jrgordonsenior

A friend's rear end got tagged recently and it crushed his muffler. PMotorsports want something like $4,700. to replace the muffler and that's without tax (8% in Calif.), or shipping. Apparently there are no used or surviving Cup mufflers around (yes he asked Glen), so he's stuck if he wants to stay in GTC-3. The 03'-05' muffler has an integral catalytic converter which is responsible for some of the inflated cost. I believe the earlier models ran seperate mufflers, but I don't know if they had integral cats. So 3 questions:

Class comliance not withstanding, is there any reason they can't be run with straight pipes sound limit permitting? Someone ran an 04' out here last year for a few months without consequence.

Does anyone know of a more cost efficent muffler system for a Cup that complies with PCA/POC GTC-3regulations?

Why did Porsche create this really expensive muffler combo in the first place an then place it in harm's way?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts....

JRG

AndyT

my car has cats no mufflers that was OEM for 1999 to 2003 I believe. The outlets are on the side not the center though

jrgordonsenior

Thanks Andy for the clarificationon the earlier models. I knew they were 2 outlets, but not that they were cats instead of mufflers....

AndyT

The car is too quiet with just the cats : )

Nordschleife

now that's a silly question!

Three reasons spring to mind -

Because in Supercup and Carrera Cup racing, one of the tricks is to brake suddenly mid corner, so your opponent runs into the back of you and damages the radiators, so the car boils two laps later. To stop this they have put carbon fibre panels where they get damaged and the expensive exhaust, to discourage people from doing this.

Because its getting more expensive to take a truck to all the races and they need to increase sales to racers and this is the easiest way of doing it.

They are still the same price in Europe, the doillar has tanked and PAG hasn't hedged race parts.

I cannot believe how PAG has developed the Cup and left the front and rear so vulnerable. First thing to do when building a race car is make sure it will survive 'racing incidents'. With modern materials it needn't weigh a lot.

R+C

jrgordonsenior

I bought a set of RSR bars for both front and rear and since my friends expensive incident I think I'm going to have to finally install them.
Wonder if it would be worth sourcing the muffler in Germany?....

Nordschleife

I doubt it, you still have to do the FX conversion at some stage, today its 1.41

R+C

AndyT

RSR crash bars ? do tell

PatK-Mpls

Also, the center radiator robs ~10 hp from the car per Porsche. The main reason for the carbon airbox that was introduced on the 04 (or 05 I can't remember) was to reduce the loss of HP due to heat from the muffler.

jrgordonsenior

Andy I'll get some specifics on the crash bars later today. I know that Austin @ TRG carries their own version that look very substantial... Austin?...

Austin

Thanks John.

Yup the crash bars aka nerf bars are bent tubular steel with welded on brackets for direct bolt on to the body or the car, front and rear. They include tow hooks, which protrude the same as the standard tow hook.

They bolt to the "bumper shock" locations already formed and drilled on the car. The factory tow hook comes off, and the bars bolt on. They're good for those who play contact or park in the tire barriers now and then.

I'll see about producing a picture.

Nordschleife

if I were running a team in the IMSA GT3 series, I'd talk to all the other team owners and ask for the rules to be changed to include these in the spec car.

A few years ago, the cost of replacoing bits that got damaged in a little friendly shoving was a fraction of the present costs. A cynic might believe that the move to expensive materials at the extremes is driven by PAG's economic interests rather than the needs of competition.

Cheap fibreglass works just fine for unstressed body sheathing. Look at the Gallardo, a lot of those panels are 'thermoplastic', looks fine, its unstressed sand weighs very little.

Do I need cf doors, no, cheap plastic doors are fine, both can be made equally safe and effective, the weight difference is small and immaterial in a spec car series.

But carbon fibre smells of money and that is aphrodisiac.

R+C

AndyT

austin are these made by Capital City ?

analogmike

+1 !!!!!

Austin

They're built based on the newer street cars. The newer street cars are built for profit not longevity.