subshooter

I know there are a couple of RL threads that discuss the particulate filter and whether it will be installed in US cars or not but there is a lot of conflicting information both from online auto rags and in forums and frankly just a lot of unknowns still. I'd like to make a dedicated thread for this topic so we can keep it updated and share experiences as the cars start to arrive in the hands of US owners. Some items that I think are worth exploring/speculating on and providing facts as we start to know them:

Is the particulate filter definitely not in US spec'd cars?

Can we replace the filter housing with a straight pipe without an impact on the ECU or causing warning lights to be activated?

What is the impact on HP? With and without the filter....and with/without the housing if someone replaces it with a straight pipe.

How does the sound compare to the 981 Spyder for the US spec'd models?

Is there something else installed in the housing for US spec'd cars if the filter is not there? If so, does it impact exhaust back pressure and sound?

I am replacing my 981 BS with a 718 Spyder. I LOVE the exhaust note of my 981 and hope the Spyder sounds just as good.....but I am worried.

This Road and Track articles states that the particulate filter is not coming to the US. https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...-track-review/

This review of a Euro Spec'd Spyder with the particulate filter was very negative on the exhaust note. He is an owner and not a journalist so I think his credibility is much greater.

Christmas50

Here is something from another tread posted by one of the tuners from UK
US and EU versions are the same other than the OPF matrix, the matrix in the USDM cars simulates the back pressure of the OPF. As the OPF matrix isn't required for emissions in the US I guess its cheaper for Porsche to manufacture these cars with a simulator instead

The US cars also don't have any of the OPF control and pressure monitoring system, for the USDM cars we simply provide bungs to cap the take off's on our systems so everything is still perfect direct fitment.

JCR-Porsche

The particulate filter is not the whole reason the new cars sound so muted and uninteresting, the rear silencer design on the 991 GT3 RS (OPF) and Speedster along with the new 718 GT4 and Spyder is VERY restrictive, has little to no mixing between the banks. The sound is muted for a whole number of reasons but the OPF is not the be all and end all. Its possible to make the car perform better and sound great even with the OPF in place.

See below a comparison of the new OPF GT3 RS with stock exhaust vs the same OPF GT3 RS with our Titanium Race Pipe, I think you'll agree the sound is quite noticeably improved. The weight is reduced by almost 14kg and power is up by 13hp.

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We're releasing our 718 GT4 and Spyder Titanium Valved Race Pipe (direct replacement for factory rear silencer) next week. Followed by Titanium OPF delete pipes, Inconel race manifolds etc etc etc

JC

kart125

It's goog and refreshing to see some aftermarket options starting to pop up as the cars are starting to be available for devlopment! In a year or 2 once I (probably) get a car a lot of options and reviews will be available! keep em coming!

Westcoast

@subshooter thanks for starting this thread, I didn't know that you were headed the way of the Spyder!

I too am interested in opening up the sound of the 4.0l, it will be good to see/hear what becomes available to do this.

subshooter

I didn't know I was heading towards a Spyder either until a few months ago. lol. I am not a EV guy and know where this is going.... Decided to populate my garage with the last NA GT3, the last NA Spyder and the last non EV/Hybrid Targa. Then keep and maintain them forever or until I kick the bucket.

I'm really not happy with particulate filter sound though from the videos I have seen/heard. My 981 sounds awesome to me. I hope the 718 Spyder sounds as good.

95spiderman

there is a good youtube video comparing last gt4 exhaust to new gt4 sound. old one is significantly better. almost like new one is turbo in comparison. its a video from England but cant remember who made it.

kennypowers

100%. I’m flat out concerned about the sound and am not sold on having to modify the exhaust to get a quality sound. my baseline is my 991.1 gts which sounds great to me, similar to a 981 gt4.

however, hopefully the particulate filter is the main culprit and the n/a cars sound a lot better and more opened up. Crossing my fingers.

