help with sports exhaust

Hi everyone! Im new here-just got my first 996 this February. I was going to have an aftermarket sports exhaust fitted without the switch. What are your opinions? Will this make loads of noise in the car, in particular I have been told that the interior will boom on long mway drives. The last thing I want is a boy racer noisy number to wake up all the neighbours when i go to work in the morning. All thoughts are welcome!![FONT= Times New Roman" ]

This is a difficult one, if your car is pre-facelift then they are (in the majority opinion) too quiet, Porsche changed the design & improved the sound with the 2002 MY, by customer demand !! I had a Cargraphic system fitted to a previous 996 & this transormed the car, it sounded simply fantastic at high revs when you pressed on ! But it also sounded a little agricultural at low revs & I felt it was too noisy & unpleasant around town or on part throttle, although motorway cruising was fine. I think the problem is, in order to get a great sound in the cabin at high speed, it need' s to be LOUD outside ! This is why the Porsche system sounds the best of both worlds, where you can flick a switch & turn the sound down & it is also warranty approved, although the price seems stiff compared to aftermarket guys !! Having said this I have read a post from a Boxter owner saying that this switching system causes the exhaust to make a rattling noise, so maybe it' s not as good as they claim, check this with your OPC B4 you buy. I am toying with a sports system for my TT, but as Porsche don' t make one for this model, I am left with the same low speed/town problems as before, so am biding my time !

I can' t comment on the Boxster exhaust but the Porsche sports one fitted to mine (from new, so a factory fit) is fine. No rattles, squeaks, etc. The switch works well and makes a large and noticeable difference. You can use it when leaving early in the morning, or when cruising, since all you really hear then is the transmission whine (in the quiet gaps between the tracks on the upgraded music system of course). On loud mode, at tickover it sounds most imposing, is great through tunnels and in car parks, and sounds fantastic at 6000 rpm with your right clog buried in the carpark. It encourages you to rev to the redline in each gear and you feel like a hero (but you have to be careful since in 3rd you will be over 100mph by the time you reach for 4th - which I cannot of course condone or encourage in any way [ ]). If you press the switch before you start the engine you can hear a slight noise from the back, as the baffles move. How long it will last without corrosion or wearing out I don' t know. I press the switch a couple of times a day, and have done >6K miles so far, so will let you know if it goes wrong. The whole thing is stainless, so we' ll see. Whether it is a reasonably priced I don' t know, I guess it is not a bargain but I consider it worth it (almost). The other consideration is that should you want to go on track, having a quiet mode will give you more options.

I' ve posted this info a couple of times but worth repeating. Tested at 4500rpm the current Sports exhaust measures 107db. ie to noisey for virtually all track days. On quite it measures 99db at the same rpm and gets you thru virtually all noise tests. Perfect. As for the road I' ve never seen fit to use the quiet button. I find the automatic reduction in noise between 30 & 45 mph a great safety feature as you tend to drive thru villages at 29mph.

Thanks guys. My OPC said he will fit the exhaust for £1229 inclusive (minus switch which is a super price). (Might come even lower if more people are interested). This is for a pre-facelift car. He told me they weld the safety flap open so it continues to make the noise between 35-45 mph. Putting in the switch is another 10 hours labour (=£800!!). I still don' t know what to do. The American forums say to have it put in this way although I would hate the cabin to be full of the booming vbration when driving on the motorway. This would swing it for me. What is the cabin noise like on motorways with the switch on?

You don' t need to, I agree, since it is not boomy or a problem at motorway speeds. If I have a 7am flight to catch though, and leave at 5am, I keep it quiet till I get out of the village since people often sleep with the windows open. You don' t have to be considerate, but it doesn' t do any harm. It does go quiet between 28 and 44 on mine. This is regardless of gear or revs. I read it was to comply with noise limits for drive by tests, but while plausible, I don' t know if it is true. If true I don' t know if it is a German or European requirement. I don' t believe there is such a requirement here, but I wouldn' t swear to it, although the OPC wouldn' t offer it if it were not legal. I' ve heard many bikes that make as much or more noise. If it is OK, then having it make noise all the time at all speeds would be better, and certainly not worth 800 notes to fit the switch, IMHO.

Why not, isn' t that what makes a society ? And more to the point, doesn' t p**s off the non-porker owning majority.

I think you should be considerate. I just wish all the other b*ggers round me who have a " who can own the noisiest diesel piece of cr*p competition" and wake me up at 5.30, 6.00, 6.30, 7.00 etc. shared the same view. But I don' t want to offend anyone, and don' t want to give them a reason to begrudge me having my toy.

As another recent 996 owner I too am considering an exhaust upgrade. My current plan is to try and persuade a few friendly members to listen to their exhausts at Eynsham in a few weeks time. I am toying with either the Fabspeed or the PSE. Gert at http://www.carnewal-europe.com/main.htm is advertising a PSE with all the switch gear for approx. GBP 1100. There are plenty of posts on US boards on how to fit both the Fabspeed and the PSE for the average DIY er. If you go for the PSE please post your satisfaction level ...[ ]

Netrophile, Simple choice, if you ever want to do a track you need the switch.

Thanks all. I think I will go for this. PS GMackie-Gert is actually charging a whole lot more for his PSE. I got a quote of 1847.67 euro. The prices on his site are export prices for the USA etc where most of his customers are. The best price I got was from my OPC.

Hi All, I too am toying, and have been for a year whether to fit an sport exhaust to my 99 996 C2. There are so many out there it is difficult to choose as you cannot really ask them to take it off later! I want my 996 to sound great, and it just doesn' t at the moment. After reading this thread I still dont know which one to go for Can we have a vote? Sean

Kevin, I listened to your car circulating Silverstone last week [ ] ( I thought I recognised the registration). I am guessing you must have had your loud button pressed because your exhaust sounded so much rawer than the other 996' s

Paul, Yep no noise check at Silverstone just a general 105db drive by limit so I left it on noisy. I haven' t seen a noise check on a 996 with a sports exhaust but without the power upgrade so I' ve got not idea if mine is a bit more raucous because of the power kit. When ever you start it defaults to ' sports' so you need to make a concious effort to switch it to quiet. Which I will need to do everytime I start the car at Goodwood next wednesday.