gota911

First off, I want to thank Tim Wasmer for making this mod happen for me. I have wanted to do this PSE mod for the last few months, but didn’t want to modify my exhaust cans.. Since I am leasing my car, I wanted to be able to put the stock exhaust back on the car if I decide not to buy it at lease end. Not only did he give me (as in FREE) the extra set of stock exhaust cans he had on hand, he also took them to a local muffler shop and had them modify the stock cans to simulate the PSE cans. The muffler shop shipped them directly to me and I paid the muffler shop for the modification and the shipping. Tim W, thanks again for your generosity and for having your local muffler shop do the mod!

I installed the PSE Mod “cans” today. A couple of Rennlist members requested that I do a write-up of the install and post a few pics, so here is the info.

Overall, it was pretty straightforward. I put the car up on floor jacks and removed the rear wheels. There is a total of 5 nuts that need to be either loosened or removed completely in order to remove each stock “can.” The two nuts securing the double clamp, which connects the cat to the muffler, should be loosened, but not removed. Once these have been loosened sufficiently, slide the double clamp toward the cat, until the end of the muffler pipe is exposed.

There are three nuts on the exhaust “bracket” that need to be removed completely. Once these have been removed, you should be able to push the “can” toward the outside of the car to get the bolts out of the holes (see 1st pic for a view of the bolts on the “bracket”). Now you can lower the “can” and with a little twist it will come free of the car. The most time consuming part of the whole process is removing, and later reinstalling, these nuts. This is because the space is tight and you can’t move the ratchet handle very far on each stroke.

The PSE mod “cans” did not have “brackets” installed (see 2nd pic) so I removed the “brackets” from the stock cans and installed them on the PSE “cans.” That is really easy. Remove two bolts, transfer the "brackets" to the PSE "cans" and re-install the bolts. In the 2nd pic you can also see the "new PSE" pipe on the can on the left.

The toughest part of the whole job was removing the clamp that holds the exhaust tips to the “can.” However, before you attempt to remove the tips, make a mental note of the relative relationship between the pipe that comes from the cats and the pipe that has the tips on them. This way, when you transfer the tips to the PSE “cans” you can get the tips positioned correctly (see 2nd pic, the "can" on the right).

The clamp that holds the exhaust tips to the “can” is not a flat clamp but is flared like the flared end of the pipe (see 3rd pic). In order to open up the clamp, I took two screwdrivers and inserted them into the ends of the clamp (see 4th pic). Now when you push the handles of the screwdrivers toward each other, the ends of the clamp separate further apart. After you have removed the clamp and tips, transfer them to the PSE “can” and reverse the process.

Reverse the process to install the PSE MOD “cans.” Once you have inserted the bolts on the “bracket” into the holes, install one nut loosely to hold the “can” in place. Now check the see that the exhaust pipe lines up with the cat pipe and check to see that the tips are in close to original position. If they are not lined up correctly, you may have to take the “can” back out and loosen the clamp that holds the tips and rotate the tips to the proper location. It is much easier to do this with the “cans” out of the car.

The sound of the PSE mod “cans” is louder and it is a deeper, throaty exhaust note compared to the stock “cans.” I took the car out for a 45-minute drive and had a big grin on my face the entire time. In a coupe, the sound is more muffled, but when I returned home, my daughter said they were louder than the original “cans.”

The whole thing cost me $155 ($120 for the muffler shop work and 35 for the shipping). Of course, the extra set of stock cans” were FREE from Tim W. It’s a good mod and not costly. If you don’t want to mod your original “cans” maybe you can find some freebies. Sorry for the long winded post. PSE MOD ROCKS!

programmatore

Thanks for the thorough write-up, Tim. That looks like a very good -- and cost-effective -- alternative to PSE and aftermarket exhausts!

phwang20

I'm interested in knowing what the difference in sound is. Worth the cost difference? Have anyone heard both on similar cars to make a fair comparison? Looks great though.

Orient Express

Can you compare and contrast the sound of them modified stock muffler with a actual PSE muffler?

It would seem that the sound should be the same as the shell stampings of both mufflers are the same. It would be interesting to see if the internal baffles and fiberglass sound dampening construction is different between the stock and PSE mufflers. If they are the same, then this mod would deliver the same sound as a PSE.

I have an extra set of stock 996 mufflers and have been meaning to try this out as well.

gota911

OE - No, I can't compare the the modified stock muffler to the actual PSE, because I have never heard actual PSE in person. I have only been able to compare sound clips, which, obviously, is not the same. Sorry!

I know you installed actual PSE on your beautiful cab. Why would you want to do the mod to the stock mufflers? Is it just curious interest as you stated above, or is there another reason? Hell, now I'm curious that your curious, if that makes any sense!

Orient Express

It is just the capitalist in me. If a PSE muffler is what I think it is in comparison to a stock muffler, there is a ample supply of mufflers that could be modified and resold as sport mufflers.

nsang

I am thinking about getting PSE, almost bought a set last week, so I may try this mod anyway before buying PSE... Any chance this mod may actually trigger a CEL...? (by the way, nice write-up ..!)

TT Surgeon

One trick, when you remount the bracket on the can put the bolts upside down/nuts on top. This will fascilitate future muffler swaps, allows you to leave the bracket on the motor and just drop the two long bolts out and do your swap, saves 1/2 hr later.

Tim Wasmer

Tim 2

I am glad it all worked out. And heck I know you will return the favor to a Rennlister in the future

Your write up was great. I love my cans with the modifications.

My friend Mike and I did a drive by comparisson with his GHL's and my PSE mods. We both decided the PSE was deeper and the sound stayed loud higher in the RPM band. The GHL quieted down upon higher RPM.

Orient: I agree. I have thought about doing this as an "exchange" service for people. There is a certain amount of running things around involved but the muffler guys do the hard work

Nicolaasdb

Hi Tim, I guess I can't read...but I don't understand what you did. Did you already have PSE and modified the stock cans...or did you modify the PSE cans??

I will bookmark your write up because eitherway when I am changing my exhaust your write up will help me a lot do so.

Tim Wasmer

Nic

He had stock mufflers. We had the by pass pipe added to simulate the PSE setup (minus the off on sound switch) ***See picture #2***

Nicolaasdb

AHHH.....does this sound close to PSE at all?? If it does maybe this is the way to go for me! I have been looking for a better sound and can't make up my mind between PSE (pretty pricey I have heard) or Fabspeed (which might sound to muscle car like).....

gota911

Chris - I actually DID do this, but forgot to mention it in the write up. I first read this tip in one of YOUR posts a while back. So if I have to swap back to the stock cans prior to the end of the lease, it should save some time. BTW, thanks for the tip!

LVDell

Hey Lash LaRue....if you can keep your spurs from jingling and jangling for a few minutes I will grant you the privledge of listening to my PSE cans when I get to Carolina this summer and then you can compare/contrast

gota911

There is a group in the UK that is selling modified stock cans, but they are using the "older" version of the mod. They are attaching a small pipe to the pipe coming out of the cat and feeding it directly to the exhaust (or exit) pipe. That version mod bypasses the muffler portion of the cans completely. Here is a pic of that version of the mod.