manny_g

After much research and consideration I finally decided to swap the stock exhaust and put in its place a new ss sports exhuast and let me tell you all my research paid off.. As you all know there is no shortage of brands out there all promising better build quality, less weight and more performance. My main criteria was first build quality and secondly a system that sounds more agressive than stock, but not too loud as to not being able to have a conversation inside the car with another passenger. With that in mind I chose to go with the Cargraphic's-loud (export version) and after driving the car now for a couple of days and I know that I made the right choice for me. First the build quality is excellent. The exhaust is 100% stainless steel construction and comes complete with german 200 cell cats and mufflers. I also like that the finish is not the polished stainless steel that most other manufactures use, but a nice satin finish. Also the exhaust incorporates its own heat shields over the top and sides of the mufflers and over the pipe that goes from the cats to the mufflers. The installation went smooth with no surprises, everything fits perfect. Even the tips fit perfectly in the recess of the bumper the first time with no adjusting what so ever.The sound is great. A much deeper and throatier tone. At idle, its not louder than the stock, but can defenitely hear the difference upon acceration. After the install my mechanic and I took the car out for a drive and we were both very impressed with the results. To me the car definately feels and drives better on the road and the turbos definately spool-up quicker. We were hitting 0.7 bar of boost (car is stock) with no problems what so ever and much sooner than with the stock system. I like the tone so much that I have been driving the car without the radio now for a couple of days.

I purchased the exhuast from gtautowerks located here in the miami area. The owner's name is Theo and he is also a rennlist member. I believe his name here is "Greek Turbo Racer", but am not 100% sure. So if anyone is interested in this exhaust give Theo a call and he will certainly help you with any questions you might have. His number is 305.431.7854. Unfortunately my digital camera broke and could not take any photos during the install while the car was on the lift, but borrowed my neighbors camara and took a couple of pics of the exhaust witht the car on the ground and therfore not great pics but you can get the essence of how it looks like. Sorry for the long rumbling here, but wanted to post my thoughts to maybe help someone else considering in doing the same.

TT Surgeon

Looks really good! I like the heavy duty clamps they use.

TXGold

how much? does it retain the stock tips, or are there other options?

Looks great

manny_g

TX: for pricing call theo at the number listed. to answere your other questions, yes it does accept the stock tips as shown on the last photo and the only other option you can get is the dual tips, but these cost too much money...I like the look of the stock tips anyway..

Cueto

Theo,

Locally we call him "El griego"

Nice guy. I am considering this exhaust as well. Would LOVE the europipe, but it is alsmot 2x more than others out there and I am trying to maximise my budget for mods, so no EP for me. Fabspeed gen 3 or this one u installed are my leanings are the moment.

Frank

Dock

Does it use 70mm pipes?

manny_g

Dock: do not recall at the moment. will find out and let you know.

John D II

If it uses stock tips, it is most likely not 70mm piping on exit. Some exhausts use 70mm pipes until the exit pipe. It is then necked down to 60mm in order to be able to utilize the stock tips. This defeats the purpose of a 70 mm exhaust. The reason I know this is that I just completed designing a full 70mm exhaust for the 996TT and the stock tips do not fit, not even if you remove the inner ring which is good for about another 1/8" inside diameter. We had to design new tips with a larger hole in order to fit.

Dock

My thought exactly.

Duane993

I've noticed the Cargraphic has heat shields and the Fabspeed does not. Anyone worried about melting the paint on the bumper or other parts of the car without the heat shields?

John D II

Duane,

I have run my exhaust, which does not have heat shields (it's very similar to the Fabspeed) for thousands of miles including a few 300 mile runs in the hottest weather of the year and have not had any problem with heat or melting from the exhaust.

manny_g

if you notice the stock exhaust incorporates the shields as well. this is one of the things i was looking for when purchasing an aftermarket system. in my research i only found three manufacturers that offer the shields, cargraphic, europipe and miltek. if porsche decided to incorporate shields in their exhaust it must be for a reason. i agree that w/o it would not effect the bumpers or paint, but most probably assist in reducing temps within the engine bay.

T Kono

Have you noticed any drone or resonance? I'm looking to upgrade my exhaust but am concerned about the acoustic behavior of the cabriolets.

Ted K

John D II

I think the heat shields may have something to do with sound deadening - possibly for European TUV approval, but that's just a guess.

Chuck Jones

Kono....you're right about the cabs....when the top is down, they're more prone to resonation. I've noticed that with mine. All the more important it becomes to actually go hear a set of mufflers or an exhaust system BEFORE you buy it. All the folks here try their best to define and explain the sound of a muffler or exhaust system....but it's so dogone subjective that it becomes a crap shoot. I like a robust exhaust, but not too loud...........what does that mean to someone else? How can they possibly figure out what meets my needs and wants? I've been drawn to the Europipe, Cargraphics, and Milteks...but only by someone else's definitions. Before I spent $3 to 5K on a system, I'd better go listen to it in person. I dont' think you could get a "warranty" return simply because it turns out that you don't like it.

Best of luck in your search.
Chuck