sport exhaust?

Lookin for a 996 for my first porsche! I drove one with porsche sport exhaust and wanted to know how i could tell. I prob could tell if i was there, but i found one in another state that i'm really interested in and wanted to do a ppi on it and was wondering if you could tell visually if it had a porsche sport exhaust. ALso, is there a factory short throw and if so, is there anyway you can visually tell?

Cars that had PSE installed at the factory will have switch on the upper dash that looks like exhaust tips (or at first glance may look like a pair of goggles). However, some owners installed the PSE after they purchased the car and may NOT have installed the PSE switch on the dash. The PSE mufflers are shown in the pic below. PSE mufflers have a vacuum controlled valve that opens or closes to make the PSE loud or quiet. The control valve is the part that looks like an old time "oil can" on each muffler in the pic. You van not tell visually if a short throw has been installed unless you pill the shift boot off and look. Even then you have to know what you are looking for. If the car does not have a short shift, you can install one yourself in less than 2 hours and the cost is about $200. If a person who does the PPI knows Porsches well, they can probably feel the difference between the stock shifter and a short throw shifter.

If you look underneath the front hood, near the latch, there is a factory sticker. The same sticker can be found in the original service booklet that came with the car. If you write down the option codes from the sticker you can look them up (e.g. renntech.org or here) and find out what the factory options were. PSE code is IXLF or XLF Short shifter is IXCZ or XCZ Another way is to copy the VIN and call your dealer and ask for a favor. They can look up the car and tell you what the factory options are and even the warranty/recall history.

Seems nothing is for sure regarding info & these cars: We are second owners of an trouble-free 2000 C2 with an extravagant, but appreciated, group of options including the PSE. On runs PCA members love to follow and listen to the exhaust note. Generally I agree but I think it is to harsh and raspy around the neighborhood and sometimes bypass the Vacuum switch above the engine. You see, this car has Factory PSE but no switch. My understanding is the engine mgmt system moculates it in some way but the only way to stop it from bypassing some exhaust around the cans is to provide the dashpots with constant vacuum. I plan to install a second vac switch soon. Two things about the early PSE: Some exhaust bypasses the entire muffler can (vs newer -as pictured- systems bypass 1or2 sections, prob mellower sounding) and two, there is no switch on the dash. jVm

And to throw more gas on the fire... My 1999 C2 with factory PSE has no dash switch and no external control pots. This reminds me a lot of the old discussion about the 20 or so Abarth Carreras. No two were alike. And as the cars rolled down the assembly line, parts and installations varied from car to car. Why? Because it was a transition car. Just like the early 996's. Not everything was locked in stone "in the beginning." Some things carried over from the 993 because the parts were still on the shelf. That also applied to engineering ideas. The 996 was not a completely clean sheet of paper. When you are a small manuafacturer, some things really do get road tested by the customer, and some things just get done a certain way until the better idea or newer legislation comes along to change it. And the thing we know best about Porsche is that they are not squeemish about changing some techinical thing at any time, and not just saving them up for annual model rollout. We also know that first owners are not squeemish about making changes to their cars after delivery, and then representing the change at sale time as a rare and little known factory option (but that is a discussion for 10 other threads already on this board. LOL!).

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So you have an option sticker on your MY99 that says XLF? I'd like to see that.

Aaannd.....My 2000 C2 does not have an XLF -that I can find- on it's under-bonnet sticker. Perhaps there was a diff code in 2000? I sure don't think that the prev owner would have gone to all the trouble of wiring, vac tubing, etc to say nothing of the computer tie-in. I'm sure this is a factory deal....plus I trust the guy and give him Huge credit for caring for this car for years. I would sure like to know more about the criteria the engine mgmt system uses to control the dashpots. This system would be nice if it stayed quiet up to about 4000 RPM. jVm

my '02 C2 has no switch but does have PSE, it is "throatier" and quite nice....all my friends love the sound

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Lots of people go through the trouble... thats a very expensive valve. Might as well do the hack instead of the PSE.

