i support you on that to the full extent... even dough its aftermarket STRUP has done the exhaust to a precise fitment. However the muffler shop should have tried adjusting it since it may have been damaged in shipping.

Strup is great with customer service.. The fujis should know.

I dont beleive in modifying a part that is not universal. If its made to fit, it should fit. Unlike a company i recently bought a "tc engine cover" where I had to drill some holes for it to fit.

Im sure your exhaust was probably banged up or something in shipping.

enjoy the sound of it...let me know if you need any help with anything.

 

Besides the lack of e-mail from partshippers I still would highly reccomend doing buisness with them. The same goes for Strup the quality is unmatched if you ask me. I have never spoken ill of either companies.

On that note because the Strup exhaust was made so well we tried bending the brackets(keep in mind I work out of either my home garage or my friends garage) and the piece of steel they used for the brackets were so thick I don't think even if my home garage and friends garage have a nice setup would have been able to have bent the brackets. Like I said the professional muffler shop I took it too did something completely different.

 

i stupidly didnt thing about it melting the bumper when i installed it and had the same problem... i ended up burning holes through the bottom of my shoes until it cooled off after it melted part of the bumper but i found a solution that will not just fix the burn part but look good and functional

i love the strup and would not take any exhaust over it, i just wish they made a catback section and for that matter a headerback set too

i took a peice of aluminum sheeting and cut it to the right size and then drilled holes and riveted it in place as a heat shield on the exhaust hole in the bumper
(please excuse my cheap a$$ tires on the back, i was tight on money and they only costs me 53 bucks a peice)

 

nice solution, however my strup when originally mounted...there wouldnt have been enough space to have that aluminum shield between it.

 

well box666 im sorry you had the problems you did. I only problems ive ever had was with the v.1 it had the slant which burnt the side. The v2 was at first I wasnt tightening it enough and it was slipping to the side but never had it go towards the top. Just a question? Did you change exhaust gaskets? I always do when changing out exhaust and was for sure messing up mine at first. I hope charlie is fixing this if not give him a call if you can.

 

Nope didn't change out the exhaust gasket. I figured since the car had under 1000 miles on it the exhaust gasket shouldnt have been too messed up? And yes if I do not get a reply back from Charlie today I will call him on Friday.

 

Box666.

could you please take a photo of the bell end where you said they welded a new one on? I'd like to see what they specifically did.

I'm going through orders and i'm looking for your email you use. could you please pm me so i know which email address i'm looking for where you've contacted me? Regarding the header...please give me your name and email so i know which order you are and i'll call Charlie for an update on the new batch coming in.

One thing we've really really tried to do is have fantastic customer service. Keep in mind i ran across this thread by chance. We don't live online and we have wives and homes so we do our best to keep updates going. I did a search for Strup and found this not knowing of your issues what so ever. For me as a shop owner its difficult to see a member on this site and an owner of a product we sell vocally have issues on a website that we support. We sponsor this site, we really do try hard with our customers and when members are outspoken saying they wasted their money, or its generic over priced parts, or partshippers dropped the ball...it directly effects us as a business. I could be some lame company and shut my mouth and not reply to you and let it all go away...but thats not who we are. We listen, we try our best to communicate and we attempt to resolve. I think members need to be more aware of what they say publically when it directly effects others even in a joking way.

I'm honestly not so sure what i can do to resolve this specific issue..i just wish i was aware of it earlier(not saying you didn't try) so i could have emailed you talking you through it (if we are available since our site is 24/7 but we specifically are not).

Please let me know which header order you are so that maybe i can help a bit there. I just want it known what a wonderful product line Strup puts out. Its unfair to them and us to bash a fantastic product instead of making it into a discussion for resolution.

jeff taylor
partshippers.com

 

Well Charlie has denied me the payback....but I finally borrowed my friends digi cam and took a pic of the weld they made on my axleback at the muffler shop in order for the exhaust to fit correctly. I know it has been asked a million times but how do I post images again....argh I guess I can search it...[/img]

 

Well Charlie has denied me the payback....but I finally borrowed my friends digi cam and took a pic of the weld they made on my axleback at the muffler shop in order for the exhaust to fit correctly. I know it has been asked a million times but how do I post images again....argh I guess I can search it...

