JC951

So I just recently bought myself a Fabspeed cat bypass pipe for christmas. I previously had a stock gutted cat section that was on the car when I bought it. I had already had a Broadfoot racing catback exhaust but wanted to have a true 3" exhaust instead of having everything bounce around in the stock cat.

Alex from Fabspeed asked me if I would do a little write up for anyone that might be thinking about going with their cat bypass pipe. I knew I would not be able to go with the Lindsey system because I would not be able to mate up my catback to it. I also heard about wierd fitments with the thread that was recently put up about SFR's exhausts so that swayed me moreso towards Fabspeed. I even emailed with Albert Broadfoot to see if they were making anymore bypass pipes. He said they didn't have any in stock and that the Fabspeed pipe would work great. So I talked with Alex at Fabspeed, asked him some questions and finally made the decision to order one up.

Once I got the bypass pipe it just looked absolutely gorgeous. The complete show polish finish...even the flanges were show polished. It was just a gorgeous product. Here is a side by side view of the stock unit and the Fabspeed one.



The install actually wasn't too bad. Had to trim a little portion of the rear driver's side A-arm mount to have enough clearance. Will post a picture of that further down this thread. That was the only real issue with the bypass pipe fitment. So we spun the bypass around a few times while trying to get it up to the turbo down tube, finally got it in and lovely copper gasket and flange onto the bolts.



Where the flange is, that is where we had to trim the mount a little. The mount is rounded and is pinch welded, so what was trimmed was just some extra metal. Below is a picture of where it was a tight fit. We took an air powered sawsall and just cut what looked to be a little more than an 1/8" of the excess metal off.


The end section of the bypass pipe was slipped on as well as the catback installed loosely. We wanted to make sure everything fit properly before everything was tightened up. For a little added measure, we like to use the high temp red permatex to help make a nice fit. Granted however the copper gaskets and slip fit clamp that were provided would have been plenty, we still like to make sure there will be no exhaust leaks. We applied the permatex to both sides of each gasket and a healthy ring around where the slip fit end is.




Once the whole exhaust was fitted up nicely, bolts and clamps tightened(had to play with fitment for the exhaust hanger that is next to where the wastegate ties into the exhaust), the bypass pipe did not budge when we did the shake with hand test. So there was no issue there with bit of metal that was trimmed to make some room. The car was started with no issue, the bypass pipe gave the exhaust a much sweeter, lower toned idle. We put the car back up in the air with myself in it. The exhaust was checked for leaks which none were found and when revving to 4k, there was no issues with the fitment next to the a-arm mount that was trimmed.





Now I also had a pieced together wastegate tube. The previous owners had put in an archaic Tial 38mm wastegate that had a four bolt flange. It also did not use the two bolt flange that Fabspeed provides to seal the wastegate to cat connection. What we did was wrap the wastegate tie in pipe with heatwrap and jam the two bolt flange over it while also putting heat wrap ties on it to help hold it together.



The dump tube...(what holds the connection together now is a two bolt almost ancient sort of v-band like clamp. A new wastegate tube will be fabricated in the future to incorporate the two bolt flange that Fabspeed puts on it.)



The install was now complete, but it was snowing out and snowing a bit the past week, so I was unable to take the car out till today. I do have some quick video clips that I have to get from my friend's computer. I will probably get those in the next couple days.

The test drive conditions were a bit less than favorable. It was cold out, sand on the road, cold tires...I tested at my high boost setting. The car wasn't hooking that great, tires spinning, sliding side to side a little bit and no I wasn't trying to do a burnout, but I felt and heard the difference. Even though I had no traction, the turbo was spooling quicker than with the stock gutted cat mated to the Broadfoot catback. It did seem that I had gained some extra power. I do have to wait till probably spring time to get some dyno time at EPL here in Connecticut. Shameless plug for Tony Chick, he is a great guy and an awesome tuner.

