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Went to may first autocross today with my Spyder. I forgot how much wait time there is at those events for a couple minutes of driving so I probably won't be doing it again.
Anyway, I have the full Kline inconel including 200 cel catted headers and a tune to keep it open all the time. I would get cheers and applause at the end of my run (not for my driving) and people coming up to me saying how incredible my car sounded and that they had no idea the 4.0 sounded so amazing. coun't be happier with the sound on this thing and glad I went with inconel for that high-pitched top end.
My Spyder is officially Kline'd (OAP+rear)! I'll post some driving/sound impressions after I've driven some more (spoiler: it's very good), but wanted to share some observations and potential tips from the install. A big thanks to everyone who shared install advice and answered my questions here (especially @Jeff Jones 's guide which was a great reference to have).
Install time for me and a helper took about 8 hours of "working" time spread across a weekend, but that was going slow and making a few mistakes. Here's a few things I noted:
I'll have many great things to say about this Kline system, but do have some gripes about fitment and hardware they provided. I know exhausts will always have some variation car to car in terms of fitment, but it took some work to get it fitting right. The OAP to rear section flanges didn't align as well as I would have liked before tightening, and clearance at the top of rear section near the valves is quite tight. Also, I would recommend re-using, or ordering new, Porsche OEM gaskets. The Kline gaskets are much thinner and likely don't seal as well. The OEM cat-OAP gasket can definitely be reused, but I'm not sure about the OAP-rear section.
This wasn't clear, but you need to use some of the extra nuts provided by Kline to attach the OEM crossbar (that attaches to the transmission). Slightly annoying if you have to loosen it again while on car (as we did to help centre the exhaust), it'd be nice if they had welded nuts to thread into like the stock exhaust.
A few of the threaded studs will likely come out with nut when removing the stock OAP from header/cat section. Something we figured out is if you tighten the stud back into the cat enough, then you can take the nut off.
Vacuum lines: I wish Kline would include some sort of clip/bracket to in place of no longer being able to attach them to the OPF
Random observation: there's a small NACA duct on the underside to direct air to the OPF. I guess those things really get hot!
Just doing final checks now with my install, but some issues I ran into if anyone had similar or tips to help:
Clearance at the top near the valves is very tight (slightly touching the heat shielding), attached pics. Loosening the vertical hanger rods doesn't seem to help.
I used some spacers on the hanging damper rods to shift the rear box downward some, 1/4" or so. This helped a lot with clearance, do you have a manual or PDK car? I've had clearance issues with more than one exhaust and I have a PDK.
I used some spacers on the hanging damper rods to shift the rear box downward some, 1/4" or so. This helped a lot with clearance, do you have a manual or PDK car? I've had clearance issues with more than one exhaust and I have a PDK.
Mine is manual. And yeah, I was thinking I might try a spacer. I saw Soul includes one with their system.
My Spyder is officially Kline'd (OAP+rear)! I'll post some driving/sound impressions after I've driven some more (spoiler: it's very good), but wanted to share some observations and potential tips from the install. A big thanks to everyone who shared install advice and answered my questions here (especially @Jeff Jones 's guide which was a great reference to have).
Install time for me and a helper took about 8 hours of "working" time spread across a weekend, but that was going slow and making a few mistakes. Here's a few things I noted:
I'll have many great things to say about this Kline system, but do have some gripes about fitment and hardware they provided. I know exhausts will always have some variation car to car in terms of fitment, but it took some work to get it fitting right. The OAP to rear section flanges didn't align as well as I would have liked before tightening, and clearance at the top of rear section near the valves is quite tight. Also, I would recommend re-using, or ordering new, Porsche OEM gaskets. The Kline gaskets are much thinner and likely don't seal as well. The OEM cat-OAP gasket can definitely be reused, but I'm not sure about the OAP-rear section.
This wasn't clear, but you need to use some of the extra nuts provided by Kline to attach the OEM crossbar (that attaches to the transmission). Slightly annoying if you have to loosen it again while on car (as we did to help centre the exhaust), it'd be nice if they had welded nuts to thread into like the stock exhaust.
A few of the threaded studs will likely come out with nut when removing the stock OAP from header/cat section. Something we figured out is if you tighten the stud back into the cat enough, then you can take the nut off.
Vacuum lines: I wish Kline would include some sort of clip/bracket to in place of no longer being able to attach them to the OPF
Random observation: there's a small NACA duct on the underside to direct air to the OPF. I guess those things really get hot!
Wow - I've done several exhaust installs on various cars and 8 hours spread across a weekend sounds rough to me. Perhaps a good project while the car is up for winter storage...
