Not that OBX has a great reputation, but is there anything out there showing that OBX = SSAC other than speculation?

 

yes

Google


they both resell Taiwan / China rip off copy cat products.

They both import and resell the same products from the same producers out of Taiwan / China. They are imitation parts just like the imitation purses you will find at a flea market.

xs power = ss autochrome
obx is another reseller of the same marketed products

they do not manufacture the products they simply order and resell the same rip off generic parts.

If you want to be that guy that owns a corvette and supports rip off poorly made products then perhaps you should own a civic and have more fun with all the parts available to you in that market.

Can you tell i hate after market rip off products?

OBX Drop Ship Program
OBX is pleased to announce a new drop ship program for all resellers within the United States. Please email info@obxracingsports.com for more information.
http://redhat3.admarkonline.com/~obxracing/index.php

 

http://easternnc.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Rep...3&firm=3001613

BBB issues Reliability Reports on all businesses, whether or not they are BBB accredited. If a business is a BBB Accredited Business, it is stated in this report
BBB Definition:

report - A summary of activity reflected in a company's BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues or other information that results from activity conducted by the BBB.
.
Name: SS Auto Chrome, Inc.
Phone: (919) 528-1776
Fax: (919) 528-1739
Address: 817 Beaver Dam Rd
Creedmoor, NC 27522-7107
Website: www.ssautochrome.com
Principal: Ms. Tonya Herring, Vice President
Customer Contact: Ms. Tonya Herring, Vice President - (919) 528-1776
Entity: Corporation
Incorporated: April 2001, NC
File Open Date: January 2002
TOB Classification: Auto Parts & Supplies-New
BBB Accreditation: This organization is not a BBB Accredited business.

Additional DBA Names
XS Power

Customer Service Contact

Ms. Tonya Herring is the complaint contact person for this company and should be contacted at (919) 528-1776 before filing a complaint with the BBB.

Customer Experience

Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record
BBB Definition:

unsatisfactory record - A company has an "unsatisfactory business performance record" with the BBB is based on the experiences reflected in BBB files. This file condition results when the company has failed to resolve or respond to complaints, repeatedly failed to respond or resolve issues in a timely manner, failed to resolve the underlying issues for a pattern
BBB Definition:

pattern - More than 2 complaints involving the same allegations usually within 12 months that are significant in relation to the company's size and volume of business.
of complaints, failed to honor their commitment to mediate or arbitrate disputes or honor mediated agreements or arbitrated decisions, failed to substantiate, modify or discontinue false advertising claims
BBB Definition:

advertising claims - The BBB reviews business advertising, (newspaper, magazine, TV, radio, internet) routinely to ensure that it is truthful and ethical. Claims in advertising are measured against basic advertising principles of the BBB Code of Advertising
BBB Definition:

BBB Code of Advertising - http://www.bbb.org/membership/codeofad.asp
which was developed to guide advertisers, advertising agencies and advertising media.
that are challenged by the BBB, or failed to discontinue unauthorized use of the BBB name and logo, a Federally protected trademark.
with the BBB due to a pattern
BBB Definition:

pattern - More than 2 complaints involving the same allegations usually within 12 months that are significant in relation to the company's size and volume of business.
of complaints concerning product and refund issues. On 1/24/2007 the company was invited to meet with the BBB to discuss ways to correct the underlying cause of the complaints. The company has failed to respond to our request.

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

The BBB processed a total of 39 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 39 complaints closed in 36 months, 8 were closed in the last year.

 

Be that as it may, they are currently on the car with no issues. No warnings are necessary. I went into this with great reservations knowing full well what I was getting into. As I said, I was pleasantly surprised that all went relatively well. When you spend only $550, you expect problems, and when they don't surface, it's a bonus. I did some research before purchasing, primarily the camaro guys, and felt it was worth the risk. I wouldn't necessarily quote the ricers that had problems as evidence that these are crap as these guys probably don't know which way to turn a bolt. In fact, if you go to OBX's site, they don't even show these headers, so what does that tell you? I personally don't know. I ,my self, am sick of the "Corvette Tax", and will try to avoid it whenever possible, and these fit the bill perfectly. Headers are not rocket science and considering my goals, these exceed my expectations. Take this for what it's worth. Feel free to spend $1200-$1800 all you want, but I'm very happy with these cheap *** headers and I think others will be too.
Scott

 

i guess you are a lucky one.

