Puhnner

Hello to everyone. This is my first post, so I apologze for any lack of conformance to post formatting and the fact that I have not posted a photo of my Boxster.

I have a 01 Boxster with the 2.7 engine; Lapis exterior and Cream/Beige ( I guess that is what the color is ) interior. I am interested in replacing the exhaust, not for added power or increased horsepower, but for a more throaty/pronounced sound. Could you recommend specific exhaust systems, brands, and approximate costs? I have read through a number of the posts and the Porsche sports exhaust is mentioned and I have seen some on Porsche parts websites, but do not know enough to make a decision.

I appreciate any comments and thank you.

rbennett

Hi Puhnner, welcome aboard...

I replaced my 2000 Base Boxster exhaust with a stock exhaust off a 2003 S Boxster. There was an exhaust sound change in this MY that has a very deep throaty sound and little resonance.

Bought the 2003 S Muffler with about 100 miles on it for $200 and is a directly bolt on.

Cheap thrill without going the >1k mod route

arenared

There are quite a few muffler options. The problem seems to be that, with the possible exception of the Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE), exhaust sound levels seem to go hand-in-hand with resonance levels. Each person's resonance tolerance seems to vary. The stock 2000 Boxster does sound like a sewing machine. First mod is to desnork which will improve the sound and is discussed on various boards.

For mufflers, the 2nd generation PSE is supposed to have a lot more/better sound than the 1st generation (with external pipes), but it is very expensive (circa $2K). Other options at the quiet end are the Dansk pressed mufflers ($1K) and possibly the 2003 muffler mentioned by rbennett (couple hundred $). I have not done side-by-side sound comparisons of the 2000 and 2003 factory mufflers, but my personal opinion is that the Dansk pressed is too quiet if you're buying it for sound, and it is probably louder than the 03 factory. IMHO, you cannot hear a Dansk over a desnorked intake. The Dansk sausage ($1K) is in the low-medium loud range. More in the midrange is a Remus ($1K if you can find one). At the loud end is GHL ($1K). For me, the GHL resonance is too much on a daily driver.

There are a few other mufflers out there that are highly regarded like the Ruf (several $K), but the price is too high, so they are not popular, and I have not heard or seen one. There are also some others that will be hit-or-miss (generally miss). Borla comes to mind. There are also some people that modify the stock mufflers by cutting out some parts. Seems crude, but could be cost-effective. Good luck. Try to listen to one or more before buying because parts for Porsches are expensive. 2nd-hand exhausts are a good alternative, too.

Puhnner

Thank you both for your insights.

This analogy was great! 'The stock 2000 Boxster does sound like a sewing machine.' It does! I really cannot hear the exhaust except acclerating to higher rpms.

The 2nd hand exhaust option seems the best option which I will pursue.

By the way, I have been reading through as many of the posts as I can. The content here is really quite good and I am glad to be a member here.

Jay Laifman

Arenared (obviously not his real name!) has provided a great summary of the exhausts. Search for posts on "resonance" and you will find lots of people complaining about all the louder exhausts - except the PSE. I ended up buying the 2003 PSE and am running it with sport cats. I love the sound. I could barely, if at all, hear a difference with the earlier PSE. The earlier PSE had those long pipes that go around the back of the muffler. The 2003 PSE has those same pipes, but they are smaller, shorter, and circle out around and back into the muffler in the back where you can't see them unless you look under the car, where they are obvious. A 2003 S exhaust is not the same exhaust even though it has the same tips. But, as indicated, it is a very expensive option at $2k. For me it was worth it. Makes it into a real sports car - but I'm distorted by having an early 911. Compared to other sports cars of today, the Boxster with the plain exhaust still sounds so much better. Don't think sewing machine, think F1!

Bob Rouleau

I sold my 2000 S to a pal, he pput on the GHL exhaust. perfect fit and it sounds very nice. Throaty growl but not so loud as to make long drives annoying. Great service from those guys too.

Jay Laifman

I just drove a 2000S with Borla. No go for me! I've heard about the dreaded resonance from these various exhausts, including pretty much all options other than the two PSEs. But, I had never heard one in person. This is the first time. Yep, it's there, it's nasty, and I sure wouldn't accept it.

On the other hand, he also had the B&M shifter. Very nice indeed, just like all the posts on it. And, it was smooth. I've been thinking about doing it and have read a bunch of folks complain about notchiness and hard to get into some gears. After experiencing his and reading solutions, it really sounds like that's just a question of getting it adjusted right, not the shifter itself.

Carreralicious

I actually like my Dansk pressed sport exhaust with the super sound tips. It sounds nice and throaty above 4K rpms, and there is absolutely no resonance. The dansk weighs 2 lbs less than the stock Boxster OEM exhaust and 15 lbs less than the PSE exhausts, so there is considerable weight savings over the PSE unit.

