[doublexl]

i dont know if im as curious as others, but to put it bluntly.... where the [email protected]#$ are my headers?

the "they should be ready in 3 weeks" was up almost 3 weeks ago. i'd like to get them on my car before it [email protected]#$ing snows this year.

SIKKY!?

 

[doublexl]

this is my not impressed face. we should all get a discount for being [email protected]#$ed around.

i edited out the cus cuz i noticed that someone else did

 

[doublexl]

well according to the most recent update they should bew shipping the end of this week or start of next. i have not been contacted personally for payment or info however

 

[doublexl]

i have a feeling that they havent been coated yet. bets anyone?

 

[doublexl]

25 sets x $1,295 per set = $32375

I want free shipping.

I ordered mine on May 28th, visa charged on June 1st. Was told 3 weeks until they were ready to go on May 28th, its been 6 weeks past that and counting.

This is just how I feel.

 

[doublexl]

from what i've heard around here, all 25 sets are sold. i bet that the profit margin is around 2.5:1 on each set. so yes, free shipping for the $19,000 in profit that we are giving them, plus the fuck around we have been getting sounds like a good idea. and they have been sitting on our deposits for over 2 months now. $12,500 already for them. this is one hell of a group buy if u ask me.

 

[doublexl]

pirates english is almost as bad as said53. if you know who that is.... he is a legend.

 

[doublexl]

That's right eh...trying what's it all aboot. hahaha. I kid I kid.

you best be kidding or i'll come down there and show you what aBOOT can do.

 

[doublexl]

received my headers today. happy they are here....... not exactly satisfied with the quality tho..... jig marks everywhere, holes in welds, single welds on flanges, connections are not machined flat, no new gaskets for the block and some pretty un-circular openings for the exhaust to enter into.

we'll just say i will be mending a few of these items pre-install.

call me anal, but i'm german, precision and quality is in my blood.....

but as long as they perform right?

 

[doublexl]

add this to the bitch list. both flanges that bolt up on the engine side are bowed in the middle. the right side is minor but the left side is very noticeable.

everybody check your headers. also, new gaskets are $72.75 each if you want to go that route. canadian price.

 

[doublexl]

here is what i spent 3 hours on this evening. half of one flange almost done, still gotta touch it up. the left side is my work, the right side is untouched except for a pass with a grinder.

there is some undercut that is too deep around the weld to file out, and the one scar is from whatever grinding went on at sikky, also too deep to file out. the bulk of material removed with an air grinder, followed by a lot of elbow grease on a hand file, followed by a die grinder to port the opening, and a finishing wheel to make it all smooth. still need to go over them a couple times, but u get the picture from how they came, to how i am improving them.

 

[doublexl]

You guys with quality issues should have contacted sikky and returned them to be fixed. I'm sure he would take care of things. I don't know what changed from the prototypes but the headers I have fit perfectly.

i bet the ones i have would have fit too, after all what are gaskets for.

they were just not to my liking.

 

[doublexl]

mating surfaces should be flat. now that i have one finished i can comment on the poor weld quality. no back welding and a ton of undercutting on what is supposed to be a flat surface for a good sealed connection. also there should be a clean connection between tube and flange. i did the best i could short of re-welding the insides then grinding them smooth.

which would you rather install. this

or this

i know which one has a lower risk of pinching a gasket due to uneven surface....

here is before

here is after

and like i said, the undercutting and tool marks from previous are too deep to "safely" remove... i already have 8 hours into this one side. and they are definitely straighter and more even then before i took my hands to them.

 

[doublexl]

if the raised welds were perfectly round and to the exact size of the gasket, i could consider taking your word for it. but the fact of the matter is that in some places on the flanges, the welds are 1/4" wide, and in a lot of places, they are 1/8" wide and some places even less than that. so the gaskets would have to basically be perfectly placed around the header to get a good but still uneven seal.

by making a flat and level surface, it ensures a more uniform seal on the gasket around the exhaust port. therefore more evenly distributing the exhaust gas pressure on the entire ring. furthermore, by smoothing out the hard edges of the weld going into the tubes, allows for better airflow. if i owned a flowbench, i would test it out, but rounded edges are better then sharp edges any day.

i know for a fact that the flanges of the joe z exhaust on my car are perfectly flat, and have the same type of gasket you provide for connection to the exhaust system.... which are full flanged sized gaskets, meant to seal the entire surface area not a tiny 1/8" wide rim around the inside.

back to the header, since there will be no metal to metal contact, due to the thickness of a gasket being in between. my flat and even surface would seal with the exact same force as your raised welds, given that the gasket itself looks to be around 1/4 - 3/8" wide around the exhaust ports. again, with the varying width of the raised welds, some parts would utilize 1/8" width of the gasket and even less in some places, that is a pinched gasket.

and as for my "eyeballing" of straightness. before and after comparisons, as well as numerous checks during the hand filing, using multiple straight edges and a machined flat piece of metal on a table saw would confirm that the header now is closer to flat then it was with the raised welds. also, the files themselves are perfectly flat, or else what use would they be. i have 8 hours into working on this one side, as little metal as possible was taken off. each port is perfectly flat around the diameter of its opening.

now i'm done ranting, im not going to argue anymore, because i know that i just made a good product, better, and probably more reliable.

just for fun, use the internet, and search for header flanges, 99% of them have flat faces, with no raised points for "sealing" the gasket. case closed.

 

[doublexl]

Maybe you should of left the product alone. My fittment is perfect. The numbers are good 40+rwhp (I made closer to 50) no CEL, and no other problems. I just don't hope you cause yourself any other problems down the line. If you had an issue you should of contacted Sikky like cayman said. They would have worked with you they are a good group of guys.

i'd rather do it myself cuz i know it will get done to my satisfaction and in a more timely manner most likely considering shipping and whatnot. also the fact that its been more then 2 months since i ordered. also, i dont really know if you can talk about the fitments unless you personally handled the headers and installed them yourself......am i right?

 

[doublexl]

that sucks. i hope those gaskets survived all the pinching. i was quoted $72.75 each from Lexus.

 

[doublexl]

IMO for 1400 bux for 2 headers u pay for what u get. I've been through many high end JDM brand headers before modding my s2000. I've been through Mugen, Toda racing, J's racing and the quality for all of them was pretty top notch and they were all priced 1700ish CAD and that's just for 1 header. I'm not trying to bash on Sikky or anything but for the price what do ppl expect? Have u guys seen the pricing on Kleeman Headers for the c63? No joke it's double the price. If u guys want superb quality then u gotta pay the hefty price... I'm just stating my opinion here.

Anyhow sorry to hear about your problem with quality with the sikky headers. Hope all works well with them for u.

Kleeman is made in Denmark, which is basically Germany, which is basically perfection. They are priced at 2,295 euros, which in American is $2,928 this morning.

Just for shits I went to a machine shop here to see about machining the flanges for me, and he said it would be around $1,500 to do so. So there is the difference in cost right there.

 

[doublexl]

Are you an engineer doublexl? Seems like you are making major changes to a product without any intelligent background, there derrickhand. I think Sikky knew what they were doing, especially when you see the numbers peoples cars are putting out after their install. You should have left them alone and sent them back if you were unhappy with the product, they even said they would have. Then you could saved some cash and make your own set of headers yourself to "your likings".

hey mr. 1st-post-just-got-a-membership-here-to-try-and-bash-somebody just because i dont have a piece of paper saying i went to school for 4 years doesn't mean im not an intelligent and logical human being. any asshole can make a set of headers. results will vary. one guy has his installed and he has 3 leaks. yet to be determined what they are from but i will bet my set of headers that the manifold gaskets did not get a good seal on the raised welds.

have a nice day

 

[doublexl]

how many times do i have to tell you that the flange is straighter now then before i touched it? i went to Sabre Machining, i talked to Tyler Pollock, and asked him what it would take to get this done, and through the conversation he said the cost would likely be another set of headers. when i said so around 1500 and he said that is entirely possible.

they would have to build a jig to hold them steady and flat to put into the sander. he also talked about cleaning up the welds on the inside of the ports by using a circular belt sander.

bottom line. each port is perfectly flat around the diameter in which it will seal to the gasket. is it 100% even across the entire surface of the flange? no, but it is closer then before i started to work on it.

also, you have one customer who has 3 leaks days after his headers were installed. when this cause is determined, we'll see how good your raised welds are. like i said before. the width of the surface you provided to seal to the gakset differed from 1/4" to under 1/8" in some places. and was FAR from round, some are even egg shaped.

 

[doublexl]

plenty more where this came from.