Well now that the holidays are over I'm finally able to spend some quality time with my GT4. I just got back from a wonderful 120-mile drive through Hill Country since we seem to have temporary reprieve from winter weather today.

Anyway, one thing I've been fiddling around with has been PSE. The difference between off and on is obvious when I'm in the garage or when I have the windows down and rev at a standstill or first start off at lower speeds, but (in my admittedly still rather limited testing) once I'm doing ~50 MPH or above, even with the windows down I can't reliably tell the difference between PSE on or off regardless of gear, RPM level, or throttle position. It seems that the difference in exhaust sound is simply drowned out by the combination of engine, tire, and wind noise at that point. I'm not complaining at all since hearing more of the exhaust would have required either downplaying the glorious engine noise or increasing the overall noise level in the cabin to the point that it might have become overbearing, but I was curious if this lines up with others' experiences. (Note: I'm referring to driving out on open roads, not inside tunnels, next to concrete walls, or in any other similar circumstances that would amplify exhaust sound.)

 

Perhaps counter intuitively, try it with the windows up. With PSE off and Windows up, you hear pretty much all engine. With PSE on, you hear a bit more exhaust and definitely more overrun crackles.

Maybe wind noise is making it harder for you to tell.

 

I tried windows up first actually and didn't notice any difference except those overrun crackles. I was just surprised how minor the difference seems to be from the cabin given that it's so noticeable behind the car -- but I suppose many cars sound very different from the cabin compared to outside, so that may not be a meaningful data point.

 

With my 991 GT3 there has been times that I forgot to hit the PSE and did not notice it either in the higher rev ranges but noticed that it was not on when I was in the 2000 - 6000 range and I have a SW bypass on it.

 

It is very subtle while cruising but there is a slight difference inside with windows up. I find the PSE to be rather tame compared to my catless header back E46 M3. Wouldn't mind some more volume

 

Ok, glad to know that I'm not the only one noticing this. I suppose given that there's a toggle, a louder version of PSE wouldn't be too bad (cue aftermarket exhaust vendors! ), but I think Porsche has struck a very impressive balance here, managing to keep the car very comfortable for music or conversation at cruising while also making it loud (but never punishingly so) during aggressive driving. Thanks all!

 

catless headers are the perfect fix

 

I'd say the exhaust generally adds a bassy undertone to the engine sound other than the sharp cracks on downshifts, so maybe that will help you pick it out more. I agree it's subtle. Also the valves might be opening at WOT, but I've never tested it.

When My windows are up I actually prefer PSE off most of time. Cleaner engine wail. I'm more of an intake sound guy than exhaust anyway.

 

What fabspeed said is it opens automatically above 4000 regardless. So pressing the button only makes a difference in the low rpm range. I also noticed that at higher RPM it didn't make a difference in sound having the button pressed or not . Carl

 

Me too thanks to my E92 M3 that, while it sounded great from outside, was all intake sound from the cabin.