I know I don't have too much credibility around here as I do not post daily, and mostly just hang out in the autocrossing section. But my deal with Top Speed Performance just left such a bad taste in my mouth.
I called Top Speed with interest in their 3 inch aluminum exhaust. I asked some questions about the exhaust and explained to them I was using it for my autocross car, etc. I made one request when I was talking to them, and that was that I wanted it to be made to accept a rather large titanium tip, and they said that wouldn't be a problem, but they requested that I send the tip to them to make sure the fitment is correct. I immediately placed an order for it on February 9, 2012. At the same time, I ordered the tip and had it shipped to their shop. I don't have an exact date on when my tip actually arrived to them, but I had confirmation probably around 2 weeks later that it showed up. On went the waiting. After about a month I was starting to get a little curious on the status of the order. But, as many people have experienced, it is really difficult to get a hold of them. Usually it took a couple tries, sometime through email, phone, or through their ticket system on their website, but eventually I might have been able to get a reply, but it seemed infinitely harder once the payment went through. After about 3 months, I began to get worried. I could barely get a hold of them. I couldn't get a reply, and thought my $780 was in the toilet. Finally, on June 29th, it showed up, after 4 months and 22 days since the order was placed. That chapter was now complete.
So I threw the exhaust on that day. I had some fitment issues, and the exhaust needed some tweeking constantly to keep it from rattling against the subframe. It was understandable, as the car was not designed for an exhaust of this size. I simply dealt with it. I did think the hanger wires could have been thicker to fit more snugly in the exhaust hangers, but it wasn't a big deal for me. After a couple months of having the system on, I noticed something. I noticed the front pipe with the first muffler was sagging a little bit. I inspected it and noticed that the walls on the end of the muffler were caving in as it cannot support the weight of the muffler with the front and mid hangers being so far apart from each other. So I removed front section and inspected it closer and noticed that the muffler and the packing was already blown out.
On November 1, I sent them an email telling them about the issues with the front pipe and muffler, and about the fitment and hanger issues I experienced. The first email contained no requests or demands, and was mainly for their information. A couple days later, I had a reply, requesting pictures. So I got the car back up on the rack and took some pictures. While taking them, I noticed some exhaust soot leaking out from the ends of the front muffler. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the welds on the muffler were cracking. I took some pictures and emailed them to them (photos available
here). Then proceeded to install my stock exhaust back on. They replied asking if I hit something with the exhaust after noticing that there were scratches on the muffler case. I immediately replied that the scratches were likely from driving through grass and purely aesthetic and that the exhaust has never contacted anything solid and the entire system is free of any dents. That last email was the last I have ever heard from them. A few weeks later, after getting no reply, I sent out another email requesting action. A rather simple request. I asked them if they could send me a replacement pipe, just the front section, and this time with no muffler. Just a straight pipe, with V-band flanges on the ends. I sent that email on November 30th. No reply.
I'm done with these guys. They seem quick to get your money, but after that, you can't seem to expect much. I just recently had a local fab shop to repair my bad pipe. I really wish I just had them do the entire thing in the first place, but I wanted to give my support to a sponsored vendor for the Focus community. My mistake, I guess.
02-22-2013, 09:33 PM
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