Note: I researched this topic but am not satisfied with what I found. If you are not interested or irritated I am asking this please move on....

I am turning my bone stock 1989 3.2 911 into a streetable, barely, track car. I plan to install a Wong chip. Basically, I want to be able to drive the car around town occasionally and to the track without getting pulled over for noise violations. I don't expect to pass emissions with a new setup, that will occur prior to the change over. I want a great sounding system that is loud but won't get me arrested. I am considering Bursch 1 5/8 headers with M&K sport or GT3 style exhaust.

I found many posts about SSI being great for the 3.0 motors but not necessarily for 3.2. It seems B&B are good sounding but not very durable and I don't want to spend $1,500 for their headers when the Bursch cost around $600.

I always take a "bang for the buck" approach in my decisions. I don't care how it looks, rather, I am concerned with performance (if any) and sound.

 

I can't express how happy I am with my Fabspeed setup. The cat bypass and duel output muffler sounds awesome!

 

RarlyL8 have recently come out with 1 5/8" headers with heat.... perfect imo for the 3.2 if you have the coin! My eventual plan is a set of those with an M&K 2-in-1-out muffler. Steve wong chip customized to the setup will be the cherry on top!

 

The problem w/ SSI is that they are a copy of the original 2 Liter headers and thus have a 1 3/8" ID, for low rpm use on a 3.2 that's ok, for high rpm the motor will not be able to breathe it's best.

B&B headers are fine, it's their mufflers that are durability challenged, they used to make 1 5/8"(1 1/2" OD) that would be fine for 3.2 w/ stock cams and rev limit and 1 3/4"(1 5/8"ID) which would be better if the cams and rev limit are changed to something more racy.

The issue w George's and Bursh is that they are made from mild steel, corrosion will be rapid and ultimately fatal.

It's up to you to determine how much you want to pay and how often

 

George's European Racing Headers and M&K sport muffler will give great performance and sound. It's on the loud side and you will lose your heat but you said "barely streetable".

 

M&K Euro pre muffler and GT3 muffler, Steve Wong chip

 

Bill sums it up nicely. The Bursch are very cheaply made-material wise. It is the B&B mufflers that that are crap.

I ran B&B headers for years on my 3.2/3.4 motor. I ran Flowmaster muffler. It was a very nce sounding and free-breathing system.

If you are in CO, you will want defrost, I assume. Another puls with BB.

 

Thanks for the advice and comments. I ordered a performance Wong chip Friday and Bursch 15/8 headers, no heat, and M&K GT3 style 2 in 2 out muffler. This car will see 2K sunny miles per yer so I am not worried about corrosion. Plus, even if the headers corrode, I can buy two more sets for the cost of one of the B&Bs. I want light weight with good sound so we will see In a few weeks when I get it all mounted up. I need to get the car E tested before I do anything with the chip and exhaust.

 

On a price to performance basis there is another vote here for the B&B headers. I concur that the matching silencer is made from thin material and will eventually crack, and yes the exhaust tone will produce annoying resonance from 2500 to 3000rpm. The reason I recomend them is because I fitted a set to a blueprinted 3.2 engine which I built for my SC and in combination with a Motec engine management system with larger injectors that engine made 270hp with absolutely no internal modifications.
As Bill stated, the SSI set up will work and as I have run them on a 3.6 I think they would be a better choice if you wanted heat from the system, but for track use go with the larger diameter headers and combine it with suitable fuel and ignition improvements.

 

Your sunny days may include cold ones. I ran my B&B with no heat hooked up for a year, until one morning I needed defrost to see. From then on, I could at least see through my windscreen, even though I wasn't interested in heat, per se.

 

That sounds great at idle. I don't suppose you haven't any sound clips with the engine being revved?

 

I can do one this weekend; my GF can hold the camera.

 

Over a lot of track events and club races I have run European Racing headers on my 89 3.2 with the 89 CS Chip (not Steve Ws yet) with a Triad West muffler and cookie cutter megaphones. I have also run stock heat exchangers, a cat by pass pipe with a Fabspeed muffler. The only setup that provides noticeably more power and that is much lighter is the headers plus the cookie cutters. If you do not trailer to the track focus on street ability and don't let track power be your focus. If you trailer to the track use megaphones on headers and put a street muffler back on between events. It takes about 45 minutes when you get quick.

 

I will be driving to and from the track and don't want the hassle of swapping any components. When I raced and trailered my car I also ran European headers and megaphones. I loved the sounds but too loud for a street driven machine. I am hopeful my Bursch headers with the M&K GT3 style exhaust will be tolerable. The muffler arrived at the shop but no sign of the headers which is okay because I still need to E test the car before the change. I did receive the Wong chip based on the above configuration and cannot wait to get it bolted on and try it out. I have not driven the car more than 1/4 mile since purchase

 

I spoke to a pretty knowledgeable Lister here, he suggested 993 NA headers & reverse the flanges?, they're definitely inexpensive & would give great muffler opts.