Are SSI's worth the money?

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IanM
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Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by IanM »

I've never had stainless steel heat exchangers before. What are they like? Do they improve the air quality inside the cabin? No more smell?
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by 911hillclimber »

In my experience the tightness of the heater tin ware to the pipe diameters of REAL SSi's is really good, and as there is no corrosion stay that way.
Steel ones will corrode over time and become more leaky to ingestion of under engine fumes.

If your lower rocker covers are leaking the hot oil will still seep in and it takes a very determined effort to clean then whatever the material or manufacturer.

Not sure if my Dansk experience is still valid, I had mine second hand of a gravel rally 911, but USA SSi's were better made than Dansk.
Many of my spot welds had failed, popped open and I had to MIG weld a few tight.

I could be wrong, but about 10 years ago SSi tooling was sold to Dansk and the manufacture moved from the USA to Germany.
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by DarthMJH »

Further info on SSI’s that are made in Denmark: https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... es-online-!
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911hillclimber
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by 911hillclimber »

Mine must have been some of their first ones as that is about when I bought mine.
Denmark, not Germany, my mistake.
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IanM
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by IanM »

Thanks hillclimber.

Yes, I was thinking of getting USA made ones but I'm trying to figure out if they're worth £2K.

Thanks for the tip about the lower rocker covers.
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by 911GP »

Mine are old, USA, SSIs and they are fine so no issues from a longevity point of view so probably are worth the cost. I do wonder if the sound is altered versus the original mild steel ones though.
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IanM
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by IanM »

911GP wrote:I do wonder if the sound is altered versus the original mild steel ones though.
In what way? Better or worse?

What silencer do you have?
Gary71
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by Gary71 »

I bought mine in 2015. Beautifully made if I excuse the two errors...

Image

Tab was on back to front and I had to dent the heat exchanger to clear the case.

Image

Image
Image

Worth the money? Yes. Absolutely!
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by IanM »

If it wasn't for the tab error, would it have cleared the case?
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by Ian Comerford »

IanM wrote:Thanks hillclimber.

Yes, I was thinking of getting USA made ones but I'm trying to figure out if they're worth £2K.

Thanks for the tip about the lower rocker covers.
Unless you are buying used ones i don't think you can buy US made ones new. When Dansk bought out the original maker it moved all of the equipment to Denmark. If you follow that link it ends up at a thread started by Dansk on Pelican which assures buyers the quality has not changed. I bought SSIs around 17 years ago and did notice an improvement in power/torque. I think there is plenty of dyno evidence of this around.
I would recommend them
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by Gary71 »

IanM wrote:If it wasn't for the tab error, would it have cleared the case?
No. Two separate errors. The tab was welded on upside down. I bent it back the other way.
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by Nine One One »

If you are thinking about them, these have just turned up in the DDK for sale adds


https://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =5&t=68168
IanM
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by IanM »

Gary71 wrote:I bought mine in 2015. Beautifully made if I excuse the two errors...
Gary, are yours USA production or Dansk?
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by 911GP »

IanM wrote:
911GP wrote:I do wonder if the sound is altered versus the original mild steel ones though.
In what way? Better or worse?

What silencer do you have?
I bought a replacement mild steel exhaust from Porsche since I prefer the sound to stainless steel which seems louder and more shrill. Some people prefer this so it depends what floats your boat.

I was wondering if the material type of the heat exchangers change the sound of the car too.
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Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Post by Gary71 »

IanM wrote:
Gary71 wrote:I bought mine in 2015. Beautifully made if I excuse the two errors...
Gary, are yours USA production or Dansk?
Dansk I believe. Certainly bought them from Europe! There was no ID either way on the packaging
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