XS Power TBE --> Pics, Video, Review
Sep 15, 2006, 09:31 PM
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XS Power TBE --> Pics, Video, Review
Well there's been a lot of discussion lately regarding products from XS Power. If you search this forum for XSPower you'll find two big threads with a lot of discussion and debate on their products.
I purchased this exhaust on ebay for $355 shipped. Its a full 3" Turbo Back exhaust with cat-delete (no catalytic converter). You'll be hard pressed to find most cat-backs for this much!
The purchase went very, very smoothly. I sent the payment quickly to roc_iran on ebay and the exhaust arrived 6 days later. As you can see in the pictures it was packaged very nicely with lots of care. I can personaly verify that this exhaust has beautiful welds and seems to be a really quality product (but then again its hard to screw up 3 inches of piping).
Installation
The installation was pretty easy! As you may or may not know, this exhaust does just barely rub on the ACD. When I first bolted it all together I could even slide a piece of paper between the ACD and the exhaust. But after driving it I looked back under and sure enough it was resting against the ACD. I've heard this becomes a problem so I decided to take care of it. Fixing this problem took me a total of 30 minutes, and could have been done much faster. All I did was remove the downpipe and hammer in the section where it was rubbing.
You can just barely tell that the exhaust has been hammered and I am positive it doesn't affect any performance. It clears perfectly now.
besides this small issue the installation was perfect. It clears the oil pan and cross braces wonderfully. Also all the hangers match up with the stock supports perfectly.
Installation fitment I give 9/10.
Sound
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...666&q=XS+Power
I should say up front - I was very cautious about buying any TBE because I truly value the quiet nature of the stock exhaust. Coming from a very loud 300zx that droned a lot, I was quite weary about entering that relm once again.
With that said - I'm in love with this exhaust. For a full TBE you really shouldn't expect it to be quiet, and this exhaust certainly isn't quiet like stock. It just makes a great sound which in my opinion doesn't drone AT ALL under light cruising load. Freeway driving is very quiet and you can easily have a convorsation with someone or be on the phone. This was important to me.
When you push that pedal to the floor, oh baby its a different story. It makes a wonderful noise that is loud and sounds great. When you're just cruising around under light load, its rather quiet. But when you floor it you really hear it!
btw it comes with a silencer which I've heard makes it quieter than stock. I havn't tried it.
Overall sound satisfaction: 10/10
Performance
My philosophy is, 3 inches of piping is 3 inches of piping. It's hard to screw up an exhaust. I dont see why I should pay $1,000 for some metal tubing!
And sure enough they didn't screw up. After installing this exhaust I can definitely feel an improved performance. Mainly the turbo spools quicker and the car is more linear. There isn't a HUGE kick-in-the-pants improvment but I can certainly tell I've picked up quite a bit of power. Specifically I should note that 3rd gear and above seem much more powerful and pull a lot harder.
I'm impressed that for $355 I've gotten this much improvment. I will admit that I was sort of expecting a more kick in the pants feel, but realize that I shouldn't be expecting this much. I've spoken with a few other people who have TBE's and they said the biggest improvment was a reflash. (thats in the future for me!).
Performance: 9/10
I've put about 150 miles on the car so far and couldn't love it more. I did the CEL fix so the check engine light is off.
On to the pictures!
In FedEx Box
Great packaging
Bubble wrapped nicely
Beautiful!
Ooo Shiny
3 inches.. probably looks the same on other exhausts
Nice welds
Ugly silencer in
Here you can see I slid a towel between the ACD and the piping originally. After driving it everything settled in and it rubbed. No biggie, I fixed it!
Doesn't look that big
The huge fart can really doesn't look bad once its installed!
Clean install
Last pic
If you have questions feel free to PM me... I have AIM too so PM me for that if you want. I will be making another video doing some driving inside & outside of the car.
Take care
Edit 12/25: There is a rattle at idle, seems to come from under the center console but cant say for sure. Doesn't happen very often, and only at idle
Edit 1/13: Pretty much fixed the rattle a week or two ago. There was a small bolt from the heat shield that was rattling, again a lil hammering pushed it back and took care of it.
I purchased this exhaust on ebay for $355 shipped. Its a full 3" Turbo Back exhaust with cat-delete (no catalytic converter). You'll be hard pressed to find most cat-backs for this much!
The purchase went very, very smoothly. I sent the payment quickly to roc_iran on ebay and the exhaust arrived 6 days later. As you can see in the pictures it was packaged very nicely with lots of care. I can personaly verify that this exhaust has beautiful welds and seems to be a really quality product (but then again its hard to screw up 3 inches of piping).
