Fabspeed bypass pipes

[chitowndad]

I've heard that it makes the car sound nicer and IMO that's good enough reason to get-em!

-SP

[jwade]

Even with stock headers in place? Thought you needed to change out both to get the full effect.

[chitowndad]

I think it's like what you experienced when desnorkling so it's an extension of that process, one more step in the louder growl direction!

[jwade]

I have checked all over and seems like 495 is about the lowest I've seen for the fabspeed ones.

I plan to get an oil change here in a month or so, but have been debating about atleast having these installed at the same time. NHP exhaust makes some too.

[mts]

I think the pipes were worth getting (for me at least).

[jmatta]

I'm back in this a couple days late, but bypass pipes are worth the money spent. I really think Porsche put these on to comply with EU noise restrictions...why else would anyone put secondary cats on a sports car?

The mid range tones are wonderful going to an all out scream as rpm rise. The nice part is tooling around town, it's not that much louder until you hit the throttle.

For any of the Chicago guys, I will be an instructor at the PCA autocross school next month and I will bring the Box S down so you can hear it in person...maybe I'll even get motivated enough to do some recordings to post. You can then draw your own opinions.

[jwade]

Ok, seems that most people like these. Now do you guys still have the stock headers in place with these on or you running different headers?

On a side note, please look at this recent update regarding Fabspeed products.

Fabspeed has a new video uploaded for the 986 S. They do an interesting test where they install hardware "adding one piece at a time" from exhaust, headers, BMC air filter, EVO intakek, and then finally, an ECU reflash.

Total cost - a whopping $4795

Total HP gains - 229 stock
241 w/ headers & sport cats
245 w/ BMC (good value - 4hp for about 100 bucks)
247 w/ EVO (not a good value whatsoever)
252 w/ ecu reflash and all above hardware installed

Total Gains - a whopping 23 hp
Total price per hp - just under 210 bucks each

See video here:

FYI - Turbowerx headers cost 800 and hp gains on a 986 S 3.2 motor is 22hp

Don't you guys find this interesting? Hell, I'll "splurge" and add a BMC filter too.

For 1500 bucks, I can have the headers, by-pass pipes, and the bmc while I take the rest and spend it on my family at a 5 star resort in the cayman's......

[Blue-S]

Originally Posted by jmatta

I'm back in this a couple days late, but bypass pipes are worth the money spent. I really think Porsche put these on to comply with EU noise restrictions...why else would anyone put secondary cats on a sports car?

The 2000 and newer Boxsters are Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV) certified -- not just in California, but all US-specification Boxsters. Presumably due to their (relatively) low sales volumes, Porsche certified all Boxsters to meet California emissions regs. So, that's why the 2000+ Boxsters have pre-cats in the exhaust manifolds and the main cats in the mid pipe.

My 2000 S recently developed a crack in the exhaust manifold where the pipe meets the flange at the cylinder head. It is hard to see, but a very close examination with a bright light reveals the crack on my car, specifically at the #6 cylinder. I suspect that other areas are cracked too, but I cannot see it. The symptom is a "tick" noise which is louder at startup and becomes quieter (but does not disappear) as the engine warms up. If you have ever heard a cracked exhaust header or a header that is just slightly leaking where it is bolted to the cylinder head, then you know the sound.

Therefore, I am looking at an inexpensive solution to this problem. Are the chinese headers (ebay) really of any benefit HP/Torque wise? If so, I could relocate the downstream O2 sensors behind the main catalysts and the car should still pass the cat efficiency monitor...avoiding the dreaded check engine lamp.