Cbwell

It took a while but I got my Fister mufflers in today. I planned on waiting until this weekend to install but it was killing me so jumped on installing them this afternoon. It took longer than I expected but it was well worth it, they sound great.

I researched all the DIY posts on doing the muffler removal and I tried like hell to do the bare minimum- no wheel/bumper/heat shield removal but in the end, my big 'ol hands weren't getting it done. I took the extra 15 minutes to remove the bumper and heat shields and it was so much easier.

As I read on somebody else's post- if you have the manual dexterity of a Romanian gymnast then don't worry about removing anything but I highly recommend it- makes it much, much easier.

Also, remove the muffler mounting bracket itself (3 bolts), not the bolts attaching the muffler directly, they won't come up out due to the heat shield. When you reinstall, turn them upside down so you don't need to worry about it if you need to do it again.

Long story short, the mod was worth every penny, sweat drop, a little blood and almost a tear or two. Plus- Fister does an awesome job, worth the money.

** sorry about the blurry photos, my phone camera leaves something to be desired.

911Steve

Your going to like the sound over stock, I don't have the fister but the Gundo hack 2 inch. It looks like yours may be the 1.75 inch, nice choice getting the fister, good quality work

fastm3

I just got my Fister a couple of days ago too. I have neither a garage or the skills to do it myself, so I'm having my local indy do it for me next week.

Spokane5150

Wow....can't believe you removed the bumper but it gives us great perspective. Nice job. The Fister's do sound awesome.

Tarek307

Best mod for the $$$$

Cbwell

You'll definitely like them fastm3. I was reluctant to remove the bumper but I wasn't finding enough room to maneuver so I went for it. It's actually very easy and it made things go much faster. Totally agree Tarek, best bang for the buck for sure.

I feel like the car is less restricted now and it opens up a bit better but maybe it's all mental.

Spokane5150

LOL.....I had my 16 year old pull on the skirt a little to drop the muffler out the bottom. Easy peasy....

USMC_DS1

Good job Cbwell... great mod!

hurricanesteve

That was my weekend project also. Haven't used the stereo since the install sounds amazing.

Wonder if the WB rear bumper makes it easier? this was a 30 minute job on ramps without removing anything other than that little brace that goes from the bumper to the frame (only necessary to allow the muffler to drop out once unbolted). This was with an air ratchet, but when i did the final tightening on the three bracket bolts by hand, I could see that it would be difficult (slower but not impossible) to do the whole thing with just handtools since you only get about two clicks per twist with the heatshield and bumper in the way.

Best "smiles per buck" mod I've done ever.

drummin4fun

+1!!

Awesome mod, and thanks to Darin for his hard work. I was able to install with no problem without dismantling the rear of the car. It's a great project for someone who wants to get their feet wet on a first DIY.

Stereos? We don't need no stinking stereos!

Luckymba

+1 I did mine when I was home on MLK day. Literally haven't turn the stereo on since.

There was also a question on the earlier thread about worse gas mileage caused by the exhaust. I experience that also but guarantee it is due to the way I'm driving. You just can't help it after the install.

fastm3

How long do you think it would take a shop to do this? I'm getting estimates of 2 to 2.5 hours, which seem a bit high.

Cbwell

It only took me two hours but knowing what I know now I think you could do it in an hour probably.

fastm3

I was thinking about an hour as well, for someone who knows what he's doing.

Thanks Cbwell, and enjoy it!

Luckymba

Took me 2 hours also and I have no mechanical skill at all... as in zero. I wanted to get a much older porsche and learn to work on it but this one kind of fell in my lap so I'm still learning as a go. For a shop that knows what they are doing an hour max should be the target. If you read some of the other posts there are guys who did it themselves in 30-40 mins. Now that I know what I'm doing I could easily it in one hour.