PSE retrofit worth it on 981 Boxster?
 

I recently bought a 2015 Boxster. Absolutely in love with the car and just always thinking of driving it :D Currently have the stock exhaust and the engine sound is glorious, though a bit more muted than I expected at higher speeds.

Can anyone describe/quantify how much louder PSE is compared to stock when turned on, and would I have to go to a Porsche dealer or can I go to a specialist Porsche workshop? YouTube videos are inconclusive (understandably) and other RL forums are either strongly for/against. Would be buying from Suncoast

I've got a 2015 BGTS with PSE; exhaust note is what sold me on it so I feel ya.

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at aftermarket catback exhaust options (Fabspeed, Soul, etc.) that have a key fob remote for the exhaust bypass that can be programmed into an unused button on the garage door opener. Seems as though everything with the "Porsche" name attached to it has horrendous markup. Last time I checked, the price differential between retrofitting PSE vs. aftermarket was substantial.

Bonus is that with the $$$ you save going with an aftermarket exhaust, you could look into getting some sport exhaust headers (which really, *really* work well with PSE in my experience), although the commissars of CARB in the People's Republic of Cali might frown on that.....

Do NOT listen to anyone's opinion on whether it's worth it or not, including mine! Or, rather, listen but don't act on them. Because ... it's totally subjective. "Sounds good/bad/okay/too loud/too soft/..." All will be said about ANY exhaust, by different people. Someone with hearing loss (and doesn't know it) might love the sound that you would hate.

The only way to tell is to actually try it out. I well recall (because it was a month ago) testing a used roadster and saying during the ride "this is so boomy in such an so a speed range - there's no way this is the stock exhaust". Pulled over and looked. Yup, it wasn't. Hated it; passed on the car.

So - gather data but do NOT buy without an actual test. In a car like yours. You'll be glad you did.

I retrofitted PSE to my 2015 Boxster S and couldn't be happier. The sound above 4500 rpm is just intoxicating and I like the ability to shut it down by simply pressing the button on the console.

For the installation, you need to go to a Porsche dealer because the system must be programmed to work as designed. I paid about $1,400 for the installation but the parts (exhaust and the console button kit) were about $2,000 excluding non-mandatory sport tailpipe so the total cost was tad less than $3,500. I understand that the aftermarket valved exhaust cost about $3,000 in parts alone. Therefore, the total cost is not that much different between PSE and the aftermarket valved exhausts.


You may find the following thread of mine interesting:

https://rennlist.com/forums/987-981-...mandatory.html

I believe PSE should be considered on an S, but not on the base car. The base car has a great sounding exhaust without PSE.

You have to listen for yourself
 

I had my Porsche dealer add PSE to my Cayman last summer and I love it. The stock exhaust was far to quiet for me, and I am spoiled from year's of Corvettes with valved exhausts, so I needed to be able to quiet it down for phone calls, long highway cruise etc. If my car was not under CPO warranty, I would've gone for a Soul Performance exhaust as I think they are more aggressive sounding when fully open, but I wanted to keep everything factory so I went with PSE. The tuning is very important which is where having it done at an independent vs a dealer would come in. Any experienced shop should be able to install the system and wire the switch up to the console to control the valves, but integrating the system into the "Sport" mode might require some ECU tuning. The difference between having the valves open via the exhaust button, and also engaging the Sport mode is critical for me. With Sport mode on and the valves open, the system is much louder and the car makes lots of pops and crackles off throttle. Some people don't like that, but I do.

Ultimately your personal preference on the sound will drive the decision, so you really need to go for a ride with someone who has PSE to judge for yourself if it's enough, or too much for your taste.

I have a 2010 BS with SportChrono. I had my local Indy-Porshe shop retrofit the PSE. As they have a PIWIS, they were able to make the changes to the computer, so no trip to the dealer was required.
The sound with the valves in "open" is awesome. The first time you ride WOT thru the first 3 or 4 gears, you'll wonder why you didn't get it sooner.
I can take it for a drive on the twisties and enjoy the amazing sound, then flip the switch to closed and drive back home thru the neighborhood. Best of both worlds.
PS: If you're like me, once you have the PSE, a set of sport headers (mine are from Fabspeed) has to come next. The sound is even better, but you definitely need the ability to close the valves to drive thru neigborhoods.
Joe Henley

I have an '11 Cayman S with S/E added recently. I took a different route than the rest. Ordered the "plumbing" through the dealer as it has to be shipped direct from the Fatherland, and had it installed by a local muffler shop. Rather than pay big bucks to have the dealer install all the wiring up to the dash and programming, I bought a kit from Carnwell that provides key fob activation and eliminates all the rest of the stuff. Appears to work quite well. It involves vacuum plumbing from the engine to the valves down on the muffler which I did myself. Of course, on the OEM installation, the S/E closes off at low rpm and avoids a minor drone that I have found by leaving the S/E on all the time. If you'd like to listen, drop me a PM.......

My '08 987 (RS60) did that too like your 987, but I don't recall my '14 981 S doing it.

PSE is worth it though. I've had some aftermarket Cargraphic exhausts on 997 DFI models and none sounded as good. But ultimately I miss the pre-DFI engine/exhaust sound.

Porsche expends a great deal of time and effort to tune in the exact sound they believe best represents Porsche. I have yet to hear an aftermarket system which sounded as befitting.

You sound committed to your opinion lol. Well DFI cars without PSE sound muted, and can sound louder with aftermarket but not necessarily any more pleasing. To each their own. I actually would indorse FVD Brombacher products too as they are made in Germany, in terms of quality. So is Cargraphic, but still unless you exchange the headers you're just hearing a different tone, and one with far less R&D.

I recently added the Soul Valvetronic exhaust to my 981 '13 Boxster S.
The sound is magnificent on track and on highway.
At COTA last weekend, I had a few people comment on the great sound of my "mere" Boxster as I went up the main straight at full throttle. (My run group was littered with GT3's, GT3RS', a pair of GT2RS' and 2 McLaren Senna's. (The Senna's hardly make a sound at 150+.)
The cool part is, when it was time to drive home, I just hit button 2 on my Homelink overhead, and the car converted to street quiet sound for the 220 mile drive home.

Contact johng@soulpp.com for more information.