The Simonk 996 - some personal touches

I thought I'd post my first impressions of my 996. This has been a rather strange car purchase for me. The excitement of getting another Porsche was outweighed by the sale of my beloved Clubsport. That's why there wasn't any real fanfare on here in the lead up to me buying it. I had it for 4 years and it kind of felt like I was selling the family pet. So many good times and memories made it hard to let go. The Clubsport sold in a week which is testament to how good my particular car was, but selling it was a means to an end and getting a 996 was hardly a consolation prize. So now the Clubsport is gone I have been able to concentrate on getting to know my 996 and developing a new relationship. There's something to be said for buying an older car. Simple things like turning the lights on when I want to, not every time I go under a bridge, being able to see past the A-pillar instead of doing the head bob every time I make a right turn to see around an airbag filled pillar, 10 dollars for wiper blades instead of $80. No annoying beeps because I choose to put my seatbelt on after I turn the car on. I know they're little things but I feel like cars of today are so jam packed with BS gimics that they can take away from the driving experience. Take the Cayenne for instance. Once you've figured out how to program the seat and mirror position, you stick it in the memory. So every time I drive I jump in and select my memory position and proceed on my way. Get to my destination and turn the car off and the seat proceeds to crush me against the steering wheel as it returns to my wife's seating position. So while I'm sure this is some convenience function, probably linked to the key, it's just stupid. My wife is more than capable of selecting her seating position when she uses the car next. But I'm getting off track... The car might be 15 years old now but it certainly doesn't feel that old. The 10 year gap between it and my 3.2 seems much bigger than the 15 year gap to todays Porsche (purely guessing here as I've never driven a 991) From a performance perspective, it is so much better than the 3.2. Acceleration and cornering make the 3.2 feel very old and lethargic. But a lot of us know that acceleration and cornering are not the only elements of the driving experience and I still choose the 3.2 for the enjoyment of driving. But each car has a different purpose for me. The sound of the 996 when you get it singing is addictive, even in standard form. 2nd gear as it screams from 80 - 1XXkmh will have you smiling all the way to the magistrates court to get your licence back, especially if it's on a sweeping bend. I had an incident yesterday on the freeway when some turkey didn't check his mirror before changing lanes. A quick swerve at 100kmh and the car was un-phased and I barely raised my heartbeat, such was the confidence the car gave me. Didn't even beep the guy or give him the international sign of disapproval. Yet, the A to B driving is like being in a luxury sedan from BMW or MB. It's very sedate and quiet but plant your foot and your head snaps back and you're laughing all over again. I'm not sure how I feel about the tiptronic yet. Coming from a manual, I was always going to be less loving of the transmission. It is nice not having the clutch on the commute to the city but I feel like I've still got some learning to do. I believe it has something like 6 different shift patterns based on throttle position and the speed in which you change the throttle position. In a HSV auto, full throttle means kick back to the lowest gear possible and off you go very quickly. Do that in a 996 and it will either kick back to 3rd, 2nd or 1st depending on how quickly you push your foot down. At the moment I feel like the system is overcomplicating things. If I've got my foot flat to the floor it means I want to accelerate as fast as possible. I think that as I get used to it the different shift patterns will become more user friendly for me. I was a bit disappointed to discover you can't manually change gears with the console shifter. The buttons on the steering wheel are a little awkward and there's been a number of times I've knocked one of them while turning and it's dropped back to 1st gear mid corner. One thing I am considering doing is switching the wires on the left switch so the down shift is at the top instead of the bottom. That way up shifts can be done with the right thumb and down shifts with the left thumb, both on the upper part of the toggle switches. The only other negative for me is the seating position. I've never had a car so uncomfortable to sit in. The seats are horrible for my body shape. Way too much lumber support which can't be adjusted and the base has way to much slope backwards. The steering wheel is also very low with no up/down adjustment. But I'm not going to let that take anything away from the experience and will be something I'll slowly get used to. Build quality seems to be ok. Whilst it still feel solid, it does have a couple rattles inside that will require the volume turned up on the stereo. Overall I'm really happy with the car so far. It looks fantastic with performance to match. I wouldn't say it's the most practical car with two child seats in the back but the slight inconvenience is so worth it. The car is in today for some Eibach springs to get it sitting a bit nicer. The Cargraphic wheels look sweet so it should look the biz with the guards filled. All my stereo gear should arrive in the next day or two also so I'm looking forward to some nice stereo sounds. Undecided on what to do with the exhaust. I was going to do the Gundo Hack but now I'm leaning towards either something from Dansk or Fabspeed. I've got a bit of time to think about it. Will post some photos over the weekend of the new stance in the "Feeling Blue" thread. Thanks for reading

Nice post Simon. I've heaps of squeaks and rattles in mine... its a bit of a sh*tbox like that... but I love it that way, not sure I could live with that daily though!

