Need exhaust advice
 

Hi guys. Trying to get a consensus on a good exhaust/muffler swap that will sound good (no drone) and dissipate heat (ie: not bake the trunk).

A couple years ago I put a no-name "full stainless axle back" exhaust on the 98 Boxster because the wife was upset at how hot the trunk got. It's sporty sounding, but really too loud for her to comfortably drive around. We cross-country'd it a while back and I guess I have to agree. The drone is unbearable with the top up. Of all my loud cars, this is the one that gets the most... uh... comments.

So now I'm back to the drawing board. I have the factory muffler sitting up on a shelf and am open to having it modded.

What suggestions are there for good options that won't break the bank? Hoping for something I can just take over to my muffler guy and have him swap it out (as he did with the cheapie droner).

Thanks!

The current exhaust... as seen on numerous ebay listings.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1497381377.jpg

In my opinion all twin can mufflers will drone I don't think there is any way around it . But it can be tamed. On " the beast " I have a GHL twin can muffler . GHL were known to be fairly loud with drone but a great sound otherwise . I decided to install Car Chemistry muffler inserts into the tips . I went with the twin disc style and it really tamed the noise/drone . She still screams like a banshee when I get on it but drive it like an old man and you barely know a aftermarket muffler is installed .
For me the OEM muffler is just too heavy , plus I like the room the aftermarket mufflers provide . There are many brands/styles of muffler inserts but the Car Chemistry seemed like good bang for the buck .

I have the same cheap Chinese eBay muffler on my '02 Boxster with test pipes - no drone what so ever. Depending on the batch, you might have gotten one that was made poorly. I know the one I got needed some modifications to get it to fit right on my car. I had to make a custom bracket. The only thing good about the eBay exhaust is the weight savings.

If you are looking for a exhaust that is a little louder than stock, try the '03-04 muffler with the interchangeable tips. I had one on my '00 3.4L swap Boxster, and it sounded great. Much better than the earlier mufflers. The stock '03-04 muffler has a more throatier sound to it than the ealier mufflers and there is no drone.

This sounds like exactly the ticket. Do they just pop into the tailpipe? Easy as that? That would be great!

Go to the Car Chemistry website and look them over . You can buy pre-made in different sizes or a builders kit . I went with the builders kit and welded it up myself . I also ordered from them some stainless steel packing which I wrapped the center pipes with before inserting into the tips . Drilled one hole at the bottom of each tip and used a pop rivet to hold in place . Been in for over 6 months and sounds the same today as the day I installed them.
This is not the only brand or style out there , just what I went with . Type in muffler inserts on any search engine and you'll find hours of info .

I put a Buluga Racing cat back on mine from Ebay. No drone nice and throaty at revving speeds...fairly tame at idle.

300 bucks.

Do you think the test pipes along with the axle back reduce the drone? I just started seeing a ebay vendor offer test pipes for the 3.2/2.7 with/without cats resonators. Looking to upgrade myself purely for weight savings and sound.

To the OP did u think to put the stock exhaust back on and do the "crios mod" if your wanting more sound.

Thanks for that. Actually I don't want more sound than the stock. The real reason for changing was all the heat that the factory exhaust bakes the trunk with.

Unfortunately we're in an emissions control area and cannot remove the cats. So no "test pipe" for me.

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'm going to start with the CC inserts first and see how those work out. That seems to be the easiest, least-invasive option for us. If that does not produce good results, then we'll move on to the next step. (whatever that may be).

I highly suggest you use the stainless steel packing with the inserts . It seems to knock down some of the DB but not too much . Make sure you take good inside diameter measurements of your tips . Match up the closest outside dimension inserts. I found on mine I had to slightly grind down the O.D. of the inserts to fit snugly . But it all depends on what your exhaust tips measure . If I remember correctly I went with 6 " of center perforated tube with two discs . I welded the discs so one was deep inside the tip and the other was aprox. 1/4 " from the end of the tip . The space between those two discs I filled/wrapped with the stainless steel packing . Yon don't need anything to hold the packing it is sandwiched between the inner metal tube and the two discs , it is not going anywhere . Good luck I don't think you will be disappointed .

You can get rid of the secondary cats and still pass. I am in the DFW area and pass with no issue with the test pipes. All the test pipes do is remove the second set of cats. The only time my exhaust gets annoying is if I am below 2900 rpm, but shifting takes care of that :D Even then, the sound is not a drone which is what I had before I put the EZ clamps on.

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I belive the OP has an '98 with just one set of cats. Pre 2000 Boxsters do not have headers with builtin cats. Hard to pass smog with no cats and his car will smell like rotten eggs with no cats.

Ok, I missed that, bummer.

I suggest PSE, it sounds great, just loud enough to let you hear your throttle input, that you could quiet down on highway stead-state driving if you want. By design some exhaust bypasses the main hotdog resonator right below the trunk and go straight to the tail pipes through pipes in lower part of the muffler away from the trunk, so. I *think* PSE keeps the trunk cooler on loud/ bypass mode.

Besides, she knows that the car has another trunk up front to keep beers cold, right?