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Selection of the "right" exhaust for one's 996TT is a matter of personal preference, and the topic has been debated ad nauseam on this and other online forums. In my own case, I wanted more power and a more aggressive exhaust note, without obnoxious cabin drone. That's a tall order for a X50 with a Tip, since the Tip tranny tends to keep the engine rpms in the drone band (2,000 - 2,500 rpm) in most normal driving conditions. In addition, the larger K24s also add to the drone factor.
My first aftermarket exhaust attempt about two years ago was a dual can Tubi. The exhuast note outside the car was good, but the in-cabin drone was beyond intolerable, so I sold it and re-installed the factory exhaust. My next exhaust attempt was a FVD "TUV" version, the quieter version, made for FVD by M&M exhaust of Germany. It was a very high quality exhaust with an excellent exhaust note outside of the car. In addition, it's 70mm tubing clearly flowed better than either the factory exhaust or the Tubi. But no matter how much I wanted to like it, the in-cabin drone between 2,200 rpm and 2,500 rpm was intolerable and detracted from the driving enjoyment of the car. So once again, I decided to sell it and re-install the factory exhaust.
I'm pleased to share that the third time for me is a charm. I went with the Europipe exhaust and cannot be more satisfied. I was considering the Kline and Europipe, and finally decided on the Europipe since it has larger tubing and higher quality catalytic converters, meaning better performance and emissions compliance. The ordering process was very easy and shipment from Belgium via Fedex took only two days. Everything about this exhaust exudes a high level of quality, and I appreciate that. The unit was extremely well-packed in a very heavy duty single large box:
The separate white box included with the exhaust included an O2 sensor wrench, a tube of anti-sieze grease for the O2 sensors, an angle wrench for securing the exhaust nuts to the studs mounted on the turbos, a new set of locking exhaust nuts, and several spare exhaust studs to use in the event one or more backed out during removal. Although I already had an O2 socket tool, I did find the included wrench handy during the install since the clearances to the flanges are tighter than on the factory exhaust. The install went very smoothly and the final step was to tighten the restraining straps on the exhaust to the required 15 Nm, securing the exhaust to the mounting arms. Below is a shot of the exhaust as installed:
After I re-installed the rear bumper cover and the exhaust tips, it was time to find out if the Europipe met my goals for it. A drive confirmed it did - simply no in-cabin drone at any rpm or under any throttle load, and the 50% reduction in backpressure as a result of the huge 100 cell cats and larger tubing was immediately evident via the obvious improvement in acceleration. The tone of the exhaust, for me, was a big improvement over all my previous exhausts. It's a deeper note and for me, sounds just right. Just wish I had gone with the Europipe on my first try, but at least I got it right this time.
I installed my Europipe Stage II Loud many years ago, and it is very much an integral part of the overall driving experience. The Europipe has great sound, and great build quality.
I purchased mine this summer and have an X50 also, and couldn't be happier with my decision to go with this exhaust.
I had a lot of questions before I pulled the trigger and Stef was very responsive to my emails and a pleasure to deal with.
You send almost $4K halfway around the world somewhat holding your breath that there will be no problems or issues.
The box arrives, you open it up, and it's " wow". It's almost to nice to put on the car so I think I will just admire it for a few days.....
Good pick, so many try not to spend the $ then sell or upgrade if they keep the car.
I was looking for a used one of these a few years back and picked up a 100cel Milltek that I've been very happy with.
If you're looking for exhaust and find one of them, grab it. No drone at any RPM either.
Interesting that the FVD droned for the OP. I have the catless "Sound Version" and get no drone at all. Pretty amazing how personal an exhaust selection is based on so many variables between cars and people's ears.
11-12-2018, 05:24 PM
Europipe: Third Time's a Charm