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When you're coming from a Holden it's quiet as a mouse inside, but I was driving my wife's old 2000 318i BMW this morning and there isn't even a hint of a rattle or squeak in that. Her BMW is a PoS which has been destroyed by 2 kids and my wife's general lack of caring for it so it says somehting about the way it has been put together compared to the Porsche.

You won't ever hear me trash talk BMW, they know how to build a car and I'd have another in a heartbeat! I'm sure my rattles and squeaks are pretty easy to fix, I think mostly the squeaks come from the fix back recurs mounting?

"fix back recurs mounting" Is that a typo as I have no idea what you're talking about My passenger seat back rattles and so does the sunroof. Also something in the dash. I'm not too fussed about it all though.

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lol bloody hell, apple spell correct is the worst, especially on desktop! Fixed Back Recaros

Simon, congrats on the purchase. You have a nice spread of porsche driving experiences now any pics of it?

Thanks Tony. Here's a couple pictures. I'll try to get some better ones over the weekend. IMG_2514 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_2506 by Simonk76 , on Flickr

Your 996 looks fantastic Simon, I am very fond of this model at the moment so your post has been very descriptive for me, now ive just got to find a way to talk the minister for finance into seeing it my way.

Looks great Simon. Wheels suit it nicely. Missing my 3.2 a bit reading these posts.. will get back into one down the track

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Would you like to borrow my "persuasion spreadsheet"? It's the perfect tool to baffle the better half with numbers and projections of future values, maintenance costs, and comparisons against other carefully selected marques. And once she looks completely confused you just tell her the drop in value compared to a brand new Holden is much less so then she'll be asking "why wouldn't you buy a Porsche"? I don't really have a spreadsheet...well at least not for a 996 but the wife and I still have a laugh at the gigantic spreadsheet I prepared to convince her we needed a new ski boat.

So that's the way you do it Simon. My wife knows that I'm well and truly infected by Porsche now and ive always liked this model. Ive heard so many different things about this model, splattered egg headlights so it was a bit of an ugly duckling, first of the water cooled so the "purists" shunned it but also a very capable and extremely well mannered vehicle that was very easy to drive. I like a bit of modern as well, ill never knock back cruise control or air con. At the moment it looks like there are some absolute bargains around, but also things are a bit lean for me at the moment so I may have to wait a while longer.

That's just lovely mate... beautiful house too btw.

Wow shiny ! why can't you adjust lumbar on the seat?

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There's no option on my seats. There is a cap on the side of the seat base where you'd expect the switch to be so I guess mine wasn't optioned with it.

Hi Simon, Car looks beautiful. Great summary, I really enjoyed reading it. Cheers C

Enjoyed this post! Thank you!

Great post Simon! Should be very useful for anyone looking to the 996 as a purchase.

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OMG!!! That's all I have to say for now!!! Pics to come tomorrow

Great looking car Simon, great read also. I think the 996 offer some pretty good driving at reasonable prices....I have to admit from time to time, the prospect of air conditioning is appealing !!! Cheers

Great site-up Simon. Bodywork of your 996 looks clayed, polished, wax and waxed again.

My 97 bm is like a tomb inside.  I love driving it for 'the serenity'. I had a 91 before that, with well over 250k on it.  It was even better screwed together. Sadly all modern cars seem to be going backwards in build quality, as the target audience doesn't keep them more than 4 years.

Great read re the rattles we had a 986 for 10 years and in the mean time I bought 2 new BMW's and the BMW's were built sooooooo much better and the squeaks and rattles in the 986 were insane BUT The BMW never ever put the same smile on my dial. I miss our 986 As an Update our 981 is built a lot better and feels more like the BMW and it puts a smile on my dial. I keep thinking about trading our 3rd car VW EOS in on a 996 I think they are a perfect mix of rattles and refinement if that makes any sense

Terrible day for photos but I couldn't wait to show you all. Very happy with the new springs. Sits perfectly and I mean perfectly. Centre of wheel to guard on all 4 wheels is mm perfect. The ride quality is good. Slightly firmer than stock but not too hard that it rattles your teeth out. Seems to corner flatter too. Big thanks to our good friend JustJames for supplying the Eibach Pro Kit springs and the good people at Jocaro for installing them. IMG_2604 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_2603 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_2602 by Simonk76 , on Flickr

