Okay, okay:

~First, we had claims for no power gains for adding a name-brand replacement for the centre exhaust.
~Then we have a 12hp gain that we can't feel when adding a name-brand replacement for the centre exhaust.
~Now (via bheit1) we hear that you will actually likely lose power with aftermarket exhausts because Porsche got it so right.

Is there an arbitrator of truth out there from an exhaust god?

 

They have more balancing to do than that - EU noise ordinances, manufacturing and materials costs, quietness in the cabin for less sport oriented owners, etc. Porsche builds a great starting point for people to then improve or customize to their tastes and use cases, but there are a lot of compromises they also have to make in the name of manufacturing and costs that Enthusiast owners don't have to live with.

Porsche isn't the same company it was 30 years ago. There was pre-Boxster Porsche (quality, assembly, serviceability, longevity, etc) and there's post-Boxster Porsche (profit, manufacturing efficiencies, etc).

Don't get me wrong, I love the 997 and think it's great (it's my favorite Porsche the way mine is setup), but if you work onna 964, 993, or 928 you can really see how things have changed over time with quality of the materials used in the interest of making things lighter and cheaper, at the expense of durability. Somebody that is mpg driven by laws, but some is also purely profit driven. You don't get to be the most profitable auto manufacturer in the world by not cutting some corners.