Facepalm

Has anyone ever noticed how unsightly the surface of the cat pipes and couplings from the cat pipes to the mufflers can be? It seems to be more evident on base carreras with non sports suspension since the car sits higher and the bumper doesn't cover as much of the rear as a Turbo, or GT3 bumper would. From day 1 of ownership i've noticed the goldish/rust-like/dirty look. I've tried wheel cleaner and exhaust/metal cleaner without seeing results. Whenever I pull into my garage at night (lighting up the rear of the porsche) I notice it. Obviously replacing everything headers back with aftermarket parts would resolve the issue, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever used or considered using high temperature paint on these areas?

Not my car, but notice the surface of the cat pipes and couplings:
<img src="http://www.brrperformance.com/userfiles/images/Porsche/997%20C2S/BB-997-C2S-rear-exh-begin-1024x768.jpg" >

997_Toronto

That section of the engine is only visible on a hoist, why would you replace those components unless they are impacting performance?

Facepalm

The cat pipes and the couplings are very visible from the rear of the car while on the ground, especially if the rear of the car is lit up by headlights. It seems to be most noticeable with base carreras without sports suspension since they sit much higher than an S and don't have bumpers that completely inclose the rear of the car like a Turbo or GT3 bumper would.

jhbrennan

Don't worry about the people following you I doubt they are looking at the undercarriage.

Wolfk

I am like you, I find the exhaust pipes very noticeable especially when your sitting low and driving behind another 997.

These work pretty well for the crevices

http://www.protoolreviews.com/tools/...ive-brush/975/

For the straighter sections a scotchbrite pad works well.

Mumbles

The only time your gonna see this if you get run over by a 911

j beede

Agree. That is one nasty looking undercarriage. Have your RM and IMS seals been checked?

Rikky001

Where is the nasty part? This looks to me as a perfect dry engine? Some road grime only, which would come of with degreaser if you really want to have it look new again.

Comanche_699

Personally I like seeing the guts showing a little under the bumper, I even appreciate when I see 997's with the rear bumper completely off- but I understand how something once seen becomes hard to unsee, and if it bums you out how that becomes all you see.

Maybe pull everything off and have it ceramic coated in a nice black chrome finish? That would look pretty epic when you do see it, and of course being black would minimize how much you actually do see.

syzygy333

personally I like to see some evidence of the engine. the juxtapositioning of aesthetic and mechanical art

Petza914

Because of my RUF rear bumper with the oval tips that come through it, I had to have some custom exhaust work done to the Fabspeed muffler to exhaust tips pipe (the one where the joint is held together with all V-band clamp. Anyway, my buddy doesn't weld with stainless rods so although the pipes are all stainless, the welds are not. He recommended giving them a quick coating of clear hi-temp exhaust paint, which I did, and it's holding up fine. The pipes have a matte stainless look and the welds have not rusted. Now I can't speak to how well this would hold up on the mufflers or cats, but on the tailpipes, seems to work fine. As someone else stated, your safest bet is ceramic coating. Had this done on my 914 Mona exhaust (the part after the ss heat exchanger) and it's holding up great.

BIG smoke

Wife does not drive stick? So I can safely say I will not see this problem area.

Heat is what causes this surface corrosion. Aluminumized steel?

Stainless steel? Heat sucks the nickle / chromium out of Stainless, thus leaving it as just steel. Thus rust. The better the stainless, the more expensive, the more nickle/ chromium added.
There is also electrolysis between different materials is a vehicle. Steel, stainless, aluminum, plus electricity and water and salt? We're all doomed.
From what I understand. But at the same time. New cars, not driven, don't rust or corrode as much.
O/P don't sweat it. -9c here, 20-30 cm of snow. Good for me. Terrible for the hatters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel

177mph

Perhaps you'd prefer a lexus where everything mechanical is covered by plastic fake parts?

ltcjmramos

Never really noticed what's peeking out from below until I installed the SW muffler delete pipe. Been considering using black hi-temp paint to make it less noticeable, but haven't done that yet.

NAM VET

ITCJ, i note your license plate, Lt Col, Special Forces. Great for you, we have something in common. I was CO of A/1/5 at Bragg for 18 mos back in '72-73 when I got back from IV Corps, RVN. Lots of fun, easy life, back then the only place to be if one wanted to be a soldier. Had some exciting deployments from Bragg. Had a lot of buddies who had been on the Son Tay Raid, which I was not. Or at Lang Vei when the NVA tanks came thru the wire. I just finished putting together my digital scrap book, i carried my trusty Pentax 35mm every where I went in SEA, and other places all over the world, used to even jump with it. I took Kodachromes, and had the best 80 or so changed to hi-res digitial pictures, and now have just finished putting about 50 of them into a narrated story of my 366 days "in country", next up is to do the same for my 6 mos as chief of staff of the busiest EVAC way out in the Desert in the First Gulf War. I carried a slide rule in my ruck sack along with a chemistry book when i was out in the field in Vietnam as an infantry advisor to the Vietnamese, proving to myself that I could indeed work those problems, and later used my GI Bill to become a physician, and eventually a flight surgeon. It is good to be retired now.

Welcome home, brother.

all the best....