well, i managed to last about 9k miles before caving in to a "real" mod... i planned to order the hks rear section for the sedan from chad but after his policies got changed up by infiniti corporate, i found a better deal elsewhere. props to Jason @ WorldOne Performance (a sponsor on this board) for getting this out to me at a great price. to nip the question in the bud, ask him directly for pricing since i can't repeat it. he'll hook you up with a good deal, just tell him i (Giri on g35driver) referred you.

on to the pics:

InfinitY????

here's how it's packaged in the box:

with the packaging off:

the tips at an angle:

quality of the welds:

lastly, the most important part of the package that gives the 3-5hp gains:


overall, the build quality of the exhaust is impressive. i didn't think the rear section alone was going to be so big... with the oem one being tucked away so nicely, it's deceiving. the quality of materials feels top notch and the welds look great. overall, +1 for HKS

i'm still waiting on infiniti of scottsdale to get the brackets/hangar out to me that the 05/06 sedans need. funny thing is that i ordered those parts first, they shipped 2-3 days earlier and they still aren't here yet! i would have had the exhaust yesterday if i wasn't at work until 10:30pm. the brackets/hangar are supposed to arrive today (soon hopefully) and i should get the exhaust on tomorrow morning if everything goes right. i'll be posting more pics when it's on my car and maybe a sound clip or two if people are interested.

 

install and looks
i had the install done by zcargarage in san jose. if you're in the bay area, it's THE place to go imo. clean shop, really friendly guys, and good prices. i would have done the install myself, but i have a bad back and for a little $, it wasn't worth hurting myself. the install was pretty straightforward, just make sure you get all the supporting hardware if you have an '05/'06 (03-04 bracket + 2 hangars). the bracket location is as far back in the muffler space as you can go, you will see three holes for the mounting screws.

the muffler looks sweet. it tucks in pretty nicely and appears to be more hidden than the oem setup. the mechanics at zcargarage were pretty impressed with the build quality and the looks before they even knew it was an hks product. i love it, tho i imagine it will take some extra work to keep it clean.

sound
going from a completely stock set up to this HKS, wow it is definitely a big difference to me. keep in mind, i have a stock intake, cats, ypipe and middy. rob @ zcar offered to swap out my middy but i wanted to stay stock (avoid leaning out until i get some EU... but that's for much later on).

i love the sound. as everyone has pointed out, there is NO drone. you hear the exhaust any time you get on the gas, be it from 5-10mph or going 75mph on the freeway. i think the exhaust note has changed a little bit, but not for the worse. i'm expecting the exhaust needs some mileage to be completely broken in, which i noticed with my stock setup. also, i expect the note changes once the car's been running for a while, which was true of the stock setup as well.

the exhaust is much more discernible from inside the car. you can feel it when you mash on the gas.


performance
hard to say right now. i haven't driven it enough, but i don't notice any throttle response problems which is what i was most concerned about given the variable airflow design of the oem muffler.

well, i'm sure my mileage is going to hell for the next few weeks. i love revving the engine up and hearing the exhaust now

i'm interested to see what my gf thinks about the sound. i mentioned i was changing something with the exhaust, so i'm curious to what her unbiased (and unknowing) opinion will be.

 

You can get a head start and get the sticker on your car right now. I read it alone give 5 whp. You don't need to wait on the bracket for that. That is if your windows aren't already at full sticker capacity.

All kidding aside, the exhaust note will be well worth the wait.

 

Congrats!!

 

Looks good, Giri. I wanna hear that sucker, soon.

 

nice, you will love it!!

 

oh man oh man! Let me know how it is, its the last thing on my list of to dos lol

 

I was also surprised to see how big the box was. It's a great muffler and you'll love it everytime you start the car. I give mine a nice coat of metal polish once a month and a year later, it's still looks brand new. BTW, I have an '05 and never used the bracket. My muffler shop cut and welded the hangers in the right position to fit into the current OEM set up.

 

Nice! Post a pic when it's mounted.

 

good stuff...but dayn...that's a humongous box!

 

how do i contact seller, or maybe you can PM me the price you got it for I want one and have been waiting on return of Chad, guess I can't get it from him anymore...

 

pm username "WorldOne"

 

how much

 

Chico,

Funny you should mention polishing, I was just about to venture to the auto parts store this weekend to find a metal polish for my HKS. What polish have you had success with?

Thanks!

 

another hks hits the streets! i got mine form chad for a fairly decent price not as good as the $380 shipped he was offering before he disappeared and such! i got mine installed a few days before the FGC meet and i couldnt be happier! no raspyness, drone etc on highway or on high rpm's good luck with yours, im having trouble keeping mine clean...