Sorry to hear about the QV's... I agree with Rifledriver for sure there's misinformation from people with little experience...but GENERALLY if you read enough threads and understand what you're reading there will be accurate comments. Like any forum, just because it's on the interweb doesn't mean it's right. FWIW my Fabspeeds still look great after a few years; I recommend a ceramic coating, that will help retain some heat and keep them looking nice (no corrosion).
I think a lot of people are missing an important point in the discussion. QV, Ricambi, whoever is offering an important option to very expensive new manifolds. They are fairly priced for what they are. If anyone is expecting a bargin price for a best quality part it just ain't going to happen. Be real.
I bought Tubi and never looked back. These are fantastic cars and I only use the best I can find. A new set of Tubi headers can be had for around $5000 or so.
Hmmm...I got mine June 3, 2009; my receipt only says "repaired" and doesn't actually list who did the repair. I thought it was QV but Daniel says otherwise so I should delete my original post.
Putting anything other than a factory looking header on your Ferrari in California is a really pain in the butt when it comes to passing smog.
Actually, owning an after market set of headers, and swapping them back out for original headers every 2 years is way cheaper than moving to ... Montana. The same goes for the Hyflow cats that alway throw the CEL.
So the bottom line appears to be that QV London rebuilds appear to be a "patch job". That being so, I don't have a problem with, but god dammit, let me know that. Also don't charge me over 2k for a patch job either. I patch people up all day, every day. But I let them know that, and I charge them accordingly, not 2k. Some of y'all have taken offense to this thread and the way I handled it, and that's fine. But when I pay for a service I expect certain things. I know it's not a perfect world and problems do arise. But if I can't drive my *****ng 355 15k miles without potentially significant damage, then why am I in the 355 business!!!! Maybe I should just stick to porsches.
The QV website needs updating as they don't have most of the used Mondial spares that they are advertising on there. Also the contact number is wrong, it's their old one. I guess they are busy and it's often the website that suffers in these cases.
In fact QV have used another company as well as JP. A company called "stainless exhaust company", http://www.stainless-exhaust.com/whoWeAre.htm They to have been doing exhaust work for QV for over 8 years. They are also within 25 miles of Manchester.
It is also very important to ensure the engine is running properly when new manifolds are installed. Poorly running engines for any reason be it valve guides, valve timing or other driveability concerns will quickly destroy a new set of manifolds even very high quality sets will overheat and fail if high emissions concerns are not corrected.
Well I am into the cs business, and other than a sagging roof liner and sticky interior pieces, it has been very trouble free.....but I'm not holding my breath.
Exactly. Just like I said in my first post on this thread, the QV's CAN be a cost effective fix, but not a long term solution. Getting to know Todd as a friend and a customer, I'm sure if given a better option at the time of the first header problem, he would have went with a proven long term fix. But like he said, at the time, everyone was saying it was Tubi's for 8k or QV's, and everybody here was talking up what a good fix the QV's were. And I can understand not wanting to pay 8k for an exhaust fix, that's just a little over the top. They are extremely nice, but man..... It was about that time I was planning on having an affordable header prototyped, and Fabspeed released theirs right before we started. They filled the need for an affordable long term fix In fact, I recall back then, a big, blown out of proportion thread where some people here said just to take your headers to the local muffler shop for repairs. Wonder how that worked for some of those people? Yes, true. Todd's engine had a full rebuild 2 years and 17k miles ago. It's back in the shop for a major and Scuderia Rampante gold connector kit. For your information, he has a 360 CS and a GT3 too. He's no stranger to exotics. I'm sure Todd knows full well what 355's are all about, because like I stated above, he's had a full rebuild on the engine and dealt with the header issue before. I can understand his frustration about paying for a header fix once, just to have it fail again. NOBODY wants to pay twice for something.
+1. I bought mine from you in 2009 also. Date of switch-over? When I purchased mine, I was under the impression that the QV's were also a permanent solution. I had only read positive reviews back in 09 and would have gone Fabspeed if I knew there was potential for failure. I also wanted to retain the heatshielding without going Tubi. QV's have lifetime warranty though. Is that handled through you Daniel?
