May have found a solution for the drone on the cheap ebay exhausts!

[tommy583]

From what I've heard the Fabspeed exhausts still have some drone. The maxflow has less drone than the race muffler setup. I've also seen threads on here with people welding in a crossover pipe on ebay mufflers, they report that there is still drone. I stand by the internal mod as the most cost effective solution, followed by the external pipe mod.

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by tommy583

From what I've heard the Fabspeed exhausts still have some drone. The maxflow has less drone than the race muffler setup. I've also seen threads on here with people welding in a crossover pipe on ebay mufflers, they report that there is still drone. I stand by the internal mod as the most cost effective solution, followed by the external pipe mod.

Good to know, so far I have held off on changing from my stock muffler. I would hate to spend the $1,600 for the Fabspeed unit plus installation labor and get some drone. My car sounds great to me with the stock muffler, Fabspeed Sport headers and Circuit Werks mid-pipes.

[aparke4]

What size for the insert?

I have 2 pairs of flowmaster hushpower mufflers that drone nicely between 2.5-3k. I found a shop that can install a cross over pipe for about 200 and make it removable for clutch, etc. It is going to be tight but with the skid off there is room to match the stock size exhaust pipe. Flowmasters are 2 inch, smaller bodied mufflers. Took out second cats... These were supposed to help with drone but its the off setting exhaust pulses from cylinders that the boxer has that creates the drone with two seperate banks.

https://www.holley.com/products/exhaust/mufflers/laminar_flow_mufflers/super_hp-2_series/

For 10$, I might try finding a home on the passenger side pipe instead of engineering a J-Pipe and trying to isolate the hZ that causes the drone.

For us boxster owners, we only have about 8 feet of exhaust so if you have ever dumped an exhaust under a Jeep or Truck, you know how loud it can be ever with 6 cylinders!

[PeterBleakney]

Originally Posted by tommy583

From what I've heard the Fabspeed exhausts still have some drone. The maxflow has less drone than the race muffler setup. I've also seen threads on here with people welding in a crossover pipe on ebay mufflers, they report that there is still drone. I stand by the internal mod as the most cost effective solution, followed by the external pipe mod.

Confirmed. I put a Fabspeed Maxflo on my 2001 Boxster S, and while it sounds fabulous above 4000 rpm, the drone between 2000 and 3000 is a drag. I'm thinking of doing the internal mod to my OEM muffler and putting the old system back on. Or maybe keep the Fabspeed cats and bypass pipe and graft the old muffler on. Has anybody done this?

[boxxster]

I would imagine it would be easier to just buy a set of cat bypass pipes on ebay (I paid about $150 for mine a few years ago) than to make the fabspeed mid pipes work with the stock muffler and u-pipes. I have a set on my 04 S with the stock headers and muffler. I'd prefer it a bit louder, but the trade off is that there is absolutely no drone. The car sounds more or less stock except at full throttle and/or high rpms where there is a nice rasp and a bit more volume. I've driven a Cayman with the maxflo system and know what you mean about the drone/resonance in that rpm range.

[PeterBleakney]

Thanks for this!

[Qingdao]

Got my cheapo ebay muffler, but I'm not running a stock engine. So I hope it doesn't drone.

[geekdaddy]

Hey folks I'm still relatively new to the Boxster. Had mine for only 18 mos but have read a lot of exhaust threads trying to understand options and potential for drone.

I also had a Fiat X1/9 (don't laugh -- they're fun) that droned horribly after I put a performance header and exhaust on it. I used inserts like the ones shown here and they reduced the drone but never eliminated it. Most of insert companies recommend stuffing them with steel wool or adding more baffles to further calm the drone -- but then you're also reducing the performance of your exhaust. A good company with a lot of experience developing baffles is here: https://www.carchemistry.com/

Several forum members indicate that the stock muffler and larger/heavier aftermarket mufflers don't drone because of their mass.

Seems clear that long-tube headers, removal of cat restrictions, and a lighter muffler will cause drone every time in our Boxsters.

The question is, can you change some of these items (header, and/or midpipe, and/or muffler) to improve performance or reduce weight without adding drone -- or incurring minimal drone.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by geekdaddy

I also had a Fiat X1/9 (don't laugh -- they're fun

Hello Geekdaddy, I had several X1/9's as well, and actually got married on one :-)
You can imagine the bride on the passenger seat with the wedding dress and all the trimmings on..