Performance Exhaust and Header for Boxster - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

RandallNeighbour · 09-21-2006, 11:06 AM

Prelim results are good, fellow boxster owners. Quality of product is high, and dyno results are showing HP and Torque gains after the headers have been added... muffler goes on now and then a final dyno will be performed.

RandallNeighbour · 09-21-2006, 02:48 PM

I am just back from the shop having Che's headers and sport exhaust installed and dyno results between the installs. Here's the details:

Are these parts cheap or good?
The quality of the parts is very high from what I could tell, but I don't examine exhaust systems for a living so I could not really be very discriminating. However, the mechanic and the shop owner stated that they thought the parts looked very well made and were impressed with the price I would have paid on Ebay for them. The parts are mandrel bent and TIG welded, and far, far lighter than OEM equipment.

Installation
The headers bolted on directly on my 97 Boxster without any modifications. There is an AC line that was zip tied off to keep it from touching the header, and it was wrapped with heat tape to keep it from melting. I am planning on buying some asbestos heat wrap stuff a friend told me about and put it around this AC line just to make sure it doesn't get too hot.

The muffler installed easily, but the holes in the bracket were a bit too far away from the center for the setup on my model year Boxster. The mechanic simply drilled a couple of new holes in the bracket and bolted it on. (I spoke to Che about this and he is going to have additional holes drilled in the bracket so it will fit any model year 986 in case you are interested in getting one some day).

Sound
I must say that I can now hear my engine's exhaust very very clearly, even with the top up or down and the stereo at full blast! It has a lovely rumble at idle, and is loudest between 2k and 3k, providing a little resonance at this RPM. It sounds like music to my ears though, but some may find this muffer a little too loud for a daily driver... I noticed people around me in medium traffic looked over when I moved through the loudest RPM range. I will post a sound clip soon.

Performance
My greatest concern with adding aftermarket headers was the potential for a gain of power in the higher RPM's at the expense of some power at the lower RPM's, which did not happen with this header or exhaust. In fact, there was an overall HP and Torque gain across the RPM range. Results are as follows:

Base WHP: 169.27 With Headers: 179.27 With Headers & Muffler: 184.24

Base Torque: 147.91 With Headers: 165.85 With Headers & Muffler: 165.92

So, by swapping out the headers and the muffler, I gained almost 15 HP and 18 pounds of torque. The "butt dyno" feels it a little, but the ears hear the rumble far more.

Che, I know you appreciate the review of your parts, but I must thank you for the exhaust, headers, and the additional free gift of the short shift kit I received today. You are quite generous, and you followed through on every single thing you said you would do, and were very available to talk on the phone numerous times. In a world of internet theives and scammers, you have shown me you are a good businessman with strong ethics.

ohioboxster · 09-21-2006, 03:25 PM

Sweet! I need a sound clip! I hope you took a sound sample with each item istalled. I just want a muffler because Im not unbolting my SC unit dammit, unless its too irrestible! Clip, clip,clip!!!!

NickCats · 09-21-2006, 03:36 PM

RandallNeighbour,

Great write up ! How about some pictures of the Exhaust ?

So, $1000 for 15 HP ?

ohioboxster · 09-21-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickCats

RandallNeighbour,

Great write up ! How about some pictures of the Exhaust ?

So, $1000 for 15 HP ?

Dont forget about sound! Thats more important than 15 hp

DAAM421 · 09-21-2006, 03:43 PM

PIC IS VERY DARK,SOUND FILE IS GOOD , i will take pic and sound during the day also it didn't transfer??? will have to try again later sorry

RandallNeighbour · 09-22-2006, 06:26 AM

Here's a couple of links to two little videos with sound that Che sent me so I could hear how the muffler/header combo sounded. This is a white boxster located in Japan...

http://www.iwantaporsche.net/BoxsterExhaust1.wmv

http://www.iwantaporsche.net/BoxsterExhaust2.wmv

My car now sounds exactly like this from what I can describe. LOUD and THROATY

der Geist · 09-22-2006, 06:32 AM

I got mine and it went on without any issues at all. I have a '03 so the holes in the mounting bracket did not even need to be redrilled like Randall's. Went on with hardly any effort and the quality is very high. Weight is roughly 1/2 of the stock muffler. The Fed Ex tag said it weighed 24lbs with the packaging. I did not get headers so I am sure the HP gain is only around 8HP or so. But this car sure sounds like it is going a hell of a lot faster! I love the sound of this exhaust. Very deep and throaty but not obnoxious at all. Shipping was extremely fast. Anyone in NE Ohio who wants to see or hear this send me a PM. Well worth what I paid for it in my opinion.

clubhead · 09-30-2006, 09:35 AM

[QUOTE=...So, by swapping out the headers and the muffler, I gained almost 15 HP and 18 pounds of torque. The "butt dyno" feels it a little, but the ears hear the rumble far more.
...[/QUOTE]

I'm muchos impressed by your results. Am really glad things turned out well, in fact, much better than I've hoped for. I did something similar to yours with my Dansk headers, sports cats and muffler but I didn't believe my results were as good as yours. 15bhp with improvements across the rpm range for a set of headers and muffler on a NA car is nothing to laugh at!

