991 turbo with AM exhaust
01-02-2015, 09:55 AM
#16
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Plus Alex is an awesome guy to work with!
There's lots of variety out there, with no shortage of snake oil in the mix....
some good, some not so good and some great sellers!
Sound is totally subjective, do your due diligence and you'll end up with a better sounding TT/S.
01-03-2015, 03:47 PM
#17
Drifting
SharkWerks installed here, and I am happy with the changeup from stock! Plus Alex is an awesome guy to work with! There's lots of variety out there, with no shortage of snake oil in the mix.... some good, some not so good and some great sellers! Sound is totally subjective, do your due diligence and you'll end up with a better sounding TT/S.
01-03-2015, 07:36 PM
#18
Instructor
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!!
01-06-2015, 09:37 PM
#22
Have no clip to share but I can assure mine sounds hot...so I keep getting told by the dealer techs and everyone else that hears it. I find clips rarely do full justice to (a genuinely good sounding) system and/or are often very misleading. I recall hearing a CG on a 997tt a while back which sounded truly terrible whereas the clip for the same system sounded quite good. Clips can be very misleading! It comes down to the mic and the equipment used, positioning etc....far too many variables to base a "sound" decision for my liking. My EP has the 100 cel emmitec cats so is a full system from the turbos back. What impressed me most was the compliance to the OEM's spec's in so far as the cat insulation requirements, and then the manufacturing of the cats and remaining system is simply superb, second to none that I've seen to date that's for sure. These EP cats are not just your usual AM cats, which are essentially just a bare bone catalytic converter cartridge with end-caps welded at either end. I mean how basic and low rent can you get! The EP cats on the other hand genuinely have real thought put to them and you can clearly see the work and effort which has gone into the design. So, I know that the longevity and the performance will be there over the long haul and they aren't likely to choke up or deteriorate over time being so free flowing. I recall the dealer techs were also very impressed with them and did not see an issue that would in any way affect warranty on the car. I would agree if you are taking a step backward from the OEM's cat design which are on the car stock (which are insulated btw) by buying un-insulated cats then I would definitely just get a Sharkwerks pipe and leave the stock cats there....no question. Going the other way for the sake of a better flow that may be short term anyway due to the design is too risky for me personally. The key difference between my cats now is that the stock cats are 600 cel and these are emmitec 100 cel tri flows, so are significantly less restrictive than the OEM's, meaning the heat and gas belting out from the turbos will pass through the cats with far less heat build up occurring on the turbo units. If you are doing a tune you should consider the cat flow, and if not, changing the cats may not be that essential at this stage. I personally don't plan on a tune as I feel the car goes hard enough for me, and now since the EP changeout I do notice a tad better low end torque through the gears plus the car does feel like it revs out a tad harder/faster off the line than before...and I'm sure if I'm not just imagining that, but that's how it feels to me anyway. So I'm a happy camper.
01-07-2015, 09:26 AM
#23
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Have no clip to share but I can assure mine sounds hot...so I keep getting told by the dealer techs and everyone else that hears it. I find clips rarely do full justice to (a genuinely good sounding) system and/or are often very misleading. I recall hearing a CG on a 997tt a while back which sounded truly terrible whereas the clip for the same system sounded quite good. Clips can be very misleading! It comes down to the mic and the equipment used, positioning etc....far too many variables to base a "sound" decision for my liking. My EP has the 100 cel emmitec cats so is a full system from the turbos back. What impressed me most was the compliance to the OEM's spec's in so far as the cat insulation requirements, and then the manufacturing of the cats and remaining system is simply superb, second to none that I've seen to date that's for sure. These EP cats are not just your usual AM cats, which are essentially just a bare bone catalytic converter cartridge with end-caps welded at either end. I mean how basic and low rent can you get! The EP cats on the other hand genuinely have real thought put to them and you can clearly see the work and effort which has gone into the design. So, I know that the longevity and the performance will be there over the long haul and they aren't likely to choke up or deteriorate over time being so free flowing. I recall the dealer techs were also very impressed with them and did not see an issue that would in any way affect warranty on the car. I would agree if you are taking a step backward from the OEM's cat design which are on the car stock (which are insulated btw) by buying un-insulated cats then I would definitely just get a Sharkwerks pipe and leave the stock cats there....no question. Going the other way for the sake of a better flow that may be short term anyway due to the design is too risky for me personally. The key difference between my cats now is that the stock cats are 600 cel and these are emmitec 100 cel tri flows, so are significantly less restrictive than the OEM's, meaning the heat and gas belting out from the turbos will pass through the cats with far less heat build up occurring on the turbo units. If you are doing a tune you should consider the cat flow, and if not, changing the cats may not be that essential at this stage. I personally don't plan on a tune as I feel the car goes hard enough for me, and now since the EP changeout I do notice a tad better low end torque through the gears plus the car does feel like it revs out a tad harder/faster off the line than before...and I'm sure if I'm not just imagining that, but that's how it feels to me anyway. So I'm a happy camper.
The risks to my car's warranty by plugging OEM O2 sensors into AM Cats, vs rewards of a "personally subjective" better sound negated some of my choices at this point in time. Can always revisit this down the road if tuning ever becomes a option of interest.
BTW Sharkwerks also reduces backpressure, allowing for the turbos to spool quicker and results in some bonus ponies.
Best choice is what makes your ears happy.
Mine are!
01-07-2015, 07:16 PM
#24
EP makes an excellent product, no doubts, but at a premium price!
The risks to my car's warranty by plugging OEM O2 sensors into AM Cats, vs rewards of a "personally subjective" better sound negated some of my choices at this point in time. Can always revisit this down the road if tuning ever becomes a option of interest.
BTW Sharkwerks also reduces backpressure, allowing for the turbos to spool quicker and results in some bonus ponies.
Best choice is what makes your ears happy.
Mine are!
The risks to my car's warranty by plugging OEM O2 sensors into AM Cats, vs rewards of a "personally subjective" better sound negated some of my choices at this point in time. Can always revisit this down the road if tuning ever becomes a option of interest.
BTW Sharkwerks also reduces backpressure, allowing for the turbos to spool quicker and results in some bonus ponies.
Best choice is what makes your ears happy.
Mine are!
Anyway OP was asking those of us users about who had cats and who didn't and for any feedback there, so I gave my reasons for making the choice I did in going for a full system over say just a pipe using the OE cats or something else with cats. Dollars wasn't my only consideration as after looking at what I wanted to achieve I felt that even without a tune, which I can't see myself doing btw, what I have now with the 100 tri flows will give the turbos a far better chance of survival than the 600 oem jobs. As you may be aware the engine in stock tune still puts out a hell of a lot of heat in that area and turbos do fail on stock cars. I fully understand the cat is there to do a job so why on earth compromise the efficiency of the cat for the sake of a few $? Ok, we we know why (cost and a lack of expertise)...rhetorical question. With regard to warranty concerns I don't blame Porsche for declining an engine or turbo failure related warranty because if the AM cat does fail or block up over time, it will usually cause damage to the engine in some way or the other. An uninsulated AM 200 high flow may not remain a 200 high flow forever once it becomes exposed to thermal shock (which it will do during the course of ownership) and the user will never know until it is all too late. So with due diligence in mind it became obvious there was much more to it than just improving a sound to my particular liking because if in that process I compromised the working function and more importantly the longevity of the cat core for the sake of saving a few bucks then what have I really achieved?... and what have I really saved??? You see in that sense one may as well take the cats off completely, put a cat bi pass pipe on or, stay with the restrictive 600 oem cats and go for a pipe like you did.
Btw Gunner you mentioned you had better/lower back pressure with the sw pipe? Can you please elaborate the factual figures on the actual reduction in back pressure for the benefit of the OP and others here? I am curious myself tbh and I'm sure there would had to have been some testing.
