joehonee

I have recently become the owner of an 03 996 tt with X50 turbo package. This being my first Porsche I am a bit overwhelmed with the options for aftermarket exhaust systems. Being in New England I had not had a ton of time to drive the car lately but have already recognized that I would like a slightly louder exhaust system. My last vehicle was a Shelby Cobra replica I built which had a 5.8 stroked V8. With the header & side pipe combination it had a very distinct sound. I am not trying to replicate that but feel as if I need some additional tone out of the Porsche. I want to be sure to stay away from "tuner", noise machine type systems. Also do not want a droned out car that would become an annoyance on long trips.


Any advice would be welcomed. I have read that some people have modded their factory exhaust to get a slight increase in sound. If I were to take that approach I would most likely purchase a used OEM muffler set so that I can return the car back to stock.
Thanks

John D II

Joe,

I'll take a stab at this....

First of all, IMO and in the opinion of many of our customers that have been there and done that, the modified drilled out OEM exhaust will provide zero performance gain and provide a poor quality sound. Most tire of it rather quickly and end up going with a proper aftermarket exhaust for a sportier sound. We produce models from very tame to pretty wild and it sounds like you would be a candidate for our 2.5 quiet system, which is our quietest and most comfortable 996TT system. We have tons of reviews from 2.5 customers and forum members on our testimonials web page, so you can read the experiences of many other 996TT owners in a similar position as yourself. If you wish to ask more detailed questions, feel free to contact either myself or Chad using the contact information in my signature. I purchased a 996TT new in 2002 and have logged 145,000 miles using all of our products and some others, so I have a very good feel for this platform. Our 996TT exhaust systems are fully modular and sound level adjustments are always an easy component swap and free the first time. You will also enjoy enhanced performance with any of our systems.

John

911mhawk

I bought a 100cel Milltek that I really like for it's lack of drone and good noise when you're in it.

TT Surgeon

Fvd, cg and Ruf can modify your OEM using hjs sport cats, about 15% louder than stock. And flows ok. Not shiny and loud, but I like it a lot.
EP makes a nice one as well, very OEM like.

Third-Reef

Be wary of online comments about only slightly louder than stick and no drone. On man's cool Porsche sound can be another's unbearable howl. Also X50 cars are louder and drone more than non x50.

TT Surgeon

Fair enough, but I stand by my comments, not my first rodeo or exhaust. I can email op a b4 after vid if you like.

"02996ttx50

i had a "hacked" oem exhaust done by "pros" ( in relative indie terms ) and i never really saw ( or heard ) the point.

at the risk of repeating myself. a 2.5 kline w 200 cats is really about the best compromise no drone ( at all ) performance exhaust for those seeking performance gains ( without waking neighbors or exceeding the *drone* of a passengers complaints ) I've ever heard for these cars.

but then, everyone *favors* what they've bought lol. still i think the oem "hack" is a waste of time.

Vendetta NY

Why is drone even still a thing, what with Helmholtz resonators and all? One would think for thousands of dollars a throw, the top shelf manufacturers would have it sorted.

My RPi 3" catless sounds amazing to everyone who's heard it, but between 2300 and 2800 it's a bit much in the cabin. I'd love to find a muffler shop artist who could help. That said, I've never heard an aftermarket performance exhaust that has no drone at all.

​​​​​​​-V

"02996ttx50

i think its most x pipe exhausts that are generally "known for no drone" so in that regard that might be they key to eliminating it? I've heard drone before and the kline just doesn't do it. you can drive all day at 2800 rpm and no problem. i dont want to name names but I've heard some that were actually noxious for extended periods of time at a crushing rpm/speed. i couldn't live with that.

John D II

It's not that simple or everyone would do it. I have personally taken the time to experiment with helmholtz resonator pipes on our X-Pipes and believe me, they are not the end all holy grail. I have tried various lengths and different shapes (straight & curved) and none improved the sound characteristics that we have been able to perfect by working with other design parameters. I can easily run any exhaust design I choose on my 996TT, even a super duper custom design. Do I have helmholtz resonators on my car? No. The reason is quite simple, they degrade the quality of the sound that we achieve without them. We have found that drone is more uncomfortable in a deeper toned system and we have optimized our X-Pipe design to sing high, more like an Italian exotic or a GT3. We prefer to bring the pitch as high as possible and adding helmholtz resonators to our X-Pipes deepens the pitch, lessens the exotic wail and at the end of the day is not anything we feel is a winner for the end user. They look cool, but our direct testing has has been a no go, as far as improving anything. As a result, we cut off the helmholtz pipes on all test models, plugged the openings created for them and sold the X-Pipes as slightly used demo units after testing was completed. I often read things about how great helmholtz resonators are from people that have never really used them and I have to disagree based on hours of real world testing with them. It's not like you take any system, put helmholtz resonators on it and the drone is gone or even substantially eliminated. Not even close, IMO. On occasion, we have even been contacted by customers with helmholtz resonators looking for ways to improve the drone level.

Exhausts come in different designs, various pipe diameters, tip styles, etc. and all have a factor in the drone level - at the end of the day, a 2.5" X-Pipe system is always the the way to go to eliminate or reduce drone. But not all X-Pipe designs are good at reducing drone, either. Then there are further choices to fine tune the sound characteristics. Personally, I would never suggest 200 cell cats on a 996TT. They dumb down the throttle response and turbo spool compared to a 100 cell cat and there is no good reason on the 996TT to use 200cpi converters. The enhanced crispness of throttle response and the improved turbo response is very evident with 100 cell cats. Years ago, we offered 200 cpi cats on our Gen 1 twin can exhausts and subsequently upgraded to 100 cpi cats on our new, improved X-cellerator series systems. The newer X-Flow systems we currently offer are simply better in every way - sound and performance. It is best to have a good conversation with someone you are comfortable with that understands these systems and/or hear a system for yourself.

"02996ttx50

exactly.

only to add though, ya gotta figure that by now ( 16+ years?! ) anyone that makes exhausts for this car in mind has figured out ( hopefully ) what works vs what doesn't, as it relates to drone. i'm sure every serious exhaust designer/mfg'r has opened up their competitions work. ultimately "everyone's" exhaust is "best", proprietarily speaking lol.