Simon, The paint work on your cars always looks fantastic. Care to share your secrets please? Thanks Peter

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Well, I'm certainly not the person to go to for paint work advice. I've had my 3.2 for 18 months and have only polished and waxed it once when I first got it. This one I've only had for 3 weeks and inherited it this way. But as you've asked, when I got the 3.2 I hit it with some Meguiars Ultimate Compound Colour & Clarity Restorer. It has a very mild cut in it to remove swirl marks. I then used Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. I'm no expert though and try not to be too anal when it comes to polishing and waxing.

Very nice. If I had a 996 id have it sitting like that. Looks great

Perfect!

Looks very good Simon.

Looks spot on!  Might have to order those same ones...and take em to Jocaro too!

Looks excellent at that ride height Simon. Very nice....

Here's all the stereo equipment to go in. The install kit arrived from the US today. With the mother in-law staying with us this week, there should be plenty of "garage" time to put it in... Can't wait for some decent sounds. IMG_2694 by Simonk76 , on Flickr

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. I've decided this can be my official 996 thread with updates to any mods I make to it.

Looks great with the new springs

Car looks great, you'll need some new vids now, I can't get enough of your others edit: Well,  I guess you don't need,   but I want

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Thanks tscott. Yes I'll definately have to get the video camera fired up again. Glad you like my videos.

Simon, really looks the money lowered like that, the ride height combined with the wheels and that dark paint looks very very cool. I Cleaned my 996 on Sunday and I was looking at it - everyone says these things are ugly, I just don't see it. If the 996 was the first 911 released would it get such a bad wrap over the headlights? I'm biased given I've got another ugly duckling in the garage (928s4), I'll get a 914 and 924 and complete the royal flush one day :-) your own babies are never ugly I guess Love your blue Porsche collection btw - very cool Dave

Our cars could almost be twins. Really do like how it sits with the your springs, the standard height can make it look like a 4wd when you get certain cars sitting next to it *cough* lotus exiges and elises *cough* What tyres are you running?

Car looks really nice Simon. Very interesting read and a sensible choice for a daily. Enjoy.

Just an update on the springs for anyone considering lowering their pride and joy. Generally for the 996, the common choice is either H & R or Eibach. H & R are supposed to be a bit harder than the Eibachs and are supposed to lower it 30mm as opposed to 20mm for the Eibachs. So I chose the Eibachs for that reason. Anyone who has gone through this though would know that  lowering it with just springs isn't an exact science and mine ended up lowered 30mm anyway. Looks sweet as but that extra 10mm is the difference between scraping on speed bumps or not. Most of the time, it's just the flaps that hang down in front of each of the wheels or at worst, the plastic under tray at the front so I'm not too fussed. It's worth noting though for those thinking about slamming their car. @Mike737, I'm running Falken 453. Seem to be a good tyre and great value for money. I've had 452 on my Clubsports and loved them so I thought I'd give these a go. @Dave, I don't think there's anything ugly about the 996. I think the purists can get a bit OTT when it comes to the 911. I bet Ferrari enthusiasts aren't screaming because the 458 only has single tail lights instead of the traditional double circles. In fact, Ferrari have generally stuck to the same formula for decades like Porsche has but they don't try to pass off a 458 as being a 512BB or a 308GTB. Maybe that's an argument for the "what's the last real 911" thread

I assume your running 225x18 and 285x18 from the pictures. I'm running the same Falkens in 295s on the rears and they seem great. KU31s (235) on the front are terrible in the wet and every so often catch me out with stupid amounts of understeer in the dry so I won't be buying them again. Think I might go up to 245s and tempted to also try out Hankook RS3's next time if purchasing separate sets.

