Exhaust and suspension modifications

Hi guys, I'd like to start off by apologising for the new thread that is fairly similar to others that are already on the list. Secondly id like to say this is my first post as I am new to the board. I currently own a 996 3.6l and would like to perform a couple of modifications to it. The modifications include: 1] The exhaust system and 2] The suspension setup I owned a 97 993 cab up until two years ago when I changed it over to the current 996 cab. The one thing that I noticed was that the 993 had a nicer exhaust note and the car sat lower on the road. This is my main reason for changing the current car's setup. Unfortunately at the time of buying the 996 I did not option it with the PSE or the sports suspension and suffering now. My dilemma is that in Australia we do not have the vast options in after market modifications as are available in the US. Nor do we have the workshops to make it as cost effective. Also I am not certain for what options to go for. My selections are as follows: Exhaust: 1] Go for original PSE but not wire in the speed sensor or 2] Cargraphic exhaust setup - with the potential of doing Cargraphic headers too Suspensions: 1] Porsche suspension, which I believe only lowers the car by 10mm or 2] H&r Springs I do not intend to track the car, all I would like to do is stiffen up the car ride and give it an exhaust not that does the car justice. If you have other suggestions I am open to those as well. At this point in time I would like to thank you all in advance for your assistance in my decision process. _______________________________ ArthurK Melbourne, Australia 996 Cab 993 Cab ( regretfully traded in) ps: also when did the 3.6l and current facelift hit the US?

ArthurK, I'm in Western Australia and I have a MY03 Cab. I put on a PSE and no regrets. Every 996 owner should go out there and get one! It's LOUD and there is no resonance!!... Simply amazing.. Cost me $A4,500 with the manual switch, but no Auto cut-off. Chucksta

Chuksta, Did you consider any other option instead of the PSE? Also the funny thing is that my dealer told me about $2500-$3000 for the PSE? Also do you notice any performance differance or just simply beautiful exhaust note? _______________________________ ArthurK Melbourne, Australia 996 Cab 993 Cab ( regretfully traded in)

Welcome to the board, Arthur. I have a C4S, I did not order it with PSE. It was a choice I eventually regretted. I looked at all the choices for the exhaust several months after delivery. They all seemed to be good choices. Except for PSE, all claimed performance improvement. I eventually went with PSE for several reasons. I liked the fact that it is OEM. Although the others claimed performance improvement, improvement appeared negligible, and their claims suffered lack of credibility, IMHO. OTOH, Porsche has always been very conservative in HP claims. So, I went with the PSE. Great sound, always open. I find no need for the quiet switch at all, and believe this to be a waste of money to install. Reagrdless of what Porsche claims, it not only sounds more powerful, I actually think it is more powerful. Go for PSE. You can have it shipped to you from anywhere, and it is a straight DIY install without the switches. As for suspension, the C4S already comes standard with the sport suspension. I've also though of suspension upgrades. I track the car regularly, as well as drive it to work regularly. I think the 030 works perfectly for either purpose. Unless you intend to actually race the car, the suspension set up is perfect for track use. Just the right amount of roll and give to let you know how close you are to the limit. And, surprisingly, this limit is VERY high. You will find yourself passing cars with track dedicated suspensions. For the road, those expansion joints can be very annoying, but otherwise still a comfortable long distance ride. Someday, when I want to do more than the 7 or so weekends a year that I currently spend at the track, I may convert the car to a track dedicated car. THEN I'll change the suspension. For you, I'd go with the ROW M030 now. Just my .02.

I'm in middle of making the same decisions you are. I just completed the RoW M030 upgrade. I only have less than 200 miles on it, but I would definitely agree that it has just enough lean left in it to help feel the limits of the car. For daily driving, it is a bit rough on expansion joints and such. But not enough to want to take one of the other cars. It doesn't really lower the car much. Which is fine with me, because I was only looking for a touch of adjustment there. I would be nervous if that crankcase were hanging any lower. And I like the fact that it is OE. No fitment or noise issues at all. This weekend I was hoping to decide on the exhaust. I've heard the fabspeed and it is too loud for my taste. Now some people have said the PSE is loud, others have said it is not loud at all. I suppose it's all relative, so I don't know what to think until I can hear it in person.