 

go to http://www.imageshack.us/ and upload the pick. it will give you a link that has [img] before the link and [limg] after the link. limg= /img

 

 

i saw your picture....

take the clamp off so i can see where your fitment issue was. i can't see the "bell" end at all..its under the clamp.

clamp = that one 10 or 12mm bolt in your picture


btw...the exhaust shop you had this done at said to Charlie the piece was one of the nicest they have seen before and would like to sell them for him. I think Charlie declined for now but that was nice of them to say.

I'd like to go on record and say something.

You said your out $65. I'd like to offer you $65 dollars off your next purchase. I don't have to do this but you've sure went far and beyond with your posts and your buddies to show your displeasure. If this will end the craziness please except my offer and i do appreciate every one of our customers. If this isn't a good gesture there is nothing more i could possibly do to help you further with this. We have had literally 3 complaints or possibly 4 total with the Strup pieces. Yours and 3 concerns about the throttle cable being close. Yours was the only fitment issue that couldn't be simply taken care of with centering the exhaust tip out the exit hole then clamping...the others simply didn't want to move their cable over slightly. I don't even have an answer for those customers because on most of the scions out there with Strup pieces..the header doesn't touch the shielding on the cable including mine which i've taken photos of. On a couple..it came to close but we've worked with those customers to simply move the cable ever so slightly since i guess Scion/Toyota had the cable over 1/4 different going through the factory. Either way...customer service and product quality has been superb. My offer to you is simply to keep face with you as a purchaser.


Actually Curtis...whats your paypal...i'd like to personally put the 65dollars back into your account to simply go the extra mile on PartShippers and Strups behalf since we both truely try our hardest.

Please email me at Partshippers@partshippers.com so we can finalize this.


Thank you.

Jeff

 

^^ great customer support. I would have done the same and offer the same support for my customers from my site.

 

That is the definition of great customer service. In fact, it is above and beyond the definition of great customer service. I am not looking to purchase anything right this minute. But when I am, if Partshippers carries it, they are getting my business.

Any chance you guys are going to start carrying the Fujita intakes and selling them for less than Ptuning before Christmas?

 

The nice thing is that seems genuine, which is refreshing.

Ptuning or Partshippers I think you cant go wrong, ive bought from Ptuning once already and it was a good experiance...and also find myself browsing Partshippers often for differen things...look forward to making a purchase.

In fact I was going to get Strup header & exhaust from you lol but im going the sponsor route and buying direct from Charlie. (Charlie is amazing by the way, class act)

You going the extra mile sure sends a message I think. Bravo.

 

Yes Partshippers are definitely a class act. I don't really know what to say but thank you. This gesture means a lot to me and I will continue to help promote partshippers and strup.

 

This Strup mess is all too familiar to me...

I had a Strup header on my xA and had problems with it (you can see that in the parts review section). There is nothing about this company that makes it better than the other intake/exhaust makers out there. I'd bet that Charlie Westrup will tell you that your car is somehow different than the rest of them and that's why you had problems. Good luck with getting him to reimburse you - he is blissfully ignorant in his claims of the superiority of his products.

I went with the Greddy SP2, and while it's a fairly quiet exhaust, it has a pleasing note. It is of very high quality and the install was extremely easy too. That's my take.

 

I'm sorry you feel that way scott. I have to say though that i mentioned you above in my post regarding the cable. You were completely unwilling to even bend slightly with us when it came to a shielded cable that needed to be moved ever so slightly.

Let me quote your post regarding the MMW header

"I have purchased and installed this header. I had to return the first one because a couple weld spots actually had holes in them - I could see light through the pipe. C'mon guys, a little quality control here, even if the pipe was made on a Friday at 4:59pm.

