I was one of the original guys that fell for the cheap price OBX headers.

After sanding the flanges to get them flat so they would seal, bending and pulling to get them to fit and welding up the sections after getting everything together so they wouldn't leak, they are a good product.

Would I do it again? NO

Do I recommend this product? Only if you have the patience and know how to fix any problems that arise. Some have reported no fit problems at all.

But me?

 

I have full XSPower setup and very pleased with ease of install, sound, and power gained. As stated superior customer service to go with it.

 

randy leger from ragin racing gave me a awesome price on lg long tube streets call him 337-278-8397 he has other brands also. plus a vender

 

Thanks, I appreciate it!

 

This is 100% false. Contact XSPower via their phone number...if you can find it....ask them where their stuff is manufactured and get back to me.

I was a product developer for a company that had a SEMA center hall booth for years and years and have 10X the experience with XSPower than does nearly anyone on this website. I've dealt with XSPower since the earlier part of this century, when they also fronted as SS Autochrome. XSPower is a chinese manufacturer. That's a fact. Just because it's written on the box doesn't make it true. They have now "headquartered" their company in north carolina...and they anser the phone like..."ahhh...hello?"

Go on XSPower website...you can't even find a phone number. Look up the registrar of the site, then call that number.

You think these products are going to be half price any other american competitor and be american made...cmon man...

XSpower...SSautochrome...OBX...all chinese...

Read this thread with LGmotorsports. They confirmed the pictures XSPower uses is directly off of their website. AR even steps in and discusses it. People on this site are misleading people into believing these products are american made...and it's ridiculous that it goes on.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...r-headers.html

 

To be clear, you are supporting Supermans customer service...not XSPower. They should install quite well, as they are a direct copy of AR.

 

We've beat this subject to death probably over a dozen times now and you always must come back to argue after we have done this same thing time and time and time and time over. I have debated with you on here numerous times. XSPower states these products are made in the USA. If you don't wish to believe them, then so be it.... don't buy the product, that is your choice. All I can do is help inform the public of information given to me by the manufacturer. I have been told since day one and never told otherwise that they are made in the states and have had turn around times on products to make me know it didn't come from overseas. If you want to get into ANOTHER debate on this AGAIN, feel free to go ahead but I have made my point. If you don't believe they are made here, then that is fine, you are entitled to your opinion. I relay information always assured to me is true from the manufacturer. You can believe it or you can not, that is up to you. All I know is that it is a fantastic product with hundreds of happy customers right here on the forum. For whatever reason you always feel the need to come in and try to drag this product down. If you don't like it or don't believe it, that is fine. This is america and you are entitled to your opinion.

 

 

Good to see you around! I still owe you one for helping me out with my RFA electrical issue !

 

You don't owe me anything Jon....just saying thanks was enough for me.

 

If you're looking for USA made check out Stainless Works. Dynatech is also another good choice and made in IN.

We offer both. Let me know if we can set you up.

 

http://www.xs-power.com/contact.html

In what way? If it had been received and warehoused then next day would be easy. We've had 2 or 3 day turnarounds on stuff air shipped from Korea.

At the end of the day, they are an AR copy. The quality is very good and they are soldily made.

It makes me laugh every time the US vs China built arguement comes up. You'll be hard pressed to even find sources for even 1/2 the products you purchase that aren't made outside the USA. And, for many products that are made in the USA, you should take a look at the content because it certainly wasn't all made in the USA.

The only thing that should matter - You have to decide if you will support AR who designed the product or XS who copied it.

As for the OBX. Are they a copy of another header? I've yet to see the comparism if they are.

 

The facts are, much of the stainless in this country isn't made in this country anymore. It's more expensive to buy mild steel, than certain stainless comparables due to the fact they export from china at such a lesser cost.

Sure, no car in this country is entirely american, no product is entirely american. The fact is though, stating "American Made" or "Made in the USA", is implying you, at minimum are assembling the product here, fabricating the product here...i.e. employing american workers to DO something in the manufacturing process. This isn't the case.

XSPower/SSautochrome imports to this country via Bulk Enterprises Inc out of Hong Kong. You can search bill of ladings online...it always lists exhaust catbacks, headers, etc. This is stupid simple.

An try and contact them...see what happens.

Superman...are you serious with this turn around time business? They import THOUSANDS of exhausts for all applications. Do they store them here...yeah! Will they add an O2 bung here...sure...I imagine they figured that out somehow. If you're referring to design changes...your damn right it's quick. The chinese aren't playing games here...they're a manufacturing MECCA at this point. They didn't grow to this size by sucking at it.

I was at SEMA last year when there was an incident on the floor at Green Filter. This group of chinese came up grabbing brochures, asking for specs. The one owner got very hostile and grabbed them back. He went on to explain how much worse his business has been targeted. They want sizes, specs, prices, etc. Next week...there's green filters from china. They aren't slow...they will steal your stuff and put in a box with the same name...they've done it...they do it all the time.