I currently run the RoW 030 setup with a Fabspeed exhaust. My car is a daily driver, and I also track rather aggressively at times. I switched to the RoW 030 mostly due to my track experiences. The stock setup had far too much body roll, and the car felt very unsettled at speed over transitions. The RoW 030 is still a little soft, but it was a nice compromise between street and track use. Some feel that the 030 is too rough out on the street, but I disagree. Ride quality on the street is more than acceptable, and car attitude on the track is far superior to the stock setup IMHO. Streeting the 030 around the city is fine since the ride height is not too low. Plus, you're dealing with all OEM parts. I'm with Palting, I think the RoW 030 is a nice choice for your current needs. Regarding the exhaust, you really need to listen to them all... it's like speaker shopping. The perception of sound is so subjective. I have heard PSE (3.4L and 3.6L), Ruf, Fabspeed, and GHL (2.7L Box) in person. They all have their unique qualities. Fabs in my cab are sweet. No resonance. Very throaty and nice at WOT. Plus, you can still putter on by without much attention if you wish. The 3.4L PSE is raspy vs the growl of the 3.6L PSE. They both sound great, but the 3.6L PSE is really something special! I have heard these out at the track, and they are terrific. Cost can be an "issue". I have not heard the Cargraphic setup. Don't get into the whole power gain issue... just enjoy the music!

Get PSE and have just the mufflers installed. Takes about an hour. Installing the electronics and vacuum parts is a waste of time and money IMHO. I'd never want to turn it off! I've had PSE on my last 2 Carreras, and it is simply the best option I've ever had on any car I've owned. The sound is intoxicating. Did I mention I love it!!??

I just did the PSE and ROW M030 300 miles ago. I LOVE IT! These to additions to the car really made it come alive. There is a PSE on ebay now you may be able to pick it up cheap... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2449538447 Also check out the GHL being offered at a discount to Rennlist It is a great looking system and the price tag show savings on your pocket book. JakeMate just purchased his and it sounds really good. But I would go with the PSE.

Sandoval, how would you compare the sound of the GHL versus the PSE? Character differences? Volume difference? TIA.

Nova, great question! ,,,,anyone?

I just got the GHL about a week ago, I love the sound. I can't compare to a PSE, since I haven't had the chance to hear them side by side. FWIW, the car feels torquier as well, I don't know if it's the sound, or a real improvement

I just hung up the phone, ordering a set of GHL sport mufflers. I'll do a sound byte when they're in. Now I have to wait for delivery, just like Christmas morning.

Here we go again.

I'm an idiot. I have no idea why I didn't just do a search before asking that question. Sorry!!!

Totally kidding. Have fun with whichever one you choose!

"Jakemate", your avatar is just irresponsible.

Not even worth the response but, who the hell are you to tell me what my avatar should be? Or maybe you're assuming that someone with an avatar like that would lash out with some immature retort. Are you just a firestarter? If your beef is with the gun that is shown, we could start a huge discussion why guns are good or bad. Why don't we just stick to talking about 996's? Worry about yourself please. I'm fully capable of making my own decisions.

ArthurK I have a Mill Miglia exhaust fitted to my 996 cab which is made in Oz and comes with a 'sound' guarantee. I have no regrets and love the sound. If u are interetsed let me know and I will try and find their website for you. PS It was cheaper than a PSE

I have PSE and Bilstein PSS-9 with GT-3 sways. The sound is wonderful and the handling is vastly improved oner stock US suspension.

I'd like to say thanks for all the advice that you have all provided. It looks like the exhaust system is straight forward and an easy decision. It looks like PSE all the way. With respect to the suspension changes. I have considered two options. The first is a simple change of the stock springs to the H&R Springs. The second option is either the H&R Coilovers or the Bilstein PSS-9. My main concern is the final ride hight of the car. I am currently scraping the front nose on the drive way so I dont want to lower the car by more than 20mm. Also I'd like to order the PSE from the US. So far I have Suncoast Motorsports at US$1650. It amazes me how different pricing is between the US and Australia. The PSE in Australia goes for US$2850. But then again when we pay US$162,000 for a C2, we cannot expect anything better for modifications. ArthurK

I got mine at Brandywine Porsche--cheapest by far. They have a sale on for $1,499.

Why do we not put our collective PSE orders together and negotiate a good price? This is a fairly common practice on other vehicle boards.

