Old vs New: Hotshot Gen 3 header & eBay knock off header
Back in the day, there were only a few header options for our cars: Hotshot, Stillen, Pacesetter, (and AEBS but that was a 4-1 design).
Now with the Chinese eBay knock-offs, there are dozens. Most of these designs were "inspired" (putting it mildly) by the Hotshot design.
Recall back in 1999-2004 ish era, a brand new Hotshot header cost $350-$400. These eBay knock offs can be purchased brand new for less than $120! I had a Hotshot generation 3 header on my 98 SE-R for about a year but recently swapped it out for one of these (will get into why a bit below) - so while I had both headers off the car I thought it would be cool to show you guys the differences between the two in photos and measurements.
First in general:
.
Hotshot on left, eBay knock off on right (ignore the 02 sensor still attached)
.
Pic from the rear, eBay on left, Hotshot on right
Hotshot header installed
eBay header installed
Now here's where we get to the biggest differences: the diameter of the secondaries. Compared to the Hotshot, the eBay header is much larger as you will see in the measurements. First a pic of them side by side:
.
Hotshot on left, eBay on right. (I am unsure why there is an extra fitting on the eBay one, but it was capped off)
.
Hotshot
.
eBay
.
Hotshot
.
eBay
Also, the primaries on the eBay header seem to be a tad larger than the Hotshot design. The Hotshot design also has a shorter flex section, whether or not thats good or bad I'm not sure. Anyways, I had a 2 year old eBay header sitting around so one day I was bored I decided to swap them out. Never actually seeing the 2 next to each other, I had no idea how much larger the eBay header was. It appears the eBay design is more suited to those of you with more modifications due to the secondary diameter. The Hotshot secondary is surprisingly small; but I suspect the Hotshot was constructed a little better. Also remember that the Hotshot in these photos is 12+ years old, the eBay is less than 2 years old. The coating on the Hotshot secondary has long since burned away, yet the primaries are still pretty good. In terms of fitment, the eBay header took a LITTLE more "coaxing" to fit properly on the exhaust studs. I recall that the Hotshot slid on and off effortlessly, but the eBay header took a little more work. In fact, I installed the Hotshot in 1 piece (primary & secondary already bolted up together) and removed it as 1 piece; but even removing the radiator fans I was unable to install the eBay header as 1 piece and ended up having to separate it. The eBay secondary is just a little bit longer (longer flex area as you can see).
eBay:
.
.
And the Hotshot from similar angles:
Notice the difference lengths in the flex section between the two? And now here we have the official "Hotshot USA" insignia on the original, and why the company ultimately failed (read below):
.
.
Oh and just for shits and giggles, here's the whole reason we NA guys mess with these in the first place:
.
Yikes! That could possibly be the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Wisely, Nissan hid that hideous thing under the OEM heat shield (of course for the heat aspect of it but I suspect also due to how terrible it looks). I suspect the eBay will make more power, and although I do not have official numbers, combined with the JWT S3 cams and a custom CAI, my 98 SE-R *does* pull harder up top with the eBay header once you're in the 5600RPM+ range. There was a noticeable difference for sure.
But I digress - sign of the times huh?? The eBay headers are 1/3 of the price of the original Hotshot model. Hotshot did all the R&D and gave us a good product and then poof, gone. The design was stolen and produced in China or wherever and Hotshot could not compete with the cheap labor. The average enthusiast will not pay $350 for something that does the same exact job $120. Quality issues aside, both are simply a bunch of pipes designed to remove exhaust gases. People stopped buying Hotshot parts, and not just our community - it happened with most of their products because they could be had cheaper and did the same job. No profits = no business. It's a shame. I did my part in the past to support Hotshot, as many of you did too. I purchased their CAIs and two of their headers when they were still around. Hotshot really got screwed. I remember reading something about them suing some of these companies but I am not sure of the result, or if it ever got far in court. Anyone know? (BTW @Kyle said in the forum chat it was because Hotshot "refused to adapt" - although I'm not exactly sure what they could have done, maybe he can elaborate)
Anyways guys, I'd love to hear your thoughts about any of this. Anyone still have a Hotshot on their car from back in the day? How is it holding up? What about the eBay knock offs? Anyone personally have good or bad stories about them?
