Fabspeed bypass pipes - worth it??
 

If I were to have about $500 burning a hole in my pocket, and used it to buy these bypass pipes and put them onto my 2000 2.7L 5 speed - am I really going to notice any difference in speed or sound?

i've read claims of 8hp and more torque - which some people could feel via the butt-dyno.... just curious if anyone here thinks that on a 2.7L car, this mod would actually make the car feel quicker?

I'm in CA - so I need to stay smog legal. Pelican parts website says the secondary cats are unnecessary, that it won't throw a CEL and that it will still pass smog. That true? why did Porsche put those cats there if we don't "need' them?

does it sound tons better once these cats are gone?

I'm also thinking of putting the Pedro techno-torque onto my car - wondering if the combo of that plus the bypass pipes might give the car a little more zip!

thanks.

I've seen someone install the Fabspeed cat bypass pipes at a local work on cars day, and after the installation, I could hear absolutely no difference in sound to be honest. I heard it while he revved it from idle, and also driving right next to him while we were driving home. He, however, kept his stock exhaust on the car, which was a 2000 S. I'm not sure if the sound would be any better with a modified exhaust, but maybe it would.

I personally don't think you gain that much sound or power from it, but you do lose a lot of weight by removing those heavy cats. That's probably the best part of adding them. LOL

I have the Fabspeed bypass pipes installed on my '03 2.7. I have also done the "Crios" mod - i.e. drilled a couple of holes through the inside of the exhaust pipe into the center chamber of the muffler. I'm delighted with the combination that these two tweaks made to the exhaust note.

I cannot say that there is any power difference, but the sound is awesome.

Since I lost weight from the back by removing the secondary cats, I was able to delete the spare tire to keep everything trimmed out.

I have read that the 2.7 will still pass smog without the secondary cats. I'll find out for sure next August. You will not throw a check engine light, since the O2 sensors are located fore and aft of the primary cats.

See my thread (http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/21737-exhaust-mods-%3D-crying-babies.html) for clips of my setup.

I posted up a video of mine the other day so you can hear. Do a quick search if you want to see it.

I have the PSE version 1 w/ the by-pass pipes, but still have retained the stock headers for no CEL issues. Sound is throaty with the by-pass pipes. Seriously, after I saw the stock secondarys in the flesh, they scream "RESTRICTIVE"!!! And are heavy.

Fabspeed's stuff was lighter, but I did have to use oem porsche clamps as their clamps didn't work out that well. Sorry guys, but have to be honest here.....

Their mandrel bent SS tubing is gorgeous and I thought the mod was well worth the money, but go ahead and add a BMC filter too for even more power. The combo will give you around a 10hp increase.

If someone were closer to me, and I went the header route, I would get turbowerx headers and reflash the dme to RoW. I think this combo is very enticing because of hp gains and price. Here is a link to the headers.

http://www.turbowerx.com/Porsche_Products/Headers/986_Headers/986_Headers.html

If you are expecting something dramatic, don't waste your money. You'll get a small bump in power, but 5-8hp is going to be negligible if noticable at all to most people's "butt dyno".

No, it absolutely does not sound "tons" better. It does increase the sound a little and I liked the changed, but it isn't dramatic unless you put it in combo with other exhaust mods.

I was very pleased with my bypass pipes, but I had pretty limited expectations of what they would do for my car. I agree with Boxtaboy that the lost weight of the factory cats may very well be the best part of this modification.

After following a few of your posts related to this I fear you will end up disappointed with these if you don't add them in combination with some other items.

Good luck

I have the TurboWerx headers and a RoW reflash, and it's great. While the secondary cats aren't great, flow wise, and are heavy, the worst part of your exhaust are the headers, which are atrocious.

Patrick,

I think the TurboWerx headers are the way to go. I just wish someone was closer to Nashville, Tn and had a PST2 for the re-flash. I just cannot stand CEL's...or any light on the dash going off...

If anyone is close to Middle Tennessee, I would be glad to pay for this service of a re-flash.....

Jon

Interesting, there have been a few before/after's done on the Boxster headers indicating the aftermarket ones did very little and that the OEM headers, with the exception of being a bit ugly, worked pretty well and weren't the worst part of the Boxster exhaust system.

Do you have some before/after dynos on your TurboWerx ones? I'm not trying to be contrary, just looking for additional data. Thanks

See link...

http://turbowerx.com/Porsche_Products/Headers/986_Headers_Dyno/986_Headers_Dyno.html

Is it possible to just gut the second cats?

I think that would be a waste of time....

If you do a full setup from front to back meaning better flowing headers be it because of fewer CELLS or No Cells, Delete the 2 rear Cats and put on a non-baffled muffler. It will sound like a completely different machine. at least for me it did. I dont' think just the By pass pipes is enough maybe you could do some before and after Vids i would be interested. Also I don't think 8 hp would be that noticeable not like 20-25 hp. good luck :cheers:

as I live in CA, there is NO Way I can go to a totally catless system.

I'd have to have a system with at least the high flow cats built into the front headers. then I could do the cat delete midpipes and change my muffler. on a system like the NHP, that setup is about $2000, which is more than I care to spend on exhaust...

and I have doubts I'd really get 25hp on my 2.7L from that setup.

i'm in the process of picking up a tequipiment PSE muffler to replace my "pedro" muffler...which as far as I know, is no more free flowing than stock, it just sounds better.

"and I have doubts I'd really get 25hp on my 2.7L from that setup."

Me too, I was able to pick up about 25hp on my 2.7L, but that was with new intake, complete cat-back exhaust and custom ECU chip. That makes for a very expensive 25hp......

Ed

:D

honestly, i'm not gonna drop othat much money into my boxster for power upgrades....

i'd rather spend the $500 on suspension upgrades or something. i already have 18s and M030....

maybe a techno brace?

techno torque? maybe that woudl be a better way to put some money into the car?

would the reduced weight of the pipes (3.2) unbalance the car? would one have to remove the spare.....or? to balance it?

I don't think you'd have to remove the spare, but it's a fantastic excuse to do so. :D

Once I learned the hard way that a rear tire will not fit in the frunk, the spare became expendable. I now carry a patch kit, a small compressor, and a roadside assistance membership card instead.

The Fabspeed bypass pipes are my favorite mod so far - well, that and the Yokohamas.

I was thinking the other day while getting groceries that the wheels on the car look way too big to fit into the trunk, so what is the point of having a spare? Are you supposed to leave your other wheel wherever you got a flat?

I'd read on one forum that if you flat the rear, you move the front tire to the rear, the spare to the front, and the flat to the passenger seat.

There was no mention of what to do if you already had a passenger.

Move passenger to pavement.