Last night I got started on my stereo install. I'd spent the evening prior doing the wiring connections between all the harnesses so it should have been a matter of just pulling the old one out, rellocate the climate control and slide the new one in. I was going to put together a DIY so I started taking photos of each step but it quickly became evident this wasn't going to be as straight forward as I'd thought. There are just too many variables between year models and type of factory stereo for a DIY to be useful. There were bits in there I hadn't seen in pictures and sections needed to be cut out and filed to fit the 2-din stereo in. Even the stereo's anti theft wire requires earthing on some models and requires just unplugging on other models to stop your alarm going nuts. So a DIY on my car could end up being misleading on someone elses 996. This stereo install isn't completely reversable as the climate control mounting holes had to be cut out. At best, you could put the factory stereo back in its original location, leave the climate control at the bottom, reinstall the cd draw in its original position and put the pocket up where the climate control originally was. Most people won't want to reverse the install anyway but I often like to take stereo equipment with me to the next car when I sell. My advice to anyone looking at installing themselves. if you've done a few in the past, go for it. Pulling everything apart is very easy. The wiring was the easiest bit. The cd draw and pocket just pull out, the stereo slides out easy with the removal keys, the bezel around the climate control clips off easy to reveal 4 screws. The trim around the rear demister/wiper buttons etc clips off. I highly recommend removing these. I didn't and accidentally nicked it with the file and took off some paint. Very annoyed at myself is the politest way I can express how I felt at the time. Be prepared to improvise though. The cage I got with the installation kit didn't work with my head unit so I had to use the cage that came with the stereo. This took the most amount of time because I had to get it centred in the opening. It fit snug on the sides but the gap above and below had to be the same to fit the custom trim around the stereo. It's still sitting lower than I'd like but I'd had enough by 12:30am. If you've never done an install before, I'd say don't learn on a Porsche. I learnt on Commodores so the implications of stuffing it up wasn't so bad. Anyway, enough rambling, here's a couple pictures. You'll see the front speakers aren't in yet. That will be a project in itself as I'll have to fabricate some sort of bracket to mount the tweaters in the dash under the factory speaker grills. If anyone wants any help or advise on their own install, shoot me a PM. IMG_3689 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_3690 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_3693 by Simonk76 , on Flickr

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225 front 265 rear

Very impressing work there Simon, does that unit have a GPS system ?

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Thanks Jim. I couldn't justify the extra $1,000+ on one with Nav. I've got Google maps on the phone which you can bluetooth the voice commands through the stereo. If I really need to see the map, I can peer down at my phone which isn't optimal but I rarely use the map anyway. I picked this one up for $550 (rrp$650) and JB just had them on sale for $490 so they're awesome value for money.

Looks great Simon. Sounds like you have the car all set up very nicely. Looks and internal sound. What about external sound? Any thoughts on mufflers etc?

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It's on the cards Chris. I need to wait for my pocket money account to recover a bit. At the moment I'm looking at Dansk or Fabspeed. Fabspeed have a Youtube clip of their 996 Supercup system which gives me movement downstairs.

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This is all l can say about Fabspeed, buyer aware . http://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/823880-europipe-exhaust-review-by-fabspeed-interesting.html http://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/826744-fabspeed-made-in-china.html

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I've had my eyes on that one too and the video definitely sells it since its practically the same colour and wheels as ours. Been told it can be droney though on 100kmh stretches. Once you decide to go for it then you need to choose between stock tips or fabspeed twin pipe tips (short or long!) and then what about the headers... soo many decisions!

Thanks for the heads up Jim.

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Thanks for the tip Jim. Will do some more research.

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Hey Jim. Looks like the Mods on Rennlist have a full time job policing. Just so Im clear, are we not buying Fabspeed because the product is crap or is it because the owner is a dill?

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From what I've seen its a case of both.

Simon, not sure if you are aware but FD Motorsports do a 996 muffler. These are the people that Theo, Steve Porter, Niko and myself got our sports mufflers from. C

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And they all sound awesome.

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Yeah Im torn about their system. I couldn't buy one knowing it's a $250 mod to the stock system but if I do it to my stock mufflers and don't like it, I no longer have the stock ones to put back on. I should just go and do it. I'm sure I could pick up some second hand ones cheap off eBay if I want to bring it back to stock

Simon, we all paid the core cost and all have our original mufflers to put back on should we need to.....

Spent lots of time avoiding the mother in-law finishing the stereo install on the weekend. The remainig work was to just install the front speakers as I retained the factory rear ones. Again, what I thought would be a simple job turned out not to be. The dash board speaker I knew was going to be a problem and I was quite proud of what I created. The idea was to remove the factory 4" speaker and separate tweeter and have my componenet tweeter hidden behind the grill instead. The problem is there's nothing to mount my tweeters to under there. So I removed the speaker from the grill and made a plate for the tweater to sit in which then screwed to the back of the speaker grill. I made the plate out of packaging cardboard. Strong enough to support the weight of the tweater and super easy to shape. The door cards were quite easy to get off. I watched some Youtube videos beforehand so I knew what to expect. The 996 has plastic speaker boxes that mount to the doors. They work quite well but of course, my speakers didn't fit, even though on paper they're the same size as the factory speakers. So it was out with the file to make the holes a bit bigger and in the end they fit nicely. So the first door took 2 hours, the second door 1 hour as I knew what I was doing. The headunit took 5 hours and the tweeter mounts took maybe an hour so 9 hours all up. All worth it though and it sounds great. Next will be a subwoofer or two to finish it off but I need to work out the best option for this car. Maybe 2 x 8" or 1 x 10" boxed on the rear shelf.