Atomark

For me the sound is 75% of the driving experience. I owned a 981 Boxster S with a Fabspeed sports cats and PSE. Best sounding car I ever had- period! Unfortunately that engine self destructed. After that I got a grumbly 4 pot 718 GTS to bridge the gap to my Spyder becoming available, that sounded terrible but drove like a rocket. And I know the 981 Spyder sound quite well. This to clarify my reference on engine sound, and its importance to me.
After driving 718 Spyder for 1000 km I can tell you the sound is a big disappointment, its way too muted and utterly unacceptable. But the engine feels very very good and is starting to loosen up nicely so I’m sure an exhaust upgrade, with or without opf delete kit, will add the required aural drama and transform the driving experience! I will break in the car first, and see what upgrade options come available, and one of those will find its way to my car in the near future.

StudGarden

I wasn't impressed at all by that worthless video. First of all SE wasn't even on at first on the 982. When it was on it did sound much better. And who cares about a stupid cars and coffee start up exhaust differential that wasn't even that noticeable anyway.

The real (albeit subjective) exhaust note metric would be while giving it the beans while driving. From what little one can honestly dissertation IMO, the 982 sounds WAY superior, but not as loud. That's clearly because of the stupid euro nonsense particulate filters. While US spec cars won't have those ridiculous nonsensical fun sucker dream smashing devices, from what I've read they have choke point emulators so as not to make the euro customers salty.

But what that does mean is that they can be extremely easily removed and along with even a half effort aftermarket exhaust solution, the 982 sound will blow the 981GT4 sound away. Not. Even. Close. 4.0 8000rpm > 3.8 choked down 7600rpm stock (reduced) 991.1CS engine all day every day and there's no way around that.

Plus the added advantage of not having those stupid boy racer pops on throttle lift which always sounded kinda silly.

The 981GT4 is still a great car but the 982 is superior in every way and reason albeit the 981 is still awesome. The internet chatter about the 982 sucking because of sound is just silly. And that unjustifiably viral comparison video illustrates absolutely nothing.

ajw45

981 stock is 7800 rpm, not 7600 rpm, 8k+ rpm is just a tune away (my limiter is set to 8150rpm) as are adding more pops or removing them entirely. You can get whatever you want with either car if you mod accordingly but stock for stock in the video the 981 sound IMHO is way more exciting and the pse delivers a wider range between pse on and pse off.

95spiderman

i think its going to be unanimous that old gt4 will sound better than 718 version so next question will be weight difference. someone needs to take the pair on a scale and let us know. my guess is will be pretty close

arcamalpha

what are the real world weights of 981s? I struggle to find any proper weight measurements.

Westcoast

Regarding flat-6 exhaust note, 981 stock as compared to 718 stock, I would agree, once an aftermarket system is installed like that from JCR, its a whole new world for both sound and weight!

Weights are tough because there are so many variables, options can play a huge role (18-way adjustable seats vs LWBS), as does aftermarket changes like light weight wheels or titanium exhausts!

FWIW my stock 2016 981 Boxster GTS weighed 3054 lbs on the scale at the track no driver and 1/2 tank of gas...

StudGarden

Didn't they recently change how weights are calculated? The internets were abuzz about how bloated the 982GT4 was compared to 981 but it wasn't apples to apples. Once equalized to the same standard I think the difference was really a small fraction of what was reported.

And in reference to that u justifiably viral (within the very small community) the 981 was pointed towards a nearby wall which helped its acoustics while the 982 was pointed to open air.

And I'm still of the opinion that while the 981 currently does sound a little better (mostly because it's just louder) the reasoning is likely entirely due to the new filters/back pressure emulators. Removing either monstrosity born from spastic regulators would make the car more stock not less in many respects.

Maybe next the euro geniuses will mandate all cars have mandatory bananas in the tailpipe at all times then ship US cars with banana emulators we can simply remove. If that were to happen, comparing the sound of previous generation cars with the ones with easily removed banana emulators would make as much sense as the current debate.