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Fabspeed's Porsche 986 Spec Boxster Competition Race Exhaust System was pretty pricey at $1,295 plus shipping, but the system looked good on the website. The system had a triangular support bracket that bolted directly to the rear of the transmission.
But the Fabspeed system they sent was very different from the one advertised. The triangular support bracket was gone, and the new redesigned system was supported by the OEM exhaust hanger (which I had tossed years earlier). The new system arrived with no installation instructions. Repeated calls to Fabspeed were of little help. We eventually realized the missing part we needed, and a replacement was found at a local junkyard. The system bolts to the OEM headers, but Fabspeed didn't include replacement exhaust gaskets. So we had to have those shipped in overnight from Atlanta. Total installation time: 2 days. Later, Fabspeed apologized for the confusion and lack of support... and subsequent changes were made to the website.
https://www.fabspeed.com/porsche-986...xhaust-system/ First time out on track, one of the welds on the support brackets broke. Then a second weld broke, and a third. Others showed cracks. Fabspeed said the unit was under warranty and they would fix it. Just send it back. What? Remove it, box it, ship it, wait for the repair, reinstall it? Meanwhile, the car sits.
Could Fabspeed send a replacement system? I would then use the packaging to return the broken system for a post-mortum. Nope. Could I just have a local shop repair and strengthen the broken welds? Meh... Fabspeed said I was partially at fault for not fixing the first broken weld immediately. They said the delay led to stress that caused the subsequent breaks. They asked me to get an estimate on a local repair then, if approved, would reimburse me. I found a local shop that did stainless steel welding...and Fabspeed eventually reimbursed me for the work, as promised.
The car hasn't been on track since the repair, but we did significant strengthening of the welds. Fabspeed insists the new design is not a prototype and they have had no other complaints about broken welds.
Sorry to hear this story. That was not my own experience with Fabspeed. I put Fabspeed headers on my 996/GT3. About a year later one of the welds failed. Fabspeed offered to pay to have my shop repair the welds or replace them.. I wanted a replacement pair and they obliged. The new pair of header were actually of higher quality. - a design upgrade.
The whole thing went without fuss and they were anxious to make things right for me. A few phone calls and we were done.
My own experience was that they were customer focused and stood behind their products. In fact, I bought some crossover pipes from them for a race car.
Disappointed that you had this negative experience.
I had welds go bad on my Fabspeed Supercup exhaust. I was the first owner and they gave me a new system AFTER I sent the old system to them. A bit inefficient but I did not actually expect them to send me a new system without first looking at the old one.
Fabspeed's Porsche 986 Spec Boxster Competition Race Exhaust System was pretty pricey at $1,295 plus shipping, but the system looked good on the website. The system had a triangular support bracket that bolted directly to the rear of the transmission.
But the Fabspeed system they sent was very different from the one advertised. The triangular support bracket was gone, and the new redesigned system was supported by the OEM exhaust hanger (which I had tossed years earlier). The new system arrived with no installation instructions. Repeated calls to Fabspeed were of little help. We eventually realized the missing part we needed, and a replacement was found at a local junkyard. The system bolts to the OEM headers, but Fabspeed didn't include replacement exhaust gaskets. So we had to have those shipped in overnight from Atlanta. Total installation time: 2 days. Later, Fabspeed apologized for the confusion and lack of support... and subsequent changes were made to the website.
https://www.fabspeed.com/porsche-986...xhaust-system/ First time out on track, one of the welds on the support brackets broke. Then a second weld broke, and a third. Others showed cracks. Fabspeed said the unit was under warranty and they would fix it. Just send it back. What? Remove it, box it, ship it, wait for the repair, reinstall it? Meanwhile, the car sits.
Could Fabspeed send a replacement system? I would then use the packaging to return the broken system for a post-mortum. Nope. Could I just have a local shop repair and strengthen the broken welds? Meh... Fabspeed said I was partially at fault for not fixing the first broken weld immediately. They said the delay led to stress that caused the subsequent breaks. They asked me to get an estimate on a local repair then, if approved, would reimburse me. I found a local shop that did stainless steel welding...and Fabspeed eventually reimbursed me for the work, as promised.
The car hasn't been on track since the repair, but we did significant strengthening of the welds. Fabspeed insists the new design is not a prototype and they have had no other complaints about broken welds.
I understand your frustration here and I want to apologize for your experience.
Since we have spoken to you several times over the past few weeks, some of this may have been said, but I wanted to reiterate it. We are constantly updating our old products and you caught us right after we launched that product, but before the marketing content went live. That was a mistake on our end and we do apologize for the confusion there. We hate to see anything on any of our products fail and I want to apologize for that too, but that’s why we have such an extensive warranty. We know mistakes can happen and want to make sure all of our customers are taken care of.
I also want to reassure you and everyone else that this was an isolated incident with this individual exhaust. We have also taken preventative measures, as the fabrication team has added additional welds into this product’s design just to be safe and to ensure every one produced has the durability that Fabspeed is known for.
We know we might make mistakes, but we always will try to fix the situation as best we can.
Admittedly, they're not as pretty as the skinny Fabspeed welds, but the upgraded/strengthened local welds will probably last more than one track weekend. And, yes, you're welcome for the product testing, extensive photos, and feedback we provided. Wish you had been more open-minded, and less resistant, to the problems we encountered. The "Customer Service Advocate" we dealt with was, in truth, NEVER focused on customer service... only in protecting the brand.
I had a borla exhaust that also used the stock transmission truss. Stainless steel moves A LOT when it gets really hot. In my case the Borla was cracking the stock truss, basically after every event. I’m guessing Fabspeed has underestimated the stresses. Once their mount and welds are reinforced, then the truss is under those stresses. I ended up having a custom exhaust that had its own hangers, with rubber isolators, or whatever they are called, as well as an expansion section like you see on a few other systems.
Let us know how it works out. Sometimes when it comes to exhaust, the key isn't making it stronger but making sure it has a way to flex, to account for the expansion/contraction cycles due to heat. You'd be surprised how much exhaust parts want to move due to this. Vibration damping is key also, of course.
A friend installed the Fabspeed Boxster race exhaust in December and the support welds have already broken after just one track weekend. Fabspeed continues to insist this is an "isolated incident." Scott Keating, Performance Specialist: "I want to reassure you and everyone else that this was an isolated incident with this individual exhaust."
Not true.
11-29-2018, 11:14 AM
BEWARE Fabspeed Boxster Race Exhaust
