thoughts on factory "sport" exhaust vs. gemballa or others?

wanted to see if i could get input on ordering the factory exhaust versus different aftermarket ones? my guess is that the factory system is headers plus exhaust so it's the real deal. do not know enough, frankly about the others, so i thought to ask here. input is greatly appreciated.

The <a href="http://www2.us.porsche.com/national/models/911teq/sport/abgasanlage.htm" target="_blank">factory system</a> is just the two mufflers with associated parts. It is designed to give a throatier sound, and in the case of 2002 cars, the sound is more synonymous to older air-cooled 911's. Unlike aftermarket mufflers, this system does not rob low-end torque at the expense of a horsepower or two at or around 6k rpms. If you want a system mainly for sound with better quality, stick with factory.

thanks for the heads up, viken. it's one of those issues where i feel like while the other options seem to be overpriced, the real stuff like the suspension and the sport exhaust are really steals.

You may choose to get this exhaust from Rennlist sponsor <a href="http://www.carnewal.com" target="_blank">Carnewal.com</a> for a lot less than the factory's $2400 asking price.

Viken, I think this was covered somewhat in an earlier post but 2 questions: can you override the factory sports exhaust with an aftermarket kit to (i) turn it off completely; or (ii) turn it on between 25 and 50 when I understand the factory system is restricted.

[quote]Originally posted by sawmilldriver: <strong>can you override the factory sports exhaust with an aftermarket kit to (i) turn it off completely; or (ii) turn it on between 25 and 50 when I understand the factory system is restricted.</strong><hr></blockquote> I guess you are talking about the electronically-operated valve. I am not sure if Porsche made any changes to the '02 model but previously, you could disable the valve from closing and opening. I don't have any experience with how this is done but people have done it. Bear in mind that this device is designed for sound tuning mainly to lower it at certain speeds and/or rpms for city driving where the noise regulations are stringent.

Does the sport exhaust use the same muffler as standard ? Somebody with the functioning valve might be able to answer this, in other words is the sound of the exhaust only generated from that small bypass pipe with the rest of the muffler being the same as standard? I'm just curious, if this is the case it would be pretty easy (and a lot cheaper)to "upgrade" the stock exhaust if all one is looking for is more sound. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> Doug

The sport exhaust mufflers are not the same as stock. They are designed to have a deeper and throatier sound while the valves limit the decibels at certain speeds where countries like Switzerland require a quieter sound.

I just talked to my Porsche tech who said installation of the sport exhaust is $1800 in labor. Whereas the Gemballa would cost maybe $200. -LOU

LOL! $1800 in labor is B.S. What's their hourly rate? Even Porsche says it's 6.5 hours to install. One who has done it already, can even do it in 5 hours or less.

[quote]Originally posted by Viken: <strong> I guess you are talking about the electronically-operated valve. I am not sure if Porsche made any changes to the '02 model but previously, you could disable the valve from closing and opening. I don't have any experience with how this is done but people have done it.</strong><hr></blockquote> Viken, FYI, and to address the previous question, the default position for the factory bypass on the '99-01 sport exhaust is "open". (I'm willing to bet it's the same for the '02) Therefore, like me, if you don't hook up any of the control wiring or vacuum lines, the exhaust will NOT go quiet from 25-40....you'll get that wonderful sound all the way up through the rev range. For someone putting the system on aftermarket, that greatly simplifies the installation and makes it a definite DIYS project of about an hour. For the owner of a factory installed system on an '02 with the bypass valve operational, it would simply mean disconnecting the vacuum line to disable the 25-40 cutout. I know of installations where the owner has gone to the expense of having a switch installed to manually engage or disengage the bypass, but for me that would be a waste of money. It's easy enough to control the sound by keeping your foot out of the throttle in the neighborhood late at night or in the odd hospital zone.

Mike, Thanks for the great clarification on this issue.

[quote]Originally posted by Viken: <strong>LOL! $1800 in labor is B.S. What's their hourly rate? Even Porsche says it's 6.5 hours to install. One who has done it already, can even do it in 5 hours or less.</strong><hr></blockquote> According to your calculations of 5-6 hours labor, I guess $300/hr <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> Anyway, they gave me some song and dance about have to set some piece that varies noise at certain rpm's. I know they do indeed have to do that but $1800 seemed astronomical to me. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> -LOU

Lou, If you install the mufflers without the electronic module which operates the valves (as per Mike's post), it shouldn't take more than two hours.

[quote]Originally posted by Viken: <strong>Lou, If you install the mufflers without the electronic module which operates the valves (as per Mike's post), it shouldn't take more than two hours.</strong><hr></blockquote> Lou, Viken's estimate of two hours is closer to reality for a "first timer" than my one hour estimate above. I've had my mufflers on and off several times so I've gotten pretty good at it. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />