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Money2536's FVD Exhaust Crusade is Finally Complete (I think...)
Well, the bad news is that I wasted a bunch of money. The good news is that I had a blast taking on this project. I still need to hit the dyno to check the results, but I've finally come to a conclusion on what the right exhaust combo is for me.
Just for kicks, let's go back to the beginning and talk through the steps.
Exhaust Version 1:
I had the stock exhaust on the car for the first 1,000 miles or so. The car really does sound great above 5,000 RPMs, but I hated the valve operation. All of this opening and closing business was driving me crazy.
Exhaust Version 2:
I decided to test disconnecting the valves on a completely stock exhaust. I did it, drove around the block, and hated how it sounded. It droned and was very boomy and immediately reverted it back to normal.
Exhaust Version 3:
Now it was time to pick up a Sharkwerks center muffler bypass. This involves leaving the stock side mufflers alone and deleting the factory center muffler. Install was pretty easy:
Leave the bumper cover on the car
Loosen the brackets and clamps holding the center muffler in place
Loosen the side muffler brackets
Remove the center muffler
Put the SW Bypass in place
Tighten
Now after going on this crusade, I understand why this is something that SW is sticking with. It's really hard to do any better.
Initially, I had assumed I would hate the drone I would get with the valves disconnected just like I did with the full stock exhaust, so I left them connected for a while. I also got SW RS style tips in black.
I woke up one morning a month or so after installing the SW bypass wondering what it would sound like with the valves disconnected, so I did it. Well there really wasn't any drone like with the full stock and the valves forced open. This was a sound solution. I kept hearing all of this chatter about the car losing power with the valves disconnected and that Porsche made the perfect car as is. I refused to believe this, so I laid out my 200 bucks and headed to the dyno to test it. I did this rather than just forming an opinion based on a guess or what happened to past generations of the car under similar conditions.
Many still don't believe that the car is not losing power, but I'm convinced. I guess you could argue that there may be a change in delivery below 2,500 RPMs, but I'm not sure how you'd measure that. Every dyno I've ever been on requires running the car in a 1:1 gear. So you can't start at zero. You must start from a roll.
I guess one could argue that the dyno is not testing "real world power." At the 1/2 mile event attended, there was another Rennlist member there with his GT3. It was Sapphire Blue too, so couldn't argue that one color was faster than the other. After a half dozen passes of so each. We trapped within a few tenths of a mph. He LWB seats, but I had CCBs. I figure those would probably offset. This wasn't on of the best traps for either of us.
I decided that I'm still not satisfied with how the car sounds. It sounds great at high RPMs but is a little hollow driving to get the groceries. So I started making some calls. GMG, AWE, Cargraphic, and finally FVD. Now I didn't know squat about FVD other than some guys putting their stuff on a C2S. I got Rhonda from FVD on the phone. She proceeded to explain to me their connection with M&M in Germany and that they manufacture the exhausts for the Porsche Motorsports cars. They could make anything we want. Here is my first trial run.
I get it now. The stock system with the center bypass offers some baffling as some of the sound/gases are traveling into the side muffler, but most of the gas is exiting straight through the center bypass. With this FVD system the gas must travel through the side mufflers. So we deleted the valves but ensured that there is no straight path. This system made it about a week before I called Rhonda and told her I got it all wrong.
Exhaust Version 6:
FVD was super nice to take back the system to build another one. So we settled on:
FVD Side Muffler Bypass and Valve delete with FVD Center Muffler
Rhonda had it over-nighted from Germany, so we could get it here in time before the Smokies trip. I installed it on Monday, I got in the car drove around the block and knew this was just as tame but added a tiny bit of drone. The advantage over the side muffler option is the weight reduction, but it sound rather similar. Great tone and quality of sound but not nasty enough for me. I think this would be a solid option for tracks that have dB restrictions.
To my surprise that was a little bonus in the box. I'm pretty sure M&M knew that I wouldn't like Version 6.
