Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
I'm not sure I fully understand what's going on here.
Did you actually BUY four different Z Story back boxes in order to test them and choose which one you want to stick with?
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Adventures with Zstory Race Sport system and mufflers
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I'm not sure I fully understand what's going on here.
Did you actually BUY four different Z Story back boxes in order to test them and choose which one you want to stick with?
ha ha, wine tasting in a boilersuit
Great stuff Ali
Thanks dude! If you look closely enough at the intros, except for the Turbo (when I was feeling like hammered poo) there are quite a few quick / hidden silly faces / poses. On the last one I tried to do a moon walk but it looks a little odd
Good and important question (btw it’s 3 zstorys, one Thrush).
Here’s the thing, as I mentioned here or somewhere else, I’ve got sensitive ears to silly levels. I originally bought the Classic but found it too loud for long driving and on the track. I bought the Thrush (horrid name for a car part!) but didn't like the performance drop off. I then asked Sean about his other mufflers and if there was a better option for me.
So he sent me the Track (now Street) to try out, which at the time didn’t have a good enough fit for me to drive down the road with and not ground it out. I know others pointed this out to him too, so he changed the design and sent me the latest version.
You may have spotted on another thread that he offered to send me the JDM a long time ago - I don’t remember the topic of the conversation myself now. But at the time (as you will see from my other thread in lockdown) my car was very unhappy, so I never got around to it until now. Sadly she’s unhappy again with a fuelling issues - will it ever end!!?
Having 4 mufflers in the garage, I was keen to have some back to back testing of my own, but I thought it may help others to see the difference too. Oh and the fact that my kids want to have YouTube channels and I’m learning about it to be able to help them. So I’m experimenting with branding my channel, banners, tags, increasing clicks etc. A lot more to it than I imagined! Still, all good fun - I get to experiment and drive about, my two favourite pass times.
Once I decide which one(s) I want to keep/ pay for, the others will get sold on and the money incl. postage costs get returned to Sean. I’m not sure Sean will want to do this again as, being frank, I’ve been a bit of a pain to him!
I’d gladly do the same with a Spirit Garage or other company if they send me theirs! I’m not afraid of taking my car to bits to test / see the difference different parts make. But I don’t think I have enough subscribers or views to get them to be as patient with me! My 6 subscribers and I aren’t taking YouTube by storm anytime soon.
I have the Zstory JDM and I love it. Great sound and looks the part
Thanks for your reviews Ali - great viewing and I love the enthusiasm!
Thanks chap - appreciate the kind words.
I would love to do it all again with a different manifold, but I only have the MSA one without a resonator and being slip / interference fit pipes, they don’t fit Sean’s resonator fittings. I’ll have to think about this one again, once I’ve sorted out the other issues.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Maybe I'm getting confused, as there now appear to be 4 ZStory videos, and 1 Thrush?
Certainly an unusual arrangement, and it appears to blur the lines between impartial customer review and what's known in the media world as 'advertorial'.
The arrangements between yourself and your supplier(s) are your own business of course, but - as a civilian viewing your videos and hearing the opinions you offer - I want to know what's *real* and what's not. All the more so in an environment where positive reviews have been demanded as a condition of claim resolution.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Fairly unlikely, considering the costs involved.
Luckily you found a supplier who was willing to send you parts gratis, with no knowledge that you would be making YouTube 'test' videos about them. It is - I'm sure all would say - extraordinarily generous.
Thanks for pointing it out, probably my fault with the title, I'll re-word it to be clearer - the first is a Zstory Race / Sport system - but with a Thursh muffler on it.
Again, a fair and important comment about impartiality.
The good news is, I'm no media person or journalist with a large following - just a hack with a tiny garage, a dodgy iPhone screen mount and a way bigger bent nose than I remember. I was trying to be balanced / impartial by pointing out the fit on the JDM not being 100% right for my car or pointing out that the Classic has more drone than the others? Or possibly that didn't come out strongly enough. The first Sean knew about my videos was when the first three went live and I sent him the link to this thread on a PM. I did that on purpose so that he didn't have an opportunity to tell me what he did or didn't like. Anyway, the point of the whole thing was that I wanted to do a proper back to back test with what I had in my garage - which, other Z owners wondering the same questions as I have been, would find interesting / informative - especially as I couldn't find anything like it on the internet for a Z. There is one by Flowmaster, but it's not on a Z and it's by themselves as an "Infomercial".I genuinely like the sound of all 4 mufflers on that manifold / resonator setup- so I guess it's natural that I would be positive about them - for example, I really like the baffle shaking muscle car sound of the Thrush and would have kept it if it didn't kill the "fun" bit at the very top, but ultimately the JDM works best for my needs (despite the fit mentioned above).