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God they were interesting to read! SimonK I have fabspeed on my car... I dont think it sounds that great to be honest, look around a bit more. The headers are nice though

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yours were bought way back when and should be fine, but holy balls that video is unprofessional i did get a lol out of yanks bitching about exhausts not made in america, then buying up euromeister wheels as fast as they can be made haha.

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Really want the cup car sound... It's not raspy enough the fabspeed, but that also means new bumper for centre exit

i tried pricing up centre exit exhausts, gave up after seeing the prices. going to get something made instead haha.

Well, I've searched to the edges of the internet and listened to as many exhausts as I could find and have come to the conclusion that watercooled engines just don't sound that great. You can chuck anything on and it will sound great at WOT but most systems sound like a fart box when just cruising around which is the majority of the time for me. The best sounding systems on youtube seemed to be the muffler bypass pipes but 99% of people say they're unbearable or sound crap. For now I'm going to stick with the stock exhaust until I come across something in real life that impresses me. I can't fork out $2k for a system that might or might not sound good to my ears.

Congrats on the new purchase, great read.. I remember you saying sometime you would never sell the Clubby as you tow the boat with it, I'm assuming you do that with the Cayenne sitting in the driveway.

Is there anything after market that is bi-modal? The factory 997 sports exhaust sounds great under acceleration, but I turn it off when not giving it the beans. Sounds good to my ears, but not quite as good as the mezger in the GT3s under load. You also get the odd crackle and burble on overrun which sounds pretty good to me.

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Thanks Josh. Yes things change. I never thought I wouldn't have a HSV in the driveway but here we are. I'm sure I'll get another one down the track. Cayenne will do towing duties for now (until the Mrs gets jacked with its size and petrol costs). By the way, is that your rice mobil silver S15 in the car park dumped lower than my 996 with black Works wheels?

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Fabspeed have Valvetronic or something. There's also the PSE system. Both are more than what I want to spend. I've just emailed Fister to see if they'll do an exhaust without muffler exchange and see if it's economical to do so. Probably the wrong word to use when referring to anything Porsche...

lol, yeah that's me.. I got sick of having my car dinted by pricks in the city so decided another car is needed

Ha ha. I remember reading you'd bought an S15 and when I saw a slammed one in the car park, I thought it had to be yours. Love those wheels. One of my all time favourites. I wish the Australian aftermarket made wheels as nice as Works and Rays.

yeah super hot wheel, great quality, 3 piece and not that expensive.. I haven't seen your 996, i'll keep an eye out, looks great in the photos.

These bad boys just arrived on my doorstep with a Caramelo Koala . Very nice, quality looking product. In the end, it was price and availability that won which really isn't the way to buy an exhaust system but we'll see how they go. They're the Super Sound version which is their loudest option. I always said I wanted an exhaust as obnoxious as T-Man's...Hopefully they sound ok with the Tiptronic. Fingers crossed I can find some time this weekend to install them. IMG_3702 by Simonk76 , on Flickr IMG_3701 by Simonk76 , on Flickr

What sort of price are they, +/- a caramello...??? Keen to hear them when fitted up!

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Hey Trev. It was a similar price to what the Eurpoeans pay which is refreshing given most things these days seem to cop the "I live in Aus tax and the Porsche tax". eurocarparts.com has them for sale for 629GBP. I paid slightly more than that including shipping from JustJames. Comparing to other brands: Fabspeed Supercup $1,800 Fabspeed Maxflow $2100 Milltek $2100 Supersprint $2100 Cargraphic $2400 Fister no response Quicksilver $3,000 These are all Aus sellers. Buying from OS didn't seem to be much cheaper once shipping was factored in. The Dansk are an absolute bargain compared to anything else on the market. I'll bring the 996 along to SMT in Sept so you'll be able to have a listen then.

Nice!