Most people would be able to do it faster than that. I’m including time to get the car on the quickjacks and back down. Having to unbolt everything to re-align and retorque back up killed a lot of time. So did thinking loctite on the crossbar bolts was a good idea, until I had to loosen them after exhaust was on car 😂
Edit: ratcheting wrenches, which I don’t have, would have saved some time.
It took me that long by myself @coldfire - who cares how long it takes? Being a noob I used my tools better the second time and the small ratchet made a huge difference tightening those 10 nuts and bolts around the OAP and rear section. I have my hanger up tight too, that’s the only way I could get that f***ing flap on the transmission, I also re-used the header gasket, but only used the kline one between the kline parts because I didn’t think the stock one would fit (not sure if that is true). I had one header bolt come out last time, and rather than mess with trying to to get the nut off, I just put it back in with the nut on and it seemed very snug to me (not sure if that is a bad protocol but I didn’t care LOL).
Congrats on getting it on there! I have the collars on mine and it is a perfect blend of quiet and wild.
It took me that long by myself @coldfire - who cares how long it takes? Being a noob I used my tools better the second time and the small ratchet made a huge difference tightening those 10 nuts and bolts around the OAP and rear section. I have my hanger up tight too, that’s the only way I could get that f***ing flap on the transmission, I also re-used the header gasket, but only used the kline one between the kline parts because I didn’t think the stock one would fit (not sure if that is true). I had one header bolt come out last time, and rather than mess with trying to to get the nut off, I just put it back in with the nut on and it seemed very snug to me (not sure if that is a bad protocol but I didn’t care LOL).
Congrats on getting it on there! I have the collars on mine and it is a perfect blend of quiet and wild.
Thanks! I wouldn't want to tackle it solo, so well done to you. And yeah that flap definitely seemed like it wasn't quite in the right spot, hence why we had to loosen the crossbar itself and then tighten the flap. All that said though, I don't think I would have taken it to a shop to get it done. There's a lot of small things that most shops could easily take shortcuts on. I'm glad I did it myself, and I'm more comfortable now if I ever have to adjust anything on in it, or take it off/on in the future.
How many extra nuts does Kline provide? I have one on each screw on the OAPs, but found one "extra" nut beyond those (which can actually be seen on a few of my pics where I put it on one of the OAPs as not to lose it)...
How many extra nuts does Kline provide? I have one on each screw on the OAPs, but found one "extra" nut beyond those (which can actually be seen on a few of my pics where I put it on one of the OAPs as not to lose it)...
I'm not sure there are "extras" (I didn't count), but because I reused the OEM studs in the cat I had an extra 3 bolts+nuts for each side.
Ok, here's a "review" for the SS OAP+rear system from just a few quick drives so far.
TL;DR it lives up to the hype and I'm very happy. Makes the car feel OEM "plus" - enhancing the underlying character of the car without feeling aftermarket. No downsides.
This exhaust is fairly popular at this point and a lot has been said/shared about it. I think most of what I read here and listened to in videos matches pretty close to reality (some great videos like @UncleDude 's are very close to the real world sound). Seemingly less drone than stock, and a great increase in pitch and howl and character. Not obnoxious at all. In fact, if you weren't familiar with these cars you might not realize it's an aftermarket exhaust. That's how well it matches the car, and also how little obvious compromises there are.
There's perhaps a few things I was (pleasantly) surprised with. That mid range howl is a lot more prominent than on video. It's really quite a special sound, and makes the 5/10ths driving experience a lot more enjoyable. The startup "bark" is great and reminds me of my 981 GT4 a bit. Under load at the top end the sound is so much sharper and mechanical - almost 997 GT3-ish.
I do have a better understanding now of some criticism or different preferences others might have on this system. Mainly:
The decibels it puts out may not be enough for some, especially if you want a sound level that is a big step above stock. Especially true in the low/mid range.
With this SS system, I'd say that yes the pitch has been elevated but it's more the character and texture that has improved. I could see those wanting to get closer to a 992 GT3 sound, this isn't going to quite get there so maybe the Inconel is a better option.
I ended up putting collars on the valves and setting to about 20% open as some others here have done. Slightly mixed feelings about it. In some driving I feel there isn't enough of a difference between closed vs. open, but then sometimes under load I can still notice the transition a bit too much. I think a valve controller, or tune that keeps valves always open or closed, might be the way to go with this system. But +1 to the valve closed sound in general, it's great.
