pli

iTrader: (1)

now we need to pair the m2 exhaust with some of the midpipes to see how it sounds.

stasis3131

iTrader: (4)

yeah that would be a good idea. but the mid pipes cost more then this whole exhaust system lol... i talked to my buddy at the muffler shop and he said he can do a custom mid pipe for 80 bucks so that is similar to a borla. if he can do it i am sure any good muffler shop can for a good price. if you get it done post up for sure. i am happy with the way it sounds now. i think luxury cars should just have a growl and not a raspy all out roar lol...

nastyemu

Fantastic write-up stasis and thanks for doing this!

I see an M-2 in my near future... you just can't beat that price.

autovation

Any comparisons to a stock exhaust in terms of weight?

somatic

iTrader: (2)

ordering mine today

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

Here is a GREAT Article touching on this exact topic.....

HKS to Close US Operations


Regards,

Joe Z

CarbonDtls

iTrader: (4)

These companies(HKS) i'm sure make huge profits on there parts.
Not everyone can afford a $800 axelback exhaust. But if I can get a replica exhaust for a fraction of the price and is of similar build quality i'm gonna buy the knockoff.

I've used this comparison before but if I can get a generic drug from Walmart for $10 instead of buying the brand name for $140 with insurance i'm gonna buy the generic. If I was the owner of HKS would I be pissed someones selling knockoffs of my exhausts? Hell yes, but I would also know that sometimes these companies get so much hype around them they think they can charge a high price because they know people will buy there product just because it says HKS on it.

Is there gonna be a huge difference in HP from the HKS exhaust and the knockoff? I doubt it.

Hell I was looking for brake lines the other day and I saw lextuners.com selling Toms brake lines for $560?????? Seriously? People buy Toms just so they can say they paid an arm and a leg for brake lines which are probably no different then $125 stop-tech lines. Lifes all about image and trying to one up people, who can have the most expensive parts on there car.

autovation

Is the M2 an exact copy of the Megan?

I was actually just going to add some Sewell tips for just under 1/2 the price of this M2. If there is significant weight savings I might go with the M2, if not I would stick with the tips only.

stasis3131

iTrader: (4)

good article joez , and they have some valid points and but they way i look at it its business nothing personal. nothing in life last forever and companies come and go. i believe having a company that has only high priced items is a sure fire way to fail. in these days and times people are looking for bargains. i own 3 company and 2 of them have been cloned by another chinese maker to cut in on my profits. i sell our the products i invent to bed bath and beyond,target,and a few other places and when this happened none of my vendors felt one bit sorry for me. they told me to adapt and survive. so there was nothing i could do but just outsmart them or lower prices on some of my products. wasnt like i lost a ton of money, i just didnt make a ton of money...but i still was making alot. there is always gonna be a market for cheaper goods that are similar to the same as the high priced stuff. saying dont buy the ebay exhaust because its not name brand is equvilant to saying only buy a 500 dyson vacuum cause it sucks the best,but this other kenmore vacuum is made close to the same and still gets the job done for 99.99 but dont buy that cause is not the best vacuum on the market, or only buy a ipad cause its the best and not a android pad, catch my drift

there is always gonna be a market for hks,greddy,tanabe and all the others i have spent my fair share of money on all of them. so loyal people will stick with them no matter what. i bought a exhaust called a fabspeed for my ferrari about 3 years ago and people frowned upon that cause it wasnt a italian made tubi or capristo exhaust . well guess what they cost 6000 bucks ,the fabspeed sounds better and is made just as good and cost me 2400. it is just a sign of the times the way i see it. technology is available to everyone now not just the large corporations. and people are alot smarter then they were 10 years ago in the fast and furious days lol... sad but true. i use to buy everything that i saw was jdm in those days. but with high gas prices and the cost of living going up and the wage scale in america not following inflation its gonna be hard for all the high end companies in the world. at the end of the day 90 percent of use drive our cars for pleasure....and you are never gonna tap the full potential of your car on the street. so why over spend on it like we are going to be in the indy 500 next week.

if hks was smart they would start making lower cost exhaust that are in the 300-400 dollar range then have another class of exhaust that are 400-600 and so on. that way you are covering the cheap guys the midlle guys and the high end guys. if a name brand exhaust is pretty close to a lower end exhaust most people will reach a extra 100-150 bucks to get it. but if you are getting the same results from a 200 dollar exhaust way reach the extra 500 or so bucks just to get a cool looking stamp or badge.
so moral of this story ...if you toss all your eggs in one basket these days you are sure to start losing at some point and time. all good things come to a end unless you adapt a change with the market .... 50% of something is better then 100% of nothing in business thats my motto

and joez i will be buying one of you intakes instead of the lexus fsport intake. should lexus be mad at you. lol hell no they shouldnt cause they now their stuff is over priced anyway and you are getting the same results if not better.
so kudos to you bro.... and soon as you have the blue or red anodized intakes in i am game to get one.

