Panarama

Have a 2012 Panamera 4. Wanted to give it a bit more exhaust character.
Picked up a Fabspeed cat back exhaust system. Nice product, well made, but not my taste.
It makes the car sound like a straight piped Honda or an angry chainsaw.
There is a serious rasp note from 2500 to 3000 rpm. Not the right note for a 4 door luxury sedan.
Talked to both Fabspeed and AWE and they both admitted that they struggled with the V6 to get a good note out of it.
If you want a track car sound, then the cat back will work for you.
I just don't think it suits the Panamera

If you look at the AWE website, they specifically state that:I respect the fact that they warn you about what happens when you delete the resonators, and also say don't try to return it - we warned you!

The notes are very sharp and raspy.
The volume was not my problem, rather it was the character of the note.

After speaking with Fabspeed, they said the range of alterations, in order of loudness is:
stock system << resonator delete with stock muffler << stock resonator with fabspeed mufflers << full fabspeed axle back

Since it was easier to just swap the mufflers, resonator delete with stock mufflers was the next step to try.
Without the center resonators, the raspy note is still there at 2700rpm, but it is more tolerable to me.
If you like that buzzsaw raspy sound but don't want to wake the neighborhood its a decent setup.
The car now has character, but not track car insanity.
No added horsepower, however, since the stock mufflers are very restrictive.

I am going to try the next step and run stock resonator with axleback Fabspeed muffler.
I think the stock resonator was specifically designed by Porsche to deal with that raspy note the V6 makes. The V8 engines sound so much better.

PS - the cat back system was fine on the highway.
Did not experience droning or anything unusual at cruising speeds given the changes.

PPS - if you do go cat back, be prepared to always run in sport mode.
It really sounds silly when the shift points are so low and short and the engine goes brap brap brap between 1000 and 2000 rpm through all the short gear changes in city driving.

Panarama

FYI, you can hear exactly what the rasp is like in the AWE videos

Skip to 1:44 in this video - you can hear that raspy note that the resonator delete creates


Here is the AWE axle back system with the stock resonator.
Check the same note at 1:32 when the car pulls away


FYI, the axle back AWE and Fabspeed are different systems.
The AWE includes a bullet muffler as well as the final resonator, which may make it quieter?
But even so, the main thing I wanted to share was that raspy note that you will get by deleting the central resonators.

These two videos give a much needed representation of what the stock resonators are doing for the Panamera V6 engine note.

cerbomark

what s involved in resonator delete with stock muffler... I only have two years left on a lease. Is it easily put back . sorry I haven t looked under there so I m clueless...

Panarama

Just doing the rear axle back exhaust is easiest.
there is one small panel to be removed to gain access.

To do the center resonator pipes, you have to remove two large panels to get to the cross bracing, etc.

Neither is that hard, but it takes more time than you would expect.

FYI, if you do either the center resonator or the rear muffler, you need to cut the stock exhaust since it is one welded system and you need to separate the two by cutting at the dimple. That factory dimple is where all the aftermarket systems will connect.

If you can cut the pipe without having to drop the entire thing (mine was already down, so it was easier to cut) then a muffler only (axle back) job will be a lot less labor expense to both install and to restore the factory exhaust on lease trade in.

If you like the resonator delete sound, I will probably be selling my center pipe once I try the factory resonator with the aftermarket muffler.

Its not a horrible sound, I just dont think it fits the car.
Its a Braaap braaap and I want a vroom vroom!

cerbomark

thanks, some of those clips sound very Honda like to me... it s too big of a car for that IMO.
GTS lease next time will fix that. LOL.

Panarama

Success!!
I love my car again.

Running the stock resonators and the Fabspeed mufflers.
Car sounds great.
Nice notes.
Only downside is a bit of highway drone from 1500-2100 rpm. If it bothers you, just shift to 6th gear or go faster.

It could be a bit louder (resonators are clearly taking a lot of sound out) but it is much better than stock and more pleasing than straight pipes.

I noticed in another thread that the V8 and turbo have only one center resonator.
There are three resonators on the V6. And they have a huge effect by mixing the exhausts and lowering the frequencies.
Porsche did a lot of nice design work to make a proper note, unless you want a track car braap braap sound.

I did a lot of research before buying the exhaust, and no where did I really find an honest opinion of what the resonators do to the V6 note.
(I only found the AWE videos after the fact)
Resonator delete on the V8 engines is no big deal. Its a huuuge change for the V6.

Posting this to share so hopefully it helps others to decide what to do.
Sorry no video uploads, but I think the AWE videos above demonstrate the difference better than I could.

Panarama

Final thought to say that I think the resonator delete and stock muffler is louder than the stock resonator and fabspeed muffler.

Who knows what the db meter would say.
Just my opinion. It may be that the raspy notes just get to me.
Even on startup when the engine auto revs, the resonator delete and stock muffler seemed louder.

John@Fabspeed

Very impressed with the level of detail and follow through on your experiences with the exhaust configurations. This is exactly the kind of feedback that companies like ours look for and value most. Thank you very much for sharing for the benefit of the Porsche community, and promoting an educated decision on our products. True petrolhead