Looking to Buy New Exhaust...want something catless & loud any sug

[DrGr33nThumb215]

My 996 currently has Porsche Sport Exhaust I like it for the fact that it is smog legal and sounds good but is not throaty enough for me. I want something louder and catless. That being said I live in California and have to smog the car yearly. So I was looking for something bolt on that was catless and loud and I will need to keep the PSE for smog any suggestions? Thank You in advance, and if anyone can suggest a good aftermarket ecu, because I would like to do headers exhaust and a tune.

[logray]

I wouldn't go catless (extremely loud, not smog legal).

You can install 200 cell cats to get a much more exotic sound and still be smog legal, but not a whole lot of horsepower except perhaps the highest RPM range, in fact possibly to the detriment of power at the lower RPM range. Take a look at fabspeed's products for example. There are plenty out there.

IMO ECU tunes on the NA car are only worth it if you dump $5 grand more on other upgrades including intake, headers, etc. There are plenty of tuners out there. Softronic, GIAC, FVD, etc. etc. etc.

You could end up spending 5-6 grand in bolt on upgrades for 20 hp or 30 hp.

On the NA car, the best way to increase power is to increase displacement, boring out to 3.6L or 3.8L ($10k-20k), along with performance camshafts and timing advance, which could net you 50HP more at the rear wheels, and also bullet proof your cylinders with Nikasil.

I would steer clear of turbo and supercharging kits, at 10k or more. They are expensive and some say forced induction wasn't meant for the M96 platform (without other upgrades to increase engine reliability). Plus they aren't smog legal.

All of that money above, if you saved it and spent it towards selling your NA car and buying a turbo would get you a lot more horsepower and a lot more car.

Edited December 25, 2011 by logray

[wyovino]

All of that money above, if you saved it and spent it towards selling your NA car and buying a turbo would get you a lot more horsepower and a lot more car.

The voice of reason. As with most things, making something into something it wasn't meant to be is always more expensive and the results are usually disappointing.

[phillipj]

Agreed.....

[DrGr33nThumb215]

definitely agreed, figured might possibly do the 200 cell cats for the time being and that's it I checked out the Fabspeed website they have some very nice products but 5-6k for ecu, intake, headers, & exhaust. For 5,000 I can put a rotated turbo kit on my STi considering I have the rest of the supporting mods but those are overkill, I have put the Porsche for Sale on Craigslist for 25,000 I have had some interest and it has only been 2 days, at that price with 55k and the fact that it is flawless and has lots of nice factory options + 19 inch Porsche wheels. I think I can get 25k all day then I will get a turbo for around 40k, I've seen a few 2001-03 996 Turbos on CL with 20-50k miles going for 42-48.

I must say, the exhaust notes on the Porsche are somewhat disappointing compared to G35's, VW R32's and the Subaru rumble, I thought Porsche with it's amazing ability to craft race cars with amazing handling and performance, would have a more exotic sounding factory exhaust, especially with the PSE. I am throughly in love with this car, it is amazing, the handling and traction blow my mind around some of the back roads where I live, and even though this girl is a little quiet it's probably a good thing, less unwanted attention from cops!

Edited December 27, 2011 by DrGr33nThumb215

[logray]

You can do a muffler hack to get a lot more cowbell for your money. There's a guy that mods them for little money and a lot more sound.

I've read the turbo is quieter in some respects.

If you are after sound though, mod the heck out of it. I used to take runs with some buddies through tunnels near Malibu. With the full fabspeed kit, it was unbelievably loud and awesome.

[phillipj]

The Turbo is tough to make sound great. And you're right.. The only Porsche that really sounds great is the the GT3 and especially the GT3 RS. There was a new GT2 at my dealership and the guy had a custom exhaust. That sounded soooo bad a**. I have a Techart exhaust on my 2007 997 Turbo. Although it sounds better than stock i'm still left wanting... When the turbos spool up at full boost in second gear it does tend to scare women, children and the elderly.. Which is nice.... :jump:

I long for the sound of a Lambo, Ferrari, Aston..... But there is just no way to make a flat six sound like a V8 or a V12.

Saving my pennies for a Gallardo to keep my Turbo company....

Fabspeed stuff is great.. I had the headers and mufflers on my old 99 996 coupe. It was chipped as well. That car sounded sweet......

You might want to take a look at the K & N intake as well. My friend has one on his 997 C4S and it made a HUGE difference in the sound. At 3 to 5k rpm it just screams.. In a good way.. I know those intakes have had some bad press but he hasn't had any issues with his..

Good luck with whatever you decide. Try to find a 996 Turbo with a nice exhaust system....

[judgejon]

Don't do it.

Get a good muffler system, cats and all.

Or check out the twin turbo system on Boochook's car on this forum and over on 6speed. Awesome. But probably hard on the engine after awhile.

And as an aside, I'm honestly still enjoying the relative quiet of my C4S after years of running the 911SC with a Bursch and a "test tube." The car was so loud my wife could hear me coming up the street before she could see me.