I'm assuming by Fister you mean FD motorsports. I've also had no luck enquiring with them.

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They must only like 993 Guys,both Theo and I have got loads of stuff from them

Very nice mate, looking forward to some feedback on the sound. Sounds like a very good price Dave

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Sounds like good value.  I look forward to hearing them!

Mufflers are on the car!!! Pelican weren't kidding when they said a 4 hour job! So now it's 12:45am and there's no way I'm turning it on to see how they sound Report back tomorrow...

I don't know what to say. I'm a little speechless but don't know what to think of them. I've done the exhaust on every car I've owned and not one has come close to being as loud as these. In car with the windows up is fine. No drone unbelievably. Floor it and it sounds like it's going to blow the windows out. Windows down and holy smoke...it sounds like a cup car blasting down the main straight of Philip Island! So so loud. You can't stop grinning until you realise that every single person within a 3km radius is looking at you and not in admiration. I give it a week before my car is canaried, either by a passing cop or a neighbour complaining. So, I'm not sure if this was the best choice. The "Sport Exhaust" version which is their version between this and OEM would have been the right one to get. I guess I'll stick with it for a bit and see what happens when it carbons up. It will certainly be challening T-mans for DB supremacy at the SMT.

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You *could* always drive it quietly in your neighbourhood?

can you post a vid? or even better, what time you leaving work today?

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do less than 500rpm until you're home at 2km/h?

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I'm actualy parked next to you today Josh but I'm about to bail from work as I'm not feeling the best. I'll see if I can take some footage over the weekend.

cool, might see you next week then

Hanging for this footage

Here's a little video of the exhaust. The GoPro mic isn't that great but I think you'll get the idea. I think I've decided this exhaust would be great on a manual and definitely the one I'd want if the car was a weekender. Being a tiptronic and a daily drive, I'm pretty sure I'm going to replace it with something a bit more sedate. The last part of the movie shows the cruising noise and to me it's not really pleasant and it's really only because it's a tiptronic car. I also made my 2 year old cry when I gave it a bit of a rev in the driveway. The look on my wife's face was one of displeasure also. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7dOw6UjO9U

Sounds awesome Simon.

Love it, you'd be giving Theo a run for his money thats for sure. Cant you put some sound deadening to quiet down the drone, it would be a shame to replace it Simon.

East Boundry Rd! Sounds good, not as loud as the ones I tried on mine... they were over the top for me but thinking of chucking them back on anyway!

I like it, sounds great!

Those look wild Trev. Not surprised they're over the top. Yes, East Boundary Rd. are you from the area?

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I'm just in Mordialloc/Parkdale.

does sound awesome, a bit loud for daily duties

I love aircraft noise and loud cars!

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I put the Dansk mufflers back on the car on Friday. I was going to look into ways of quietening them down a bit, including getting some car chemistry inserts. Driving into work this morning, I had the windows down and roof open driving through the CBD and decided to mash the loud pedal into the floor. There's this god almighty roar and I was thinking "they may be bloody loud but geez it sounds good" when the echo off the buildings came bouncing back at me and I couldn't stop laughing.

Did you happen to drive through Main St Mordy on Sunday Morn about 10:30? A loud blue 996 came through but I thought it can't be you, you took em off!

Sounds very nice to me. The tip doesn't sound too bad, the shifts are pretty quick so you don't get that slurring sound.

Today I bought myself a Xmas present. An Alpine PWE-S8 8" powered subwoofer. This fits on the back shelf perfectly behind the rear seats and I'm very happy with the sound it produces. It's obviously not going to pump out the bass of a boxed 10" or 12" but it does an excellent job of providing the low down frequencies that the 5.1/4" front speakers just can't produce. As a comparison, we have the Bose system in our Cayenne with a subwoofer hidden somewhere and the Alpine sub produces more bass than the Bose system.  I guess it's such a small area inside the car, it doesn't take much. If anyone is looking for some bass in there 996 or 997, I highly suggest one of these. It has an RCA input or speaker wire input and a remote control so you can control the sub bass level separately to the rest of the system. I don't see why it couldn't be run off the factory stereo although I'm not sure if the fibre optic systems of the 996.2+ would complicate installation. I'm not 100% sure how to hide it yet. I grabbed some carpet from Bunnings but I'd prefer to get some closer matched to the rest of the car. Anyway, here's a couple pics. IMG_6248 by Simon K , on Flickr IMG_6246 by Simon K , on Flickr IMG_6249 by Simon K , on Flickr