Yours are QV. If yours develop a problem, just give us a call and I'll be happy to handle it directly.
You should be fine with the Fab-speeds.. I replaced my failed stock headers at 20k and had Fab-speeds (ceramic coated inside and out) installed, I put 18k miles on them in 2.5 years and they still look great with no problems... I never tracked the car, but I sure ran it hard from time to time..
Doesn't the QV rebuild claim to use better metal than OEM? Isn't it interesting that only 355 (for the most part) are well known for eating headers? You can cobble together aluminized steel pipes on a corvette or a 308 and it will work fine. There are reasons that the 355 is a different beast. I want to see if QV headers still get eaten after a 355 is properly maintained and running the SRI gold kit. I'm thinking that those nice thick juicy Fabspeed and tubi headers are just a bandaid on the problem. Mechanics can only replace so many parts. I think we will find that in the years to come the SRI gold kit will be the "missing link" to a proper running for the 355 or that the 355 has issues that can never be quite fixed.
please can you explain what this sri gold kit is also, where can you buy it , and how much does it cost? mike lister of QV personally (at my specific request ) did the major cambelt service (engine -out ) and replaced the right hand manifold on my 1994 2.7 355 berlinetta last year he seemed confident that this would be a permanent fix for the R manifold QV's service on that occassion was impeccable
We have a theory (in Stooge-ville) that the 355 engine uses enhanced richness at high rpms (i.e. redline) to aid in cooling, however, the side effect is that the exhaust system has a higher heat load once unburned HC's get into the headers and cats. The bypass helps somewhat because it vents the stream around the main cats and increases exhaust flow. Some things to consider: * the 355 engine is 3.5 liters putting out 375 or 380 HP (M5.2 or M2.7). * the engine uses no variable cam timing, but incorporates a 3rd intake valve for higher rpm function. * the redline of this engine is 8500 rpms. * the bypass opens at mid-high rpm range (or WOT) and stays open to redline. * we have measured the F/A ratio at the upper end of the rpm range and it is comparatively high (say to a 348). * deleting the bypasses MAY lead to premature cat death (there is some limited evidence of this). It's just theory, but is based on some focused observations of this engine on a dyno. But, if true, then you can look at the exhaust system as a heat management system as well; one that has to effectively deal with an over-rich condition at WOT. In that case, the stock materials are not really up to the higher temps they experience over the long term, hence eventual header failure. I would guess that the more the car is run at WOT, the more likely the failure in what essentially becomes a blast forge inside the headers. This almost necessitates a header upgrade on any car that is going to be driven aggressively.
If this is true then we would have seen all the 355C's blow up. I don't think that happened. We need to ping Rob Shermerhorn I think he ran a challenge team in the 348/55 days. The guys blowing up the headers seem to be the typical 355 hairdryer waxer polishers who worry more about putting too many miles on their cars lowering the value. I think there is something else happening. There are just too many "old" low mile waxmobiles that have blown up. I'm also not convinced WOT extra fuel in the exhaust stream is a blast furnace except it does heat up/kill cats. But we are seeing death in the headers. Sure there is cat death too but I'm not convinced that is from lots of WOT. Street guys get to WOT for a few seconds before they go to jail. We racers will be at WOT for 90% of a sprint race and melt brakes until failure. If WOT was the culprit I think we would know that long ago. On the other hand "time" does kill electrical connections. Those who have experienced the benefits of the gold kits can tell you about that. What if poor electrical connections are giving faulty mixture info to the ECU's? Combine that with "nail polish mark" belt changes and then what do you get on a "race" motor doing 100hp/liter in 1995?
Pardon my ignorance, but... It seems to me that while the heat shields prevent heat from escaping into the engine compartment, they also retain heat around the headers. Why not ventilate them underneath? Wouldn't the speed of the moving automobile tend to cool the engine compartment? (Okay, so stay out of city traffic) I've always thought of excessive heat in the exhaust a function of a poorly performing (or excessively lean) engine. Do all these cars with failing headers have good injectors and properly timed cams? Does the factory really use poor materials and welding? How can a set of headers cost $8000?
