Top Speed's Cat Back System Installation

[jb92563]

I'll order 2 of those clamps as well.

[gerber28]

I bought the bypass pipes from Top Speed for $ 179.00 on EBay, Had them on my doorstep2 days later, Estimated delivery was 6 days. Except for having to cut off a couple of frozen bolts at the primary cat flange, installation was fairly easy. I picked up the Easy Seal clamps at NAPA for $10.00 ea.
Took it out for a short drive, no sign of anything you'd call a drone. It has a bit of a rumble at idle that sounds good, but the tone and volume at high RPM is sweet.

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by gerber28

I bought the bypass pipes from Top Speed for $ 179.00 on EBay, Had them on my doorstep2 days later, Estimated delivery was 6 days. Except for having to cut off a couple of frozen bolts at the primary cat flange, installation was fairly easy. I picked up the Easy Seal clamps at NAPA for $10.00 ea.
Took it out for a short drive, no sign of anything you'd call a drone. It has a bit of a rumble at idle that sounds good, but the tone and volume at high RPM is sweet.

I can only find the EasySeal 2 1/4" on Napaonline.

They don't list the 2" size.

What size did you get?

[gerber28]

Originally Posted by jb92563

I can only find the EasySeal 2 1/4" on Napaonline.

They don't list the 2" size.

What size did you get?

I bought the 2" size. They didn't have them on display and only had 1 in the back.
It was late afternoon but still had 2nd for me by noon the next day.

[Kapua]

beautiful porsche my friend! i love the black. what year is this one? im am just getting into these vehicles and lvoe to read threads like this thank you...

[mmporsche]

the exhaust looks great!

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by Kapua

beautiful porsche my friend! i love the black. what year is this one? im am just getting into these vehicles and lvoe to read threads like this thank you...

2001 "S" model

Yes, you NEED to get one, every drive will be a pleasure from the G's you pull to the sound of the engine and the wind in your hair.

I'm delayed installing my 2nd cat delete pipes as I have a Smog test to do this Friday morning. After that's done, I'll put the pipes in

[jb92563]

UPDATE.

I did my smog this morning and will copy the reading here, before the 2nd CAT delete pipes.

I gave the Boxster and hour to cool off and then jacked up the rear on stands and got to work removing the 2nd cats and installing the Top Speed 2nd cat delete pipes.

It took 2 hours including a tea break in the middle and was not much trouble at all.

I noticed that the reducer pipe section needed a bit of work to insert full depth and its something you should play with before the install as there is no room to hammer the two pieces together once installed.

I also think that if the reducer is driven home fully you will not need the Easy Seal band clamps that some folks used, and the included clamp should be fine.

I'll update here if that included clamp seals properly.

The results when starting up were awesome. now the muffler is sounding the way its supposed to...fantastic.

It sounds a bit like a lotus, and is definitely sounding the way you'd want a sportscar to sound without being too loud.

Pictures / video comming soon ..

Here is what you get for ~$199


These are the 2nd cats you are removing. Surprisingly the new pipes fit perfectly without touching anything.


Remove 2 nuts and 1 Bolt on the top of the triangle flange


You use 2 supplied new bolts/nuts and the existing Bolt for the top of the triangle flange


The reducer and supplied band clamp fully seated first then installed

[jb92563]

I got a good run in local and hiway traffic today and the sound is just beautiful.

The drone is completely gone now as well and the car is noticeably more responsive to the gas pedal inputs as I was surprised by a few near redline shifts due to the more responsive throttle. ( I usually aim for around 6k shifts when taking off aggressively)

The sound level is only a bit more than before and just as quiet when cruising at lower rpms. You will not have to worry about waking the neighbors.

The sound itself is very sporty/racecar ish with a slight gargle as you let off the gas quickly from higher rpms when down shifting.

Saves about 50-75lbs as well off the cars rear.

Its hard to quantify but the car just seems more peppy and alive than before.

I'd say this is the ideal solution for those considering the upgrade, to combine the Top Speed Muffler and the 2nd Cat delete pipes for a modest ~$500 and perhaps 3 hours of easy work from start to finish.