Did like the big sound though. Guess it s____ to get old.

[ltusler]

How about this?

[logray]

Yes, those are straight pipes. If you want to hear how loud this is, go and remove your cat converters. Fire up the car. See if you can tolerate it at idle.

[phillipj]

It's not a pleasant sound..... :blush:

[ltusler]

It is at 7k RPM! On a track of course.

[phillipj]

True! But pretty juvenile on the street. :eek: Ask me how I know... :cursing:

Edited January 5, 2012 by phillipj

[Airrik]

Phillip, curious how has law enforcement reacted to a loud setup? Did you get a ticket for loud pipes?

[Nehmaiz]

I've installed FABSPEED muffler bypass pipes that i bought from Ebay for 100$ that bolt on to the cats.

Extremly loud and throaty, and can easily bolt on original mufflers again...

over here we don't have to worry about emissions, but see no need to remove the cats for a great sound...

[phillipj]

Phillip, curious how has law enforcement reacted to a loud setup? Did you get a ticket for loud pipes?

Airrik,

No I never got a ticket for the sound. I only kept them on the car for 2 weeks. I hated them. The sound was horrible. I felt like i was driving a lowered Honda Civic.. I put the cats back on and was very happy again. By the way the Fabspeed mufflers sound awesome on the 3.4. Man I miss that car. It was Glacier white with a black interior and Carrera super light 5 spoke wheels and a GT3 body kit..Now it's in Porsche heaven.... :blush:

[Mother]

I would steer clear of turbo and supercharging kits, at 10k or more. They are expensive and some say forced induction wasn't meant for the M96 platform (without other upgrades to increase engine reliability). Plus they aren't smog legal.

A little clarification...VF SC kits have been implemented for over 10 years with great results on stock engines and emissions are dependent of individual states. Edited January 11, 2012 by Mother

[logray]

Hah! I knew you couldn't let that comment go... well just "parroting" what I've read elsewhere ... certainly not saying that yours won't hold up well and I do not disagree that there are "reliable" supercharged M96 engines on the road.

However there are several sources who seem to say contrary to adding SC to "stock" platform. I guess if you are considering doing this you should be considering how much the M96 engine costs to toy with if you make a big mistake.

"There are currently no plans for a Flat6Innovations SuperCharged engine, or supercharger kit. The intake temperatures of supercharged engines radically decrease the effectiveness of the enhancement, and they have a lot of other issues that we don't intend to explore- Please don't be fooled into thinking that a supercharger is the best means of modifying your Boxster engine." Jake Raby @ F6I from http://flat6innovations.com/engines/performance-parts-a-services/5-performance-engine-modifications

"As I wrote in my Engine Rebuild book, in order to really build a great forced induction engine, you need to design it from the ground up. If you bolt a turbo or supercharger onto a regular production engine, you will always be dealing with compromise issues and problems associated with the fact that the engine was never designed to be forced induction. That said, you can strap a turbo or SC onto an engine and get some great power out of it, but reliability typically goes out the window." Wayne Dempsey @ Pelican from http://forums.pelicanparts.com/boxster-cayman-forum/585224-boxster-supercharger.html

Also from Jake... (assuming you've performed those internal upgrades...)

"Unlike other companies that will apply boost to a "box stock" engine, we discourage this. That's simply due to our experience with these engines and the fact that in stock form, they don't hold up very well and under boost trouble is to be expected. The stock compression ratio is too high, the stock cylinders too weak and the stock cast pistons are paper thin, why would anyone ever apply forced induction to an engine with these issues?? We will not! Every boosted engine we produce is upgraded and designed for the elevated cylinder pressures that are produced from forced induction.

If you'd like to "Boost" your Boxster engine we can provide the necessary components as a ready to bolt on kit, but we'll tell you now that you should plan on imminent engine failure and know that the repairs that boost stimulates can be so catastrophic that nothing can be salvaged.

Now consider that you have an updated Boxster engine, designed with a Boost friendly compression ratio, and.........

At this point, since the engine is being turboed, thickwall Nickies cylinders significantly thicker than stock cylinders are installed to increase durability and resiliency to increased cylinder pressures and the engine is fitted with dished pistons. Depending on intended boost levels, larger bore sizes can also be done to improve off-boost performance. Engine is then fitted with a non-intercooled single turbo setup intended in allowing 0.5 to 0.75 bar boost. R&R billet connecting rods are optional, but highly recommended. At this level expect 300 HP from a 2.5L Boxster engine."

[phillipj]

just put a short block V8 in the Boxster and be done with it... :drive:

[Mother]

Hah! I knew you couldn't let that comment go... well just "parroting" what I've read elsewhere ... certainly not saying that yours won't hold up well and I do not disagree that there are "reliable" supercharged M96 engines on the road.

Hah! You should have known I would be lurking and yes I gave you time to edit!! All in fun.and yes still trying to get mine tuned!! ha!