nzskater

Yeah was tongue in cheek. I get that Akrapovic have a great reputation both with consumers and factories, but I'd expect that by aligning with the factories they would be somewhat constrained with how far they can go in terms of design. I'd personally rather something hand built and unique, and catless with helmholtz tubes. Sure the R&D isn't there, but I'm yet to see any negative press associated with his products, quite the opposite.

MoeMonney

I remember seeing a similar R&D promotional video for IPE Exhausts and Tubi. There are other high quality manufacturers out there also. Akra is great though.

Vital Signs

There is only one problem with Chris (unobtainium)...he doesn't have a 997.2 jig. I've been after him for two years to build me an exhaust. I'm not in a spot to ship my car across the country for him to use as a base to fabricate a 997.2 base to make all future exhausts from. If I can't get one this year then I will buy an EP.

atcbi5

How much more R/D would you need? Only advantage is that it’s lighter. Not much tubing length to play with, velocity, volume etc. don’t think that much money is going to make that much difference. Overpriced for sure.

ShatterPoints

8k?? that is insane, a perfect example of how to price yourself out of a market. Just wow....

Tmistry

Maybe I'm out of touch, but the pricing doesn't seem too bad for a titanium system.

ShatterPoints

You can buy 20kg of 1.2mm titanium for ~$600.... 2 feet of 3" 1mm titanium tubing is $90 give or take..... NOwhere close to 8k even for labor and additional parts.

Rob32Ford

In addition to the material cost, they do need to amortize their tooling and all engineering costs into the piece price. Given that they are a low volume supplier, this certainly effects the piece price. However, exhaust system engineering is not rocket science - need to do some flow modelling, play around with baffles and various tuning elements to achieve your sound and backpressure targets.

Pretty basic stuff. I stand by my estimate of $1000 fully accounted cost.

Tmistry

Don't disagree the cost is high. The actual raw material is only part of the equation and I assume fabrication cost is higher than steel. Regardless, it seemed reasonably in line based on the optional cost I've seen for ordering titanium exhaust systems from other brands. For example, on the Ford GT, the optional titanium exhaust is $15,000. Same for the GT350-R. Titanium lug nuts are 5X the cost of steel. I assume there's big profit for light weighting. Again, no disagreement, it's $$$. id love to see the cost come down. Are there other titanium exhaust systems on the market for less?

MexicoBlueTurboS

There are always extras in the auto business.

SteveS83

The price is what it is. If you can afford it and it tickles your ears, go for it. For me the EP1 setup wasn't exactly cheap, but my ears smiled so that's what mattered.

Simple law of economics - supply and demand drives prices...