However, after paying $16 out of pocket to return the part (since I paid for shipping already, shouldn't this second round of shipping be paid for by Weapon-R???), the second header I received was of excellent quality, and I am thoroughly impressed with the design.

I didn't need to use the stock heat shield, which the design allows, because the pipe clearance from the shifter cables is plenty large enough to leave it off. Great job!"


and Scott....
(hope you know that faster turn downs restrict airflow)



"I replaced the Strup header with this one, and I can definitely support this product over theirs (this is evident the parts review section). I'm not sure I feel a difference in power over the Strup, but I'm really happy with this pipe.

That's my take..."

So a header company that sends you a header that has junk welds that you can see through is superior to the other because you werne't willing to move the cable over with a ziptie or something? Your willing to headerwrap your header but not willing to adjust your cable?

It IS an aftermarket performance part that fits the 1nz-fe motor on multiple vehicles. I take your comments as a real slap in the face when it comes to Charlie Westrup. Since i have all the emails between the 2 of you with him really trying to help you and talk you through it. I was in constant communication with Charlie through this ordeal and he even test fitted the header on other xA's to verify. Do you really think that a flimsy cable thats hanging fairly loose can't be off 1/4" between 2 xA's?

 

First off, Lip, thanks for listening. It is interesting that you're doing all this research on my story here, though it appears that you have only actually heard what you wanted to in order to make your case against me. Also, note that this is a forum where people like me have the opportunity to share our experiences w/products, etc., and this is exactly what I have done. If you wish to view this as a virtual slap at the maker of a product you sell, well then so be it. However, you didn't acknowledge, most likely to make your point, that I commented on the high build quality and excellent performance of the Strup header. Let's be fair and mention everything here.

Yeah, sure, Mr. Westrup was communicative and appeared concerned, but in the end decided that a quick fix should be acceptable to me. He seems like a nice guy, yeah, but I didn't want a potential for failure in my vehicle. Imagine trying to sell a car with that in there. You'd either 1. Not mention it, or 2. Point it out and have the person walk away thinking that they don't want some car that I've rigged up.

On the header exhaust wrap issue, I had to get that wrap on there, not b/c I wanted to, but b/c I had to use the car and it was melting my cable. A wrap is much less a quick fix than a cable tie-back. Surely you agree. So yeah, I was unwilling to jimmy rig (ziptie) the cable, and had that been mentioned in the product description on your website I wouldn't have purchased it. I should have had that option. Perhaps you should mention that the prototype was only tested on automatic transmission Scions, which would at least give people a heads up. The bottom line is that since you know that the potenial for this problem exists (Strup admitted it by developing a cinch-tie remedy), then it should be conveyed to potential customers.

If your company and/or Strup is so consumer friendly, then after becoming aware that a customer was not satisfied you should've reimbursed me the purchase price. If you stand by your product design, and my Scion xA was apparently built differently, perhaps you should stand by your solid business rep and refund my money now. I still have the pipe which I'd gladly send back to you.

On the MMW/Weapon-R header quote, you fail to see that theirs requires no further attention following installation. With the Strup, unless you check it all the time, you could end up losing the cinch-tie on your cable, having it chafe and melt against the header pipe and have a breakdown. Requiring people to modify like that to accommodate the modification does not equate to a solid product for the price I paid. For what it's worth, Weapon-R exchanged my product immediately.

As far as the faster or sharper down turn restricting airflow (or really exhaust flow), the dyno appears to defy your theory. However, while that data is always questionable, I am at least at the same level I was w/the Strup header, and now I have peace of mind. With the Strup, I did not.

Thanks again for listening.

 

I've edited my post after Scott has threatened me with an attorney for posting his conversation with Strup.

At no point has Scott emailed Strup saying the content is for his use or scotts use only. This is not a voice recording or video tape....hell..it could even be considered heresay.

should anyone have any questions.....you know what to do.