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If you aren't familiar, the exhaust on the GT3 is different than other 911s. When you press the Sport Exhaust button, it really doesn't change the sound much below about 4,000 RPMs. So the car sounds really pedestrian while driving around town and opens up above that.
In my constant need to mess with stuff, I decided to disconnect the valves to see what the car would sound like. It took all of about five minutes to jack the car up and pull the rubber hoses off. With the lines disconnected, the valves are in an always open mode regardless of throttle input. The downside is that the Sport Exhaust button doesn't work any longer.
Being the hooligan that I am, I want more aggression at normal operating RPMs. Also it annoys me that the valves are opening and closing all of the time. I want to be able to open them or close them when I push the button.
So after disconnecting the valves to force them open all of the time, I know why Porsche has created the valve system this way. There is just enough drone at lower RPMs to be annoying. It sounds good, but there is a tad too much drone for my liking.
I'm still hoping someone comes out with a valved solution that allows the Sport Exhaust button to fully open or fully close the valves. iPE allows you to do this, but you need to use a separate key fob. For the time being, I'm going to reconnect the lines and get the Sharkwerks bypass.
This is a pretty easy job. Rather than messing with the electrical system and use a mirror tap, it's just as easy to run the wire through the headliner and down to the fusebox. I figure it's safer than getting into an argument with the dealer should I have an electrical problem.
I bought my Passport Max from Best Radar. If you want to learn anything about radar/laser, give these guys a call. They are the experts and have the best prices I've found. I asked them if I should wait and get the Passport Max 2, and they said it's not worth it unless you are doing Escort Live. They don't recommend spending the money every month for Live.
I'm transplanting my Blend Mount from my C2S. These things are like $130, but I love them. It's much better than sticking a suction cup to the window. Just call Blendmount to ask them which model. I have it somewhere in my C2S Journal if you want to search for it.
I ran over to Advance Auto to get an "Add-a-Circuit. There are two sizes. You need the larger size and a couple of fuses. You'll also need a hardwire kit. I had a V1 Kit laying around, so I used it. The V1 kit works on an Escort just the same. It's $19. You need a Direct Wire Power Kit. You could also get and Escort kit or ask Best Radar to include one with you Radar Detector.
Sorry for the iPhone Photos. My wife had the cameras that day.
You don't need to do this step, but I like to run the wire down through the mirror stem for a cleaner install. It's super easy but might make you nervous. You have to pull hard on the plastic to break it loose.
First pull the top piece off. It splits in two. I just put my fingers under the rubber near the headliner and pull.
This is how I pull the stem cover off. Get two pick tools and pull in opposite directions. There are little holes to stick the picks into.
Here is what it looks like opened up. Next I pull the plastic wire cover off so I can get the RJ11 phone line cleanly down from the headliner to the bottom of the stem.
Find the right amount of slack and reinstall the stem cover. I pinched the wire between the two pieces.
Sorry for the crappy photo. Pry the A-Pillar cover loose. You don't need to take it all the way off. Just pop the top near the headliner loose to get the wire over the the rubber trim.
I didn't want to pull the fuse cover box off the car because I broke the very fragile clips in my C2S.
I got the wire though without taking the cover off. Well, I didn't have anywhere to ground it. So I gently fulled the cover off and broke the tab I was trying to save. Oh well. This time I only broke one tab. Last time I broke two.
Zip tie the extra wire and tuck it in nicely for a clean install.
This isn't a perfect solution, but I think it looks better than the really loud looking stickers on the visors. Under certain light conditions you can still see the outline of the sticker. It's acceptable to me and I'm picky.
Get some IPA. I went to the store to get closer to 99%, but they didn't have it. So that means, I added a solid hour to my rubbing. Oh well, the job still got done.
Matt, those stickers should come off virtually invisible. Try denatured alcohol from the hardware store. Buy in gallon size, and then use the rest to make your own window cleaner (1 part alcohol to 2 parts distilled water, in your favorite spray bottle). After the sticker is removed, hit the visor with some Aerospace 303. And wear rubber gloves the next time, that alcohol is brutal on your skin and nail beds. Ouch!
You can lessen the outline of the sticker by using some black kiwi shoe polish, rubbing it on, let dry and buff. Worked well on my 996-3 plastic sun visors.
Matt, those stickers should come off virtually invisible. Try denatured alcohol from the hardware store. Buy in gallon size, and then use the rest to make your own window cleaner (1 part alcohol to 2 parts distilled water, in your favorite spray bottle). After the sticker is removed, hit the visor with some Aerospace 303. And wear rubber gloves the next time, that alcohol is brutal on your skin and nail beds. Ouch!
Originally Posted by rockitman
You can lessen the outline of the sticker by using some black kiwi shoe polish, rubbing it on, let dry and buff. Worked well on my 996-3 plastic sun visors.
Matt,
is the PSE on the GT3 the same as on the X51?
No, it is very different. The Carrera PSE is much louder at lower RPMs. Also, there is no over-run, "backfire," from the GT3. The exhaust note is much more organized. I grew to love the sound my X51 C2S made, but this one is much better. The only thing I dislike is that even in sport exhaust mode, the valves are closed until the car senses a certain amount of throttle input. If you're cruising around town, the car sounds very pedestrian.
I'm going to give the Sharkwerks bypass a try to see if that satisfies me. My AWE X51 C2S was right on the edge of being a tad too loud, but it was amazing at lower RPMs.
Matt,
I know you love to row the gears but now that you have had the PDK for awhile especially the PDK S how is it?
BY the way, I tested mine today and I can get into neutral by pulling both at the same time. I would really like to see what the REAL differences are between the stock 991 PDK and the GT3 PDK
I've been computing my position on owning PDK now that I've put about 600 miles on the car. I don't have too much seat time with a regular PDK. I've spent maybe a total of 45 minutes in a PDK equipped C4S, so my comparison to the PDK-S is a bit limited.
Let me say this first. The PDK-S is so "manual-like" that I almost turned around after driving the car off the lot at the dealership because I thought it was broken. You can hear an ample amount of chatter, clicking, and clanging as the gear box downshifts while approaching a stop or when the car is cold. It was a bit shocking at first.
I love the fact that in Manual Mode, where I'll be all of the time, the car doesn't take over. It will allow you hit the rev limiter and won't kick-down to a lower gear on its own. It will allow you to bog the car. It also doesn't move forward or backward without throttle input. You can feel the clutch engage.
I am sold on the PDK-S for this car. It's loud, jerky, temperamental at times, but is oh so smooth at 6,000+. I really don't think I would be able to handle the violence of this engine while trying to row through the gears.
My one complaint is that I do wish the car downshifted more like the regular PDK. It's almost too quick. The car doesn't really need to rev match, which take a bit of the fun out of it.
All in all, this manual purist is going to have to eat his words again. The PDK-S makes me a believer. I thought I would just deal with it but am in complete agreement with Porsche engineers that this thing needs the PDK.
10-23-2014, 08:07 PM
