An interesting question, and not an unrealistic one IMHO. I know of a couple, and suspect a couple others... but it'd be great if the manufacturers would let us know themselves.

 

Just ask to show production pics.. Simple...
Honestly , after you add up the parts, labor, and time spent making one offs its not that profitable... I see others resell exhausts making more money then those who have a week of work into it... but thats just me...

 

Not so easy..... Most are finished with nickel or other coatings..

 

Well you either make them or you don't right? Just from looking at pics/welds I know who makes them in house and who doesn't.. I don't need to know lol

 

HKS is made over seas and is light years ahead in quality and fit.. But back to the point at hand.... If a exhaust is sent to a member and the part is all shiny and buffed or coated they will not see the different materials as the coating or polishing will hide the workmanship.. Oh and the real pretty fused (no filler metal used) welded pipe will crack over many heat cycles, but a pro like yourself knows this already..

 

HKS is Japanese ... and to me thats high end quality... probably as good if not better then the European products...
as far as the other comment I agree..

 

You have come a long way.. https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...cs-inside.html

 

Big time!

Kudos to you sir!

brings up one of my favorite quotes, from one of my favorite people...

"You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

- S. Jobs

 

Ugh... That's great , but if only it were that easy , some time there's trade offs , do what you love but it may not make you any money... Or not as much as you would like ...

Or in my situation , I bank some good coin, but I absolutely hate what I do , but ... And yes sometimes wonder if it's worth the trade off ...

If one could can do something they love and make good money doing then that's truly a blessing.

 

If your love is building a computer business out of your garage into a world leader, making the Macintosh, creating a giant out of fledgling Pixar, then creating ipod, iphone, and ipad...all before age 56 ...then you may make a few bucks along the way.

In my book Steve Jobs was the best Entreprenuer ever, his innovations were unparelleled and the way he thought about things was unreal, one of my favorite American success stories...he'll be missed!

 

Sunir, Amen to that ..

 

wow good to know....I will test mine everytime now...

 

+1 agree totally.

 

Thats the thing though...it IS that easy.

You just have to truly LOVE what you do. Obviously, most of us will never truly find that special thing, but we have to appreciate what we have and be cognizant of the continuum that exists between good for US and good for the BANKROLL.

I've been through it myself - I used to hate practicing medicine, until I was able to scale back my practice to allow for the things in my life that i truly love doing (entrepreneurship).

I've poured tons of time and money into my various side projects over the years and really love that I'm able to do so. the prospect of actually turning a profit one of these days is the icing on top.

 

now imagine we weld V band flanges ( male and female) and mate them together with a clamp... we know they warp when welded but the trick is know how to do it so it seals 100%... Same goes with SS flanges...
.5" flange will not warp to the point that it will cause a leak just because your welding a 3" pipe to it on the other side... and if it does you even it out on a lathe/cnc...