The drone with just the muffler can get annoying at times so I would not recommend doing just that, unless you don't mind the drone between 2500 - 3000 rpm.

Since I just did my CA Smog I'll post the numbers and when I do them again in 2 years I'll post the new numbers as well to see how much difference the 2nd cats make.

Also there are no sensors on the 2nd cats or behind them so there will be no codes to worry about with this upgrade.

So far the supplied clamps seem to be doing the job, but I'll reserve the final verdict on those after a few hundred miles to see if there are any signs of exhaust leakage.

9/2013 Before 2nd CAT delete CA SMOG

I was wondering about the visual inspection since the engine is all closed up, thinking I might have to open the access
cover but they simply dont do it where its not convenient.
All values are way below the MAX allowed and better than the AVG vehicle.

9/2015 After 2nd CAT delete CA SMOG (Comming in a couple years unless someone else can supply one)

11/2015 Just had my 2yr Smog test and they changed the test. They do NOT use the tailpipe sniffer so I have no numbers. On 2000 and newer they rely on the OBDII values to determine if you PASS or FAIL. Since my passenger side cat had failed and was causing the P0420 code, I replaced the cat with a used one from ebay and no more engine light. Since there were no codes, my car PASSED.

This means that the 2nd unsensored rear cats can be removed without concern. However they do a half hearted visual inspection and if they know what to look for they may notice them missing.
Best to go to busy/lazy uninformed smog testers and they wont notice anything unusual.

I believe that even with just the front cats it would probably have passed anyway even with a sniff test.

[Van914]

I did the same and I really like it.
Sounds like a true Sports Car now

Van

[evan9eleven]

It looks like some of you guys have had these exhausts for a while now... and long term feedback? Worth doing headers anad sport cats also?

[G&L]

OK, I'm diving into this project this weekend!

[jb92563]

Get under a bridge open the windows and let her rip...you'll love the sound and echo.

its been 5 months and still sounds great.

[G&L]

OK, removal and install were pretty straightforward. Floored by how much lighter this system is!! Sound is getting better with every mile. One question, though: Any "tips" for getting the tips to sit level? Tried everything I can think of so far...

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by G&L

OK, removal and install were pretty straightforward. Floored by how much lighter this system is!! Sound is getting better with every mile. One question, though: Any "tips" for getting the tips to sit level? Tried everything I can think of so far...

I used a lot of loose fit washers at the muffler attach bracket with all the pipe connections loose and jiggled the mufflers into place and tightened the bolts.
(The oversized holes in the washers allow you to push the washer stack to one side or the other to provide some alignment freedom)

Then I went around the pipe clamps and tightened them while pulling the muffler to preload it so that when things move a bit with heat they would not drift too far in the wrong direction.

Its a bit of trial and error really in loosening adjusting and re-tightening.

[G&L]

Thanks for the suggestions! Got it pretty close to level with some trial and error. Love blasting through tunnels and under bridges now!

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by BruceH

No problem Meir. Here is the link, I got the 2" size, with shipping it came to $27.30.

EasySeal Exhaust Clamps: Torca EasySeal Clamps in Stainless Steel for Lap Joint Connections

Pep Boys carries the clamp but none of them carried the 2" size in my area. I tried Autozone and a couple other auto parts stores but no one carried these. I really like them because they make a nice seal. As you tighten it, the band forms to pipes.

To resurrect an old thread, do you need 4 of these clamps if you are installing secondary cat delete pipes? 2 for each pipe, 1 clamp at each end of the pipe?

Thanks!

Steve

[BruceH]

You only need two, they replace the two clamps that come with the kit. One on each side

[steved0x]

I see it now, the other end of each pipe has a flange. Doh! Thank you!
I ordered a set of the pipes now that they are back in stock and this thread has me thinking about doing the muffler at the same time...

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by steved0x

I see it now, the other end of each pipe has a flange. Doh! Thank you!
I ordered a set of the pipes now that they are back in stock and this thread has me thinking about doing the muffler at the same time...

May as well