Exhaust sytems
 

Hello All,

I am a new proud owner of a 2001 Boxster Base model. Came across this forum and you all are a wealth of knowledge.

I have been investigating performance exhaust systems seems the Fabspeed is direction to go.

I just wanted to hear anyone's opinions on the Borla performance and sound etc.

Thanks again!
Glen
Long Island NY

Welcome Glen from NY! :cheers:

Thanks Dubaday

Welcome!

I did the Borla on mine, it does have drone but with NY/LI driving it never seems to hit that band much. Unless the highway is clear and I am at a constant cruise speed. I don't mind it and it doesn't bother me either. It is fairly loud with the top down, but that growl is awesome when you get it on it.

best bet is to listen to them and make the call yourself.

Thanks for that info. I cant seem to find any soundclips other then the "S" version

I have the Base 986

do you think it will sound significantly different then "S"

also what do you mean by drone? appreciate the feedback

Drone is the harmonics created by the exhaust valves that becomes more noticeable as the exhaust header material gets thinner. Most, if not all, aftermarket headers are made from thinner metal, usually aluminum, so they will have some degree of drone. You've probably noticed the OEM headers on your Box look like they came out of a Soviet submarine they are so thick and clunky looking but work very well and don't have drone. I've got the Fabspeed on my '99 and there is drone around 2.5K rpm but when it hits 3K rpm the exhaust note is a symphony. It is hard to describe drone you really have to hear it and it does drive some people crazy. Find a sound byte of it before you change out your headers so you know if you can handle it and buy a good set of headers that have a splitter in the junction box, smooth bends and cleaned up welds especially at the flange openings.:cheers:

Much appreciated. However I was thinking strictly a cat back system without the header kit. What do you think?

The borla system and the eBay systems you see are pretty similar in design. There is no balance pipe between the two mufflers so drone is introduced. The fabspeeds has a pipe that connects the 2 mufflers and negates the drone.

I don't think the sound will differ between an S and non S.

If you are in LI/ Nassau county area I would be happy to catch up on a weekend morning and you can hear the borla for yourself.

that would be awesome im in Suffolk so we can meet up someplace.

Thanks again.

So you just want to replace your muffler? Dansk makes mufflers for Porsche and they have several models that replace the stock. They are lighter, polished, give you twin pipes and sound great. I have the "sausage" sport version on my base '99.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1459951815.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1459951835.jpg

I have gone from the stock 2001 S muffler that came on the car to a 2003 S muffler modified by FDM (FD Motorsports » Fister Exhaust – Boxster) to an OEM Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE). The FDM had the best sound by far and I liked the larger tips. But, the PSE is special. I ended up deleting the secondary cats to get some sound out of the PSEs. No drone at all with the FDMs. The other two being stock also had no drone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps26c7fcdf.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps9f606ac7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psva4fgk3p.jpg

Chuck that PSE looks amazing! special indeed!
hopefully at some point you can put up a video for us with the PSE and secondary cats deleted, would love to hear that.

i just installed the Fister that you used to have on and i think it sounds amazing it's really making all the right noises BUT deleting the secondary cats is a MUST if you are to get any sound out of it. no drone is also very nice!
i highly recommend the Fister to anyone, a bit pricey but still under the more expensive high end aftermarket ones that sound.. aftermarket.. not that it's necessarily a bad thing but i prefer that Porsche dirty sound.. sounds like something is broken inside the engine and i LOVE IT!

i will try to upload a video of it soon.

What's the difference between the fister and Pedro sport exhaust? Are they basically the same thing or is there more to the fister? Better sound than Crios mod?

This is what you should listen to. Only exhaust system I can personally say has zero drone (other systems I rationalized for awhile, eventually drove me nuts with their drone) is from FD Motorsports.

There is a bit more to the Fister than the Pedro exhaust mode. Both have the bypass pipes but the design is a bit different (not sure that makes any difference to the sound though). Supposedly the fister has more tricks up its sleeve but not exactly sure what they are. One thing I have noticed is the fister has a little metal mesh welded inside the input tubes of the exhaust on both sides. There might be more but that's the only thing I was able to see.

In terms of sound they are different. Fister is a lot more raspy which I love. I had a Pedro exhaust some time ago and it didn't sound as good. Granted I had all 4 cats back then and that had a negative impact. I only had the fister with the 2 main cats and I know it makes it louder and makes it crackle and pop.

This is my 3rd muffler so if I had to do it all over again it would be the fister with the cat delete pipes no doubt about it. It's a mod I will never regret and makes my day every time I drive the Boxster.

do any of these systems add horses at all?

very little.. removing the second set of cats and adding a muffler with better flow (aftermarket ones probably work better for that) adds a little. also, by doing that you shed some weight which is great. not with the Fister thought.. i think its the same weight as the untouched OEM, it felt heavy in my hands.

i probably shed around 40lbs when i removed the cats and had this light muffler from Top Speed. car felt a little bit quicker but not by much.

if you want to add noticeable power with exhaust mods you have to get sport headers and tune the ECU otherwise it all seems negligible. Porsche is known for putting restrictive headers on the Boxster to keep the power down, we don't want it to be a 911 now..

most of us have done it for the sound more than anything. if you get it right it really transforms the car for the better but i will say that i am just about DONE with exhausts and rusty bolts!! :D

I too just received my 2001 Box-S and my research shows Fabspeed, though a bit expensive for headers, and exhaust with tuned computer is best upgrade for sound and performance

thats true but things get expensive with Fabspeed. Good system thought if you could snatch it used from someone but they dont come around very often.

keep in mind when adding less restrictive headers (especially cheaper Ebay ones) things get a lot louder and drone shows its ugly face especially with a cheaper muffler as well.

I went with top speed exhaust with secondary cat delete, cost just over $500 sounds amazing