Help with the PSE

[bosstucker]

So I just got an 02 911 C4S. I'm now the third owner and when I took my buddy in it (who has driven a fair number of these) said it sounds like it has a PSE upgrade. The previous owner doesn't know if it has it and I am curious, does anyone know of a way to tell if my porsche has the upgrade? We don't have the original sticker or a way to contact the first owner so... any help would be awesome. Thanks!

[BruceP]

There's a copy of the sticker inside your the service book or the manual... forget which. But it's a duplicate of what was under the hood. This site has a great option code look-up.

I had always understood that the PSE had a switch on the dash. If that's correct, and you lack that switch, then that would be your answer. This wouldn't mean that you didn't have some other aftermarket exhaust, of course.

Enjoy your new car!

[RF5BPilot]

- If it was a factory PSE install, you'd have a toggle switch to make it loud/soft. Also, (normally) there would be a wire connected that would detect your speed and generally make it soft around town.

- If it was installed later, they may or may not have installed the switch. Quite a number of people install the mufflers and leave off the switch because they want it loud all the time. But, there would still be the vacuum powered valve assembly on the muffler. If it has that, you could add the switch later. Note that if you add the switch, you don't have to connect the wire that automatically softens it around town. It can be a simple manual operation.

- Most likely, it is an aftermarket exhaust. Nothing wrong with them. Since not even the PSE adds much in the way of hp, it is more a matter of sound than performance.

[BruceP]

Since not even the PSE adds much in the way of hp, it is more a matter of sound than performance.

What a properly engineered performance exhaust system does, basically, is trade off torque for peak horsepower. So it doesn't "add" horsepower per se, but it can change the way an engine makes power. A good one is not just about noise, but neither is it particularly useful for the way most people drive, beyond the sound.

[renos]

What a properly engineered performance exhaust system does, basically, is trade off torque for peak horsepower. So it doesn't "add" horsepower per se, but it can change the way an engine makes power. A good one is not just about noise, but neither is it particularly useful for the way most people drive, beyond the sound.

Could you please elaborate on your explanation.

[BruceP]

What a properly engineered performance exhaust system does, basically, is trade off torque for peak horsepower. So it doesn't "add" horsepower per se, but it can change the way an engine makes power. A good one is not just about noise, but neither is it particularly useful for the way most people drive, beyond the sound.

Could you please elaborate on your explanation.

In the simplest possible terms, a 'restrictive' exhaust isn't a mistake the manufacturer made. It's part of a strategy to give the engine more low end torque, which comes at the expense of horsepower lost because the engine can't pump its given volume of air through itself as quickly. Likewise, there's a reason that racing engines have so few parts aft of the headers. It's not because they like the noise. It's because at the speeds they operate, peak horsepower matters much more to them than torque. Lots of racing engines feel gutless at low rpms, which consumers would never accept.

I'm sure there are smarter people than me here who can explain the science of lining up exhaust pulses, but that's the bottom line. There are good exhausts and bad exhausts, of course. And noise doesn't equal horsepower, but the two go hand in hand where exhaust systems are concerned.

An exhaust system isn't about more/less power. It's about tuning. The engineers set parameters for how much low end grunt the consumer will demand, versus how much horsepower they need or want to brag about, stir in emissions and noise requirements, and that's what they build. Tuning, whether with chips or intakes or exhausts, changes that equation, creating a different set of compromises than the one the engine designer decided on. The only way to get more horsepower and more torque is to pump more air through the engine, ie. with more displacement, or forced induction.

[bosstucker]

Cool thanks for the help guys. I realize I might just never know :) maybe i'll make a video of me revving it and you guys might be able to tell me what you think. Is the standard 4s loud? This one has a sort of throaty growl at low rpm but as soon as you open it up it screams, and there's a constant whistle almost like a supercharger. Maybe i'll just have to find someone at the PCA club with a similar 4s, find out if it's stock and compare engine sounds :) But in general, would you say a 996 4s is a pretty loud car at high revs?

[perryinva]

No, it's not.

[bosstucker]

Sorry for the lame question, but can anyone describe to me what a stock 4s sounds like :)

[BruceP]

Sorry for the lame question, but can anyone describe to me what a stock 4s sounds like :)

Probably not. You should try searching YouTube. There are tons of clips there of Porsche exhaust sounds, some stock and some aftermarket. It's not perfect, but you'll do better than words could do.

[Benjamin Choi]

-pse is the best sounding exhaust for the n/a 996s/997s; sounds better than the turbo period w/ pse; aftemarket options may be lighter, be louder, but they all pretty much lack that guttural growl (listen to believe)

-whether you gain hp or lose torque, the +/- is so nominal no one can begin to tell the diff and if they tell you so it's more wallet talking than objective reasoning speaking the truth

-best is to find someone with pse and hear it in person for sure; shouldn't be too hard since it's a factory option

good luck

[BruceP]

-whether you gain hp or lose torque, the +/- is so nominal no one can begin to tell the diff and if they tell you so it's more wallet talking than objective reasoning speaking the truth

Ben, you're 100% entitled to your opinion based on your own experience. But to say that because you can't tell the difference, nobody on earth can tell the difference, judges the people who have spent their money differently than you, and isn't very helpful.

In my case - one guy, one car - I could tell the difference with the changes I made, and I enjoy it. That's the truth.

[Benjamin Choi]

enjoy all you want, but for people who buy into the dyno graphs and get all excited about it only to find out that they can't pull on that stock 911... don't come back all confused. you don't get an n/a car for mod potential. go turbo if you're in it for the measurin contest.

you buy an exhaust for sound/looks here. period. placebo effect in the power dept. the wallet speaketh.

again, coming from a GIAC flash/EVOMS intake w/ PSE owner. i don't go around believing my car's picked up more power than the 98% of stock 911s out there on the streets up and down the West Coast.

PSE is absolutely worth the $2K+ however much it is. the sound is incredible. EVOMS intake straight up howls at 5K+ RPM WOT. glorious. well worth it.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Benjamin Choi

[BruceP]

enjoy all you want, but for people who buy into the dyno graphs and get all excited about it only to find out that they can't pull on that stock 911... don't come back all confused. you don't get an n/a car for mod potential. go turbo if you're in it for the measurin contest.

you buy an exhaust for sound/looks here. period. placebo effect in the power dept. the wallet speaketh.

again, coming from a GIAC flash/EVOMS intake w/ PSE owner. i don't go around believing my car's picked up more power than the 98% of stock 911s out there on the streets up and down the West Coast.

PSE is absolutely worth the $2K+ however much it is. the sound is incredible. EVOMS intake straight up howls at 5K+ RPM WOT. glorious. well worth it.

Please reread my posts. Carefully.