01-07-2015, 07:25 PM
#25
Burning Brakes
I would certainly agree that I payed a "premium price" for my TTS in comparison to most here but the $ I spent on my system was actually chump change looking at the alternatives. Everyone makes their own evaluations and that's perfectly fine by me. You pointed out earlier it is wise to do due diligence and I agree 100% with you! My due diligence led me in this direction
Anyway OP was asking those of us users about who had cats and who didn't and for any feedback there, so I gave my reasons for making the choice I did in going for a full system over say just a pipe using the OE cats or something else with cats. Dollars wasn't my only consideration as after looking at what I wanted to achieve I felt that even without a tune, which I can't see myself doing btw, what I have now with the 100 tri flows will give the turbos a far better chance of survival than the 600 oem jobs. As you may be aware the engine in stock tune still puts out a hell of a lot of heat in that area and turbos do fail on stock cars. I fully understand the cat is there to do a job so why on earth compromise the efficiency of the cat for the sake of a few $? Ok, we we know why (cost and a lack of expertise)...rhetorical question. With regard to warranty concerns I don't blame Porsche for declining an engine or turbo failure related warranty because if the AM cat does fail or block up over time, it will usually cause damage to the engine in some way or the other. An uninsulated AM 200 high flow may not remain a 200 high flow forever once it becomes exposed to thermal shock (which it will do during the course of ownership) and the user will never know until it is all too late. So with due diligence in mind it became obvious there was much more to it than just improving a sound to my particular liking because if in that process I compromised the working function and more importantly the longevity of the cat core for the sake of saving a few bucks then what have I really achieved?... and what have I really saved??? You see in that sense one may as well take the cats off completely, put a cat bi pass pipe on or, stay with the restrictive 600 oem cats and go for a pipe like you did.
Btw Gunner you mentioned you had better/lower back pressure with the sw pipe? Can you please elaborate the factual figures on the actual reduction in back pressure for the benefit of the OP and others here? I am curious myself tbh and I'm sure there would had to have been some testing.
Anyway OP was asking those of us users about who had cats and who didn't and for any feedback there, so I gave my reasons for making the choice I did in going for a full system over say just a pipe using the OE cats or something else with cats. Dollars wasn't my only consideration as after looking at what I wanted to achieve I felt that even without a tune, which I can't see myself doing btw, what I have now with the 100 tri flows will give the turbos a far better chance of survival than the 600 oem jobs. As you may be aware the engine in stock tune still puts out a hell of a lot of heat in that area and turbos do fail on stock cars. I fully understand the cat is there to do a job so why on earth compromise the efficiency of the cat for the sake of a few $? Ok, we we know why (cost and a lack of expertise)...rhetorical question. With regard to warranty concerns I don't blame Porsche for declining an engine or turbo failure related warranty because if the AM cat does fail or block up over time, it will usually cause damage to the engine in some way or the other. An uninsulated AM 200 high flow may not remain a 200 high flow forever once it becomes exposed to thermal shock (which it will do during the course of ownership) and the user will never know until it is all too late. So with due diligence in mind it became obvious there was much more to it than just improving a sound to my particular liking because if in that process I compromised the working function and more importantly the longevity of the cat core for the sake of saving a few bucks then what have I really achieved?... and what have I really saved??? You see in that sense one may as well take the cats off completely, put a cat bi pass pipe on or, stay with the restrictive 600 oem cats and go for a pipe like you did.
Btw Gunner you mentioned you had better/lower back pressure with the sw pipe? Can you please elaborate the factual figures on the actual reduction in back pressure for the benefit of the OP and others here? I am curious myself tbh and I'm sure there would had to have been some testing.
01-08-2015, 01:20 AM
#26
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I would certainly agree that I payed a "premium price" for my TTS in comparison to most here but the $ I spent on my system was actually chump change looking at the alternatives. Everyone makes their own evaluations and that's perfectly fine by me. You pointed out earlier it is wise to do due diligence and I agree 100% with you! My due diligence led me in this direction
Anyway OP was asking those of us users about who had cats and who didn't and for any feedback there, so I gave my reasons for making the choice I did in going for a full system over say just a pipe using the OE cats or something else with cats. Dollars wasn't my only consideration as after looking at what I wanted to achieve I felt that even without a tune, which I can't see myself doing btw, what I have now with the 100 tri flows will give the turbos a far better chance of survival than the 600 oem jobs. As you may be aware the engine in stock tune still puts out a hell of a lot of heat in that area and turbos do fail on stock cars. I fully understand the cat is there to do a job so why on earth compromise the efficiency of the cat for the sake of a few $? Ok, we we know why (cost and a lack of expertise)...rhetorical question. With regard to warranty concerns I don't blame Porsche for declining an engine or turbo failure related warranty because if the AM cat does fail or block up over time, it will usually cause damage to the engine in some way or the other. An uninsulated AM 200 high flow may not remain a 200 high flow forever once it becomes exposed to thermal shock (which it will do during the course of ownership) and the user will never know until it is all too late. So with due diligence in mind it became obvious there was much more to it than just improving a sound to my particular liking because if in that process I compromised the working function and more importantly the longevity of the cat core for the sake of saving a few bucks then what have I really achieved?... and what have I really saved??? You see in that sense one may as well take the cats off completely, put a cat bi pass pipe on or, stay with the restrictive 600 oem cats and go for a pipe like you did.
