Review of gtbguy:

I started talking to gtbguy (Jack) probably 3 months ago when I started seriously considering a catback exhaust. I pm'd him several times with questions and he was quick to respond with an answer. Whether you pm him on the board or email him expect an answer soon. He kept me up to date on my exhaust throughout the whole process. He sent me the tracking # as well. Jack told me how long I could expect it to take and he was correct to within a couple of days. No false promises here.

And after I had received it he checked up on me to see how I liked it. Of course I was 100% pleased with the Brullen catback. Gtbguy is not one of these "fly-by-night" type of vendors. You can prove it to yourself by sending him a pm or an email.

I've picked up on some smart a@# attitudes from some vendors on this board. You won't experience that from Jack. He was one of the most curteous people I've ever dealt with. I will definitely buy from him again. (Can't wait for the header :D ).

Aspen_2.5RS

I agree Jack is a nice guy and always willing to help.

I got a Brullen 3" cat back for a turbo MY00 RS from him.

Few things I noted with it that different from his explanation of it on the board.

1. He said the piping was all 3" Inside Diameter. It is 3" Outside Diameter. Not to big of a thing, but incorrect advertising.

2. He said that it had high temp coating. It is high temp paint, which is high temp, but is kind of disceptive. Normally you think of a High Temp Coating is a coating like HTC, Jet Hot, or one of the ceramic flame spray coatings. It was also chipping and falling off and will have to be redone.

3. The tips appear to be bent (not parrallel with each other)but I don't have the midpipe yet to put it on and check on the car, but they are not parallel with the canister bottom. (one hangs low). This can be straightened with a rubber hammer.

The muffler is a heavy 21-22 lb. that is not to be confused with a quality product. A little heavier than I like.

Quality is average for mufflers I have seen or installed. Lots of weld splatter at the hanger welds and forward end of can. All this could have been cleaned off before painting in a min. or two.

True this is just an exhaust but for the retail price and claims of being a high-end system I would expect a little more on the craftsmanship and end appearance. I am sure it will work and sound great.

Jack did say I could return it for free, but I at least want to try it out and see how it sounds. It has a lifetime warrantee anyway.

ok back to the vendor review,

Jack has always been very prompt to return messages and he even set up a time to call me back to talk over the issues. He always stays calm and professional. He even is going to try to get me some more paint from Brullen to refinish the areas that the paint is falling and scratched off.

All and all, Jack is a good vendor but needs to work on stating the facts of the product with more care.

Just for everyone's info david2z4 's system is the first RS turbo cat-back system, hence you can expect some differences than vs. the WRX cat-backs or even the turbo backs. I should take some more pictures of underneath of a Brullen 2.25" cat-back on a Legacy L as a reference of more regularly produced systems.

Please also keep in mind that david2z4's system has been transferred twice ie: From Brullen -> me -> david2z4, so it's possible for some sorts of minute changes to occur due to shipping.

As for the piping diameter, I was given this info from the manufacturer, so hence just providing info I was given.

As for the hi-temp paint, here's the original quote from the original post I made :

IMHO, the black heat coating would be better left on....

Hi-temp paint is a form of heat coating, but I can understand your interpretation as well.

But hey, if there's any problems with the system due to the hi-temp paint etc and causes fractures/cracks due to corrosion, you're covered under the warranty.

In regards to the weight of the system, hi gauge T304 stainless is used for it's anti-corrosion properties, the weight may be heavier, but if you look at the flanges as well as the tips, they are beefy. The total weight of the RS-T cat-back is about 35lbs (for the quite&med acoustic set-ups), and for the loud set-ups they are 27lbs (less depending on style of tips).

As for the N/A systems, these weigh in less, due to the fact there's less metal compared to a turbo system. For single tip (quiet & med acoustic set-ups) it's approximately 30lbs, for dual tips approximately 33lbs. All the way to the loud set-up which is the lightest weight of 22-26lbs or so. (again depending on style of tips)


I hope this helps address some of the concerns.