sorry for the long post but i wanted to explain this from a customers point of view. ceo's of companys need to not lose touch of the real world ....it not always about profits and bottom lines. you can make money and still be fair.

stasis3131

iTrader: (4)

it alot lighter bro. i didnt put it on a scale or nothing like that but the stock exhaust was a bit much to handle on my own and i am a strong guy lol. the m2 was a ton easier to work with putting it on. i am gonna guess that its maybe a 10-15 pound difference of so...maybe more but i dont wanna over state it. but it was a noticable difference

good post you are correct... but i think there is a difference in the high end stuff but not enough to warrant it for a common daily driver. race track or drag strip yes. but other then that no

its more of a copy of a tanabe.

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

... and this is the same type of consumer attitude that led to HKS closing the doors on its US operations. congratulations for helping to put legitimate aftermarket companies out of business.

if HKS had a profitable operation in the US by selling overpriced products, it wouldn't have shut down US operations and decided to run its worldwide operations from japan.

given that HKS has been a force in the aftermarket tuning scene for the last 30 years, you'd think they know a thing or two about "doing things the right way." if that translated to paying a premium, at least it comes with the assurance and peace of mind that its parts was R&D'd, designed, and manufactured properly. which company selling knock-off parts can attest to that? none exactly, and you and i would be hard-pressed to find one.

if my lamenting HKS closing its US operations because it sold "overpriced" exhaust systems, then maybe you might have a valid point. however, as you can see from HKS350's supercharged is350 (HKS supercharger + HKS electronics), exhaust systems isn't the only thing that it sells. which other major aftermarket manufacturer has offered anything close to that? again, none exactly, and you and i would be hard-pressed to find one.

if you want to play, you've got to pay. however, if you're fine with getting by with cheap, counterfeit, knock-off, fake products, by all means have at it. just don't lament the day when more aftermarket tuning companies close their doors because the market is saturated with knock-offs from second-rate, copycat companies.

then again, HKS closing its doors on its US operations is a sign that the market is already saturated with knock-offs. but you're fine w/ that, because you'd rather get by with the generic stuff, right?

CarbonDtls

iTrader: (4)

I have purchased from so called quality companies and honestly not overly impressed, so if I buy one knockoff exhaust i'm not gonna lose sleep.


Your points are all valid and I can't fight that lower priced knockoffs are good for the economy because there probably not. I can however blame the big corporations who go out of business.

Valid point made before was selling a lower tier priced exhaust from HKS, thats a great idea.

MashinA

iTrader: (20)

first off, let me begin by saying that i have both expensive jdm products on my car(exhaust, wheels, grille etc.) and i have replicas as well. In regards to the exhaust i dont think this exhaust is a knock off copycat...they made an exhaust called it M2 and are selling it for much cheaper...they are not calling it a Tanabe replica or anything like that...thats like saying target for example sells replica knock off abercrombie polo shirts. just cuz abercrombie sells "higher quality" polo shirts doesnt mean other companies arent allowed to sell similar product for much cheaper...and with that said SO many people buy used brand name exhausts for half the price...should we not do that as well? i mean that doesnt really help the poor jdm companies...
i for one bought replica vertex kid from next mod...if you wanna talk about the economy how is spending $2-3k for a piece of plastic from Japan helping the US economy? Its not...
I bought high end work wheels because the quality and craftsmanship of those wheels will not be matched but a company selling cheaper products. But on items such as an exhaust or a roof spoiler i really cant blame if ppl decide to go the cheaper route..
I really wish people get off their high horse and stop judging...

pli

iTrader: (1)

i wouldnt necessarily say this is a replica. because the design is similar to tanabe doesnt mean its a tanabe replica. it doesnt even sound like a tanabe. arent tanabes quieter than this? it was just stated by one of our members because it kinda looks like it.

m2 is its own brand that produces quality stuff at a "reasonable price", and just because its on ebay, a lot of people tend to just call it an ebay product. we buy HKS products off ebay that are legit. arent they ebay products? some may say you get what you pay for, but hey! some products, we get more than we pay for. and that's what makes us happy. and thats also why i wait for reviews before purchases. if i know the product is a quality item and its good stuff for a good price, why not. just because its m4d tyt3 jDm, doesn't mean we gotta get that product specifically.

this can be an example to show the differences. just look at stasis's photo vs this link
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is2...-like-new.html

just my 2 cents.

pli

iTrader: (1)

lol MashinA, kinda pulled the words outta my mouth.