What Exhaust would you recomend?
 

So I have been researching exhausts for a while now and havent been able to pull the trigger with one. It seems that either they dont sound any different than stock or sound terrible. Im looking for something that has that throaty Porsche sound, so not too high pitched or ricey. The youtube videos dont do any justice to the sounds so I though I ask you guys.

My criteria are:
- sound like PSE but louder or throatier.
- Nice big tips ( I really like the 03 boxster tips so somthing like that would be nice)
- not looking to spend more than $1,300 since I will be getting headers too.

Thanks

Fabspeed, best sounding exhaust thus far and almost no resonance. If you email Fabspeed, you can get their system for $1495. A little more than you're wanting to spend but, well worth it. I've owned several different mufflers, Stebro race and sport, GHL, Borla, Schnell, and B&B. Excluding the Fabspeed from those the B&B had almost no resonance and a nice throaty sound. The Fabspeed though is a beautifully built, solid, package and it has secondary cat delete pipes that are proprietary to the muffler, they aren't the same ones you can buy separately.

Save yourself a headache (literally) and buy the best first time around. I can't say enough how much I love my Fabspeed and their customer/tech support was top notch. :)

http://fabspeed.com/Boxster.html

What headers are you putting on?

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "almost no resonance"? I've been looking for a good replacement system and I really like the Fabspeed exhausts but have read that these mufflers do drone a bit unless yours is different. I've seen two different styles for 986 from Fabspeed, one is a single wide unit and another two separate cans, and I'm not sure which was reviewed in various threads.

I've also heard good things about the FVD. Here's a review on a new Boxster.
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/boxster-cayman/196256-fvd-muffler-2009-boxster-s.html

I've got the dual canister which is their latest design. According to Fabspeed their original single canister didn't mount up at the stock points causing more drone than necessary so, they redesigned it.

All aftermarket exhausts have drone it's whether the drone is annoying or not though. Stebro's systems are annoying/headache drone that vibrates the entire interior of the car and your brain. Fabspeed doesn't have annoying resonance although it does have a slight bit of resonance. And the drone is only at about 2700 to 3000rpms. The Stebro's droned all the way from 2000-3000rpms, where you'd be in normal daily driving. 5th gear is where I hear the most resonance with the Fabspeed but, as I've said, it's not annoying and very faint.

If you don't mind me asking, why did you give up the B&B if it almost didn't drone, while giving a good sound? Did it still drone more than the Fabspeed?

I was offered a Borla in trade for it and wanted to try another. Looking back after a month I felt like a fool but, I decided to try another with the Fabspeed and I'm sold. Really is the best exhaust I've experienced and I'm sticking with it. The B&B and Fabspeed drone in the same spot but, the Fabspeed has a throatier more aggressive sound to it.

The FVD mufflers look identical to Dansk mufflers. I believe Dansk is the supplier for OEM Porsche mufflers also.

http://www.fvd.de/us/en/Porsche-0/Boxster_986-13-41/-/2001/group/items/VID_6257507-VCD_85158036-gid_30-start_0-total_6/Porsche_Tuning.html

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/986M/POR_986M_EXHmuf_pg1.htm

Looks like the exact same products to me. :confused:

Yellowboxster, thanks for the input. I've been looking for a good exhaust for awhile now but difficult to decide on a good system that will not be overtly loud. The Fabspeed is looking better and better. When I return to NY, I'll have to make a trip down to Fabspeed in PA and see if they have a 986 I can listen to.

JTP, I have the Dansk, it does resonate a bit but it's really only noticeable with the top up. Personally, unless one has the switchable sport muffler, I don't believe there is a performance muffler that makes the car louder with zero resonator effect. Having said that the Dansk isn't too loud, I'm considering the deletion of the secondary cats, a Fabspeed product, I wonder how loud that would be with a Dansk too?

Yeah, it's hard to judge exhaust note off a video online. That's what plagued me and why I went through so many. If they have a 986 there for you to listen to, I'm confident you'll find it to be what you're after.

I was very close to purchasing a Dansk w/super sound tips but, it seemed that for the price the Fabspeed had a lot more to offer. And like I've said previously, Joey@Fabspeed is a hell of a nice guy and knows the product inside and out.

never too late to ask I hope: Yellowboxster, how does the GHLcompare to the other exhaust you've tried?

I've thought about going with straight pipes. Maybe someday.

Im going to replace my NHP with a fabspeed race

This is about the best sounding Boxster exhaust I have heard. No drone at all and it was very inexpensive to do.

Boxster S By-Pass Muffler Done!!!! - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

I agree, as I have that exact modded muffler on my '02 S. The modified muffler, coupled with Fabspeed secondary cat bypass pipes has my car sounding like a junior GT3 RS.

All for far less than the aftermarket options and no drone or resonance.

Love the sound of that bypass pipe .. can any 'competent' muffler shop do this ?

