I had speedart exhaust that was amazing, I think FVD is the same thing I am sure, I am sure someone out there is more knowledgeable on this

 

Lol no problem. Happy to answer any questions in a more Lehmans terms way if need be : ) Birthday, now that's a great excuse for car parts. I'll even manufacture it to say "Happy Birthday DiabloBlanco" on the primary tubes if you want haha

 

Are you offering any discounts for loyal customers?

 

PM sent

 

I have FVD headers on each of my Porsches with varying [catback]exhausts. FVD and Cargraphic are the only brands I would use because headers take a LOT of abuse/heat; unlike a catback which only changes the sound. Not everyone can make a product good enough to last, fit and perform. Also, unlike a catback, the design in headers does matter and does impact performance. Catless headers will impact low end, even with a tune. The sound is insane on these cars though (I have sport cats on each of mine). FVD headers are made by M&M in Germany and they also make the cup and RSR car exhausts. They have the most experience in racing applications. FVD and Cargraphic (both made in Germany) are both TUV approved and both have by far the best design and quality bar none. They are also priced accordingly.

That being said - Soul has good fitment, customer service and an insane lifetime warranty. Nobody else has that[warranty] and nobody else is going to be interested in warranty work if you use them on a track. I believe Soul would replace them no question based on my interaction with them even if you opened up with, "I was running a 500 shot of nitrous on a track and trying to abuse my car and the headers." Soul is priced fairly and although I'd objectively wager the quality and design is not the same level as the germans I mentioned, that for a street car you would likely never be able to tell a difference and they are less expensive. Also, should something go wrong, (probably it won't on any of these 3 brands)being in the US and their customer service track record, you'd have the best experience here.

Last pro tip.... make sure and buy new gaskets and studs for the install.

 

Thanks for the kind words Garfunkle! I would like to add that I would personally cover the costs of replacing our headers for whatever madman ran a 500 shot of nitrous on a their Porsche track car, and deliver them myself expecting a ride haha. That said, I'd imagine our headers would be the least of their worries

Best regards,
John Gaydos

 

My Soul headers are going in today! It is going to get a little louder in about 2 hrs!

I figured I'd keep to all Soul products since their exhaust sounds so good and the slanted satin black pipes look great.

I will leave it to Soul to post vids I send them.

 

Cheers! We can't wait to see the results!

-Mike

 

Mike,

I sent the before and after sound bytes to John via Dropbox over the weekend.

For the broader forum, here are my initial impressions (Note, I did not opt for the ECU tune at the moment given how much I already spent on the SP Exhaust and Street Headers).

First, I'll share the comments my installers (GT International in Austin, TX, http://www.gtintl.com/) made. They were impressed with the construction of the headers, saying that everything was built solid and from an aesthetics perspective, they were built nicely. From a fit perspective, everything was perfect. The installer said that there were absolutely no issues. Everything lined up perfectly and was literally bolt on and go!

I was pretty pumped up since I had a 30 mile ride home. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic (at 3 pm on a Friday in Hill Country!). So I did my best to find moments to let her open up. Admittedly, those few moments did not surprise me as much as I thought it would given the feedback I got previously on this thread. I feel like I had a much more significant jump in exhaust tone from changing out the stock exhaust to the SP Exhaust. The volume was marginally deeper but the volume wasn't that much of a gain as others described it would be. I sent the before and after sound bytes to SP so maybe they can post them so y'all can judge for yourself.

OK, so I still had the weekend and some opportunities to push the car a little bit. I will preface this by noting that I am not the most technically aware when it comes to this stuff so apologies in advance if my writing is not up to par with what you're used to on this forum. Over the weekend, I observed some improvement in the sound quality. Maybe there was a breaking in period required (and maybe still some more to go here). I can't tell if I was getting more power in the lower to mid gears but I believe that I am supposed to (or at least this would come with an ECU tune). But the race car sound seemed to be more constant throughout as long as you accelerating through the gears (3000 RPM and above). Last note on this, it seemed that the burbles (on Sports mode) seemed to be more pronounced and lengthier, which I do like.

That being said, I will end with where I started with this initial post. I am an audiophile. If it is loud and obnoxious and it annoys my wife, mission accomplished. I was surprised that I didn't get the jump in the loudness that folks here described. I went back to the youtube video and listed to all 7+ minutes and I don't think I quite achieved that sound (though admit this may have came with an ECU tune). It makes me wonder if the competition headers (plus ECU tune to prevent warning lights) would have been a better combo for me. Now I must contemplate spending more on an ECU tune to get the full benefit of sound (I think) and power. This is not to say that I'm not happy but rather, less giddy than I expected.

 

Once the cats break in - you'll get a little more volume but the sound should be quite subtle. I state this before and am combated with the contrary... whatever, to each their own.

Race headers WILL make a big difference in sound/volume. That being said - you lose a substantial amount of tone when doing so. Soul has some 02 cheaters that will eliminate the CEL but a tune is really recommended for this.

Another addition that IMO goes a big way to open the car up and help with sound is an IPD plenum and GT3 TB. This really raises the indiction sound and increases the exhaust volume as well. The exhaust volume increase will be a proportionate bump to what the headers you have now gave you.

Better news... If you get the Plenum/TB/Filters/Tune then you're car will be at it's fullest potential sans more displacement or boost This holistic setup collectively is a substantial increase in experience, power and how it makes power. The package is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Have Soul headers and 200 cell cats with ceramic coated FD Motorsports modded oem muffs on my 987.2BS along with Softronics ECU tune. All in all, really wakes things up—have NEVER even turned the (crappy base) stereo on in 2 years!

 

Garfunkle, I'm a novice so can you please explain what an IPD plenum is and what the "TB" in the GT3 TB means? The ECU tune is in the horizon (any recommendations on which one?). Much appreciated.

 

IPD intake plenum replaces the plastic piece with a much more substantial cast aluminum part. The competition version simply replaces your tb(Throttle body) with a larger GT3 TB to allow much more air in. This really waked the car up. You don't "need" a tune and the car will be fine without one but together they really compound results.

I recommend FVD for tuning and use their tune on both my Porsches. Cobb is another popular one and softronics is mentioned here. FVD has the most experience and IMO best tunes. Also, they will send you updates if you get future mods (like headers) for no charge.

I do a lot of modding and have for a long time. Feel free to message me if you'd like to talk. Just like with the tune, I'll share what I use as well as others to look into. There isn't one size fits all unfortunately.

 

I really appreciate the explanation and offer to chat. May take you up on that if I venture further down this path. Thanks again!!!!

 

Go with the Tune, skip the TB and IPD Plenum. Those mods are considered by most a waste of money with marginal (if any) improvement. It made a difference in the old platform, but for 981 you aren't getting much gains.

You can speak to SP as well, they'll tell you the same. Probably not worth it unless you have free money lying around and trying to extract every last % of gains.

Since you're an audiophile, I think you'll be wasting money.