I've done some searching and had some in person discussions re: exhaust upgrades for a 1989 951, car is bone stock and won't be a track car. Yes, most conversations, etc. end up at Fabspeed with a 3 inch pipe, 200 cell cat, stock muffler. I'm OK with this and understand they make great stuff, however are there any alternatives? FVD Brombecher, Vitesse, Lindsey, Cargraphic, Pfister, Borla, etc. ? Thanks

 

The stock exhaust is fine for a stock car. So unless it's damaged or you just want an aftermarket exhaust, there is not much performance to gain. A modified car will gain from a 3" exhaust.

Fabspeed has a good exhaust. If you are interested in getting a used one, cat bypass & cat back I have one for sale.

Whatever you get, make sure it's Stainless. Much nicer and will not rust.

 

I had four different exhaust setups. Stock, Stock no cat, 3-inch cat back and now complete LR 4-inch.

FWIW If I was not tracking or planning to modify the car I would stick with stock. I like the sound of the stock system the best. It keeps things quiet until you don't want it to be. The others raise noise levels at lower rpms. The all sound good above 4500. My two cents

 

If this helps, I just finished installing Lindsey Racing's 3" which gradually transitions to 4" on my '87 last weekend, I went a little bit extreme as I opted for the wastegate open dump pipe. Some sections of the install is a tight fit, bit overall I was impressed with design and fit as we're talking some large pipes. I also took the opportunity to install their dual port Wastegate, manual boost controller and powder coated a bunch of parts while I was at it. My car currently runs a MAF conversion and a few more pounds of boost over factory and a few other small bolt ons.

I'm not sure if you are planning this install at home, but I completed mine in the garage while laying on the concrete floor and the car sitting on jacks.

A few quick pics:








Regards,
Yasin

 

Slownrusty is that powder coat or ceramic coat on the exhaust parts? FYI I run the dump atmosphere on both my LR 3 inch and LR 5 inch exhaust. The add on dump to atmosphere muffler Lindsey sells is quite nice and quiets the car down quite a bit.

If one does not buy a stainless exhaust I highly recommend ceramic coating it for corrosion protection. You can see pics on my 2 build threads.

 

I have the Lindsey 3" exhaust on an otherwise stock car. It definitely made a noticeable difference in the mid range torque. Whether that was because the original cat was partly clogged up or whether it's a genuine upgrade, I can't say. But many people have solved that issue with a 2" pipe in place of the cat. In hindsight I probably should have just done that.

There was an option for a ceramic coating to protect against rust and it has worked very well. I've had this exhaust on the car for around 4 or 5 years now and the band clamps and the muffler have plenty of rust on them, but the LR exhaust sections look basically new. My only real complaint was the very poor fit of the wastegate section. The stock wastegates have a flattened section on the outlet pipe, so it's very difficult to get it to fit into the Lindsey pipe and get it to seal. I had to use one of those exhaust expanders on the LR pipe and even then it was tough. When I called them to ask about it they suggested I cut my WG outlet pipe (which would have made things much worse).

As far as living with a 3" exhaust on the car goes, there are no real issues I've run into. It got in the way a little when I had to drop the oil pan to replace rod bearings, but other than that it's been a non issue.

 

I don't know the cheapest, but I have data on the Fabspeed unit
w/3"test-pipe and 3" cat-back muffler. Material cost is about $1100. Joe
Fabiani makes nice stuff and it is aerodynamically very clean and all
test-pipes are not so clean.

Based on 500-600 cfm turbo:

The pressure drop from the turbo down-pipe 2.5" vs 3" is approximately 1psi (from turbo to test-pipe). 3" is what will fit here on relatively stock cars.

The difference in pressure drop between 3" and 2.5" from turbo back (test-pipe and muffler ) is approx 1.0 psi; difference between 3" and 4", same pipe, is 0.5 psig.

The pressure drop of the cat is 2.5 psi with 2.5", 3" or 4" pipe; it can be higher if the cat is plugged.

Total pressure drop decrease 2-1/2" vs 3" or 4" is approx 4.5- 5.0 psig and hp increase is significant and the turbo spools quicker.

Given this, 3" test-pipe and muffler costs $22/hp which, with a
performance chip, is the least expensive $/hp upgrade you can do for
951/952 cars.

I have no financial interest in Fabspeed and ordered his stuff after
looking at what else was available.

 

I did the Mtune, 3 bar Reg, 4" exhaust, Turbo and a lot more. So much fun, lots of power. My biggest thing was a total revamp of the suspension to and MO30 Sport plus suspension I got from porsche.

 

Supersprint can make a 3" system for you, if you ask them.

Best Regards

 

divil, are you saying one can just cut out the cat and replace with a 2" straight pipe?

 

Yeah there were lots of older threads about people doing that. Some people even went to the trouble of using flanges, clamps etc. so they could swap the cat with a straight pipe in a few minutes. You probably won't get any help from a shop because they can be fined for that, but people have definitely done it.

 

looks goos. did u have to do any fab work or was it a direct bolt on?

 

fast951 - do you have just a used test pipe for sale?

 

Slownrusty - curious why you went (and anyone else) with the open waste gate dump. I have a similar LR setup, MAF w/ M-Tune and Tial 38 but is plumbed back in. Without the atmosphere muffler option is the waste gate "scream" just obnoxious under boost?

 

Test Pipe? Unbolt the tailpipe, Grab a broomhandle and start smashing... Start car up blow out all ceramic and Presto! Not only is it Free but will pass "Visual inspection" for a Cat :-)