catdog2

i agree the 781 spyder has many different layers of sound and some of them honestly remind me of a 1982 911 SC air cooled engine believe it or not.. certainly doesn't sound as theatrical as the 981 Spyder but that after a while seemed a little contrived and somewhat fake honestly i.e. trying too hard with the fake burbles and pops. In that sense the 981 Spyder sounds more real and genuine as other have said with many different layers involving induction and chain engine mechanical sound. It sounds excellent above 6500 to 8000rpm. Only thing really detracting is the injector noise, holy crap that's all I hear at low rpm and can't seem to unfocus myself off of it. Overall sounds different and not as sexy as 981 Spyder all in all but I guess it's price of progress...

UncleDude

I highly recommend you get through your break in (at least) with the stock system. Give it a chance IMO. It can be fairly or properly evaluated until you can get in the upper register of rev range.

One thing I’ve been wondering is why they didn’t blend the gasses in that stock pressed box with an x-pipe. I mean they clearly know how to get the motorsport tone when they want to, with all the restrictions. Do you think this is their way of putting a bit more distance between the GT4 / Spyder and the GT3? Or do you think with the geometry of the car and this 4.0L engine, that this was the best of their tested systems for drone and tone.

UncleDude

So I thought I’d bump this since I’m back in the stock system for 2000 km’s. In the first 1000 the exhaust changed, more burbles, more character and a bark on start up now. I also have experience (about 6000 km’s) with the Kline stainless steel system which will be going back on the car (just got it) shortly.

I will say, the stock system to me sounds really good 3000-4500 rpm (give or take), the mix of exhaust sound and intake sound in the Spyder is really good. Above that, it sounds flabby to me now, and raspy compared to the Kline. Valves closed during normal driving, it is too quiet IMO. It was great on the road trip though!, they really did tame all the sounds which can be unleashed with the wrong exhaust modification. I still think (see post above) they could’ve done a better stock sound in that pressed steel box.

I also have done the collar mod on the stock exhaust, that worked wonders, just opening the valves a crack when closed. But Kline is so much better top bottom, and really not very much louder until you’re up past 7000 rpm. I would think most people still run stock exhaust.

MrFunk

I've replaced the stock exhaust on almost all my vehicles to date. It's always been one of the most important and influential upgrades to the driving experience...
This is the first car that I've paused on the decision.
I'd love to hear the Kline system first hand before deciding.

Reno 911

The stock exhaust sound to me is mostly terrible and agricultural (a bit tractor like, lol). There are moments in the rev range where there's a bit of charm and character, but the system overall lacks musicality / doesn't increase in pitch as you rev it out. Contrast that to my previous 2.7L Cayman and more recently a few GT3 test drives where these motors (especially the GT3) are incredibly musical and beg to be revved. I was initially turned off to these 718 4.0Ls until I came across Kline (and to some extent JCR) and learned these cars need a good x-pipe design to sound much more like P-cars should. And it was through this forum and many of you that I learned this - thank you! The Kline setup was the solution that swayed me to go with a 982 GT4 because most everything else about the car is fantastic - it's how this car should've sounded from the factory. I've also learned more about myself through this process - sound is a much bigger deal to me than I had (even recently) thought.

850tgul

To me, in stock form, the car had great induction noise but only mediocre (at best) exhaust noise. Kind of the inverse of the 981 GT4.

I tried OAP alone for a bit, and they increased the volume of the stock exhaust, but did not change the tone. The stock rear muffler does not combine the exhaust gases and, therefore, gives off a dual 3-cylinder tone. This is why so many (all?) of the aftermarket back boxes use an x-pipe design as it drastically changes the tone to a much more racy exhaust note.

I'm currently loving my Akra OAP + Cargraphic race muffler + Cargraphic VC. Very aggressive but sounds amazing. I'm particularly a fan of the 5 to 4 rev matched down shift. It actually sounds like some sort of ferocious animal roaring, lol.

With the above setup, all of the lovely induction noise is drown out by the exhaust unless I close the valves and roll my windows up. Noodling on ways to increase the induction noise to get the best of both worlds including picking up a spare rear carpet (behind the seats) and cutting a hole where the sound symposer terminates to let more induction noise in.

Xxyion

I think im of the minority. I love how the stock exhaust sounds and so my goal was just to take that sound and make it a bit louder. I personally really like the low grumble it has at low revs and the baritone roar it has when higher up in the revs. It's definetly not as high pitched as a GT3 for sure which can be amazing. But i find that the 718 exhaust does actually go up in pitch, but it starts lower. Maybe it's because i'm a bassist which is why it's pleasing to me. The GT3 is your sweeping guitar solo while the GT4 is your thrash metal bass player.

