I ordered the stillen rear exhaust section christmas eve, eve. Order went good, shipped out same day which was excellent. Got here on the 30th. I had it installed this morning. I had a pretty big issue. I got home (did not really look closely at the shop because it was snowing out) and notice the left and right exhaust were very different in heights. I took out the old tape measure and sure enough the drivers side was hanging a full inch below the passenger side. I thought this was a pretty straight forward install so I called the place that did it, they said bring it right back but there is only one place to hang the muffler from so they were not sure what the issue could be.

I went back and they took it apart, it appears the hangers were not the same on the two exhaust units. They were soldered on different by Stillen causing the one inch difference. Not good. I am a little disappointed that this could happen. So they tried to bang the hanger to a different shape to get them to line up. It is now a little less than 1/4 in difference so its not really that noticeable but still not perfect. I will probably try and contact Stillen and see what is up with the hanger issue as I was hoping for a nice clean install.

Other than that the tips look much nicer than the stock. Also I had read somewhere on here that the stillen was much heavier than stock, no way. The shipping weight on the stillen was only 37 lbs. I kept the stock and they do not seem any lighter than the stillen, in fact the felt heavier to me. If anything they are real close. Sound wise it sounds pretty good. Not sure about power/ gas milage etc.

Anyway figured I would share my story.

 

Sorry about your issues with Stillen's exhaust. I've also heard other issues with their exhaust like Rusting, I hear they do this easily and it is a big problem.

Thanks for clearing up the weight issues between Stillen and Stock because IMO getting a heavier exhaust would negate some of the performance gain considering HP to weight ratio.

I hope you get your issues cleared up.

 

wow thats interesting to know, myself soon i plan on buying the stillen exhaust, hope i dont run into any of these issues

 

Seriously, the Stillen exhaust is a bit heavier than the stocker. I'd say at least 8-10 pounds heavier. Mostly the mufflers and the resonator section. The sound is great. My only issue with my exhaust is the annoying squeeking from the passenger side slip joint to the muffler. I guess it is the cheap non stainless U clamp needs to be replaced with a better quality type clamp or weld. I did notice on Stillen site that the rear section to exhaust is one piece. Is this an early model?

 

I actually am having the same issue with my exhaust which I put in about less than a year ago now maybe 6-7 months. I have the full exhaust but never decided to do anything with it. I might give them a call though.

 

what kind of HP gain does an exhaust result in on our Maximas?

 

I really do not think the Stillen is 8-10 lbs heavier. The Stillen weighs about 35 lbs max. No way stock weighs 25. I held both and put the stock one in the box after the install and I would guess they are within 2-3 lbs of each other total.

 

any pics?
shall we question the quality of stillen products?

 

No pics yet, my car is FILTHY from the snow and salt lol. I can still notice the difference in height but not sure anyone else would. Do they really have rusting issues?? I hope I did not fork over $400+ dollars on an exhaust that is going to be all rusty in 6 months.

 

Here are some pics. The left is clearly still lower then the right.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2553210...7623014196185/

And of course just a week after I order they have a big sale, insult to injury

 

Look at the pics a lot closer in Jerome Johnson's post and you can clearly see Rust starting to form, not only does it form in those spots but a hell of a lot around the exhaust tips and inside the exhaust tips as well.

I wanted the Stillen Exhaust but since I've seen the Rust and it is confirmed here that their set up is still heavier than the Stock unit then I feel that there are other options to go with that won't Rust and are not heavier than Stillen's.

 

Damn, My will be here on Thursday, and I will be muy Pissed off if I have any of these issues. I would have RMA'd the crap out of it. Given the pain in the **** having removed again and shipping back, I guess it is a matter of how much it bothers you. Shotty worksmanship for my green-backs, that what annoys me!

 

Thats whats bothering me too. I have never modded a car before. I went with Stillen because they seemed to be a reputable company and they push the product as a simple bolt on install. You should have seen the thing on the first pass, left was an inch lower, it looked terrible. I did go back and forth with them a bunch in email, was not happy with the tone of the emails so far but they have now pushed to customer service so i will see what happens.

I wish I had heard of rusting before. I thought I read ever post on this formum concerning the stillen exhaust and did not read anything on rusting.

 

Well, in case it helps, his guy Kenny always picks up (salesman of course). Kenny Duong 800-834-0376 x 185. Hope this helps!

 

 

I think the easiest and less expensive fix would have a shop that welds stainless , cut the muffler hanger down a bit and re-weld it so it will pull up the muffler . they should charge around $30-$40 tops.

That discoloration around the welds on my muffer isn't rust, but appears to be the discoloration from the welding. I guess the welder they use @ Stillen the amperage was set too high. good for weld penetration but weakens the metal around it. Only rust right now is the cheap muffler clamps in pics.

 

Yeah, I definitely still think it is BS. The last (only other) exhaust I have purchased was from Apexi. That thing is just as fresh now a it was 5 yrs ago when i bought it. I would even say, the car will most likely fall apart around the exhaust long before the exhaust discolors or falls apart. I think for $850, this should have been a higher caliber kit. IMO of course. Cheers!