Installation
The installation was pretty easy! As you may or may not know, this exhaust does just barely rub on the ACD. When I first bolted it all together I could even slide a piece of paper between the ACD and the exhaust. But after driving it I looked back under and sure enough it was resting against the ACD. I've heard this becomes a problem so I decided to take care of it. Fixing this problem took me a total of 30 minutes, and could have been done much faster. All I did was remove the downpipe and hammer in the section where it was rubbing.
You can just barely tell that the exhaust has been hammered and I am positive it doesn't affect any performance. It clears perfectly now.
besides this small issue the installation was perfect. It clears the oil pan and cross braces wonderfully. Also all the hangers match up with the stock supports perfectly.
Installation fitment I give 9/10.
Sound
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...666&q=XS+Power
I should say up front - I was very cautious about buying any TBE because I truly value the quiet nature of the stock exhaust. Coming from a very loud 300zx that droned a lot, I was quite weary about entering that relm once again.
With that said - I'm in love with this exhaust. For a full TBE you really shouldn't expect it to be quiet, and this exhaust certainly isn't quiet like stock. It just makes a great sound which in my opinion doesn't drone AT ALL under light cruising load. Freeway driving is very quiet and you can easily have a convorsation with someone or be on the phone. This was important to me.
When you push that pedal to the floor, oh baby its a different story. It makes a wonderful noise that is loud and sounds great. When you're just cruising around under light load, its rather quiet. But when you floor it you really hear it!
btw it comes with a silencer which I've heard makes it quieter than stock. I havn't tried it.
Overall sound satisfaction: 10/10
Performance
My philosophy is, 3 inches of piping is 3 inches of piping. It's hard to screw up an exhaust. I dont see why I should pay $1,000 for some metal tubing!
And sure enough they didn't screw up. After installing this exhaust I can definitely feel an improved performance. Mainly the turbo spools quicker and the car is more linear. There isn't a HUGE kick-in-the-pants improvment but I can certainly tell I've picked up quite a bit of power. Specifically I should note that 3rd gear and above seem much more powerful and pull a lot harder.
I'm impressed that for $355 I've gotten this much improvment. I will admit that I was sort of expecting a more kick in the pants feel, but realize that I shouldn't be expecting this much. I've spoken with a few other people who have TBE's and they said the biggest improvment was a reflash. (thats in the future for me!).
Performance: 9/10
I've put about 150 miles on the car so far and couldn't love it more. I did the CEL fix so the check engine light is off.
On to the pictures!
In FedEx Box
Great packaging
Bubble wrapped nicely
Beautiful!
Ooo Shiny
3 inches.. probably looks the same on other exhausts
Nice welds
Ugly silencer in
Here you can see I slid a towel between the ACD and the piping originally. After driving it everything settled in and it rubbed. No biggie, I fixed it!
Doesn't look that big
The huge fart can really doesn't look bad once its installed!
Clean install
Last pic
If you have questions feel free to PM me... I have AIM too so PM me for that if you want. I will be making another video doing some driving inside & outside of the car.
Take care
Edit 12/25: There is a rattle at idle, seems to come from under the center console but cant say for sure. Doesn't happen very often, and only at idle
Edit 1/13: Pretty much fixed the rattle a week or two ago. There was a small bolt from the heat shield that was rattling, again a lil hammering pushed it back and took care of it.
Last edited by DreamLike1; Jan 13, 2007 at 11:52 AM.
Sep 15, 2006, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by mchuang
It actually looks pretty dam good, but I think the fart can is pretty close to the ground.
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Sep 16, 2006, 05:11 AM
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too bad its already on the car.......
the next person who does this should
"coke can" test it
it looks a little thin, but its also not in front of me. quality looks more than acceptable though
didnt know they were making exhaust...... must be new.......
the next person who does this should
"coke can" test it
it looks a little thin, but its also not in front of me. quality looks more than acceptable though
didnt know they were making exhaust...... must be new.......
Sep 16, 2006, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by SaOrlando
too bad its already on the car.......
the next person who does this should
"coke can" test it
it looks a little thin, but its also not in front of me. quality looks more than acceptable though
didnt know they were making exhaust...... must be new.......
the next person who does this should
"coke can" test it
it looks a little thin, but its also not in front of me. quality looks more than acceptable though
didnt know they were making exhaust...... must be new.......
and if you're referring to weather or not its 3 inches, I measured it with a tape ruler... its 3"
