Newbie Exhaust and header questions

[steved0x]

I have done some searching, and I "think" I have found the information that I am looking for, and I wanted to run it by here and see what everybody thought would be the best brands/parts/etc...

This is for a 2000 Boxster S

Exhaust parts:
Headers
---with sport cats, so no CEL. Are these $$$?
---without sport cats, to solve CEL ROW tune or spacers for the secondary Cat efficiency monitoring O2 sensors.
Benefit: freer flowing exhaust and more HP
Downside: Possible loss of low end torque?

Secondary cats:
---Remove with Cat bypass pipes, save a lot of weight and freer flowing exhaust for HP Gain?
---Leave on

Catback Exhaust
---Leave stock on
---Replace with an aftermarket system, lighter but possible drone, more power due to weight saving?
---Drill out the stock exhaust for the DIY Sport Exhaust Mod, better sound?

Are these the main components of the exhaust system that can be replaced?

Can you do just one at a time here and there as you save money, or is it better to do them all at once?

If you could do just one, which one would be the best? Best for power, best for sound, or best for ???

This is a new area for me so apologies for the simple questions. I think headers and secondary cat delete might be the first ones for me to tackle as I think one of my header cats is going bad, and I don't want to get any drone from a catback system, and I am happy with the current sound. Does that sound like a good approach?

Thanks

Steve

[Johnny Danger]

The oem exhaust is very restrictive in all regards. However, one must take a thorough and methodical approach toward improving the system. Otherwise, you'll end up with not only CEL's, but a loss of power as well. Both the pre-cats, as well as the secondary cats involve the greatest amount of consideration. Contrary to race applications, it's been my experience that some degree of back pressure is essential in order to maintain low end to mid range torque. With that said, somewhere in the equation you'll need to factor in cats - as either part of the headers or mid-stream. That gives you two options, you can opt for a set of custom headers that involve longer, equal length primaries that flow through a merge collector straight through to the flange that incorporate low cell,, high flow cats attached. Or you can forgo the header and cat combination and source some individual high quality, low cell cats and position them mid-stream, keeping a set of high quality headers independent. In either case, you looking at considerable money to accomplish this. As far as the oem catback is concerned, you'd be better served by using a coffee can with a boat anchor attached to it. On a positive note, however, there's a limitless number of aftermarket catback exhausts that run the gamut in terms of price - that will prove to be a worthwhile upgrade. If for no other reason than weight savings and better sound.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by steved0x

I have done some searching, and I "think" I have found the information that I am looking for, and I wanted to run it by here and see what everybody thought would be the best brands/parts/etc...

This is for a 2000 Boxster S

Exhaust parts:
Headers
---with sport cats, so no CEL. Are these $$$?
---without sport cats, to solve CEL ROW tune or spacers for the secondary Cat efficiency monitoring O2 sensors.
Benefit: freer flowing exhaust and more HP
Downside: Possible loss of low end torque?

Secondary cats:
---Remove with Cat bypass pipes, save a lot of weight and freer flowing exhaust for HP Gain?
---Leave on

Catback Exhaust
---Leave stock on
---Replace with an aftermarket system, lighter but possible drone, more power due to weight saving?
---Drill out the stock exhaust for the DIY Sport Exhaust Mod, better sound?

Are these the main components of the exhaust system that can be replaced?

Can you do just one at a time here and there as you save money, or is it better to do them all at once?

If you could do just one, which one would be the best? Best for power, best for sound, or best for ???

This is a new area for me so apologies for the simple questions. I think headers and secondary cat delete might be the first ones for me to tackle as I think one of my header cats is going bad, and I don't want to get any drone from a catback system, and I am happy with the current sound. Does that sound like a good approach?

Thanks

Steve

Steve, thank you for searching prior to posting questions.
My Box is a 2000 "S" also. My experience indicates a YES to all your questions except leaving the secondary cats stock. Bypass pipes are the only mod with zero downsides. They are step 1. Debloz (?) is your best source for these as the higher quality Fabspeeds are twice the price. I don't know of anyone making a header for auto trans/Tiptronic Box but if you have a manual trans & want to try headers search Ebay. I believe 40mm is the ideal primary tube size for a street driven 3.2 S
I recommend having all parts ceramic coated inside & out for heat retention & performance. It's best to have all 4 O2 bungs on the header to Maybe avoid a CEL from slow O2 heating. If you deciede to remove your exhaust manifolds be sure to soak all bolts with rust penatrant spray the night before.
This setup will make the exhaust sound great with zero drone so you will probably be done unless you deciede to drill your muffler outlet pipes for more sound at low RPM.

[edc]

I don't have as many cats as mine is a UK car but I made 8.5 bhp dyno proven from cheap eBay headers and silencer.

[RandallNeighbour]

Another big benefit to an aftermarket muffler beyond sound and weight is HEAT.

I took a cross country road trip in my car with the stock exhaust on it and my tennis shoe laces melted into the soles of the shoes because they were kept on the carpet in the rear trunk. Yikes!

When I put my Chinese made, twin-chamber, 5+ hp adding, loud, and cabin-drone laden aftermarket muffler on the car, I was AMAZED at how cool the rear trunk was after that.

It's a nice benefit beyond all the others.

[Kenny Boxster]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Another big benefit to an aftermarket muffler beyond sound and weight is HEAT.

I took a cross country road trip in my car with the stock exhaust on it and my tennis shoe laces melted into the soles of the shoes because they were kept on the carpet in the rear trunk. Yikes!

When I put my Chinese made, twin-chamber, 5+ hp adding, loud, and cabin-drone laden aftermarket muffler on the car, I was AMAZED at how cool the rear trunk was after that.

It's a nice benefit beyond all the others.

Didn't know that! I like the aftermarket muffler. It weighs 20 lbs. vs the 45lbs. oem exhaust. As far as the drone, I avoid it by driving over 2,900rpm.

[mnc-i]

Randall Neighbour
Kenny Boxster,

I fully agree with you all concerning the light-weight muffler.

I don't know about any horsepower gains, but I was amazed by how heavy the stock muffler is.

The best part is the drastic drop in temperature in my rear trunk.

MNC-I