Cost me $750 new, and installed it with a friend in an hour and a half. I drove a Boxster S with the GHL installed, and although it sounded very nice, it also had a lot of resonance which I couldn't live with.

Made an exhaust video clip of the dansk not too long ago from my picture camera...

Drive by video:
http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=21ctwex

Puhnner

The video and sound are great. Nice sound too. Where did you get the Dansk? I have put out some requests to different salvage yards and none have the S Exhaust. It is not critical to do now, I just want to do it right when done. The exhaust is on my list, with the sound system ( man that is another story there, the quality of sound is really pitiful and disappointing ). I drive as much as the weather permits with the top down, so sound will never be a very big concern, although I would enjoy hearing something decent when the top is up; there are some very interesting discussions on that topic here.
thanks again for all the insights on the exhaust.

Carreralicious

I got mine from Departstop. No affiliation. The price I got is less than their advertised price. Call them, as they sometimes have specials. These guys are right though- basically, the more sound you want from an exhaust, the more cabin resonance you will have to deal with. The factory PSE and Dansk pressed sport exhaust will not exhibit any added resonance, but also do not give as much sound as the GHL, Borla, or B&B type exhausts. It all depends on how much you can deal with, and how much sound you want.

I chose the Dansk because it was much cheaper than the PSE alternatives, had a great look to the exhaust tips, and also had the same mounting points as the OEM exhausts, so you get a factory fit when installed. This is largely due to the fact that Dansk was also an OEM supplier to Porsche for their factory standard exhausts at one point. I loved the sound from the GHL that I test drove, hated the resonance, but my wife complained that it was too loud. With the Dansk, we're both happy. Good luck.

98Boxster

All I have to say is; B&B Exhaust. Best $900 (installed) I have ever spent! I have a 1998. You can get them at Performance Products for $913, however last year I got them from Mid America for $699 off the internet (they were $799 in their catalog). Barely any resonance and it sounds like it should from the factory.

I traded the Boxster this late Spring for a NSX. After 2 months, I ended up buying my Boxster back (keeping the NSX of course ) I did it because I loved the car it is arena red/beige and because of that exhaust.

P.S. Great color combo you have by the way, good choice.

Jim

david borla

Sound is so subjective, it's almost impossible to come to a consensus on what the entire Boxster S community is looking for. I guess that's part of what makes this whole aftermarket thing so much fun. To each his own.

For us, even with a wealth of market research, the design of our exhaust for the Boxster S (#140115) ultimately came down to what we know about our repeat customers. In other words, we have almost 30 years of company history to draw upon which gives us a pretty good idea of what a typical Borla user is looking for. Borla aftermarket exhaust has traditionally been on the agressive side and we know that our customers are willing to trade a little resonance in the cabin for something that sounds substantial, deep and throaty.

As a refined exhaust brand, we are rarely the loudest. But we tend to lean towards the aggressive side of things.

We have found that the aftermarket exhaust systems which totally eliminate cabin resonance lack vitality, sounding a bit listless and weak which has never been the Borla sound. As I mentioned before, we trade a little resonance in the cabin for something that sounds substantial, deep and throaty.

We know that not every Boxster S owner will choose our exhaust and we appreciate the diversified tastes of the Boxster community. It's our desire to fill the needs of a specific niche within this niche as we have been doing for nearly three decades with great results. For what it's worth, the sales of our Boxster S exhaust (#140115) have exceeded our expectations which is one indication that we have built a product to the satisfaction of our customer base.

I hope this sheds some light on the Borla Exhaust option for the Boxster S.

First986NJ

I agree with Mr. Borla, it is a very subjective thing. I bought my unit from ImagineAuto (iA), a sponsor of this board for $700. Below is a pic of it. It sounds super to me. Deep throaty idle, and it sounds unreal with your foot in the throttle. Easy to mount and a ton lighter than the stock unit. Only negative is some mild resonance, but only in a narrow band from 2600 to about 3000 rpm. It is not bad at all, you can still hold a normal tone conversation in the car even when in this range. It is under 95db, but you DO hear this coming or going if I'm in the throttle.

I kept my stock muffler to convert to a PSE2 if I didn't like this one. So far, I like it though (a lot) and it is staying on the car.


https://rennlist.com/forums/attachme...d=190575&stc=1

986Jim

Check out my thread on Renntech. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...howtopic=13715

It's a maxspeed motorsports unit, $599. There are pictures and video link to youtube there. It's really mellow and a great sound with no resonance.

Marc Gelefsky

I did the same, bought an 03S exhaust put it on my 01S, way better sound for a whopping 150 bucks
Looks better to.