This Guy ROCKS!!!! He has been more than prompt and more than understanding on certain issues and is MORE than welcome to sell me anything any day!!! :D I think he should offer more products! IE, Spoilers, 22B replica products, etc. etc.

I was in the recent group buy for slotted/x-drilled Euroroters and also picked up a set of the KVR pads GTBGUY had left over from a previous buy.

Once everybody *finally* sent GTBGUY his money (we had a few dropouts and late payers as usual) things proceeded very quickly.

I think it was about a month or so processing/shipping time which is very good for a group buy. I've seen other ones here and elsewhere that people were still waiting 6 months for a product.

His packaging was excellent (contents very secure and protected even though the outer box took a beating in transit).

I had a question about the rotor (regarding slots facing a certain way) and he answered my PM and post within about 10 minutes saying things should be ok, then confirmed it a little bit later.

Excellent service, and I would not hesitate to buy from him again.


-Marc

remarcable - thanks for the props :) I'm here to help out the Subaru community :)

I've bought an intake from GTBGUY, and i am very very happy with the performance that it gives to my ride. And GTBGUY has a very good service. He took care of everything so i don't need to worry. He follows the order from beginning to end, not like the some vendors that recieve your money and ship things slow.

In my case, the JC sports company has sent me the MAF intake in the first place, but i have a MY01 so i was a bit angry with this, but then i talk to GTBGUY and he promises to fix this mess for me, and he has promises me that i will recieve my MY01 intake within 3 days right after the phone call. So, i really do recieve the right intake for my car on the second day. i can't even believe that he can clear all this in such a speed.....hehe....thanx man GTBGUY.

Also, later on the DHL company has mixed up on the custom tax on the intake, coz i live in Canada so there's a custom fee whenever parts are sent from the state. So, i contact GTBGUY again and ask him wut should i do, coz the DHL is asking me to pay another amount for the custom fee thing, so GTBGUY has also fix up all the in a lighting speed. So i don't need to worry about it anymore. Comparing to some company or vendors, GTBGUY really has two thumbs up for his speed and responsibility in service. Which i really do recommend u guys to buy stuff from him, if any product that he can get for u, get it from him, cos he also has a very good price. Thus, it can save u a lot of headache.

WAY TO GO GTBGUY!!!:lol: :lol:

YOU DA MAN!!!

GTBGUY kiks some serious butt!!!!

One of the best guys I delt with - EVER!!!

We had a complication when i was buying rotors from him and he was MORE then willing to work with me to solve the situation. He went even farther for my friend whos payment to him got misplaced all together.

He is a GREAT guy to deal with! Could not be asking for better.

Eugene

I was in GTBGUY G/B for rotors everything went smooth & fast good guy to deal with.

yup yup yup, GTBGUY is the man :D!! help me out with a lot of questions that i had and answered ALL of em w/in half a day and was patient enough to read em all. as for the products, delivery was quick w/in a week and a half and still in one piece:D. thanks GTB, keep up the great work:cool: :) :D

Thanks guys. :)

About 1 month plus ago I contacted Jack about getting a 3" cat back exhaust for my RST project. He promptley responded and said he had one on stock and would be glad to send it out to me. I sent him a money order for the total and waited for him to say he got it...well it took twice as long as it should have to get to him. Jack was patient and willing to wait for it. As soon as It showed up, I got an e-mail saying I should have it in 2-3 weeks. No problem. I got a tracking number (which didnt work, no fault of his at all) and last night I got my exhaust....all I can say is WOW!
The quality of this exhaust is par non, the welds are clean and tight, the bends are great, thick flanges and even hardware and a gasket. The tips on my dual tip muffler are MIRROR finished, they are works of art, and when contrasted to the black coated SS piping, I'm tempted to hang it on my wall and not under me car...:rolleyes: I cant wait to bolt this puppy onto my car and hear it..
Thanks Jack, your a good man to do buisness with.

He is a great guy to deal with. I was on the up-pipe group buy and got my part fairly quickly considering what happened (9-11) during the distribution period. I also over paid for the part and he was quick to get the difference back to me!

-David