticed some issues. I've put on a ton of xB exhausts, and this thing is by far the worst I've seen. I spent all night tugging, pushing and reconnecting to try and get this thing sitting correctly. Without modification it's impossible.

There are four major issues with this deal:


1. The hangers are outta-wack both in height and placement. The seller suggested replacing the rubber hanger bushings. But, due to issue 2, that wouldn't have done the trick.






2. the rear pipe is poorly shaped. It doesn't fit, period. It actually hits the rear axel during regular driving. Now, to be fair, I'm dropped on S-Techs. But I'm not slammed. There so little clearance that I honestly believe it'd still get knocked around on factory springs. The pics clearly illustrate the difference in axel clearance. Sorry Speed Element, there's no debating it.








3. Due to the issues above, the tip doesn't line up at all with the bumper outlet. It presses up and left into the bumper. I wish I had a pic of this, but trust me it'd burn through your rear lip in a day.


4. Horrible, I do mean horrible, customer service. When I asked for the seller to cover my initial sipping costs to offset this garbage product, I got this response:

"I don't know why you have such hard time to installing it, We've sold over hundreds of xb exhaust ever since 2004 and never had any problems. We've done many instalation at our shop for less than $30 mins without welding. It looks like you don't know what you doing so plese bring it to a shop to get it instal professionally, also you can find rubber bushing at local auto hardware shop for less than $5 each."

Interestingly enough, they were much nicer when I called to tear them a new @$$#@!#. I got a partial refund, but $ was wasted.


In short, run for your life… Even for $100, it's not worth it.




Ugh.

mystik

iTrader: (1)

kinda shows why the real was 350 and this was only 100...kinda of those "you get what you pay for" moments. sorry to hear about that horrid experience

Reactor

Nice post, leaves no room for debate. I had very similar experience with $40 Speed Grill and $30 Short ram intake. Different vendor, same ****. Learned my lesson chasing bargain on knock-offs.

Mouse

^^ X2.

Along with the OP, I think it's fairly safe to say that most people know they are rolling the dice when deciding to go with a knock-off version of any product automotive or otherwise.

What would get me PO'd if I was dealing with a company like that is the email response you posted here. whether they were selling a knock-off version or the original the way they chose to handle it in that way was extremely unprofessional. I'd say any company that chooses to handle their business like that probably won't have a very bright future.

dropzone

I def like seeing comparisons like this, wish there were more. Like mentioned above this is why some are priced up where they are and is shown by the quality. Not a good look with the reply sent in the e-mail though.

dmpsk8

yeah, I knew i was rolling the dice. Hopefully this helps someone make a better decision down the line.