Lots of chatter on 997 forum as follows.....is this true?

"So I looked into the FD Motorsports and that's a glorified Gundo...Right. I'm inclined to save the $500 pull the muflers off and have my buddy tig in some 2" pipe. I might even polish those busters up afterwards and make them look pretty and shinny."

Gundo hack can be done here for under $200 and I know from 993 Turbo forum discussions, many of you could do it in your garage! Has anyone tried it?

 

Hi Ronnie,

I have a little experience with this... I have unsuccessfully tried to mod my exhaust more than once.

I at first tried Fabspeed by-passes. Sounded ok, was very loud(we have draconian laws here in AU) but fit and quality VERY sub-par.

I then went Cargraphic. Excellent quality, big $$ but sound not as loud as i liked (again I chose the NON-race version due to above mentioned laws.) Wish i had tried the RACE version. Sold.

I then did what was known as an LPMM mod. I did this when the mod was just new for the N/A guys and - didn't like it. Barely noticeable change.

All the while I used a set of by-passes fabbed up by me to fit correctly using a set of OEM wide Ovals. Yes I took my chances with the LAW and found a friendly inspection station. And yes I ditched the CrapSpeed stuff ASAP.

Then came a set from Vertex. Quality ok but sound similar to LPMM. Not worth the $$$. Sold.

Reluctantly I tried a set of Fabspeed (as a loaner from a friend) again fitment issues and the sound was muffled and droned way worse than my by-passes. Admittedly these were an OLD set - apparently quality has improved....

I then whinged to Darin @ FDM. He assured me that his mods were better and that part of my issue was that my LPMM mod was interfering with the sound (I tiried hacking my cans open and re-doing some internal piping)

A deal was struck and they are in a word awesome! Perfect balance between stock and by-pass and lighter too. I still use the by-passes on the track (and prob always will) but there is a science that has been tried, trued and TESTED by Darin.

I do like the by-passes - no one has ever tried to race me with those on - yet with the FDM's people love to try.... The by-passes are so bad a$$ they scream DO NOT F with ME!

Unless you are able to do the work yourself, and for the cost of other mods - IMHO it is a cheaper option.

Just my $0.011123458c worth (adjusted for inflation) with no affiliation just a happy customer.

Simon.

 

Hey this mod is very easy. Opened my cans, cleaned out all the unecessary crap and buttoned back up. Sounds great. No drone and pretty crisp. I also made my own bypass elbows that work perfect with my oval tips. They are what I use the majority of the time. A little loud at idle but smooth out as turbos spool up. Nice not having the cans act as convection ovens in the fenders. Don't be scared just do it.

 

Awsome. Thanks so much for response. Possible to PM me pics/instructions for my tech to follow?

 

Why are people that own expensive cars so dang cheap???

 

It's not being cheap to do it yourself (if you can) and make sure it's done correctly. I'd rather do things myself so I can afford the things I may need (read as want) for my car that I can't fabricate or modify. Why do most people think that if you have one of these cars you can afford it. Some of use just have really screwed up priorities.

 

Had this mod on my 997 and a great easy mod....sounded fantastic IMO and paired with an EVO air box etc..



not much here in vid two just that at idle shows not loud...

 

Hack away, boys. My FDM's were the single best purchase yet. Close 2nd was my FDM short shift kit.

 

+1 not being cheap at all, just conscious of things where I could save a buck or two.

 

Thats not cheap. Does spending a lot of money make your car faster or make you a better driver? Not necessarily

DIY all the way. Not only will you often do a better job than someone else you will enjoy it and save some cash. Nothing wrong at all with that.

Once you do enough of this type of stuff you realize just how much you were being robbed all those years!!

 

^^ Spartan, love your car man. Looks awesome. You street drive it?

 

My experience is that you end up wasting a lot of time and money in the learning process such that you rarely ever actually come out ahead. The reason for having an expert do something is to make sure it is done right. If I haven't done something before, I usually screw up on the first try, possibly damaging something else in the process. If you read how people didn't like their DYI exhausts and end up buying a pre-made one, just does not seem like a wisely "saved" $300 to cut up your own exhaust.

I understand DYI for the sake of DYI (hobby), but unless something is a big labor saving project, I'm not convinced there is money to be saved. "Penny wise, pound foolish" as they say.

I just hate seeing someone butcher their exhaust to save a $300. The FDM (to pick one), has had some really great reviews... Saving $300 is what the OP's main motive seems to be.

 

Thanks! I do from time to time usually on short trips in the city to starbucks , the marina or other special occasions. The car is at around 100mm ish ride height right now and with that new gigantic splitter it will make street driving harder. I picked up a 964 turbo that I'm converting to the RSR look and will do the motor this winter. Thats going to be my main street car from now on as the blue car has just gotten a little out of hand

 

Gundo hack saves hundreds of dollars which I'm gonna spend on an additional Porsche....and I don't have to send cans across the country for a simple job that my tech can do. He does most of the 993tt's here and I have tremendous confidence in him. If he screws it up, he'll fix it.

 

I couldn't agree more ... owned three sets, no drone, perfect sound and most important of all no power loss, which IIRC, many of the other 'sport' mufflers cause. If you want to spend your money screwing around hacking up mufflers without really knowing what the end result provides, great, but Darin and Mark at FDM are huge Rennlist supporters, members and hands on 993 enthusiast owners and I feel my money is well spent with them.