Has anyone replaced muffler with pipes?

[Chard]

I have an 00 S and I think it's just too darn quiet. My friend told me he thinks the car sounds pretty mean if you remove the muffler and run pipes off the 2ndary cats to the outlet (he tried his while replacing his muffler).

Has anyone tried removing the muffler and piping from B to the outlet?

[brian325is]

There are a few posts on youtube of the sound without a muffler.

I have a stebro muffler and I think it is a little loud ( not to mention the drone). The ricer crowd loves the sound

Many have complained that the Borla exhaust is also too loud so I can't imagine just using straight pipes

04 Boxster S - exhaust sound - no muffler - YouTube

[Johnny Danger]

It will definitely be louder. Will it sound good, is another issue ?

[navair]

Here's my evolution in search of the perfect exhaust note, '02 S:

1. Stock, too quiet
2. Had the "pedro mod" done by Fister in SF Bay area: bypass pipes artfully welded into the twin tips ( your "from B to the outlet"). Perfect sound-no drone, deep, fruity, not too loud.
3. Later got a deal on Stebro secondary cat bypass pipes, installed, and holy s**t it got ALOT louder. Some compliments at the autocross, but too "rice" for the street, really loud when you jump on it. I'm not 18...
4. Experimented with sticking pronged 3/4" fuse box plugs ($1.99 at Home Depot) into the tip bypass pipe exits, and voila-the same muted growl as (2) above, with no secondary cats (that passed CA smog BTW)!

Rubber freeze plug nut expanding plugs work too, assuming they don't burn up

YMMV, enjoy! The moral of the story is that the aft cats do most of the muffling.

[Mark_T]

The problem with "look at me" exhaust is that most people looking at you are thinking "What an a$$-hole".

[Chard]

The goal isn't just noise, I'd want performance too. That and a trunk that doesn't turn into an oven every time I turn on the car.

I'm not looking for something obnoxious, just something I can hear.

Also, I couldn't care less what other people are thinking as I drive by.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by Chard

The goal isn't just noise, I'd want performance too. That and a trunk that doesn't turn into an oven every time I turn on the car.

I'm not looking for something obnoxious, just something I can hear.

Also, I couldn't care less what other people are thinking as I drive by.

I cut and pasted a recent response that I gave to a similar post:

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.
__

[Rickinduncan]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

The problem with "look at me" exhaust is that most people looking at you are thinking "What an a$$-hole".

^^
Yeah that

[jb92563]

I'm considering the same thing and it sounds (Pun Intended) like a lot of
folks prefer the Top Speed cat-back muffler as it has a nice tone, quiet at low rpms, getting more aggressive over 4000 rpm to a roar and no droning.

Only caveat seems to be that you need to buy your own wide band clamps as the supplied ones in the kit don't do a proper job.

At $320 the price is right. Google "Top Speed cat back 986" and you will see the ebay ad, videos of the sound and links to 986forum articles.


Unfortunately the sound attention it will attract is from the ricers wanting to race you. Its already annoying enough just having to ignore every dude in a Honda.
However, the beautiful music to your ears will be your own guilty pleasure and reward.

[Van914]

Bought the clamps at O'Rilleys Parts yesterday $10.99 each

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by navair

Here's my evolution in search of the perfect exhaust note, '02 S:

1. Stock, too quiet
2. Had the "pedro mod" done by Fister in SF Bay area: bypass pipes artfully welded into the twin tips ( your "from B to the outlet"). Perfect sound-no drone, deep, fruity, not too loud.
3. Later got a deal on Stebro secondary cat bypass pipes, installed, and holy s**t it got ALOT louder. Some compliments at the autocross, but too "rice" for the street, really loud when you jump on it. I'm not 18...
4. Experimented with sticking pronged 3/4" fuse box plugs ($1.99 at Home Depot) into the tip bypass pipe exits, and voila-the same muted growl as (2) above, with no secondary cats (that passed CA smog BTW)!

Rubber freeze plug nut expanding plugs work too, assuming they don't burn up

YMMV, enjoy! The moral of the story is that the aft cats do most of the muffling.

Can you show your bypass plug options? Not sure about the fuse plug you are describing.

I need something that won't burn when I go dark...

Does this cause too much back pressure in your Fister as he blocks the entrance to the muffler a bit?

[navair]

Originally Posted by jaykay

Can you show your bypass plug options? Not sure about the fuse plug you are describing.

I need something that won't burn when I go dark...

Does this cause too much back pressure in your Fister as he blocks the entrance to the muffler a bit?

I didn't have the right nomenclature-google "Grainger 3/4 knockout plug" as an example. Common electrical box plugs. With them in the Fister bypass is short circuited, and the OEM muffler is working as designed. W/O the secondary cats it's a nice improvement over the US sound (probably what the ROW 2 cat 986's sound like).

[Topless]

Muffler delete = maybe 110db loud ass! Without adding crossover pipes it also sounds like an uncorked garbage truck. It does sound mean but not necessarily in a good way. Sound is very subjective though and one mans trash is another's treasure so trust your ears. The Pedro mod seems to be the best of both worlds on a street car. It adds a little attitude without damaging your hearing.

[Johnny Danger]

I agree with Topless, whereby there's a distinction between loud sound and good sound. I've heard boxsters that were running straight pipes from the headers back, and the sound frankly was not that great. In fact, most of them sounded like a glorified boat motor. On the other hand, by adding a couple of small resonators, or race mufflers, the sound was "sharpened" considerably.

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by navair

I didn't have the right nomenclature-google "Grainger 3/4 knockout plug" as an example. Common electrical box plugs. With them in the Fister bypass is short circuited, and the OEM muffler is working as designed. W/O the secondary cats it's a nice improvement over the US sound (probably what the ROW 2 cat 986's sound like).

Okay thanks any pictures ????

Knock out to me means spring loaded clips ...not sure how that would stay in place.

[Chard]

Haven't people been having problems installing the Top Speed one? That's the impression I got when I researched the ebay one. If fitment wasn't bad, I'd consider it as $320 isn't a bad price.

To me, the Pedro mod/exhaust bypass is like doing half of what I am suggesting. You're bypassing the muffler completely but with only 1.25" piping. Since the secondary cats seem to be the most restrictive part, I don't think I'd be losing a ton of back pressure by removing the muffler.

Yes, sound is definitely subjective. Who knows, if I experiment with this and don't like it, you'll see a set of tubes in the classifieds for someone else to try, hehe.

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by Chard

Haven't people been having problems installing the Top Speed one? That's the impression I got when I researched the ebay one. If fitment wasn't bad, I'd consider it as $320 isn't a bad price.

From what I have been able to gather, it seems that the mounting bracket holes might not have aligned perfectly so one of the holes needs to be enlarged to line up properly.

Also the clamp issue that I already mentioned.

I think there are no obstacles to a successful install just a minor inconvenience if you know about it ahead of time.

I suppose if you had everything jiggled in place and just needed to bolt it down only to find a hole not align you might tend to be considerably more
pissed about it and post on a forum to vent your aggravation.

[opus69]

Louder doesn't make it faster. It does attract attention, especially that of the local constabulary.

[jb92563]

I pulled the trigger on the Top Speed cat-back system.

Actually on the Top Speed site they are listed under Axle-back system for $379 but on Ebay Top Speed sells them for $321 delivered.

Porsche 986 Boxster 2 5L 2 7L Boxster s 3 2L 97 04 Performance Exhaust System | eBay

I'll document the before/after and install on the DIY pages.

[Chard]

Awesome, I'd definitely be interested in your notes on the install and fitment.