Ebay Exhaust Review
Almost 10 years ago now I bought this exhaust and did a decent write up about it on 3si.org that attracted a lot of attention of the community. The exhaust was extremely cheap and very high quality even if it was China made. Needless to say I still have and run that exact same exhaust today and it’s still in mint condition just needing the normal cleaning.
Since that article was written the forum has gone through multiple owners, updates, new software, etc. So the photos are long gone that were part of that review. Even the seller on ebay has closed up shop So I wanted to move all of that information over here and repost the photos for people to view.
Here is the link to the original thread for those interested.
https://www.3si.org/threads/ebay-exhaust-review-g-blue-knockoff-must-read.508522/
Below is the original review context.
So I took a gamble and purchased one. The seller usually has one or two for the 3S that he starts at $0.99 with $100.00 shipping. I watched a few and most sold at around $225-260 range without shipping. I then saw one go for $69.00 +shipping and though OK so the seller is for real and there are no gimmicks with his auction. one of the ones I was watching was down to the hour so I made my bid and I ended up winning. Needless to say I paid about $200.00 shipped out the door!
I was stoked about the price but still had my doubts. So a couple days go by and I had not gotten a tracking number or heard anything from the seller. I sent him a note asking for the tracking number and got a response back with 2 hours! He assured me that the item had shipped but due to issues with their computer not being able to connect with Fed-Ex he didn’t have a tracking number to send me. I got a little worried at this point. Ebay said the item should be delivered between the Nov 11-16. it was being shipped from Cali and I leave in NC so I knew it would take some time.
Well I got home today and I have a huge ass box on my front porch and this thing is not light! I though to myself “Ohh Shit that got here fast!!!” 9 day shipping is fast for something that large coming from the other side of the country. I open it up and see something surprising:
I took it out and started to examine it closely. All the welds were really nice and clean Tig welds! The hangers were all Tig welded and constructed correctly! All the hardware was there including the gaskets!
This was really nice looking!
Now remember this is a full exhaust package! It includes the front pre-cat eliminator, Downpipe with 02-bungs and flex section, test pipe and full 3″ cat-back split to 2.5 into canisters with 4.5″ exhaust tips.
I looked over and over trying to find something wrong but nothing. I fitted the whole thing together and none of the flanges were warped!
Now here is the real kicker! The whole thing is T-304 Stainless Steel!!!
Magnet tested each piece and it is real SS. The only things not SS are the flanges, flex section connectors and the 02 bungs!
Granted I have yet to install this but I did take measurements and compared it to the old exhaust I had on the car and everything is within spec. So it should bolt right in. Even it I do have to make some slight adjustments it was still worth the price I paid and I am extremely happy at this point and still somewhat in shock!
I will try to get this installed this weekend and update the thread with what else I find during the install. below are some pics of the exhaust and the various pieces:
Installation was so simple, Loosely assemble everything, hang everything on the stock hanger locations and then tighten it all down. There was really nothing to it. Probably even easier for someone with a lift or not working on asphalt in their driveway. Only part I did not use was the downpipe as I already had a Stainless downpipe that I had already purchased which bolted right up. So I ended up selling the downpipe and recovering some cost of the exhaust.
The car has a nice sound when idle and when driving on the highway. It’s not annoyingly loud like a lot, no backfiring or massive drone. It’s got a nice deep mellow tone to it. This car is not running any cats at all, so it would be even more mellow for someone that had all of their cats still installed. I did eventually install a Random Technology High Flow cat due to emissions here in North Carolina, which came off like 5 years later when the car was old enough to no longer need emissions inspection.
Below is a video I shot not longer after getting it installed. It’s more so people could hear the sound of it that for video quality. So yes it’s dark and you can’t see anything, but it’s a exhaust clip, you shouldn’t need to see anything! LOL