Let the skeptics be silent on this one

jeffsquire · 10-05-2006, 08:08 AM

[QUOTE=clubhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ...So, by swapping out the headers and the muffler, I gained almost 15 HP and 18 pounds of torque. The "butt dyno" feels it a little, but the ears hear the rumble far more.
...[/QUOTE

I'm muchos impressed by your results. Am really glad things turned out well, in fact, much better than I've hoped for. I did something similar to yours with my Dansk headers, sports cats and muffler but I didn't believe my results were as good as yours. 15bhp with improvements across the rpm range for a set of headers and muffler on a NA car is nothing to laugh at!

Let the skeptics be silent on this one

___________________________________________

racer_troy · 10-06-2006, 09:50 PM

...that has not already been said in the thread...I'm new to the board (will do intros later) but just have to say Holy Cow...I've been around ktmtalk.com thumpertalk.com, and vwvortex.com and never have i seen a thread like this before...just a few questions...

Randell, nice write up and incredible job bitting your tongue while all the flames were blasting past your head...kudos! Anyway, how many miles have you put on your '97 since the install? Are the welds still holding up? No rattles or leaks? I'm interested in the added performance, but drive appx 800 miles per week and just can't have something under there that I have to worry about tackin' up every other month.

Also, anyone out there running one of Che's systems with and EVO intake or even a BMC panel? How about chip programming? Have we seen any results with GIAC? REvo?

Thanks in advance,

--troy

DAAM421 · 10-07-2006, 06:17 AM

Also, anyone out there running one of Che's systems with and EVO intake or even a BMC panel? How about chip programming? Have we seen any results with GIAC? REvo?

Thanks in advance,

--troy[/QUOTE]
k&n filter ++++++

FABSPEED CAT BYPASS PIPES ALSO INSTALLED,along with che 's great cat back...will be picking up headers from him. well when they are out for 03 2.7

RandallNeighbour · 10-07-2006, 07:24 AM

Troy, I have only had it on two weeks and put 100 miles on the car. Just enough to fall in love with the extra power and lovely exhaust sound. No new leaks to report!

kingsilver · 04-12-2007, 10:19 AM

I to have the exhaust from Che, and have to say I have been very pleased. Only problem I have is the in cab noise between 2k and 3k. Any ideas on how to deaden the sound in the cab?

mn box s · 04-12-2007, 10:42 AM

roll up/down windows j/k. I wore ear plugs in my last car. Didn't think the sound was bad, I can't even hear the exhaust crusing in sixth on the freeway.

RandallNeighbour · 04-12-2007, 11:51 AM

The cabin noise you hear is called 'resonance.' The way to reduce it is to stay above 3k rpm... bad excuse for a solution, I know! But most of the 2 chamber mufflers out there cause resonance in this rpm range.

blinkwatt · 04-12-2007, 12:42 PM

How bad is the resonance? Can I hear a phone conversation in the 2-3k RPM range?

RandallNeighbour · 04-12-2007, 12:53 PM

I can hear someone on the phone when it's at its worst, but I prefer not to talk on the cell phone while trying to shift and steer with both hands so it rarely happens unless I'm cruising down the freeway in 4th or 5th.

Some people just can't tolerate any resonance at all and this muffler is simply not a good choice for them.

I always thought the boxster's exhaust was equal to my Lexus, and I've accidentally redlined once or twice when the radio is up and the top is down because I could not hear the engine.

Che's headers and muffler sure do take care of that now!

I absolutely love overpassess and tunnels. I downshift and really punch it and the reverberation against the walls and cement above is wonderful. Makes driving around on the freeways in Houston a lot more fun.

And a side benefit is that you can set off car alarms in parking garages if you work at it a little (you have to do a lot of revving, so if you're trying to be nice you won't be doing it accidentally).

I think I'm going to tape a little mic onto the back of my bumper and record my exhaust sound onto my laptop and post it on my web site so everyone can hear it.