Not quite Alan, as I mentioned above, I'm paying him back in due course for the full costs. But as you say, Sean has indeed been a gent in indulging me and letting me have them to try out before I buy.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
'Back' doing some heavy lifting there, I think.
I'm still confused about the total number of videos. I see FOUR in the first post from Saturday, and then another added yesterday in post #18 of this thread. Five videos. Is the one added yesterday the same as the fourth one from the first post? I thought it was new?
Ali's just added the new one into his opening post too - there was a 'be patient' note there originally.
Alan, as you know, I always greatly value you, your comments, your knowledge and logical thought process; even if I don't always agree with your sometimes tough love delivery
.Your perception is your reality and I respect that - if you see it that way, then others will too. It's never pleasant to have one's integrity brought into question by someone you hold in such high regard, but equally I can completely and dispassionately see it from your perspective.
Regardless, my sincere hope is that the clips will help those trying to second guess what the mufflers sound like, as I did in the past before blindly buying the Turbo and Classic mufflers. I would have LOVED to have had something like a back to back review to know how they sounded v other options and their differences / fit with the car. If nothing else, I hope my clowning about is entertaining viewing - I had a lot of fun doing it.
People can use their own ears and judge for themselves by listening to different mufflers on the same L6 engine, the same roads and with the same driving style. If in some way this is a disservice to the community or the scene, then I'm open to all feedback on PM.
Edit: @Mr Tenno has already responded to the point I forgot to reply to. I can see why I caused confusion there Alan, my apologies.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Thanks for clarifying that. I didn't see an 'Edit' note on the first post, hence my confusion.
Being the last dry evening for a week on the forecast, I just went out to fix my fuelling issue and then went for the obligatory 1 hour test drive. Now I'm seriously considering keeping the Street instead. 
I had written it off as too quiet for my liking but strangely after spending longer with it, it's growing on me. I was going to swap back to the JDM for Goodwood but I prefer the fit and it doesn't leave anything on the table on tone (just dBs). With the carbs working properly again, you get decent pops and crackles at around 4K down to 3K on the overrun. The best way to describe this one is that it's like the Classic with the volume down to 2 on the cruise and 7 on blasting. The only problem is, I now hear the gearbox, diff and anything else that cares to rattle, squeek or whine!
Hmmmm decisions decisions. It's a bit like deciding which high heels to wear to the party! I'm sure we've all been there, no?
Now I'm seriously considering keeping the Street instead. I had written it off as too quiet for my liking but strangely after spending longer with it, it's growing on me. I was going to swap back to the JDM for Goodwood but I prefer the fit and it doesn't leave anything on the table on tone (just dBs). With the carbs working properly again, you get decent pops and crackles at around 4K down to 3K on the overrun. The best way to describe this one is that it's like the Classic with the volume down to 2 on the cruise and 7 on blasting. The only problem is, I now hear the gearbox, diff and anything else that cares to rattle, squeek or whine!
Hmmmm decisions decisions. It's a bit like deciding which high heels to wear to the party! I'm sure we've all been there, no?
Alphabettispaghetti
Club Member
It’s easy mr K. If your exhaust has two pipes feeding the silencer, go for the one with two outlets.
If it’s one pipe, do the right thing!
If it’s one pipe, do the right thing!
I hear you but I'm also seduced by the JDM's sound - it's like the impossibly high heels you can't walk properly in but love the look of. You know what I'm talking about!
But tonight, the sensible shoes have my heart. Oh and the elderly neighbours' too!
Alphabettispaghetti
Club Member
I hear you but I'm also seduced by the sound - it's like the impossibly high heels you can't walk properly in but love the look of. You know what I'm talking about!
But tonight, the sensible shoes have my heart. Oh and the elderly neighbours' too!
you know why you can’t walk in them? Because you shouldn’t be wearing them!!
Bazzateer
Club Member
Yep, and I have the photo to prove it.
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