Maxima Forums - Stillen Exhaust Rusting

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- - Stillen Exhaust Rusting (https://maxima.org/forums/7th-generation-maxima-2009-2015/609513-stillen-exhaust-rusting.html)

Stillen is commonly known as Stealing.. They have a long history of problems and false claims and lack luster customer service. Your complaint to the BBB will just be added to the stack :-)

I will say that there is a quiet a few companies out there make exhaust systems and even the expensive ones will rust due to some T409 content.

I think the best exhaust system for most vehicles is going to be a ceramic coated one out of T409 (less cost), and T304 can with SS or Chrome tips. So gas can maintain its temperature and exit the system quickly.

Also don't fool yourselves while raw materials such as exhaust mufflers and piping are not expensive, making jigs, and templates takes time and that takes money. And most mufflers shops do not have a mandrel bender they have crush benders which would mostly negate any gains in the system. Ask a muffler shop to order pre-bent mandrel tubing and have them cut and TiG weld (not not Mig weld) the entire exhaust and see how much they want to charge then :-)

KillaKam if you want your exhaust to look like brand new take it off and take it to a polish shop they will make it look mirror new again. Personally I would take it off and have exhaust can and muffler polished and the rest of the system ceramic coated.

I have used Wenol Red with a high speed drill to polish the metal if you heat up the metal with the polish you will start seeing great results. Wenol red is abrasive and if you already have a nice mirror finish and need just a little more shine use the Wenol polish.

Most professional polish shops use raw blocks of polishing compound where they usually follow for steps.
Process 1 (Burnishing)
Process 2 (Prepolishing)
Process 3 (Polishing)
Process 4 (Finishing)

BTW polishing is dirty work, I have always hated doing it, most of the time I just have stuff chromed if I can, and if I can't chrome it I send it off to get repolished, and use some wax or Zoop Seal to make it last.

Does anyone have any documentation from JOSH or CHUCK @ Stillen stating originally that their kit was made of 304SS?

FWIW,

I had a Borla on my previous car. Over 7 years and it never rusted. The tips were sooted up a bit but they looked awesome the day I traded it in for a Max.

The Borla exhausts are nice and throaty too. Not raspy like many.

here is a pic of a used Stillen axle back I recently got. No worries about the rust, I sanded it off and applied a few coats of high heat black paint :cool: If I was wanting to keep a shiny exhaust, I'd be pissed

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0928.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0927.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0926.jpg

Sanded
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0931.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0929.jpg

Painted .... semi-gloss. I have since applied a flat black to the muffler and tips. I had a few bubbles on the tips, but I fixed it :)
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0937.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...k/IMG_0934.jpg

Nice work its looking good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KillaKam (Post 7644138)

Nice work its looking good.

thanks. better than rusted anyway :laugh:

I put on my last coat of flat black tonight. Overall, I could have done better on the paint, but it's an exhaust, not a big deal :D If I get motivated, I may install them tomorrow night

i always love it when a multi-million dollar company uses some sort of BS excuse as a last resort to pull themselves outta the hole. "our marketing copies and pastes"......... couldn't you do that yourself too josh? instead of having a "team" that "markets" by "copying and pasting"....... im sure it would cut down the costs a significant amount to avoid having such fancy team.

stillen makes some good products but they always fail to stand behind it. i had upward of 10 grand worth of their stuff into my old 4th gen and always had problems with customer service. you want unique quality parts, go stillen, if you want service, dont go steallen

Stillen SS Exhaust

I just ordered this item from West Covina Nissan. Their folks are awesome, but I'm seriously concerned that I sent $470 for my Max's rear section & Stillen's site still reads:

Our STILLEN exhaust for the Maxima is the best system available. Construction is all mandrel bent tubing for performance and T304 stainless is used on our Polished Tips, End Pipes and , matte piping. On some applications, the mufflers may be polished 409 stainless for long life in any climate. Straight through Mufflers are wrapped in an exclusive Italian granite wool for long life and responsible sound level. Available as a Rear Section exhaust or Full Cat Back . The end result is increased torque and power.

I'm worried about the red section, because that could mean anything. I hope after everyone's awesome method of documenting everything that happened, I'm confident none of the Stillen employees can claim "I've never heard of this problem before." Thanks for everything, I will keep everyone posted of my Stillen rear exhaust from KC, Missouri.

MJ

stainless steel does rust with heat and salt. alot of factory exhausts are stainless and still rust.. it will stay nice and shiny for awhile but they don't use the top quality metal to build an exhaust to keep profits up. very fine steel wool with wd-40 and metal polish will bring it back to life

i'm so happy with my Borla. Buy the best, you get the best quality. No rust issues at all and it sounds just perfect.:D