Btw Gunner you mentioned you had better/lower back pressure with the sw pipe? Can you please elaborate the factual figures on the actual reduction in back pressure for the benefit of the OP and others here? I am curious myself tbh and I'm sure there would had to have been some testing.
Anyway OP was asking those of us users about who had cats and who didn't and for any feedback there, so I gave my reasons for making the choice I did in going for a full system over say just a pipe using the OE cats or something else with cats. Dollars wasn't my only consideration as after looking at what I wanted to achieve I felt that even without a tune, which I can't see myself doing btw, what I have now with the 100 tri flows will give the turbos a far better chance of survival than the 600 oem jobs. As you may be aware the engine in stock tune still puts out a hell of a lot of heat in that area and turbos do fail on stock cars. I fully understand the cat is there to do a job so why on earth compromise the efficiency of the cat for the sake of a few $? Ok, we we know why (cost and a lack of expertise)...rhetorical question. With regard to warranty concerns I don't blame Porsche for declining an engine or turbo failure related warranty because if the AM cat does fail or block up over time, it will usually cause damage to the engine in some way or the other. An uninsulated AM 200 high flow may not remain a 200 high flow forever once it becomes exposed to thermal shock (which it will do during the course of ownership) and the user will never know until it is all too late. So with due diligence in mind it became obvious there was much more to it than just improving a sound to my particular liking because if in that process I compromised the working function and more importantly the longevity of the cat core for the sake of saving a few bucks then what have I really achieved?... and what have I really saved??? You see in that sense one may as well take the cats off completely, put a cat bi pass pipe on or, stay with the restrictive 600 oem cats and go for a pipe like you did.
Btw Gunner you mentioned you had better/lower back pressure with the sw pipe? Can you please elaborate the factual figures on the actual reduction in back pressure for the benefit of the OP and others here? I am curious myself tbh and I'm sure there would had to have been some testing.
No need to elaborate on (or defend) the choice I made, my ears are happy!
I'll leave any pontificating to others much better suited.
01-08-2015, 03:39 AM
#27
. I didn't ask you for much though gunny old pal, so am I to assume you are "fos" re those extra ponies? Anyway, Ive no need to justify my decision either being more than happy like yourself, but hey old friend what's wrong with providing us with a few facts?
Last edited by speed21; 01-08-2015 at 04:56 AM.
01-08-2015, 10:03 AM
#28
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LOL! You should know by now I'm big on the detail. Kind of enjoy it really
. I didn't ask you for much though gunny old pal, so am I to assume you are "fos" re those extra ponies? Anyway, Ive no need to justify my decision either being more than happy like yourself, but hey old friend what's wrong with providing us with a few facts?
01-10-2015, 02:55 AM
#29
Dont fret. Sit back and enjoy the free info. It all goes with the territory of being a technically minded person and the profession I'm in. People always ask me for the details esp when things go wrong and they don't want to pay. So it is a reflex action you could say. No harm intended. Each to their own poison, which 99.999% of this AM stuff is. An oems nightmare which in many ways is why warranty departments are formed. Pays to do the due diligence, get the facts and put the emotions aside. You may not be a richer man but you will be a happier man
01-10-2015, 09:33 AM
#30
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Dont fret. Sit back and enjoy the free info. It all goes with the territory of being a technically minded person and the profession I'm in. People always ask me for the details esp when things go wrong and they don't want to pay. So it is a reflex action you could say. No harm intended. Each to their own poison, which 99.999% of this AM stuff is. An oems nightmare which in many ways is why warranty departments are formed. Pays to do the due diligence, get the facts and put the emotions aside. You may not be a richer man but you will be a happier man
It's all good, the verbose logic (tangential or otherwise!) is entertaining when taken in context.....with the proper dose of salt!