WGREGT Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Nope. They are not covering shipping. Good idea though. I'll ask about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Put another call into the future just now. Not to worry...all of you are still doing OK tomorrow. Staintune AU says there is yet another design for the pipes. In this one, they weld the cans on and put a link in the middle of the downpipe. The bolt mount to the RR footpeg is gone in this redesign. I spoke to the designer (who also has a 05 VTEC) and he says the problem is the heating and cooling of the stainless steel downpipe. This redesign puts some sort of joinery in the middle, and the welded-on cans helps somehow. Best news: once they get my cans, they'll get everything back out to me within a few days, a week at the most. No longer down a whole month or more! As always, updates when I know them. I'll post fotos when it gets here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Something to look forward to when my current one gives out... :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duccmann Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Find a good welder a fagetaboutit....... Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 New wrinkle: Took the 10 pound, 12 ounce box with the mufflers in it to FedEx today. I have an account with them. $242 USD to send to AU!!! UPS with my account info? $319 USD!!! I rung up the future again just now. They sorta half-expected the high cost, and are going to try to use their account with the AU postal system, if possible. More to come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Damn! Yep, finding a good welder is sounding like the option I would go with. Also, as a side note, here are the official 2002+ VFR800 mounting instructions in case you didn't already have it: http://staintune.com.au/docs/fitting_instructions/honda/Honda%20VFR800i%20Fitting.doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Did not have that. Thanks. I mentioned to them about getting it welded locally. They said it would not fix the problem long-term. I just don't want this to happen again, so I'm gonna see if I can work this out with them right now. Plus, I hear welding stainless ain't easy to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dgordon Posted May 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2014 W, sincerely hoping it all works out in the end. These are fantastic on the bike. I've got the "right angle" pipe model that has the tire clearance issue. I'd love to get it fixed properly with this redesign. Keen to see what they've done, how it looks and what kind of total $$ it may be. Appreciate your efforts in keeping us in the loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 UPDATE: I sent the caninsters to AU by Staintune's request, as they needed them to weld to the rest of the new exhaust. I had to pay for shipping. It cost $105 USD for slow shipping and took 2 weeks to get there. Then AU Customs held the pkg. up nearly another 2 weeks, even though all of my paperwork was in order, and clearly said "warranty - returned parts to country of origin." I immediately filed a BLISTERING (and I mean BLISTERING) complaint with AU Customs, calling them out on their complete ineptness to get the job done, as well as openly questioned their ability to read. Staintune says their clerk that does importing says the box should NOT have been held up, and agrees it was all AU Customs. It finally got to Staintune, and they put it in line to get done. Right now, it's still there. Maybe another month before it's actually in my hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Wow. Staintune just got in touch. It's ready to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 New pipes arrived yesterday. I was expecting 2-3 weeks from AU to SoCal. Took 3 days. Boy, was I surprised! Changes from the old VFR 800 VTEC setup: - the cans are now welded to the pipes. No more sliding them on. They asked for my cans back for this. - the part that attaches to the OEM pipe is now a separate short section (with a clamp) - the cans themselves are connected by another nice chrome clamp ($35 per on their site.) Sandy (the guy who does the work on the pipes?) says this will keep the stress and flex off the downpipe weld that caused the crack - the part of the pipes themselves that are under the seat is now blacked out....temp control? - they added the noise-reducing spuds ($35 each) as a nice gift. I did not have them before and have not heard the pipes with them installed before. Any thoughts, in vs. out on the sound? Big difference? -the additional mount point with the rubber bushing has been eliminated Oh...they also polished the cans quite nicely also. I had a few scratches they took care of. And since I knew I'd be getting them back nice & pristine, I used this downtime to buy/install a new rear hugger to help keep 'em clean for good. All told it took 7 weeks door to door, but some of that was due to back & forth trying to figure out how to send it and who would pay for it and the best/cheapest way to get it there. Also, the folks @ AU Customs cost me about 7-8 days due to their rampant ineptness. So, once they had my canisters in their hands on site it only took 3 weeks until they were back in MY hands. Which is pretty damn well and good, I think. Enough talk. Here are fotos. I'll post back once I get it installed to let you know if it went on with ease like the old design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 wow, those are purty! I have the spuds with mine, but I did not put them in. If you do, post a video clip please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Good idea. I'll do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Mount those babies and post! They didn't weld those spuds in, did they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Naaaahhh....socket-screw holding them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 In terms of sound level, Goldielocks says... Full spud too quiet Full open nice, but on a longer rides in high R's. Yeouch! Clipped spuds....Just Right. (I cut the inner section of the spud pipes off) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGREGT Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 Got it on. No issues, really. The right pipe was a bit tight where it pushes up into the half circle under the seat, but it finally went. Here are some short videos: no pipe, with spuds, without spuds. Personally, I love the sound without pipes. Oh man, what a great sound. The one with spuds I thought was a little tame for my taste, so, if I have to be legal about it (though I see many H-Ds with short straight pipes right from the cylinders on the road), the sound without the spuds seems the best harassment-free option. They all sound the best once the revs get into VTEC range, of course. no pipe.MOVwith spuds.MOVwithout spuds.MOV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Wow, those spuds really kill the sound. Thanks for post that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniCarver Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Do any of you have pictures showing the difference in the bolt staintune provides you for the lower pipe mounting point and the factory bolt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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