Exhaust/headers question from a new comer

Hi all I've finally joined the 987.2 club and believe this is my first post (so please go easy on me). I've made this account what seems to be forever ago and finally found one that met most of my wants. I have driven the car maybe 30 feet from transport dropoff to my garage as the dealer I got from didn't include the temp plate. Even with that short of distance, I could tell the exhaust needs some love. I've been doing research and I got some questions I couldn't get answers to. 1. I understand 987.1 and .2 exhausts are different as .1 has cats embedded where .2 doesn't. However, can I put on .1 headers which has 1 cat on each side on the .2? Seems that may achieve what Carnewal GT exhaust does, which removes the cats in the exhaust . 2. I don't have the PSE , and looking around Soul has a valve controller but it's for 718 . I assume it doesn't work for the 987 otherwise they'd have stated it. Is there a valve controller that works for the 987.2 ? 3. Speaking of the PSE , can I add a valve controller to Carnewal GT exhaust ? 4. Are the cayman exhaust / headers the same as boxsters?

1. the 987.1 (M97) and 987.2 (9A1) have different engines and so the exhaust manifolds are not cross compatible. 2. If you don't have the PSE , yout exhaust won't have a valve to control. 3. I'll let someone else who might be more knowledgable on the Carnewal options. 4. I'm not sure about the .2 cars but there were differences in the .1 cars (header design, exhaust tubing diameters etc, not "just the tip") BTW, Lovely Spyder !

When you say the exhaust “needs some love,” what exactly are the symptoms? Is it too loud? Rattling somehow? You hear an exhaust leak?

Thank you for the helpful answers. Thank you! I've been searching for a bit and am very happy with it!

I just mean it sounds muted and would like a louder exhaust than what's on it.

Gotcha on the muted exhaust note. Exhaust mods are a very personal topic because each person has a different idea of what sounds good. And we might also have different requirements depending upon how the car is used (daily vs casual vs track); what kind of neighborhood we live in; the legal requirements of our state; how much we value power and a specific sound; our budget; other mods on the car including a tune. I recently went fairly hardcore with the exhaust on my 987.2 Cayman S . I went with a Soul catless header and valved exhaust combo. With the valves open it’s seriously loud. With the valves closed it has a bit of drone in the 2500-3000 rev range. But on the track it’s a beast with an addicting soundtrack that’s never tiring. And since my car is 80% track it’s exactly what I wanted.

You can add a soul valve controller as it is separate from the cars electronics. It uses a key fob or your home link buttons if you have them. All you need is a vacuum line and power and you have valve control I have one on my 981 that I installed PSE myself. Found one on eBay. I thought the carnewal exhaust had no valve but was a stock modified exhaust . That’s true for the 981 and I think it is for the 987. So no valve controller needed since there is now valve. You could go aftermarket exhaust but I hear that most have some level of drone. Good luck.

I ended up doing a DFI engine conversion on my 987.1 that had Soul catless headers and exhaust and on the new engine, used stock 987.2 headers and exhaust initially. I agree that it was quite muted and really needed to be woken up. I decided that it wasn't worth trying to make the catless headers work on the new engine and I still needed to pass an inspection in NC, so I sold them, but I kept my 987.1 Soul exhaust and ended up finding a local shop that could modify it to work with the 987.2 headers and it is now pretty much perfect. It doesn't have any valves, but it sounds great all the time, so I'm not concerned about that. I think mine is like a valved 987.2 Soul exhaust , but with the valves closed all the time. I don't have any drone though since I still have cats. If you do go with a valved exhaust , there's a guy on ******** (possibly here too) that is making a wireless controller that works with the Sport or PSE buttons (retrofitted) with a couple of options. That would be a lot easier than trying to run the wiring all the way from the front and the DME wiring to the valves. I wouldn't want to have a keyfob to control a valved exhaust as that's one more aftermarket thing in the car. I would rather it be controlled by the DME or by a factory button on the dash.

The key fob can be programeed to your home link. That’s how mine is. Right next to the garage door button, the second button closes the valves and the third button opens the valves. I leave them open all the time anyway but like the ability to close if I want to.

So you've had the car for a week. Presumably got plates for it ? Reason I ask is initial impressions from the trailer to garage "run" and subsequent throttle blipping doesn't give the stock exhaust a chance to show it's stuff. Not a lot of drama at idle and low rpm, I'll give you that. But part throttle and WOT, the car and exhaust note really wake up, even with the stock exhaust . My 981 has the PSE which is virtually no different at idle. But if more drama at idle is what you want, I get that too. An arrest-me-red Spyder is not for shrinking violets 😉 No need to rush. Attend some get togethers and ask and listen. Let us know. R 2014 Cayman base

Here’s the website for that wireless controller. If anyone needs a list of the controllers I also have most of the part numbers listed out with the PSE button for 987.2’s. Their list only really pertains to 997’s. Porsche Muffler | Performance Porsche Exhaust Parts Porsche valved exhaust and muffler engineered for exotic sound, drone-free cruising, and factory-style fitment with TIG-welded 304 stainless steel construction. www.ecgperformance.com