Side Muffler Bypass Pipes for OEM Center Muffler were in the box.
I was thinking I would just put the SW bypass and OEM side mufflers back on for the trip to the Smokies, but now that I'm super efficient at taking the rear bumper cover off the car, I decided to throw the side muffler bypass pipes on to see what happens.
After pulling off the FVD center muffler and comparing to the factory one, you could see the factory muffler offers a straight shot toward the exit. The FVD has baffling and an indirect shot. This changes the note and improves the tone but takes away the nasty I'm hoping for.
Fast forward to the end of the above video to hear the insanity. So you guys that have done the BBi solution from the start were right. It figures that the simplest, cheapest option would be my last try.
Conclusion:
The exercise was well worth the effort and actually a whole lot of fun for me. For some it may seem like work, but for me it's pure enjoyment. I'm actually not disappointed it took me this long when I could have just purchased the BBi solution and been done with it.
Keep in mind for those that are sensitive to drone, Version 7 is probably not for you. It's not terrible, but it's there. I think one of the other FVD options would be nice. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Thanks for putting up with me on the exercise. I'll head to the dyno with fingers crossed that I don't lose a bunch of power.
P.S. I'm not sure of the retail pricing on the FVD side muffler pipes, but I think it's in the less than $300 range. Give Rhonda a call.
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Nice write up (as usual) Matt. Just for the sake of clarity please explain why the BBi is the "right solution all along"? Noise (nasty)! tone, weight &/or something else? Txs.
I enjoyed your journey, but I could have told you from the beginning that this was the way to go. Here's my 2010 997 CUP muffler on my past GT3. If I end up doing anything to my future 991 GT3, it will be the same muffler. There is less drone with this setup that what you finally settled on, because the internal construction of this muffler is slightly different than the stock one.
By the way, with the cheap euro, you can get this factory Porsche Motorsport muffler with j pipes for $1,700 from Carnewal in Belgium. Really makes the BBI pipes look overpriced - which they horribly are.
Don't want to start a debate about prices, but that is certainly my opinion when you can get a full cat-back exhaust from Porsche Motorsports at the price I mentioned above. I feel it's the best cat-back exhaust product for me, price no object. Just my 2 cents.
Very nice documentation Matt! I'm still a bit curious why you didn't like the FVD? I thought it was similar to the cup center muffler that is made by M&M? Many seem to think its the way to go as it was the same solution that ultimately worked best for the 997.2 GT3/RS cars. Maybe it is a different design than the cup exhaust. Given that you mentioned that the stock center muffler provided a fairly straight shot exit from the side muffler delete pipes, I wonder if anyone combined the side muffler delete pipes with center muffler delete with stock header/cats? It seems that it would be great for optimum flow and weight reduction. I'm sure it would be loud but some seem to want that raw sound.
Don't want to start a debate about prices, but that is certainly my opinion when you can get a full cat-back exhaust from Porsche Motorsports at the price I mentioned above. I feel it's the best cat-back exhaust product for me, price no object. Just my 2 cents.
I guess I get your what you saying but I personally don't want a cat back system if I don't need it. I want something that sounds good and is fairly priced. Why pay 1700 for a full system when I can spend 50% or more less (with shipping) and get an awesome sound?
I guess I get your what you saying but I personally don't want a cat back system if I don't need it. I want something that sounds good and is fairly priced. Why pay 1700 for a full system when I can spend 50% or more less (with shipping) and get an awesome sound?
Because they are engineered to work together, and the CUP muffler internals are slightly different than the OEM GT3 center muffler. I don't meant offend anyone, but in my opinion, the side muffler bypasses with OEM center muffler is a little half assed in comparison.
05-13-2015, 04:29 PM
Money2536's FVD Exhaust Crusade is Finally Complete (I think...)
After a half dozen passes of so each. We trapped within a few tenths of a mph. He LWB seats, but I had CCBs. I figure those would probably offset. This wasn't on of the best traps for either of us.