Hi "Redridge", So, not meaning to be a jerk; just friendly Qs.... You say "lots of people go to the trouble" etc. Trouble of installing the vac switch, wiring, hoses, AND somehow interfacing to the engine mgmt computer??? Or do u mean putting in "sport" muffler cans?? OK, some may go to the trouble of duplicating the factory PSE, most likely by a dealer, but OK, there you go.....the car now has factory PSE, right? OK, maybe 'dealer installed' PSE....jVm

Oops, Sorry 'Redridge' I didn't comment on your remark "might as well do the hack [computer?] instead of the PSE". Don't know what u r getting at... There is no PSE without the Cans With the Bypass Tubing AND the vacuum operated dashpots. jVm

You don't need to be too fascinated with PSE necessarily. I think any normal sport exhaust is mild enough, and not too loud. Bypass pipes are obviously crazy loud, but something like Fabspeed sound great -- and weigh ~20lbs less than a stock system. Otherwise the "hack" is a great way to go.

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You can mimic the sound of PSE by modding the stock mufflers. You can add a pipe from the end cap of the muffler and tie it into the outlet pipe. That mod will not have a valve to close or open the "new" pipe, but that is about the only difference between PSE and a modded set of mufflers.

Yes, some are obsessed with PSE and some just want that 911 flat six sound let out. I drive my '71 911S for that. What is interesting are the details and no one seems to know the details. Maybe the real pros intentionally ignore this discussion....jVm/"ODDYOS"

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Actually, that is not a true statement. Some of the early 3.4 PSE mufflers bypassed the muffler completely with a J-pipe which connected from teh inlet pipe to the outlet pipe. There was no valve to open or close this connection. IIRC, Dansk was the company that provided the early PSE to Porsche. Unfortunately, I can not find a pic of the actual Dansk muffler, but here is a pic of how that muffler looked.

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What "details" are you referencing?

I think we failed to point out where the air goes in and the sound comes out and how that all relates to the weather is the Swiss Alps when the cow rings the bells wrapped around its neck because his horns dont work ??? though I COULD be wrong why just the otha day I was fixin to let out some of that there flat six sound. I wadded up some tin foil on an old toilet paper tube and stuck it right up there with some spittin tabackie. Shoot I didnt need no lectriconics err nuttin, Sounded pretty too... sheee it

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what Im saying is that it is possible that your PSE did not come from the factory that way and someone put it on afterwards... and did not install the sports switch.... as for the the sports (loud) button... the only interface to the DME is the speed signal (for EU noise regulation)... other than that its only a relay that switches vacuum to open/close the valve... alot of people have gone through the trouble of installing this feature since it is part of the full installation from the factory (I for one have gone through this trouble)... if you search on Renntech... there are many that this also... If I mis-understood what you are saying... sorry, Its still a bit early for me...

Details PSE Installation DIY

I get it - I checked his other posts, he has a rattle in his exhaust and is embarressed to drive in town. He is blaming the cans he has which sound like some sort of a HACK form the PO. He wants the "non-pse" quiet sound..... I think you might have a bad Cat or perhaps the cans you have have come apart hense the rattle you hear when you are watching the car drive off.... the simple solution is to replace what is causing the rattle. if you like the PSE sound at speed and want it quiet in town at low RPM's you dont have to have full PSE for that. I have a descent Hack muffler and it is dead silent in town... but has a nice growl when you get on it. I think the PSE is very much the same in town even in the "ON" position... from what you are saying, you have a rattle... that is something else and yes a bit anoying are we getting close?

I see I can not go 'back' to see your comments without losing what I've written. Geeze I hate that!! OK, I was apologizing to 'Redridge' who has reminded of the detail a Porschephile will get into when making proper mods. Gotta911 provided me with the DIY link that is very impressive. Now more questions: You say that the only tie-in to the DME is a relay that relates to the car's speed? So there is really no "modulation" of the PSE dashpots based on anything like RPM,TPosition, load or....? Mine is loud all the time. Right out of the driveway or off the stoplite it barks and sounds ratty (NOT rattling). Seems to me that the bypass is open all the time. Maybe something is wrong here. Perhaps I should hook a meter or lite to the vacuum switch to see when voltage is applied. OK, now where is this relay? In the computer box? How can I ID it? What does the dash switch do re this relay?

if you give us a pic of your engine bay, we should be able to tell you if you have this relay or not....

Hi Red', Ahhh, engine bay...relay? Do you mean the vacuum switch I have been refering to? Upper rt side of the bay, 2 black plastic vac hoses going to a 'device' that also has a wiring connection? This is where I bypass the vac to be full-time to the dashpots to keep them closed to keep the exaust quiet. In the DIY that you or Gotta911 sent the guy is working with 'stuff' under the driver's seat.. The relay/computer, I think. Thanks, jVm