And i believe what i know about the company and the type of products they sell.

I just do not do business with companies that produce poor products that are a stolen design and have poor customer service and quality control.

You are not winning any wars on a corvette tax.

 

Fair enough. I couldn't care less about the company itself as long as what I bought works properly. As far as the car goes, I wasn't planning on spending ANY thing on it as it's just a daily driver. Couldn't pass these up, and wasn't disappointed at all. Yes it's a Corvette, but it is JUST a car after all. Nothing particularly special about it, other than it's purchase price. And just what makes it a crap product? The price? Can't be the fitment or performance, as in my case both are just fine. So, do you have ANY personal experience with OBX products, or is all your information just what you've heard from google?
Scott

 

Max

im glad you did not have the same problem most of our vendors have shared on the install of such products.

good luck with them

 

Like I said before, I may have been lucky with the fitment and the next guy wont be so lucky. With only one data point (me), it's impossible to make the general statement that these are great. They just worked for me.
Scott

 

thats awesome! 2 guys who both stole header designs are fighting each other. Priceless!!

 

They often buy from the same manufacture from over seas and just slap their selling name on the ad.

 

Check these out!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1986063

 

That actually is pretty damn funny!!!!

Tim

 

You missed the best part on the banner ad. http://www.obxracingsports.com/produ...r-_image-2.jpg

 

Never said I would buy from them, but I like to make educated decisions, and that includes understanding all the options so if I'm not willing to save money for a reason, I prefer to understand that reason I'm basing my decision on.

Just because 2 companies sell the same product does not mean they are the same company...

One company is known more-so for it's poor business practices (put in light by it's poor product history) and the other has more of just a history of poor products that work... kind of...

Neither sound like much of a winner to me, but after reading all of the other more traditional header threads even between the major players, watching all the mud slinging that happens there isn't terribly pretty either.

I've actually been considering working with a co-worker / friend of mine that is tooling up for making turbo headers for more rare / classic imports to see if he's interested in making me a pair of one off equal length long tube custom header / x-pipe & exhaust.

I'm interested in all the problems people have with all setups so if I decide to go that route vs. buying something I know what / where to look out for (like the A/C lines).

I appreciate your bringing these things to light for people, I've seen you post several times in multiple threads in similar ways. I just think it would be easier to read if I didn't feel like you were wanting to bash anyone even looking at something like this over the head with a 4x4. You'd probably do better getting your point across providing the information you know in a less aggressive manner. I bet more people would be willing to read through your links & listen to what you have to say if you just toned it down a bit. Just an observation.

 

Do we have an update from the OP?

 

alright easy to get carried away on the inter webs =)

 

Okay first off there were both - and + things I experienced during the install. I took pics of the entire process but accidently left the camera in the shop as my head was overcome with adrenaline I can honestly say this was my fav mod so far with out a doubt!!! IMO my vette now sounds perfect! Okay now for the details...Everything started smooth. Due to shipping, one of the straight pipes btw the headers and x pipe was slightly bent at the end. I took it to the local exhaust shop and they put in on a spreader. $5 later and we had an almost new pipe. Only other damage was a very small ting in right header that was almost unnoticeable. Ask for shipping ins. I took it to the shop and the headers went into place just fine. Passenger header went in through the top and was easier. Drivers header through the bottom and slightly harder. Okay here is where things went south a little bit. At this step we noticed there were no o2 extensions supplied with the kit I called a few local shops and no one supplied them so I had a shop overnight be a set from the east coast. In the mean time we extended a shorter set as a temporary fix. The o2 sensors hit the tunnel plate like dynatechs and LGs do. They just slightly bent the stock plate with a hammer. If you have the upgraded tunnel plate you will need to make a few small holes in it to clear the o2s. Then we realized the kit did not come with the eight nuts/bolts and 16 washers needed to connect the header flange with the straight pipes. Off to the parts shop for some hardware. Come back and get straight pipes installed then realize the kit comes with no 2 1/2 in exhaust clamps. BTW you need 4 of them. Luckily they had some lying around so we used those. The system utilized all 4 o2 sensors. Also while its on my mind the system uses resinators rather than high flow cats. For me a + becuase that meant louder tone. The resonators have no "honey comb" like cats do. Well long story short I contemplated doing the install myself but after what I saw that would have been VERY hard for me esp w/o a lift! I will do my own brakes/rotors/shocks but the DIY header write-ups on the forums intimidated me! In the end a 3 hour shop time exstimate ended up doubling that at 6 hours. There were also two guys working on the car and a third toward the end. Had we know about all the missing things prob a 4 hr job or less. Unfortunatley the tuner wasnt available so I have my dyno tune set for Fri. Okay now here is where I have a ?. I went to leave and of coarse floored it It sounded amazing and felt a bit faster. After about 5 mins or so I noticed my baby was "burping" a little bit. It idles choppy and wanted to creep. Also the throttle was not very smooth. At times sounded like it was bogging down. Not bad just different. It def needs a tune! My vette has a vararam, 342s, borla cat backs, dyno tune (before headers), and obviusly now the OBX headers. Just wondering if anyone had this prob. My guess is o2s might need some tweeking or it just needs a tune. Anyways all said and done my grand total was $1,355 (install $600, headers w/ tax and shipping $700, o2 sensors extensions shipped $50, nuts/bolts/washers $5). I consider it a good deal and understood I was taking a risk. I would do it again if I had the chance. Ohh and I contacted OBX about missing parts and they said what you see in the pictures is what you get. Additionally the guy who knows about those headers is gone for the day Well pics will be up Fri and hopefully the HP gains!