I did recently add in the Flat6 OAP which i think was the perfect add-on. It took everything that i liked and just upped the volume slightly. Surprisingly enough i feel like a lot of the drone that was present in the stock exhaust is now gone, with valves open or closed. Its been a pleasant surprise to say the least.

BoxKing

OAPs with OEM Rear does sound good, but to me, you really had to ring it out to get the best of this setup.
To an untrained ear, OAP's alone could sound like one has a full aftermarket setup; especially if you have the flaps set to wide open from the jump.

Tone from the OEM back box to me was raspy, and muted.... its like Porsche put a down pillow inside the canister to intentionally muffle the sound.

I feel that the OEM box is just perfect for the owners who bought this car just to buy it. The unlucky cars that will never see redline until they finally get into the hands of a proper owner, who will most likely want to modify the exhaust right away. My car was bone stock for roughly 15 hours before I installed OAP's + collar Mod, and by no means will I ever put the the OEM back on now that I have a KLINE system... I also plan to never sell this car.

IRM

Similar here. I installed a full CG system step by step with several months trial in between. I can't imagine the car stock again. I would lose a good portion of the fun and experience.

bob78h

I'm decently happy with the stock system. It still sounds good when you rev it out, just bassier and an octave lower than the 981.

I recently installed OAPs and it's actually a bit too loud now over 5k rpm. Fun in short bursts, but after a couple hours in the canyons I had a headache and actually turned PSE off for once. After OAPs I'm starting to drive more with PSE off, whereas before I always had PSE on.

I think the primary weakness with the exhaust on this car is how quiet and bassy it is at low revs. Even with stock OAP, it sings quite loudly up top. I have no real desire to force the valves open, since the platform drones badly between 2-3k. In comparison the 981 sounded a lot cleaner and little louder down low. The stock muffler and valve programming do a great job managing drone, I just wish Porsche had structured the muffler to mix the 2 sides in the valve open path.

I may still do a back box like Kline or Cargraphics eventually, but no strong desire to do so after I added the OAPs. I feel like chasing "better" tone is a never ending battle, and I've slowly accepted that the 718 4.0 cars just have a different character than the previous gen.

lilbza

I'm yet to fit my OAP, but from what I've read, I thought drone was reduced if you forced valves open all the time with an aftermarket OAP. Given the drone seems worse at that lower RPM range, I would have thought the cause was likely because the PSE forces valves closed, which to my knowledge wasn't done intentially to manage drone, but was because of Euro emissions/noise etc.

Once I do fit my OAP, I will be disconnecting the valves so they are permanently open, and then leaving the sports exhaust button "off", which will prevent the sound symposer from pumping additional engine/intake noises into the cabin, which I suspect contributes to the headaches some people get.

VVG

I am still on the stock exhaust after 3 years with my Spyder. And while I have no inclination to sell the car any time soon, I am still questioning any decision to change the exhaust. Here's why:

1. I have yet to be able to actually hear any sort of modded exhaust on these cars, and it is highly unlikely that I ever will
2. On long trips at highway speeds, with the top down, I use ear plugs anyway, as that much wind noise after about an hour just isn't good for your ears
3. Other times, I am really enjoying my Burmester audio system, and don't want a more aggressive exhaust in that circumstance anyway.
4. When I am aggressively driving on twisty roads, with the audio system off, I keep the revs up, and the sound is just fine, and there is still a degree of wind noise anyway.

I could be wrong, but I am thinking that exhaust mods make more of a difference in a GT4/Cayman GTS with a closed cabin than it does on a Spyder with the open top and wind noise. From what I have read however, if I do take the plunge on this, I will likely just go with the Kline system. Just too many positive reviews to be able to ignore it.

Le Petit Garage

I was prepared to hate the stock exhaust based on everything I read here but i love it from inside the cabin. The induction noise is really shocking to me. Far better than any GT3 / Cayman I’ve driven before.

I haven’t heard my car from the outside so no opinion but from the drivers seat all I hear is induction and I’m quite happy.

Wild Weasel

I just passed 1000 kms last night and finally got to play with it beyond 4k rpm and if I'm honest... to me... it's glorious! I'll save my final opinion until I get to the track this weekend and really get to hear it all through the range at WOT but I sure didn't find myself thinking I needed to change anything.