I will vouch for the Fabspeed cat bypass pipe. The construction and welds are amazing, the show polish is outstanding and the performance gained is excellent. You can truly feel how less restrictive the bypass pipe is compared to a stock gutted cat and a stock cat which was on the car for emissions purposes. The feel and sound of it just leaves me wanting more time behind the wheel. I was all smiles after that little test drive that I would recommend the Fabspeed bypass to anyone thinking about going that route.

Thumbs up for Fabspeed, you've got my vote

minho78

Nice thanks for pics. I installed one 5 months ago, not sure what brand was but I'm pretty sure it's a FABSPEED. The only problem I had was the bolts by the down pipe(no space for the socket).

Adonay

Thank you for the great writeup will use this as a reference when i install my SFR one..

Darwantae951

SFR test pipes are Fabspeed units. I've bought two from SFR (3" and true 3") and they both arrived from Fabspeed. You bought the same one people were having problems with. I'm glad you didn't run into the same issues. I had zero issues on mine as well.

Also, the factory lift points for the front run along the frame rails.



If you continue to lift where you are, you run the risk of what happened to my car, happening to you. Here is the only shot of it I can find, but it had spread and luckily I caught it before it ate into the suspension inner apron.



All this is just FYI. I wish I had the fabrication abilities of some of you guys!

Also very nice write-up. I wish this had been written when I installed mine.

teamcrossworks

Thanks for the info. I too will be installing Fabspeed products though it will be the complete 4" system. Alex has contacted me offering a good price yet I have not pursued the offer as of yet. I was attracted to the Fabspeed exhaust for the quality and workmanship they seem to display. I'm glad to hear you were happy with the install. When I do mine, I will relay my experience as well.

Well done!

JC951

The lift arms if i remember wont reach to the points you circled...but i will try it next time the car is on the lift. Thanks for that info though. The quality is top notch and I wish we knew how to weld (will be learning hopefully this year). Because I want to fabricate a cap for the wastegate tie in so I can run a dump tube, and also fab up a new pipe coming off the wastegate to tie in. I can't wait for warmer weather and clean roads so i can open it up more. Definately need to get it to EPL so Tony can dyno it. Numbers on the stock gutted cat with the Broadfoot catback were 333 rwhp and 340 ft/lbs at 16 psi. That was done on a dyno dynamics dyno. So i'm pretty keen on finding out what I make now.

minho78

Justin what mods do you have?

JC951

The only mods that I myself have done is now the exhaust, boost gauge, upgraded the bov. When I bought the car, the owner said that the head was reworked for better flow, the crank was "reworked", a bosch maf and a custom DME chip tune. I believe the turbo is a k26 with a k27 impeller and a #10 hotside, though I do not know how to verify what hotside I have. lightened flywheel and 968 6speed with the LSD. besides suspension and brakes that is all that I know has been done.

964-C2

It says on the Lindsey site that a complete fabspeed exhaust system will save 30 lbs over stock. How is that possible? Is the stock catalytic converter and muffler that heavy?

Dougs951

A stock cat is pretty hefty IIRC.

joster86turbo

i just cut my cat out a week ago, it tipped the scales at 21 lbs. i guess thats what 23 years of carbon buildup gets ya.

and man let me tell you what a difference just eliminating it does....feels like a new car.

964-C2

What about the stock rear muffler. It is much heavier than aftermarked mufflers?

JC951

The stock muffler is heavy as well. I think the broadfoot catback and the fabspeed cat bypass together weigh somewhere around half as much as the stock units together

Bri Bro

Rather then using RTV red which is acidic, you might want to look at Wurth Exhaust Assembly Paste. Much easier to work with and doesn't set up until heated so you can play with the alignment of the pipes.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...%20gram%20tube

John@Fabspeed

Thanks for great writeup and feedback Justin, hope you enjoy everything and let me know if you ever have any questions.
Thanks again and enjoy the new setup.