[V8] Stebro dos and don'ts

[Carter Johnson]

I had a Stebro system on my 4000CSQ.  It took me 5 phone calls to get it.  It took 2 months to come.  I got it, and I loved it.  It was gorgeous.  None of the mandrel bend issues you speak of - incredible welds, and it was just..pretty.  Installed it....and...it hung way too low.  Like, scrape the bottom way too low.  So, we worked on it for a while and got it into a seemingly fine postion.  It was too sedate for my taste, but more on that later.  It proceeded to break 5 or 6 donut hangers before we made a more robust change to the system to get it to fit better.  That, and I had the center muffler removed.  The sound was - as Ron and others said - inspiring.  One of the better sounding cars I've ever driven.  Even though it wasn't fast, it burbled and screamed and popped, but not in a rice-burning way.  So, I was very happy.  UNTIL, that is, the internal baffling came apart in 2003 and began rattling.  After *several* calls to dan, including me sitting under the car with
 the phone to the muffler while running, he agreed to please send the muffler back on my dime and they'd fix it.  So, I removed the system (which made the car undriveable!), packaged it up and sent away to Canada.  And I waited.  And I waited.  And I waited.  Two weeks turned into a month.  On week 5, I called, concerned.  "We're working on it, should be done this week".  Week 6.  On Week 7, I called again."  Having problems, but we'll sort it out.  Should be done this week."  me.  "Ok, I've been patient, but my car has now been undriveable for 7 weeks.  I need the exhaust back."  Week 8 me "Dan, where is my exhaust?"  Dan "we've decided (after two months with the exhaust) that it is unfixable, and we're sending a new unit to you."  Fine.  Two weeks later to the day, my new system arrived.  Different setup from my original - improved hangers and polished muffler (mine was matte stainless), but the tips were horrible compared to my originals, and the sound definitely changed.
   
  Sufficed to say, I was happy to get the new system, as was the new owner of my car, but I won't ever deal with Stebro again.  I'd have one made for the money and go through headaches that way - at least the guy would be local.
   
  Carter


W. Carter Johnson
SileStone/Stone Systems of New England
401-573-2399
 
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