bigskyGT3

WheelsB

fxz

After reading and reading i came to the point that there isn't a whole best system
The exhaust is made by 3 parts

-1 headers
-2 side mufflers
-3 center mufflers

from price/performances pov which is the best on each category ?

From what i ve read and experienced i consider for category 2 the Soul side valved mufflers delete the best for money within the a classic design solution (commonly available fabspeed,fvd,etc.)

-there must be a reason why the factory side mufflers have on the silenced path a flexible pipe (to save the center mufflers from cracking) Soul is the only one paying attention to this point, you can find on their side valved the same flexible pipe
-Doesn't make to much sense on weight saving going inconel or Ti for side valved delete

next i'll update on cat/no cat headers

Jimmy-D

You have to read more...

TPC Racing has side deletes that also look darn good with also a flexible pipe

fxz

Jimmy i see it s night there but before replying just for writing something
at least read the post you re replying!

"from price/performances pov which is the best on each category within a classic design solution (commonly available fabspeed,fvd,etc.)"

i might miss a small brand (if any anyone please advice) but TPC has a flexible pipe as Soul and costs $355 more for the same stainless valved and flexible solution

so Soul remain the best value for money within a classic design solution (again a commonly available solution from multiple brands)

the2thdr

Alan C.

Does Soul use the same valves as used by TPC?

WantA997

Installed my BBi bypass yesterday. Could not be happier. Perfect tone & volume. There isn't a single video clip online that will come close to accurately capturing how the car sounds.

I love loud cars (I had headers, bypass, and valves opened on my old GT3), so naturally I was skeptical about a simple centre bypass accomplishing what I wanted sound-wise, but the BBi bypass did the trick.

fxz

not sure of TPC ones but Soul are backed by lifetime warranty

Tom@TPC Racing

I am not sure what valves are used in the other brand mentioned. TPC uses OEM-quality valves. I'd imagine other brands all use OEM-quality valves as well since no company wants a bad reputation from using inferior valves.

yxc145

Has anyone heard or used MBRP center bypass exhaust?

http://mbrpexhauststore.com/mbrp-por...iABEgL_6_D_BwE

Tom@TPC Racing

I would like to point out some differences between the brands mentioned. These physical differences below contribute to the price difference from the construction stand point. The price difference may or may not be worth it to some buyers, as only the buyer himself can quantify.

1) The TPC side muffler bypass pipes are TIG-welded rather than MIG-welded. TIG-welding in more difficult, more time consuming, and more costly to do compared to MIG. TIG is generally a higher quality weld, not to say that MIG is insufficient, we just like the overkill factor. Before any welding is done, we take pride in having our in-house fabricator precisely hand-fit the pipe connections to have near zero gap. While this more time consuming preparation may be redundant but it makes it possible to take advantage of TIG. In contrast one of the attributes of MIG is the ability to fill bigger gaps. Below is a close-up image of our TIG-welding. As you can see the welds are thin and clean, excellent examples of TIG-welding.






2) The cone area on the TPC pipes is located right at the pipe inlet to seat perfectly to the OEM GT3 cone flange and to help minimize turbulence in the same way that the OEM GT3 side muffler inlet is designed. This "single step" cone flange design is very time consuming and expensive to make because of its large mating surface area. We use a hydraulic press and a die to make every cone, the dies are a consumable and they are replaced regularly as they distort over usage. And single step cone also requires extra TIG-welding and hand porting and polishing to smooth out the seating surface. Below is an image that shows the inside of the single-step cone.


Here's the outside image of the single-step cone before it is welded on to the main pipe. Having a single-step cone we can keep the ID(Inside Diameter) consistent throughout the pipe to match the OEM pipe ID flow volume/velocity. Again, for us, its more costly to make a single-step cone, but we prefer to do it this way over a multi-step design that may possibly create more turbulence at each step.



3) TPC pipes use extra bend on the upper pipe to be match the OEM design. Having the extra bend allows the upper pipe "cut-in" area to be the same diameter as OEM diameter design instead of a larger oval. We could have deleted this bend by cutting-in at an angle but we prefer to be consistent with the OEM design. Not that there's anything wrong with the oval cut-in to save production cost if that is the objective.



4) The flex joint on the TPC pipes is an accordion-shaped joint with stainless steel braided cover on the outside And inside to protect the accordion since the metal thickness varies throughout the high and low points of the accordion.



5) Lastly, we buy our stainless steel bends from an aircraft fabrication company, so we probably pay more per inch of stainless tubing than other exhaust makers do. To some buyers it may matter to know where the material came from and the quality control of the material.


You mention that TPC is a smaller brand, I guess in some way that is true when it comes to marketing, but we may not be a smaller company in general, we just don't happen to only make exhaust systems. We have been around since the late-80's and we diversify our resources to different sectors of the motorsport industry from IMSA GT3 Cup racing to suspension development to making aftermarket parts that we'd want on our personal GT road cars.

In summary, I go with what others have wrote already, there's no such thing a single best exhaust for everyone. What's the best option for one person isn't the best for another person. Exhaust sound is subjective. Each buyer has their own objectives. I cannot tell you that TPC pipes works better than another brands, but I can tell you that we choose to painstakingly make these pipes on at a time using the material and methods stated above. To some that's worth the premium and to some not.

FourT6and2

I thought the same until my GF recorded my car going by and I listened to it. Sounds pretty accurate to me. When you're inside the car, it sounds different of course. But not from the outside. One thing I do miss about the OEM center muffler, though, is you can hear the metallic grind of the engine under vacuum. With the center bypass, you can't hear it anymore. Just the tone of the exhaust. I do miss that high-pitched metallic noise. But the bang you get on rev matches when over 6K RPM is glorious with the bypass.

Soul Performance

Compliments to Tom over at TPC for a superb write up on their side muffler bypass pipes! It was great chatting with you today, you guys are A players in the performance industry and build some amazing cars. I highly recommend anyone in the MD area swing by their shop sometime, and ask Tom about his DSC software for GT cars

If anyone would like to learn more about our side muffler bypass pipes please reference our side vs center muffler bypass explanation thread and chime in on the conversation, visit our product page on our website, or reach out to me directly any time.

Brian Himmelman