bw1999

John
Just purchased my 2001 996TT with stock exhaust and Im thinking about upgrading. Similar to David, not going to track and don't want anything too loud.
How hard are these to install oneself? I have no welding experience and some basic maintenance experience, but am new to this car. What is the ballpark price for the 2.5 quiet? Feel free to PM me

John D II

pm sent

BauerR

Someone was asking about a 3.0x competition catless.

Here ya go!

jayzbird

I got the 3" dual tips. They are probably the loudest of all, maybe a bit louder than I'd like, but the look is great. They fill out the oval bumper cutouts in a way the round ones don't. I also got the stock tip adapters that I can switch out to make it look completely OEM. These are maybe too quiet, though you can still hear the turbos spooling. John says the round ones sound best, and I'm debating trying those though like you I'n not crazy about the look of the single round tips in the oval cutouts. There are yet other options John mentioned to partially close off the 3" duals to quiet them down. So many options! I'd advise talking to John about your choices as the tips have more impact to the overall sound than I ever would have expected. He's also very good about working with you if your initial purchase doesn't quite pan out the way you expected.

As far as passing smog, I decided to go for it with the Speedtech vs. the hassle & expense of reinstalling the stock exhaust based on the dearth of forum posts of people saying they failed the visual. If a lot of people were failing, we'd be hearing about it on the forums. I think John's right that the cars are rare enough that they don't know what to look for.

RDS928S

My Speedtech 3 inch dual staggered tips. They are moderately loud but in a nice way.

PaleAle

Thanks to all for the input. I ordered the 2.5 "Quiet" X-cellerator Exhaust System with round tips today from John today.

A few people recommended ordering new front O2 sensors for multiple reasons. Now I might be naive but I'm hoping for better gas mileage and a HP boost. Luckily I only really want the new sound.

John D II

Thanks for the order, Dave. We appreciate your business! You will feel the improved power and spool, as well as an overall more responsive "fresh" feeling to the motor.

John D II

Exactly! I have been telling customers this for years and for most it's hard to understand or imagine the impact of tip design on sound until you swap tip styles on your own car and experience a back to back comparison. The good news for the 996TT crowd is that we have spent the time to extensively test numerous tip designs on this platform and have developed what we feel to be the best sounding exhaust options available for the 996TT. We have a lot of time invested into tweaking our sound to where we want it. Many companies just design an exhaust to fit, then put a tip on the end that they think looks good. IMO, this leaves a lot of untapped sound design potential on the table. We not only tested over 20 tip designs in the development stage, but several "X" designs as well and found that the proportions of the "X" itself also has a profound effect on the sound. When you combine the best of these two components together, it gets pretty good for the 996TT...

bw1999

Im getting very jealous. May have to convince my wife that this is a rational thing to do, and not the first step down the rabbit hole I think it's more likely to be!

John D II

Here is an example of our 2.5 catless "RACE" X-Pipe exhaust system laid out, less the tip option. We just came upon a set of slightly used mid-pipes and pieced together this 2.5 catless "RACE" X-Pipe with the used mid-pipes. The other components of the system shown are brand new, only the mid pipes are slightly used. Pictured is all new hardware, as well, for a complete, simple bolt on installation. This system can be paired with our recommended sound engineered (SE) tips for improved flow and sound or OEM tip outlets.

If anyone is interested, there is a nice discount available on this particular system due to the used mid-pipes.

Sean996turbo

Do any of these systems need the ECU programming?

vogz

They don't need it but a free flowing exhaust makes even more power with a tune.

gophaster

Yup, you won't need a tune unless you run catless (like the system above) then you will at least need to adjust the tune so that you won't get cel.

Natethegreat

When I finally do get into the 996TT this is on my bucket list!

John D II

For those that may be considering this product, below is a review via email we just received from a 2.5 X-Pipe customer...

John,

I just wanted to send you a quick note that the car is now back on the road from the accident. The bumper and cosmetic repair went perfectly!

As for the exhaust....I am absolutely in love with it! Your recommendation was spot on. Incredible sound when really stretching its legs, without being punishing at low load/speed. No drone I am able to find, even with the windows up. I only was able to drive it this evening about 30min, but I am very happy with the purchase. You have an incredible knowledge of the product, and its fit for your customers. Your excellent communication through this process was second to none. I will admit was a little apprehensive of the round tips in the oval cutout, but it looks so at home with OEM quality and actually improved the appearance. My father saw the car today and commented on how good the tips look, and he is very difficult to please with vehicles.

My shop was skeptical when they pulled the exhaust out of the box and there was no muffler. They gave me a look like "oh you poor soul, this is going to be too loud", however they were impressed with the sound, and even more with the fit and finish of the system which went on perfectly from what they said.

Thank you so much for creating this great exhaust. I am now in love with the car again after the bitterness of the accident!

-Ryan