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Hi Kitty,
I had the same idea to say as I just bought a set from them a few weeks ago.
One muffler or both are Starla or Walker brand quality. It’s the same with the pipes.
FCP out sourced up the exhaust clamps and the rubbers are of good quality too.
The clamps look heavier duty than the factory ones that may still be on an aged vehicle.
These are made of a wide band material with formed ears.
The bolts used to pull them together are shorter but larger in diameter.
They are look like a made for the job at hand. In being more robust has to be an improvement IMHO.
I THINK, these cannot sink into the split joint like the factory ones do.
Many installers or owners tend to over tighten the factory ones to get some of feel of satisfactory friction.
Like I said I bought mine a few weeks ago and I believe they are cheaper this week or they are running a sale as they usually do from time to time. Mine were $307 and I just saw a few days ago they’re under $290.
My whole order was discounted more when you hit $499 so I wasn’t hurt any IMO.
FCP has a nice reputation and statement that they use their stuff on their cars or won’t sell it.
I believe they did their homework on this package.
The Volvo rear muffler has always been a heavy design and that makes it a cold sink. That helps attract moisture stay in there since the mass is so far away from the heat source.
Stainless steel or an another design would be very helpful but getting both done for these aging vehicles can only spell $$$.
The center pipe can be fabricated in muffler shops and “might be” aluminized as Volvos once were?
These in the set appeared to be coated with something.
I don’t know if and when that gets done during manufacturing since bending a stretching is involved.
Is probably a cosmetic deal on the outside as who can see the insides? Stainless is all the thorough. It comes back to how much chromium and nickel is in the metal $$.
It will also depends on how long a person is willing to wait for the ROI.
Many factors kept stainless out of many vehicles today.
Phil
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