Overall, very pleased with it so far. I think the best compliment I can give is that I look forward to every drive so much more now - I'm itching for the next one.
Ok, here's a "review" for the SS OAP+rear system from just a few quick drives so far.
TL;DR it lives up to the hype and I'm very happy. Makes the car feel OEM "plus" - enhancing the underlying character of the car without feeling aftermarket. No downsides.
This exhaust is fairly popular at this point and a lot has been said/shared about it. I think most of what I read here and listened to in videos matches pretty close to reality (some great videos like @UncleDude 's are very close to the real world sound). Seemingly less drone than stock, and a great increase in pitch and howl and character. Not obnoxious at all. In fact, if you weren't familiar with these cars you might not realize it's an aftermarket exhaust. That's how well it matches the car, and also how little obvious compromises there are.
There's perhaps a few things I was (pleasantly) surprised with. That mid range howl is a lot more prominent than on video. It's really quite a special sound, and makes the 5/10ths driving experience a lot more enjoyable. The startup "bark" is great and reminds me of my 981 GT4 a bit. Under load at the top end the sound is so much sharper and mechanical - almost 997 GT3-ish.
I do have a better understanding now of some criticism or different preferences others might have on this system. Mainly:
The decibels it puts out may not be enough for some, especially if you want a sound level that is a big step above stock. Especially true in the low/mid range.
With this SS system, I'd say that yes the pitch has been elevated but it's more the character and texture that has improved. I could see those wanting to get closer to a 992 GT3 sound, this isn't going to quite get there so maybe the Inconel is a better option.
I ended up putting collars on the valves and setting to about 20% open as some others here have done. Slightly mixed feelings about it. In some driving I feel there isn't enough of a difference between closed vs. open, but then sometimes under load I can still notice the transition a bit too much. I think a valve controller, or tune that keeps valves always open or closed, might be the way to go with this system. But +1 to the valve closed sound in general, it's great.
Overall, very pleased with it so far. I think the best compliment I can give is that I look forward to every drive so much more now - I'm itching for the next one.
Great review. Thanks for posting. My Kline Inconel system (OAP's & Back Box) is getting installed on my Spyder this week. Can't wait to hear the difference between the Kline system...and my SOUL Resonated Ceramic-Coated OAP's (ONLY)...which produced a beautiful "not-too-loud" sound.
Ok, here's a "review" for the SS OAP+rear system from just a few quick drives so far.
TL;DR it lives up to the hype and I'm very happy. Makes the car feel OEM "plus" - enhancing the underlying character of the car without feeling aftermarket. No downsides.
This exhaust is fairly popular at this point and a lot has been said/shared about it. I think most of what I read here and listened to in videos matches pretty close to reality (some great videos like @UncleDude 's are very close to the real world sound). Seemingly less drone than stock, and a great increase in pitch and howl and character. Not obnoxious at all. In fact, if you weren't familiar with these cars you might not realize it's an aftermarket exhaust. That's how well it matches the car, and also how little obvious compromises there are.
There's perhaps a few things I was (pleasantly) surprised with. That mid range howl is a lot more prominent than on video. It's really quite a special sound, and makes the 5/10ths driving experience a lot more enjoyable. The startup "bark" is great and reminds me of my 981 GT4 a bit. Under load at the top end the sound is so much sharper and mechanical - almost 997 GT3-ish.
I do have a better understanding now of some criticism or different preferences others might have on this system. Mainly:
The decibels it puts out may not be enough for some, especially if you want a sound level that is a big step above stock. Especially true in the low/mid range.
With this SS system, I'd say that yes the pitch has been elevated but it's more the character and texture that has improved. I could see those wanting to get closer to a 992 GT3 sound, this isn't going to quite get there so maybe the Inconel is a better option.
I ended up putting collars on the valves and setting to about 20% open as some others here have done. Slightly mixed feelings about it. In some driving I feel there isn't enough of a difference between closed vs. open, but then sometimes under load I can still notice the transition a bit too much. I think a valve controller, or tune that keeps valves always open or closed, might be the way to go with this system. But +1 to the valve closed sound in general, it's great.
Overall, very pleased with it so far. I think the best compliment I can give is that I look forward to every drive so much more now - I'm itching for the next one.
Good assessment of the tone and character sound improvement. Your not hearing a bigger difference in low/mid range because you are using the stock valve logic. Get a valve controller, will sound much better below 4K RPM and the difference is very pronounced. I have the Cargraphic valve controller, works perfectly. I'd say overall volume is actually a bit louder than my stock 981 GT4.
08-06-2023, 11:27 PM