Sounds great. There was one with Brandywine a few months ago. I think 15 people got in on it. Lets talk about options.

i have H&R springs on my car and the ride height is definitely noticeably lower. i think the car is down by about 30mm or so. you'll need to swap out the shocks too with a set of bilstein HD models if you decide to do this. the stock shocks aren't meant to be used with shorter springs. as for the driveability of the lowered car, i use mine year round in boston where the roads are notoriously bad and the ride height is fine. i definitely notice the lowered car has less body roll, but i don't think it rides any different than stock. i think it's a great modification to make.

i too have been debating the exhaust issue ghl vs. pse i finally opted for the pse i recently ordered from brandywine (1499)and they have the best price you will find (trust me i looked far and wide). i was interested in the one on ebay until eric told the world the price quickly rose to 1425 (plus 100 shipping) i think the brandwine price is good until 12/31, it then goes up approx 100.00 as soon as i get it on i will give feedback roy

teflon_jones Thanks for the feedback. I have decided to go for the bilstein coilovers. As you have found out, I didn't believe just changing the stock springs over to H&Rs will do the trick. I am also interested to hear you say that the ride is not different after the modification. Is it possible that the C4 is quite a firmer car to begin with over the C2? The main reason for me making this change is that after I drove the new C4S I loved the stiffer ride. I think/believe the PSS9s will let me play around till I'm happy with the final setup. Hopefully this exercise wont be just a waste of money, to achieve what the springs alone could have . But you have to live and learn. LAJ_996 I am more than happy to purchase through Brandywine or even do a group buy. My biggest problem is the fact I am in Australia. Some places refuse to reply to my emails let alone ship. It is just annoying that we have to go to such extremes to get good value for money parts/accessories/mods. So far only Gert has had the decency to reply to my email. I am patiently waiting for replies from two others, Suncoast and IRA. If you have contact details for Brandywine would love to give them a chance too. ____________________________ ArthurK Melbourne, Australia 996 '02 C2 Cab 993 Cab ( regretfully traded in) ps: Any sound bites of a PSE? I have heard a few others but no PSE as yet (apart from the one on the Porsche site - which I dont believe does it justice)

i think the C4 is a bit firmer than the C2. i've driven both and i like the feel of the C4 better. the C4 also comes with bigger sway bars than a C2, so that affects the overall handling and feel. i haven't seen anywhere that sells bigger sway bars for the 996 C4, but a few places do for the C2, so i'm guessing that they're already pretty beefy in a C4.

I would be interested in a PSE group buy....from anyone. I stopped by the local dealer today and they quoted me $2195. I still find it amazing people do not want to "work with you" to establish good customer relations. I am always happy to spend $ locally, but obviously you have to shop around.

Thanks to all who recommended Brandywine. They were fantastic. Justin would reply to my emails within minutes of receiving them. I am amazed at how good they are, even though it is a bit of a pain to deal with me being so far away. I can highly recommend them and their price was pretty good too (with respect to the Australian price, even after freight was added in). I ended up paying $1850.00 including shipping to Australia (approximately $300). Now the waiting game begins. One mod ordered one to go........... ____________________ arthurk 996 '02 C2 Cab

Just ordered PSE from Justin at Brandywine. Nice guy, $1595 + $30 shipping.

ArthurK, I have a '99 C4 Cab with Techart exhaust and lowered w/ Gemballa kit. Exhaust sounds great and car still rides smoothly even lowered and looks much better. Good luck. Regards

As most have you performed a number of modifications and have already pointed me in the right direction with respect to the PSE (thanks to all and Brandywine). I was wondering who I should talk to regarding the PSS-9. So far I have the following prices for the upgrade: 1] Carnewal - AUD$3166 (1895 Euro) 2] CDOC - AUD$2780 (USD $2099) PSS-9 in Australia goes for AUD$4700 (USD $3545) Neither of the above prices include shipping. Does anyone know how much the PSS-9 weighs as a package ? As the PSE is costing me USD $300 it might give me a comparison in shipping charges. I am also assuming that the PSS-9 will be less bulky in size and maybe weight? Any more pointers in this area will be greatly appreciated. Also with respect to the "C"II Side Skirts for MY'02-03, anyone have a Porsche Part Number? (I think I have the mod bug) ________________ ArthurK 996 '02 C2 Cab