 

DAMN !! I knew I should have kept mine and installed them !!

Looking forward to the pics ! And from what I've been reading, you'll have to install your rear O2's in the front location and have your tuner delete / turn off the rear O2's... or something like that. Ask your tuner he should know exactly what to do.

As for the missing parts, in the auction add it does state that you'll need 8 bolts/nuts and 4 clamps to complete the install.

GREAT JOB MAN !!

 

Kind of what I expected. A 6 hour install with 3 guys is a little crazy for headers from what I understand though. Even if it could have been done in 4 if you had everything there, I thought that the "easy" header installs could be done in 2-3 hours by yourself on stands in your garage (if you have an idea of what you're doing, longer for lack of experience). So 4-6 hours with 1-3 professionals going at it does not sound very good to me...

Also, they're currently $599 + 45 shipping. Add in the $55 in extras you had to get and all of a sudden these are $700 headers & X-pipe, no cats. Even if you buy cheap eBay cats, that's still another $100 plus more parts and labor for having to hack them into the system.

I'm certainly glad that you're happy with them, and thank you for stepping up to try them out for everyone that was curious about them but didn't want to cash out on them without hearing any positive feedback from members that already had them.

IMHO though, for a couple hundred less (esp considering adding cats) than what you wound up spending to get them installed (and it sounds like they require professional install if it takes 1-3 guys 4-6 hours to install them...) you could have got some LG Streets with cats & xpipe and a 6 pack of beer for yourself and a more mechanically inclined buddy to spend probably the same amount of time on them and just installed them yourself. Sure, you would have been a little dirty (or at least your buddy if you can convince him to do most of the work ), but you would have saved some cash.

Even if you don't have a buddy that will / can help, or are not willing to try on your own (I'll be installing whatever I wind up with myself, so install fee & need of friend for me is a moot point), the headers themselves are what determine how much it is going to cost you to have a professional install them. A system that can be slapped together in 2-3 hours in a professional shop with a lift by 1 guy isn't going to cost $600 (at least it shouldnt...), especially if they've used that product on that car before and know exactly what to do.

So, I'm not trying to take away from what you've got done here, you didn't spend a ton and you're happy with the results and you didn't have to get dirty or have an IOU to a friend.

I'm just trying to point out to others that may be looking into this thinking that it sounds like a great deal, looking only at that $599 buy it now price tag. Be sure you sit down and figure out the entire process, you're not done when you click buy, that's only the beginning.

And to me, it's worth a bit more to have something you can actually call someone you've seen posting in these forums to say you have a problem knowing they'll take care of you instead of giving you the phone number to somewhere in china.

Especially if that bit more turns into a bit less cause you can install them yourself without issue vs being too intimidated with a bad install to go pay a mechanic to do it!

 

Congrats the poor mans header debate is over!

No leaks? No need to cut and weld to make them fit? Ok I wont say anything bad of OBX anymore.