 

You can search bill of ladings...here's ssautochrome (xspower) bill of ladings....straight from overseas. Also, here are links of the manufacturers he is buying from (ssauto)

Look at ssautochrome contact page

http://www.ssautochrome.com/level.itml/icOid/3

Identical to XSPower contact page

http://www.xs-power.com/contact.html

SSauto and XSPower are same...like I've said 100 times

SSauto import bill of lading from Korea

http://www.importgenius.com/importers/ssautochrome-inc

imported from the people below (notice the products descriptions shown)

http://motoria.en.ec21.com/Exhaust_h...1_3241399.html

Then you see him change import names often

See:

M S SSautochrome to Beaver Dam rd...notice the map above listing SSauto as an importer from the following countries as well.

http://www.importgenius.com/importer...autochrome-inc

Purchased from Bulk Enterprises in Taiwan...notice the products on their page.

http://www.ttnet.net/show_html.jsp/p...mypl6zc/type1/


Facts about the owner Richard Lane

Owns/Owned: Richard G Lane (listed as a performance shop)
XS Power
Ss autochrome
SSautochrome
M S SSautochrome
Boost Brothers

All the above registered to 817 Beaver Dam Rd CreedMoor, NC

About 817 Beaver Dam:

Zoned as a Floro Culture FARM. Why...because that's all you can own there. The lake beside his property is Raleigh, NC drinking water. You can't do ANYTHING there.

Chamber of Commerce shows SSautochrome as a PO Box...nothing more. His prior business address was a house at 5017 Swisswood Dr Raleigh, NC.

There is no xspower...ssautochrome manufacturer. You are buying product directly from overseas...boxed and mislabeled intentionally by Richard Lane. The shifty business names usually points to one thing...tax evasion.

 

wow, guess I got lucky. I've used OBX on other cars (imports, where its much more common.. even then apprehensively) and both the import and on the C5 I ended up being fine. Ironically, XSPower was a largely frowned upon name in the import world, too, whereas here it's highly regarded. In fact it was XS or AR headers that were on the fastest bolt-on C5. go figure.

I had zero issues with my OBX setup. The only "issues" I can say I had was the AIR tube required bending some and there's an area where the headers themselves bolt up under the car. that didnt start to line up, but it also didnt appear necessary unless you relied on the clamps and never welded it, which would be insane in my opinion, so I didnt bother.

Had them on there 2 or 3 years now I believe without a problem or signs of corrosion.

If you look @ the dynos of other headers, yes, these are slightly inferior. To the tune of ~10whp at the biggest differences in the graphs, but for most vendors they're dead on the same. Bang for buck, I wasnt going to drop another $700 for 10whp. No, these arent employing as many US people other than people distributing them, but if the US shops werent charging $1500+ for pipes we could talk. I've heard the "but the R&D!" yea, sorry. Watched too many shops now weld their own turbo manifolds, make their own exhausts with pipe benders, and people welding up their own velocity stacks to swallow that one. Hooker headers on my SBC were 5x's cheaper..

If it gets oil on it, it's American. Exhausts I'll shop around on.

 

I'm glad this topic is finally being discussed in detail. It's just been glossed over....during that last 10 years......

 

hahah, well at least ive put in MY two cents. ill let the rest be the search button.

 

I don't disagree with most of your statement really. This quoted part is what I want to address.

Me personally...if I'm building a budget car...I don't mind budget parts. I could build a 400whp civic for 2000.00 using knockoff parts...and 400whp in a Civic...tell a 600whp vette to watch out unless we're breaking 150mph. Point is...there is a decision point where...is the cost really something you want to spend. With my vette...I have a little more pride in it...and I simply can't put chinese junk on my car.

To your statement above...my avatar beside me might indicate what much of my car building life involved....fabrication. TIG fab of various kinds...one off turbo setups, one off headers, intake mani's, etc. From a professional perspective...I could look at a properly built header, vs an xspower product, and go on for an hour why it's garbage. To the layperson...they won't see that.

Point is, to properly construct a header, there are a lot of costs. If you're cnc bending, then the fact is you have 100's of hours in prototyping to get to that point...costs you must recoup 1 set of headers at a time. If you're building from cut pieces using jigs, fitment, cutting, more welding...it adds time and requires more skilled "labor". Very insignificant, almost invisible to the naked eye flaws cost you power in n/a headers. Add in the fact, that material is expensive, gas adds cost to shipping in of materials and shipping out product...don't think AR is making a killing on these headers at those costs...they sure as hell aren't. If they are, then it took them years to do so.

Comparison to some cheap hookers...well, it really isn't apples to apples. The SBC world's customer base is MASSIVE. Headers designed for sbc's fit 40, 50 years worth of stuff. Sure you can sell cheap...you're doing massive volume. Not to mention...hooker ain't exactly high quality.

Final point is...as a fabricator myself of many years, there's nothing easy about it. Its hard to make a good product. I've put years of study into my collector/header design theory, my fit and finish, my TIG quality, etc. My material costs are high, argon goes up and up, etc. If AR, LG and whoever could be selling it cheaper...they would be. This is business in America...corporate taxes are high, employees are costly, overhead is high....everything sucks. Of course the chinese are beating our asses...we're selling ourselves to them. Why aren't we taxing all this crap coming in more heavily? We import everything and don't export hardly a thing. Countries are getting rich off of the backs of american consumers looking to save money in tough times.

I'm not here to hate on Superman...I appreciate the guy trying to make a living. I don't like beat *** products who front something that COSTS money to truly claim though...made in america. To be made in america....costs money these days. Don't peddle chinese crap and take away one of the few things LG or AR really have on their side vs the chinese knockoff market...the "made in america" label.

 

Im bumping this b/c Im considering the XS. Superman, Im sure you are tired of this discussion and I cant blame you. But these are legitimate points and in all fairness to potential customers, I believe they need to be addressed. Thanks!