Now with the Chinese eBay knock-offs, there are dozens. Most of these designs were "inspired" (putting it mildly) by the Hotshot design.
Recall back in 1999-2004 ish era, a brand new Hotshot header cost $350-$400. These eBay knock offs can be purchased brand new for less than $120! I had a Hotshot generation 3 header on my 98 SE-R for about a year but recently swapped it out for one of these (will get into why a bit below) - so while I had both headers off the car I thought it would be cool to show you guys the differences between the two in photos and measurements.
First in general:
.
Hotshot on left, eBay knock off on right (ignore the 02 sensor still attached)
.
Pic from the rear, eBay on left, Hotshot on right
Hotshot header installed
eBay header installed
Now here's where we get to the biggest differences: the diameter of the secondaries. Compared to the Hotshot, the eBay header is much larger as you will see in the measurements. First a pic of them side by side:
.
Hotshot on left, eBay on right. (I am unsure why there is an extra fitting on the eBay one, but it was capped off)
.
Hotshot
.
eBay
.
Hotshot
.
eBay
Also, the primaries on the eBay header seem to be a tad larger than the Hotshot design. The Hotshot design also has a shorter flex section, whether or not thats good or bad I'm not sure. Anyways, I had a 2 year old eBay header sitting around so one day I was bored I decided to swap them out. Never actually seeing the 2 next to each other, I had no idea how much larger the eBay header was. It appears the eBay design is more suited to those of you with more modifications due to the secondary diameter. The Hotshot secondary is surprisingly small; but I suspect the Hotshot was constructed a little better. Also remember that the Hotshot in these photos is 12+ years old, the eBay is less than 2 years old. The coating on the Hotshot secondary has long since burned away, yet the primaries are still pretty good. In terms of fitment, the eBay header took a LITTLE more "coaxing" to fit properly on the exhaust studs. I recall that the Hotshot slid on and off effortlessly, but the eBay header took a little more work. In fact, I installed the Hotshot in 1 piece (primary & secondary already bolted up together) and removed it as 1 piece; but even removing the radiator fans I was unable to install the eBay header as 1 piece and ended up having to separate it. The eBay secondary is just a little bit longer (longer flex area as you can see).
eBay:
.
.
And the Hotshot from similar angles:
Notice the difference lengths in the flex section between the two? And now here we have the official "Hotshot USA" insignia on the original, and why the company ultimately failed (read below):
.
.
Oh and just for shits and giggles, here's the whole reason we NA guys mess with these in the first place:
.
Yikes! That could possibly be the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Wisely, Nissan hid that hideous thing under the OEM heat shield (of course for the heat aspect of it but I suspect also due to how terrible it looks). I suspect the eBay will make more power, and although I do not have official numbers, combined with the JWT S3 cams and a custom CAI, my 98 SE-R *does* pull harder up top with the eBay header once you're in the 5600RPM+ range. There was a noticeable difference for sure.
But I digress - sign of the times huh?? The eBay headers are 1/3 of the price of the original Hotshot model. Hotshot did all the R&D and gave us a good product and then poof, gone. The design was stolen and produced in China or wherever and Hotshot could not compete with the cheap labor. The average enthusiast will not pay $350 for something that does the same exact job $120. Quality issues aside, both are simply a bunch of pipes designed to remove exhaust gases. People stopped buying Hotshot parts, and not just our community - it happened with most of their products because they could be had cheaper and did the same job. No profits = no business. It's a shame. I did my part in the past to support Hotshot, as many of you did too. I purchased their CAIs and two of their headers when they were still around. Hotshot really got screwed. I remember reading something about them suing some of these companies but I am not sure of the result, or if it ever got far in court. Anyone know? (BTW @Kyle said in the forum chat it was because Hotshot "refused to adapt" - although I'm not exactly sure what they could have done, maybe he can elaborate)
Anyways guys, I'd love to hear your thoughts about any of this. Anyone still have a Hotshot on their car from back in the day? How is it holding up? What about the eBay knock offs? Anyone personally have good or bad stories about them?
Last edited by Storm88000
on 2016-05-10
at 21-37-31.
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Originally Posted by Storm88000 
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