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Appearance:
Right out of the box every component is beautiful. They are made of a polished stainless steel that is strikingly shiny, especially when placed next to the original factory pipes. The quality immediately becomes apparent when any of the pieces are in your hand. They are smooth, and have a satisfyingly solid feel. Bends are perfect, welds are very nice. I did not personally weigh the OEM exhaust + cat, but according to Fabspeed you end up with a net weight reduction of 30lbs by replacing the OEM unit. The FS tip is very nice as well. Oval shaped and larger than the OEM aperture but not obnoxious.
Sound:
Start up: My first impression from inside the car was that of a subtle bass note, noticeably deeper than stock. I started the car in a brick garage and a friend standing outside noted that there was a resonance through the walls that sounded like a muffled "growl". From inside the car each flutter of the "growl" had a smooth onset (attack) and offset (trail-off).
Easy driving: Pulling away in 1st up to 2.5K there was a noticeable increase in sharpness of the attack of each flutter but trail-off still had a rounded gradual character. This was pretty much duplicated through 2nd and 3rd as long as acceleration was slow.
Pushing it a bit: Winding out 1st to 6K rapidly, the notes take on a more metallic character, between 5-6K I got a very muffled scream (it seems as though this is the attack becoming very short as revs increased). Winding out second was very satisfying. The sound here had a more solid mettalic character, layering a nice machine sound on top of the bass note that is present at idle. 3rd and 4th were similar but with progressively more and louder bass below the mechanical symphony.
I now look forward to tunnels. Down shift and apply gas. Repeat. You will not be disappointed.
Overall impression: Just what I wanted. Not overly aggressive or annoying to others. Doesn't seem likely to draw the attention of the police or thumbs-up from 22yr olds. Double win.
Did not do the chip. Tuning next year.
Installation:
Handled by my mechanics. Fabspeed purports that installation is simply a matter of unbolting your OEM exhaust and bolting theirs in its place. This is technically true but... try to connect the first pipe off the exhaust manifold without taking the intake manifold off. Rather try disconnecting your OEM pipe from the exhaust manifold without taking the intake manifold off first. Very difficult if not impossible. In my particular case the intake mani had to come off, resulting in increased expense but revealing some very old parts that needed replacing anyway. Other than that the rest of the installation is very straight forward.
Overall impression: Get ready to spend. On the product as well as the install. Once you have gotten over the sticker shock/frustration/anger, get ready to enjoy......a lot!
I had a completely stock setup previously, with cat. I have no way to tell for sure but the car does seem quicker in the sweet spot (3K-5k rpms). Yes I did do the down-pipe as well. Something I forgot to mention: I can now hear the "zing/ air nozzle" like sound when the turbo spools up. My guess is that the sport cat would make for a more tame sound. As you can see I am happy with the sound it produces now. Just a bit more than stock.
I wish I had the time to also do a proper video. Without an assistant I think what I would produce on my own would not do it justice. My pics were crappy enough!!
Let me/us know what you think of the Fabspeed unit once you have it.
My car came with a custom set up the PO had put on. It was well designed and seemed to enhance top end out put at the expense of lower down. It was fun but I wasn't happy with the sound. It also made the car pretty useless in the wet, as getting on boost would just result in wheel spin. It also had a sports style cat.
I fitted the Fabspeed cat back and they are even more hidiously exspensive down here, but am so happy I did. I lost the all top end biased nature of the previous set up and got much better low down power, as well as a much smoother transition onto boost which is much more practical in the wet.
I still have the old cat back in case I ever do a track day but I much prefer the Fabspeed set up day to day. The thing I really love about the Fabspeed though is the sound. I also seek out tunnels just to hear it reverberate off the walls. I have even had a cpl of ppl compliment its sound, when I was stopped at the lights.
The quality of the finish is so good, I am skeptical that it is even possible to have a better finish and it is easy to keep it looking great with a quick wipe over using some autosol metal polish.
Last edited by Cyberpunky; 10-16-2014 at 07:51 AM.
My car came with a custom set up the PO had put on. It was well designed and seemed to enhance top end out put at the expense of lower down. It was fun but I wasn't happy with the sound. It also made the car pretty useless in the wet, as getting on boost would just result in wheel spin. It also had a sports style cat.
I fitted the Fabspeed cat back and they are even more hidiously exspensive down here, but am so happy I did. I lost the all top end biased nature of the previous set up and got much better low down power, as well as a much smoother transition onto boost which is much more practical in the wet.
I still have the old cat back in case I ever do a track day but I much prefer the Fabspeed set up day to day. The thing I really love about the Fabspeed though is the sound. I also seek out tunnels just to hear it reverberate of the walls. I have even had a cpl of ppl compliment its sound, when I was stopped at the lights.
The quality of the finish is so good, I am skeptical that it is even possible to have a better finish and it is easy to keep it looking great with a quick wipe over using some autosol metal polish.
Nice review - thanks. I think keeping the sound good but not obnoxious is key in my case. I'll occasionally take out a client in the car on a nice day, or wife out on a date, so it has the dual duty of being fun and buttoned down when it needs to be.
I think the fabspeed is expensive, but certainly appears to be a top quality product which is a requirement for the money. I haven't yet found a review where someone was disappointed.
Happy to hear that you are pleased with the system! I thank you for the very in-depth review of the product as well! Your car looks great, a very clean example of a well kept 944T.
No problem and thanks! Also interested if you are getting any bad smell without the cat there.
I have not noticed any unusual smell. Will try to do a follow-up one year out to address how it handles Chicago weather for a year.
As far as the polishing goes: When you see the components you may change your mind. They are truly beautiful. My pics really don't capture how nice this thing looks.
You get what you pay for. Fabspeed stuff if professionally made and finished. Mine certainly looks and sounds good for lo these 10 or so years. Pressure drop is also way lower than stock.
If you want cheap, use flex duct
Last edited by Willard Bridgham 3; 09-19-2014 at 08:28 AM.
What's the point in polishing it, if I was buying one I'd rather have some $$$ off instead.
You can fab up a 409 system pretty inexpensively. It will match the rest of the underside of the car. For a "function" system, that's the way to go. If you want a top notch, nice looking system, FS makes incredible stuff.
Of course, you can also fab up a 304 system, as well, if you want. And you can grind the welds, and then polish the whole system. It will take FOREVER. If you place value on your time, the FS system is a pretty darn cost effective solution for those looking for a really nice system.
You get what you pay for. Fabspeed stuff if professionally made and finished. Mine certainly looks and sounds good for lo these 5 or so years. Pressure drop is also way lower than stock.
If you want cheap, use flex duct
I didn't say any different, though your inference suggests a system must be "cheap" unless it's fully polished ? Perhaps you should tell Akrapovic.
That muffler stands out like dogs ***** from behind so plenty of ppl see it without me rolling the car. Anyway I have a problem with polishing things no one but me and my mechanic will ever see but I blame Crazy Eddie for my problem lol
My mechanic now cleans anything that ever comes off the car before he puts it back on as he has seen first hand what I get up to under my car
Anyway back on topic. I also love how the sound isn't obnoxious when you are just cruising around but has just enough bite when you are on it. I hate overly loud systems that would mean I cant sneak in at 3 am without the whole neighbourhood knowing
09-16-2014, 06:28 PM
Fabspeed (FS) Cat delet and Exhaust review
