In need of new mufflers

So my original mufflers are rusted and gone. We now live in the southwest where everything rust like hell so looking for a good quality stainless steel. I was just about to pull the plug on top gear mild mufflers based on all the reviews here and with the forum discount but when talking to my reputable indie he did not have great things to say about it and recommended cargraphic instead. His main argument agains it was that the quality of the stainless steel was not always that great and they had a few customers with issues. From what I have looked cargraphic seems obviously an very solid option but it's about £300 more for the mufflers. Just wondering what people thoughts are? Also noticed that cargraphic sound is much milder meaning that their mild version pretty much sounds like oem and they sports version is more like the top gear mild.

I fitted the TG mild to my car (replacing gundo hacked gem) and they have nicely reduced the volume but improve the quality of the sound (in my opinion). I have the TG manifolds and 200 cats. I also fitted the TG mild to my cousin's car that had very loud designtek ones. It significantly reduced the volume here (as was the intention). I was happy with the quality of them overall, especially for the price.

I fitted the TG mild to my car (replacing gundo hacked gem) and they have nicely reduced the volume but improve the quality of the sound (in my opinion). I have the TG manifolds and 200 cats. I also fitted the TG mild to my cousin's car that had very loud designtek ones. It significantly reduced the volume here (as was the intention). I was happy with the quality of them overall, especially for the price.

Thanks for that sounds wise how does it compare to oem? Much louder or just enough to be a bit more enjoyable?

Another vote for top gear here, replaced gundo'd oe boxes.Sounds quieter but a nice deep bass note to them which i really like.They have been on for 4 years with zero quality issues.

my oem were gundo'd and judging by the bits falling out of them, were without much inside. So quite loud to being with. these were much better and quieter

Cargraphics are arguably higher quality (and higher price) and have 3 different versions: TàœV VERSION (ET) = OEM+ TàœV SOUND (ETR) = middle ground SUPER SOUND (ETS) = very good but too loud for some people However Top Gear have a great reputation on here with many long term owners, plus many specialist independents. You can hear very good Cargraphic sound clips on this video review (16 mins). Jay tested the switchable which is effectively ET (closed valves) and ETS (open valves). For comparison here is excellent review of the TG milds + 200 cell cats from Rob who is member here (although 200 cell cats do also make significant difference): It's hard to compare between different manufacturers as sound is so subjective, and accurately comparing video clips is almost impossible. If you want another option Milltek also have great reputation although less common. If you really want to go to town and splash out, then Kline are probably best of all.

Brilliant thanks tob_today! I did see those videos and it wasn't clear to me that cargraphic had 3 different sounds and that the valves opened were the loudest so thanks for clarifying! I must admit I am tempted to get the valve with switch. A lot more money but I suppose it also had value to the car. Seen someone managed to have the remote installed in the dashboard with the original porsche pse button too which is very clean solution!

according to their website the switchable switch between sound and super sound actually (etr & ets). Very hard to realise how loud it is on video but it seems that their ETS Super Sound is still relatively quiet compared to top gear sports version, am I wrong? Their ETR certainly does not sounds much louder than oem.

You can talk to Lawrence at Parr who are a UK distributor for Cargraphic. I asked him about the sound levels of the switchable and he checked with Cargraphic: "Cargraphic have confirmed it is ET/ETS so quietest and loudest. The reason they can't list as ET on the website is the switchable silencer is not TUV approved." He also confirmed Cargraphic now offer the vacuum controller the other way around so it starts with closed valves like PSE, then you press the button to open. Much more neighbour friendly for some, especially when it's cold starting. There is longer lead time for Cargraphics as they come from Germany, however it's worth waiting for what you want IMO. It's possible to have switchable exhausts controlled by dash PSE button with some work. However if the button isn't already there, then it's quite a big job to retrofit. If it was me & I already had the button then I'd be looking to get it set up with the new exhaust, but that's just me. Might be worth checking out these two threads too, as there's other factors you also might want to consider: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=150507 http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=147304

Thanks for confirming! I think the retro fitting solution is basically integrating the remote signal to the dash/pse button, not hard wiring it which seemed easy enough. I thi k there is even a kit on ebay for that purpose. I cannt say I like the remote solution tbh

Not as well known as some, but my car came with Miltek stainless silencers and I love the sound. They have the ability to pootle around town without drawing attention, but once out of town and you put your foot down, there's a cracking growl, which really enhances the flat 6 sound. There's a Youtube vid of a 996 3.4 with Milteks, stock cats and Eurocup manifolds here... https://youtu.be/aEtzSGOHxfE?t=8

For completeness, if watching YT vids... I found this most useful when making the choice to go for TG https://youtu.be/ZTeYYQuUnGM

I looked at many options before opting for Miltek Cup silencers for my 3.4. Chosen based on sound and cost. I had looked at the more exotic Tubi exhaust but it was a lot more expensive. The Miltek does give a little bit of a growl when starting from cold but if you are careful with the throttle you can drive away relatively quietly. As YPVS said once you open the taps it really screams. Here are some static tests I did after fitting mine -

I can never be bothered to trawl through 20 minutes of utter waffle just to hear the few seconds of exhaust note on that one. It would be incredibly useful if someone put a time index to the few seconds of of each exhaust.