HKS Hiper broke..38K miles

[fkmp5]

oh no.. i wish i would have seen this thread a few days ago

i thought i was hearing an exhaust leak on my HKS too.. i inspected the connection at the axle before and didn't see anything.. now that Mike you have pointed this out, I went out to check mine as well.. and guess what. see pic.

car has 18K miles on it.. exhaust has 16K - 17K on it.. recently upgraded the front motor mount (awr) [ rear one will be installed soon ] .. still have the stock exhaust mounts..

looks like i'm off to get this thing welded (unfortunately for me, i don't have a mig in my collection, or the skills to use one.. hahaha)

 

[ChopstickHero]

damn.... that's broken clean off. could it be that because of the weight of the exhaust and the way it is mounted, and because of the rubber exhaust bushings, it causes excess movement and swaying?

i think that would be the cause of the stress against the hangars. firmer bushings or even using small clamps to clamp down the rubber exhaust bushings would decrease some movement and stress against the hangars.

 

[Mike R]

Well, I guess it's about time to send HKS an email....

Chopstick, it shouldn't move at all, I've had AWR motor mounts which keep everything from moving on for a looong time. Maybe some harder bushings further up on the exhaust might have held it up, but I don't think it would have helped much. If harder bushings were put on the muffer then it would have broken sooner.

Notice in my pics the crack right at the reinforcement on the caninster...

If I do fix the HKS I might not bother with that hanger and get the kartboy poly hangers for the other points.

 

[1FASTMP5]

yep, those pic's look exactly like my hks when it broke.

 

[ChopstickHero]

damn... i guess mine will break eventually too... boooooo

edit: i wonder what HKS USA has to say about this. Mike R, are you going to email them?

 

[fkmp5]

yes Mike let me know if you email then and if you want me to email someone too.. (anyone have a contact email address for HKS USA?)

mine is just about a year old now..

 

[ChopstickHero]

<LI>By phone (310) 491 3300
M thru F 8am-5pm PST


<LI>By mail HKS USA
13401 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90061


<LI>By FAQ www.hksusa.com/faq

can't find an email though.....

also found this sample exhaust warranty question in the FAQ

Q: I bought the drager exhaust for my supra three years ago and noticed only a day ago that the exhaust piping was starting to rust through. Are these mufflers covered under your four year warranty? I dont think that I have the receipt but I would have to look around for it. Any help with this question would be appreciated. Thanks!
<LI>
A: Only the full stainless versions are covered under the 4 year warranty. The Drager, which is stainless muffler with aluminized piping) is covered under the 1 year warranty. We havent seen many of the non-full stainless systems have issues, unless there was scrapping or impacts onto the piping. Regardless, If you like, you may still contact the dealer it was purchased through to have it address. From there, the dealer will contact thier rep here at HKS USA and see if there is something we may do to assist you in this situation.

 

[Mike R]

I already talked to the distributor I bought it from...No warranty. I still want to call HKS and let them know their product needs some work and that it has broken on most peoples cars in a year.

 

[Replica]

Wow, I almost considered an HKS even though I hate axlebacks. But not only does it have the fact that it's overpriced working against it, it breaks too. Sigh....

 

[Speedplease]

Is this exhaust not stainless? Because if its not then its no big surprise that it broke. Maybe it broke earlier than it should have but non stainless exhaust systems are not guranteed for life. Where as stainless systems usually have a limited lifetime warranty. I personally would never buy anything but fully stainless.

 

[fkmp5]

just fyi: i took mine off the car today and then took it to a muffler shop.. they welded it up for $25..

 

[ChopstickHero]

just fyi: i took mine off the car today and then took it to a muffler shop.. they welded it up for $25..

good job, hope it's strong enough

 

[fkmp5]

me too.. the guy told me he couldn't guarantee it would last forever.. it'll do in the meanwhile, and i'll switch to a cat-back if it becomes a problem down the road..

 

[Mike R]

I have to diagree about the SS exhaust. I've had plenty of exhausts that were not SS. In fact ALL of my exhausts have been aluminized steel. Not one of them have broken off.

Frank, that's good. I'm going to fix mine sometime...

Almost tempting to get a cat back done using the HKS muffler-welding the cat back to the muffler, not the HKS pipe. Nah, gonna leave it STOCK....

 

[fkmp5]

yes it is very tempting for the cat back.. in fact, i love the HKS (the way it sounds, the way it looks and the way it sits) so if it cracks there again, i'll probably have a custom cat-back made using the HKS canister..

[threadjack]mike, i don't know if you saw or are interested but: http://www2.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71371[/threadjack]

 

[ChopstickHero]

there's another thread where the guy's thermal exhaust broke. isn't that SS?

i have had my vibrant axle back for almost 3 years and there are no signs of rust, cracks or leaks. so SS isn't always necessary, especially when cost is involved.

 

[Mike R]

Thank for the invite, I'm not much for draggin' anymore and I think there is a going away party for one of my friends that night..

 

[Mike R]

OK, just got off the phone with HKS. They said they haven't had any commments or warranty claims about this. So we need to call and comment on this issue so they fix the problem. Of course he did mention that it is less expensive and less of a hassle to just get it fixed locally. Although, for around $300+ for an axleback...I'd go through the hassle. (nevermind the fact that I just welded mine up this morning )


So start complaining to them! I did!

FYI: The warranty is 1yr from date of purchase.

 

[ChopstickHero]

OK, just got off the phone with HKS. They said they haven't had any commments or warranty claims about this. So we need to call and comment on this issue so they fix the problem. Of course he did mention that it is less expensive and less of a hassle to just get it fixed locally. Although, for around $300+ for an axleback...I'd go through the hassle. (nevermind the fact that I just welded mine up this morning )


So start complaining to them! I did!

FYI: The warranty is 1yr from date of purchase.

nice, so does HKS do the warranty directly? or does the store at which you bought it from do the warranty? and do they just fix it (like you would at a shop) or do they give you a brand new exhaust?

 

[Mike R]

They said to contact the place you purchased it from. I'd still call them directly to comment on it. They would probably just fix it.