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Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 12:07 pm
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?

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 12:15 pm
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.

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:35 pm
by DarthMJH
Further info on SSI’s that are made in Denmark: https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... es-online-!

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 4:35 pm
by 911hillclimber
Mine must have been some of their first ones as that is about when I bought mine.
Denmark, not Germany, my mistake.

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:18 pm
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.

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:27 pm
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.
Kind regards
Gitesh

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:00 pm
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?

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:13 pm
by Gary71
I bought mine in 2015. Beautifully made if I excuse the two errors...

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

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Worth the money? Yes. Absolutely!

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:36 pm
by IanM
If it wasn't for the tab error, would it have cleared the case?

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:48 pm
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

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:57 pm
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.

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 9:16 pm
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

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 9:35 pm
by IanM
Gary71 wrote:I bought mine in 2015. Beautifully made if I excuse the two errors...
Gary, are yours USA production or Dansk?

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:33 pm
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.

Re: Are SSI's worth the money?

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:30 am
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