TTI headers and 3" summit exhaust
Okay, fair enough.. let's make sure we're both talking about the same thing here...
I have the tti step headers raw and the jegs 3" mandrel pipes w/dynomax ultras.
All I'm missing from the equation is stainless pipes instead and a coating that goes to **** after some years...meanwhile 'and I live by the beach'...which can erode anything after some time....Last jegs exhaust kit I bought 2 1/2" lasted the 16 years I needed it, till I up'd CID and needed bigger..so I straight cut'em at the axles and sold them for 100.00 to a guy who used them on a 57' belair.
I beleive the jegs pipes are functionally equal to the tii pipes. Imo The tti finish looks nicer if you show the bottom of your car off... for longer, but eventually erode and you cant keep mud, dirt, road scuz off off them...it burns on.
16 yrs ain't bad.
Its a apples to oranges comparison regarding the headerback systems,material is what it is,but comparing the systems themselfs the difference is huge,in manufacturing/development the cost per improvement is one of those slopes that gets steeper for every step. The crossover/x-pipe cost more to manufacture,making the system out of fewer parts cost more,creating tailpipes that are oversized but still sort of follow the stock routing cost more than the much simpler design of the JEGS/Summit/hearthrob sytems(unless the first manufacturer has already got burned by one of the big two who might just have got someone in asia to copy the original design) The hangers are far supperior in design and construction and due to their much smaller manufacturing volumes cost alot more than the universal stuff found in the cheaper systems,then we can not forget that the larger sections also require larger boxes and storage volume and how the more expensive system gets much more expensive due to the smaller volumes sold due to the higher price to make all those small differences.
Believe me i dont have a problem with the cheaper systems but im more than aware of the reason why some parts are more expensive and having some basic knowledge regarding manufacturing is enough to understand the difference.
Regarding the stainless cheap systems,they are usualy made out of 409steel that is a lowgrade stainless far from the quality we all know from 304,316 or better grades of stainless steel.
Also 409 tubing is probably cheaper to buy than aluminized tubing(dont know for sure but it used to be cheaper due to the volumes of tubing manufactured for among other things OEM exhausts) and is actualy a nicer steel to bend than the aluminized stuff that is horrible to mandrelbend but i suspect that TTI stays with the aluminized stuff due to it most of the time staying nicer looking for longer than the 409 that tend to get stained quite quick even thought it takes mucg longer to actualy rot.
So, you think you have to spend a ton of money to get good parts. And, you think that spending a ton of money on a part somehow guarantees that you actually get a better part. Oh, and also that someone that doesn't want to waste a bunch of money on a part that's ridiculously overpriced won't understand your explanation? Gimme a break.
TTI's stuff is overpriced for their quality. I've bought TTI's, I've bought Doug's, and side by side the Doug's are much nicer parts. They usually also cost less than the similar TTI made part. TTI's exhaust kits are nice, but let's face it, they're just aluminized exhaust tube. So are Summit's.
I have a couple of the Summit complete exhaust kits, although both my A-body kits are 2.5". They're great kits. They fit well and are well made, and in my opinion they're a steal at the price they're sold at. On my Duster I matched the Summit 2.5" kit to a set of Doug's headers. I made a couple of small modifications to the Summit pipes, but all that consisted of was shortening a few of the pipes by cutting a little off the ends to tuck the pipes up where I wanted them to go. Not really surprising since it's the same kit for the 111" wheel base cars and my Duster is 108". One round of testing fitting and then assembly, piece of cake.
Now, the Summit kit does not include a crossover, so, no "H" or "X" like the TTI's. And of course the hangers included are not OE style. But for about a $500 difference I'm sure you can come up with OE hangers and a crossover pipe and still be money ahead. Just sayin.
Im not stupid,neither am i saying that someone should buy something that is not what they are asking for or want, like most others im far from perfect and have done alot of misstakes i have also over the years i worked with exhuasts helped alot of customers to save a whole lot of money by listening to what they wanted to do and many times i found solutions that where cheaper,simpler and a whole lot better than the customers original idea,i also learned to see the differences between products and have more than a basic undertanding of why things cost more or less to manufacture as you may see in my my post above.
Regarding Dougs headers,i cant remember looking over a set of them first hand but the design looks good,they seem to get good reviews and the price difference to TTI is probably mostly due to both volumes of the actual design aswell as the bigger total production volumes from the manufacturers.
I dont mind any of the manufacturers,could not care any less about people choices as long as people get happy by buying the parts they like the best just protesting the failure to acnowledge the huge difference betwen the actual options.
