Fabspeed Mufflers and Cold Air Kit.

Does anyone have any experience of using and/or fitting the Fabspeed stainless steel mufflers and exhaust tips to a facelifted 996? Any ideas who imports the items for the UK? Also has anyone used the Cold Air Kit that they make? Does anyone know if either of these items have any adverse effect on the engine? Sorry, quite a few questions there! Any feedback would be appreciated. Adrian.

No experience myself, but I did a search for Fabspeed here and got a few hits from 996 owners who seem to be happy with the exhausts. One of the posts said that Design911 sell Fabspeed, although they don't list them on their web site. I don't think that either the exhaust or the cold air induction kit will have any adverse effect whatsoever. I wouldn't expect anything in terms of power gain, but you will get a transformation to the sound of the engine.

Hi Richard. I also did a search following submitting my post and see that there's quite a bit about the Fabspeed on here.[ ] The thing is with this sort of thing is that you keep seeing other additional things that you might also want to add, Eg. the cold air system, etc. To be honest I only really thought about changing the exhaust after I saw the video that Fabspeed have on their site about the original Porsche exhaust. It seems like quite a poor system - both build quality wise and (most importantly) the route that the exhaust gases have to take in order to get through the thing!? I'm sure that Porsche must have spent bucket loads of cash on researching this system (?) but you are left with the impression that (certainly compared to the Fabspeed mufflers at least) it's a bit "tacky" and not very straight-forward? I've always been the type to just use my cars as they were made and have never got into any sort of modifying at all - especially with a Porsche. But on this occasion I can't help feeling that I might actually be easing the workload on the engine by using this system? The additional sound from the engine would also be a bonus - but it wouldn't be my main objective. Anyway, I've e-mailed Fabspeed to see what they've got to say. Thanks for your reply and hope the car is living up to your expectations!? Adrian. P.S. You're right, Design911 do seem to do the exhaust tips - but no sign of the mufflers...?

Hi Adrian Its not very clear on the Design911 site but I assumed that the 996 sports exhaust they feature £595 from DesignTek is in fact the Fabspeed system as there is a link to a Fabspeed video. Rgds Mark

I'm always sceptical of claims made by some of the tuning companies. Porsche are past masters at engine tuning, and make an excellent job of intake and exhaust sytems, and fuel mapping. The example I always quote is their X50 Power Kit. It consists of new cylinder heads, inlet and exhaust valves, exhaust manifolds, pistons, camshafts, and an engine remap. Result? 25 bhp, at a cost of £5000+fitting, and they use the original intake and silencers. Personally, I don;t believe claims such as 10bhp for a silencer and 5 bhp for a cold air intake. You are correct that Porsche have a huge development budget, and if it was that easy they would have done it long ago. And they don't claim any power iincrease for their own PSE. IMO it is worth doing PURELY for the sound. I wish I had done it earlier on my C2. It transforms the way the car feels. Sure, it's all in the mind, but it makes it seem like an even sportier drive. Just my tuppence worth.

Richard. You're obviously a knowledgeable chap and I respect your experience but surely you can't be suggesting that this provides value for money?! The reason that Porsche don't claim any BHP increase for their PSE is because the silencers are practically the same and as I've said, the main reason for the change would be to eradicate up to 50% of that back pressure - which can only be less work for the engine. I really couldn't care less about increasing power output as I can't really say that I've ever stretched my car and used its current full power since I've owned it. And besides which, I'm just not in that league: I'm looking at probably spending circa £700 and fitting it myself.

Porsche may not claim gains for PSE...but it's odd that on three different occasions, on three different dynos (and indeed three different makes of dyno), my car has always made more power with PSE 'on' than 'off'...and that's back to back testing, same fuel, same operator, same settings, tyre pressures etc. I have the dyno charts to back this up... I too am sceptical of huge claims allegedly finding big power from exhaust systems...but this clearly shows either: PSE does make power.... Or PSE in the 'off' position, restricts power. I've not dyno'd standard exhaust boxes on my car back to back with PSE to know one way or the other - although I do have a set sitting if I could find the motivation to do so.

Not sure if you watched these but ..... http://www.fabspeed.com/videos/996%20&%20GT3%20&%20997%20Muffler%20Exhaust%20Explanation%20Video.wmv http://www.fabspeed.com/videos/996%20muffler%20bypass%20pipes.wmv

I certainly am not!! I just use it as an illustration of what it takes to get significant power gains. I don't think the answer is as simple as back pressure. I'm sure there is much more to it than that. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't expect a noticable gain in power. And again, I'm sure you will be delighted by the sound of an aftermarket system. The only drawback with them, as far as I can see, is that you would most likely have to rule out track days, due to noise regulations.

Adrian, Whilst not strictly answering your question (as i had a pre-facelift 996), I had both the mufflers and the cold air kit on my car. Dont expect much from the cold air kit other than more induction noise, which was a good enough reason for myself at the time [ ]. As for the mufflers, they are deeper sounding than stock and quite loud but they didnt drone like some aftermarket exhausts can. To sum it up, I really liked mine, as did the person I sold my car to. Having said that, they are no replacement for the sound of a PSE. Having now owned a facelift with a Dansk system, I can say i preferred the Fabspeed system and wouldnt hesitate buying again. I ordered direct from Fabspeed, they were very helpful and I received the bits only a few days after ordering. One more thing, the tips are much larger than stock and fill the rear bumper well without being obtrusive.

Hi Adrian I have decided to go with the DesignTek Sports Exhaust from Design911. Its being fitted next Friday, so will let you know what its like. Mark

Hi- re the fabspeed tips I have these and they are a nightmare to get straight when mated upto a PSE - in hindsight I wish I had spent the extra £100 and got the tequipment big ovals. as for the PSE £1,500 for aural sex is worth every penny.[ ] - Simon

Any update Mark?

Not specific to the 996 but ISTR on a modern engine with already low back pressure one needs to adjust the exhaust cam timing when reducing the back pressure further in order to get the power gains. I remember for example an article a few years back where Alois Ruf was saying that on the 996 engine they couldn't really make any power gains with different road car suitable manifolds and exhaust setup but he didn't say anything in the article about adjusting the cam timing to compensate (don't know how one adjusts the LCA / timing on these engines so maybe not easy).