20squared, inc. personalized euro tuning.

PSA: Ebay Bull$*&%

Sometimes I am quite puzzled as to why this topic continually comes up, regarding where products are manufactured, produced, etc.  If you want a full-length header, tubular turbo manifold, or a sidewinder turbo manifold produced there are companies out there that will do it for you, or whomever you feel competent to do the job, the price is going to GOING to be upwards of $2000 for one piece.  Take into account the materials, whether you are having custom stainless steel, mandrel bent tubing bent, are taking off-the-shelf tubing and cutting/welding them to fit your needs, or are using schedule 40 to produce a ramhorn style tubular manifold, the materials are flat out going to cost money.  Then factor in the fabrication labor rates on a product that is going to take a skilled fabricator to fabricate such a piece.  You’re talking 15, 20, 30 hours to produce one piece.  that’s 2, 3, 4 days worth of work on one product.  Let’s compute the low end (say 15 hours) x $100 to $150 per hour, you’re looking at $1500-$2300 in labor alone.  Then factor in the cost of the materials and you’re around the $3000 mark.

Is THAT what the 2.5L market is willing to pay for tubular turbo manifold or a headers for their vehicle?  I can tell you right now the answer is no.  We continually get inquiries as to why the price of the Eurojet Headers are so expensive and now that the OBX headers have been highlighted, we’ve gotten inquiries regarding why Eurojet’s headers are superior and/or why they cost more then the OBX pieces.  Let me try and break it down.

• It requires a vehicle to do the initial research and development on.  Whether that be a vehicle that is purchased by the company to conduct R&D on or whether you find a lenient customer that is willing to donate their vehicle to perform the R&D on.  If it’s the latter, the customer is going to expect something in return for letting the company use their vehicle.  Either way you work it, there’s an expense that needs to be incorporated into the final price point of the product(s) your developing.
• It requires that actual physical time that is involved in mocking up an initial prototype off the actual vehicle, checking fitment, checking cross-fitment with different model year vehicles, and account for any potential differences that need to be incorporated into a production run.
• From there, you’ll have a good idea, if experienced in manufacturing of what the product is going to cost based on the time you have into it, the materials that are needed to accomplish the job, and the resources you have accessible to do the manufacturing.  There are certain area’s where you can modify the manufacturing process to make a more stable product and reduce costs in the long run, for instance, instead of taking off-the-shelf tubing and cutting/welding it to suit your needs, custom mandrel bent tubing can be had.

With all that said, the bottom line comes down to what the consumers within the market you’re producing product(s) for are willing to pay for the product(s).  As I mentioned above, based on some of the feedback that we’ve gotten from the Eurojet pieces, it’s overpriced this, overpriced that.  Everyone is so quick to make sure that the products they are buying are manufactured and produced within the USA, and when they hear through “sally whispering down the lane” that they aren’t, all that is said is that it is garbage.  When in reality there are a few things that are being missed.  Based on actually being dedicated into the industry and developing resources, do you think a company like Eurojet or 20squared is going to come out with a sub-par product that is not manufactured in a location that can guarantee quality control?  The answer is no, and if it becomes a problem, adjustments will be made or the product will be removed from the line-up.  Obviously the goal is to minimize this, as in the years of experience I think this percentage is extremely minimal.

Things so simple as to using a TRUE 5-to-1 collector is completely forgotten about and replaced with the absolute garbage you see being sold out there.

Let it also be known that Eurojet and 20squared are two completely separate companies that work closely with one another to bring out new and innovative products to the market.  Why our company name was brought into a discussion regarding Eurojet -vs- OBX -vs- OBX modified headers is unknown to me, but we were brought in.

What it really comes down to is how the ebay companies have hurt the market.  Consumers have grown accustomed to the low pricing that can be found from ebay manufacturers and products, but the expectations of some haven’t changed accordingly.  If you want a cheap product in price, you’re going to get a cheap product in quality.  This is the case with virtually anything you buy out there.  If you want something that is hand-made by a fabricator in a shop here in the US, we’ll do it and there are plenty of other that will do it, and love doing it  But, it’s going to be within the price range explained above.