Hi William,
Firstly welcome to the “Forum” I hope you find it useful, informative and interesting.
Phil is right in away due to my history in motor sport and the amount of 911’s I’ve owned…. I think number 8 is now on the way….I’ve been circling adverts….and we all know where that leads….. anyway enough of me.
996’s well where do I start…quick car, but not a quick sports car and I’II try and explain why…..and this is only my opinion.
Sorry I’ve now got on my soap box, it is for a reason though…..I will come back to exhaust and mod’s later.
BMW’s and Merc’s are quick cars, but they are
cars or if you are a marketing man “sports saloons”, this enables manufactures to hype the price and therefore more margin on the sale, parts and servicing.
Don’t get me wrong, I like BMW’s and Merc’s, some of their models drive and handle incredibly well. I have proved this with my wallet with a number of M3’s under my belt …modified of course…. And a number of tasty Merc’s. For the record my wife run’s an AMG A Class.
Most consumers, that’s us, buy cars for a reason, to do a particular job that suits their personal life style, situation or persona, but for the most part an A to B tool.
I am concerned the average punter on the street and that’s the majority of buyers will lose the distinction between the brands and the cars they manufacture ie BMW, Merc and Porsche as the convergence of what a car has been designed for seems to be gathering pace.
And this is the reason why I’m on my soapbox, I think Porsche have lost the plot to the Yanks…they are now totally catering to the US market. Yes, it is their largest market, but this has led to a sell out of it’s sporting heritage. By positioning themselves as volume builders they are now presenting to a wider audience, this new customer base is a softer breed of driver that aspires to the brand but possibly not to the rawness of the driving experience. And this is the point, Porsche cars have changed…. completely. Porsche now have a large portfolio of Grand Touring and not Sports cars with the distinction of a coupe of Porsche’s original concept, the – GT2, GT3 etc. These however are out of the price range of most of their client base. Where do Porsche go from here ….. LM, F1, WRC or 4x4 shopping trolleys. Do we really want to see the Porsche brand at the local supermarket full to the brim with shopping bags and the sporting program canned? Answers on a postcard.
Finally back the 996 exhausts, Porsche did tone down the exhaust note to comply with US and TUV regulations on the early 996’s, this now seems to have changed on the later facelift models with a slighty sportier note bringing the later models back somewhat to sounding like Porsches should.
As with everything Porsche, again it’s down to money and noise!
Don’t expect to see a marked performance improvement when upgrading the rear boxes in isolation, in fact this applies to any component for the record, you might actually find a drop in performance! However, the car might “feel” quicker because of the noise, and yes most of the after market systems improve the noise – including the Porsche system. If you want to ”track” your car you could be buying problems, lot of the circuits are strict on noise and these levels vary from circuit to circuit.
Cargraphic’s
- Probably the best, most expensive, will produce the most bhp – especially with the 100 cell cats and are by far the nosiest!!! You will also very quickly upset your neighbours and everyone within a 5 mile radius. Light in weight and a quality built product. And just for the record they might be manufactured in England and branded up!
http://www.cargraphic.de/en/porsche/framesie.html
Fabspeed
- Well made, lighter than original boxes, sounds fantastic on full bore, easy to live with the noise on long journeys and neighbours, a bit wispy on tick over, easy to fit
http://www.fabspeed.com
http://www.fabspeed.com/Fabspeedmuffler.mp3
Porsche
Tequipment
- Porsche branded product that is expensive and slightly harder to install due to the vacuum control switch. Specially developed for the 996 Carrera, this innovative exhaust offers a richer and more powerful sound for your Porsche. Features include a unique soundproofing switch, enabling you to reduce noise output to standard levels if required. Not suitable for 911 Turbo or GT2.
http://www2.uk.porsche.com/isapi/english/gbr/accessories/911teq/item.asp?id=145&kat=Sport
Migration info. Legacy thread was 8424
Porsche 991: 2011-2019
Porsche 997: 2004-2012
Porsche 996: 1997-2005
Porsche 993: 1993-1998
Porsche 964: 1989-1993
Porsche Carrera 3.2: 1983-1989
Porsche Carrera SC: 1977-1983
Porsche 930 Turbo: 1975-1989
Porsche Early 911: 1964-1977
Porsche Carrera GT
Porsche GT1
Porsche 959
Porsche Macan : 2013-
Porsche Panamera : 2009-
Porsche Cayman: 2005-
Porsche Cayenne: 2003-
Porsche Boxster: 1997-
Porsche 968
Porsche 944
Porsche 924
Porsche 914
Porsche 912
Porsche 904
Porsche 550
Porsche 356 Speedster
Porsche 356