Also where can I get that pre bent pipe ? The pelican thread ended without an answer to that one...

Can probably get the stainless from a muffler shop and the shop
could quite possibly bend it too.

I like my custom 9ff catback . It has 2.25" diameter piping leading up to 2.5" inlets and 3" outlets on the resonators followed by 3" piping straight through to the tips . The sound has a nice growl at idle that builds to an F1 type scream at mid to upper rpm's .

I had so far (in addition to the stock exhaust):
* GHL: good sound, unbearable drone between 2k and 3k
* Stebro race exhaust: best sound EVER, less drone than GHL but still a good amount of drone and very, very, very loud

What I currently have is the stock exhaust modified by Mark @ Sporttech in Los Gatos (I see you're in San Jose)
What Mark does is opening the exhaust, removing all the baffling and changing the length of the inner tubes. Sounds now much like a C4S.
Cost was less than $500

If you're interested ping me and maybe we can figure something out so that you listen to it.

I got the fabspeed race exhaust. I haven't heard any others in person so I cant compare. Drones bad 2-3k, especially under load on the highway. But I let my friend drive it, sounds amazing

if I want to cruise around in silence and comfort Ill just drive my X3, I have my P-car for a visceral experience, I want to hear it, feel it and love it......most of the exhausts on the market are not loud enough for me. A straight pipe would be TOO loud, I want something JUST a little quieter than that. my NHP is way too quiet.

I have had a Gemballa installed recently. The first couple of weeks were ok and then it settled down. It sounds like a monster under hard acceleration and nice and throaty under soft acceleration e.g. moving around a car park. It does drone, that's just how it is. Drone is a funny thing though and is in the eye of the beholder. In my first few weeks I had a head cold and I swear it was giving me a headache through the resonance in the cabin but now I am either used to it or it has settled. Depending on gear, let's say second gear the drone is somewhere between 2400 and 2900rpm.
With the roof down it is another story again - it is just awesome!

I have the Fabspeed exhaust and was thinking about purchasing the 2ndary cat delete from a member here for about $150. They're not fabspeed.

What do you mean fabspeed pipes are proprietary to the muffler? Isn't it just a bypass pipe?

There's nothing propriety about the Fabspeed bypass pipes whatsoever . They're designed to work with just about any exhaust configuration one has on his or her 986 .

Incorrect wording. Fabspeed makes a muffler with 2" inlet pipes & mid pipes to connect to it. Fabspeed also makes midpipes for oem mufflers. (1.75" inlet ?? )

TS Pro, Fabspeed, and NHP test pipes and exhaust components are all compatible with each other since the connections are all at the same points and they are at the same angles and sizes and diameters. I am not 100% sure about that, but I did Read somewhere it on some forum or thread that they were compatible.

I bought the TS Pro 1 test pipes and cat-back exhaust since it was the cheapest and I like the sound I heard on youtube. I still have not installed them so I cannot recommend them yet.

$170 for the test pipes new and average $300 for the TS Pro 1 Catback Exhaust System. There is no way the $2000+ NHP or Danske or Fabspeed exhaust and $400+ test pipes can justify there price over Top Speeds Pro 1 exhaust and test pipes. Especially since they all offer similar weight savings and hp gains and sounds.

I believe that you're the one who's incorrect. So far as I know, the standard bypass pipes that Fabspeed offers for universal fitment are 1.75' diameter . The 2' diameter bypass pipes are proprietary in so far as they are part of Fabspeed's latest complete catback designs . Therefore, it is my understanding that they're not only incompatible with oem and other aftermarket catbacks, but with earlier Fabspeed designs as well .

: something that is used, produced, or marketed under exclusive legal right of the inventor or maker; specifically : a drug (as a patent medicine) that is protected by secrecy, patent, or copyright against free competition as to name, product, composition, or process of manufacture

Ok . What does this have to do Fabspeed's bypass pipe designs ? :confused:

Name and product, that's about it, and even then product is a stretch. Unless they have some sort of process that they can justify as needing protection, there's nothing proprietary about it. There is however, the possibility that they designed it to only be able to hook up to other Fabspeed parts, but I believe this has been proven to be false. While they may work their best with other Fabspeed parts, if all the items route the same way and have the same fastening features and faces, one should be able to mix and match and make a fine-sounding mess...maybe even find a setup that works better than what Fabspeed engineered..."better" being completely subjective per user.

The point that I'm trying to make, is that the bypass pipes on their newer systems are not only larger diameter, but they route differently as well . About a year ago, I considered purchasing their latest race exhaust. At which time, they informed me that my current Fabspeed bypass pipes would be incompatible for the aforementioned reasons. I'm just trying to help !! :)

I have had the B&B for ~8-9 years...still loving it every single time I fire her up.

The only thing now is the semi oval/round tips are a little too small for me because I added the rear diffusers. I need something that will fill the space up more aggressively!

Hmm...maybe someone is willing to trade with me at a local muffler shop swap.