Why is exhaust stupid expensive?

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

A 5 foot length of 2 1/2 inch stainless steel pipe is $50 retail yet a exhaust system cost almost $1,800!
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Straight-Exhaust-Pipe/dp/B074XJN6M7

 

[Lolvoguy]

Because those fancy ones are generally made different than the cheapo ones.
1) better grade stainless steel than the stuff you priced out
2) handmade

 

[oldhp]

Yep, a little high. But is this stainless steel the same 409 SS that the OE's use? Then throw in all the fitting that has been done. Now bend all the pipes. Add the mufflers in, plus all the clamps etc. Not that far out of line.

 

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

I see a total of 6 bends, and mild ones at that. Equal length headers I can see as those are super labor intensive.
Edit: 8 if you count the tips.
Me thinks because it says "Cadillac CTS-V" on it.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

They've been getting to you like this for years just because they can.

 

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

Imagine spending $1,800 + installation on your slammed ultimate ride then crushing it on a dip in the road.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I have a sedan, I gutted the front cats and picked up all the extra noise I wanted. Rear cats are still intact, no smell.

Stock system already has a crossover in it, maybe just do mufflers?

 

[CT8]

While the exhaust may or may not be worth the improvement I see lots more that a length of tube. What is the alloy of the $0.00 pipe?

 

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

Mine is a base 3.0, AWD with a single, mma fiddin to cut two 5 inch holes in the rear facia and fabricate a dual exhaust with $25 ricer bombs.

 

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

Does a higher quality stainless alloy make a difference on the dyno?

 

[Imp4]

Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
A 5 foot length of 2 1/2 inch stainless steel pipe is $50 retail yet a exhaust system cost almost $1,800!

So it's expensive. Who cares???
If you don't like it, don't buy it.
There's no sense in bellyaching about it.

They are expensive because the market will bear it.

 

[bdcardinal]

You are paying the Borla tax, but they are worth it. I have the ATAK catback on my Mustang and it sounds incredible.

 

[PandaBear]

Because of production volume. They probably only make 10 at a time when the inventory is down to 2, then sit there for 1 year before they are all sold.

The same reason universal cat is only 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a direct fit cat. Those extra stainless steel, flange, and bending won't cost as much as the honey comb and the platinum inside.

 

[csandste]

Think it was an '88 Festiva. Meineke would just bend some pipe. Midas had stuff pre-made and four times as much money.

 

[tom slick]

Because people pay that price. If people didn't buy it then they wouldn't set that pricing.

 

[14Accent]

Expensive car, expensive exhaust. Plus, it's more than bends and flanges. You're paying for R&D, there's guys that spend hours tuning bend radius, muffler size/shape/placement/baffle design to produce those systems. And then, after all that, they only sell a handful of them because they're competing with every other exhaust manufacturer PLUS every consumer that would rather piece a custom system together.

Would I pay it, even on a CTS-V or the like? No. A simple muffler swap/delete and a high-flow (or no) cats would be fine with me.

 

[Pew]

If you think that's expensive, an Akrapovic exhaust for the Evo X is around $3K. An ARC intake for the Evo X (nothing more than a shiny box with a filter) is almost $700.

Sometimes you pay for the quality - and usually quality comes with a very well known name. Sometimes it's because some boys thought something was "swag" because of a name, or because it's "rare", or discountinued.

 

[Revving2Redline]

I have a Borla now and will buy one again. My muffler guy does Magnaflow but says the tuning,quality,fitment and million mile warranty keep a lot of Borla customers. I like its made in USA now more than ever before. Some of the Remus exhaust systems are 2000.00 on up. You get what you pay for.

 

[clinebarger]

Borla has always been very expensive, There are better sounding systems in my opinion. Hooker Blackheart for example sounds way better that a Borla catback on my Camaro.

 

[spasm3]

Long, not short, glasspacks are not that loud behind cats, and are way less.
That's what I'm running on the avalanche.