Anyone want to give a long term reports on their aftermarket exhausts

I am among the many in the dilemma of which exhaust to get. I am trying to decide whether to go Milltek or AWE. I am planning on doing headers as well, which is also a toss up between Millteks and Fabs. My last car I had an Eisenhaus sports exhaust and I want to go quieter. That thing was loud and annoying on the highway. But it did sound awesome around town. Maybe I am getting old or perhaps because I am now married but I just don't want to make a big stink everywhere I go. On the flip side I love the sound of raw and angry exhaust. So I am asking anyone who has lived with an aftermarket exhaust longterm please give an update. Which exhaust? Is it to load or to quiet? Do you regret your decision? How is the cabin noise for the wife factor? How much louder is AWE over Milltek. I am sorry to bring this up as this is talked about so much, but I just can't decide. I have read every post about this topic and obviously it still isn't enough. Please help me and probably many others. Thanks.

At least in other cars, has always been to give decent HP results with a tame exhaust. A bit louder than stock but not much.

Since I am probably the only one who has lived with both a Milltek and an AWE system long term I would say based on your criteria go Milltek. Nothing against AWE but it IS louder than Milltek. Both produce similar HP numbers, AWE's is lighter and shinier, but Milltek has the least amount of extra noise in the 2400-2800 rpm range where the Tubi and B&B can be on the atrocious side and 9ff flat out flatulent. If you want something that sounds agressive only when you get into it, but otherwise is civil around town then Milltek is the way to go. If you want something more agressive more often then go AWE or Fabspeed. Remember volume isn't everything, but TONE plays a significant role and that's where hearing the exhausts and LIVING with them makes a big difference. I know people who get all excited about their new LOUD exhaust because they just shelled out $$$ for it, a few months later it becomes irritating to them or they can't take the "drone". I also found it interesting to go back to stock for a day between the Milltek and AWE systems as I had grown accustomed to the growl of the Milltek that was no longer there in the stock system but came back in force and then some with the AWE package. With regard to installing the systems I think AWE is easier than Milltek but Milltek is a close second, everything else takes longer to install and in some cases requires "straps" to go around the mufflers (example B&B) which I personally don't care for but that's a personal choice. Best of luck and let me know if you need anything more! BTW, did you notice the Milltek catback for sale in the Classifieds?

I hope the AWE is good Cause thats what I bought. Now just trying to find time for install. Hopefully I can get some audio / video clips to post.

AWE is good, well made, easy to install, plenty of sound and performance. There are audio and video clips in the Files section already, check 'em out!

I have, sounds awesome. part of the reason I ordered it. The tubi also sounds great but if you close your eyes it makes you think ferrari. I can't have my beautiful german auto sounding like it's from italy I didn't even know miltek made a 987 exhaust until reading your forum

I had an interesting conversation with a race tuner over the weekend. He suggested that I should skip the sound and just get better flowing headers. The back pressure relieved by the more free flowing exhaust can be a torque-robber. Does this make sense?

From back in the day there where lots of "sound good" exhausts that resulted in a lot less HP. I got over all that after spending(wasting) too much money on them and now remain devoted to stock systems and keep the $ as stock in my portfolio.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with Cargraphics catback systems. I know they have a positive reputation and acceptance with 911s but obviously one cannot assume the sound and performance with CSs will be similar. More info on their products can be found at: http://www.cargraphic.de/stepone/data/downloads/a2/05/00/987Cayman_09_2006.swf I'm wondering what their systems sound like, do they have any resonance, etc. Has anyone encountered these systems? Thanks.

Look at Neil Orton’s site he does not list a catback system for sale. I asked Neil about his ECU and header setup and he gave me the same answer more torque. I talked with an engineer friend of mine who raced Porsches and motorcycles and agreed. He also told me that if I get a full exhaust, I should get one with the cats as far towards the back as possible. :burnout: Neil I would love to see some at the wheels Dyno numbers of Caymans with just header and ecu.

Thanks for all the feedback from everyone. Especially from you Ken as you have lived longterm with both. I think this helped me reaffirm Milltek is the best option for my situation. I just hope it will fulfill my angry side.

Can't comment on mine yet as I don't have it but my vote, and money, goes to AWE.

I’ve lived with the Milltek system since August, and am still happy with it. If you want it to be “angry” you just rev it, but then round town it’s just a tad deeper than subtle……and my better half has never complained once !! :burnout:

Just a quick note here, guys and gals: Our muffler was designed and tested on a CaymanS with stock headers, thus our sound volume level and tone claims should be regarded that way. A freer flowing cat will increase the volume of the exhaust note and possibly introduce drone at certain rpms. I can definitively state that our muffler does NOT drone anywhere in the rpm range when used with stock headers. During development, we spend a lot of time massaging that artifact from our systems as we consider it to be the #1 reason people start to dislike an exhaust after many miles of ownership. Reports of drone in the 2400-2800 rpms range have only been coming from Cayman owners who have also installed aftermarket headers, and this drone complaint seems to plague all the aftermarket mufflers out then when paired with aftermarket headers. During muffler development, we did not anticipate a demand for a header system for this car given the relatively high cost it would have to command and the estimated relatively low power gains. We actually still do not know if there is a big enough demand for headers for this car. By far the majority of owners we have sold our muffler to had stock headers and did not inquire about aftermarket ones. Plus, the verdict is still out if there is an aftermarket cat that can keep the check engine light off, as all the aftermarket headers currently seem to have this problem. Bottom line is that if you are considering our muffler with stock headers, you will have a car that is 100% daily driver friendly with no drone or obnoxious exhaust note. If you are considering aftermarket headers, our muffler may produce some drone in the 2000-3000 rpms range, but it seems that all mufflers suffer from this same issue more or less when coupled with aftermarket headers. We are willing to tweak our muffler design to eliminate this drone when coupled with headers if there is a CaymanS owner out there willing to donate their car for a couple weeks. A highly discounted muffler system would be your reward. Please contact me directly if you are willing! Regards, Todd Sager President A.W.E. Tuning http://www.awe-tuning.com [phone removed]

AWE Tuning Catback I have only had the AWE Tuning catback on my '06 987 Boxster S for a month or so but I would like to chime in that I am very happy with the exhaust. Great sound, light weight, tucks up under the car very nicely, uses the OE mounting points, and seems to have a nice horse power/torque boost. Exhaust tones, what is resonance, etc. is very subjective but the AWE product is not too loud in my opinion. The loudest range is the 2,400 - 2,800 rpm but it is only loud here when you are giving the car more throttle to accelerate up through those RPM ranges. I can cruise in those RPM ranges on the highway without the exhaust being too loud at all. I've posted my impressions elsewhere on this forum but suffice to say the car finally sounds like it has a set of balls.

Carl AMG, Thanks for that great review! As another FYI, Cayman owners should note that our muffler will be quieter on the interior than on a Boxster due to the extra sheetmetal and sound deadening. I have spent time with our system on a Boxster with softtop, and while the note was still civilized inside, it was a tad louder than on a Cayman, which was to be expected. I know a lot of people have seen the video on our site, but for those who have not, here is a way to confirm Carl AMG's diagnosis of testicular augmentation: AWE Tuning CaymanS/BoxsterS muffler page