brainzito

In early July, I bought a 991.2 Cab with stock exhaust (no PSE). Missing the sound that my previous 991 had, I decided to go aftermarket and bought a Fabspeed X-pipe ( http://www.fabspeed.com/porsche-991-...pipe-for-base/ ) . It is supposed to be "Direct bolt-on replacement for the factory center muffler" - more on that later.

The X-pipe went into production and I received it about a month later - end of August. It was certainly NOT a weekend job or an easy "direct bolt on". It required 3 hs labor at an extra cost of $450, removing the catalytic converter and heat shields. Fabspeed said: sorry - no one said direct bolt on means you could do it at home, buddy.

At first, the exhaust tone/sound was quite a nice improvement from original with no issues. After driving with it for several weeks, I have a very annoying drone at low rpm's that resembles a tuner's Honda Civic, not the sound you'd expect from a 911 with a reputable aftermarket muffler replacement. Fabspeed said: sorry buddy, sound is subjective. We expect some drone, so maybe you'd have to change the way you drive (seriously) and keep it at higher rpm's.

I called them to find a solution, not to get a refund or an exchange. I happen to like the product except for that drone which I find unacceptable. I was hoping they'd stand by their product and work with me.

I guess I learned you get what you pay for. Suncoast had the PSE for about 3k this weekend...

I've tried to record a video but it is difficult to appreciate it with a cell phone video.

R_Rated

One thing you can do to deal with drone is plug the sound symposer (I heard there are 2 on the #2 cars).

Weird that you should have to do so much work for an X pipe.... To me direct bolt on means unbolt the existing section and bolt on the Xpipe. It is that easy on a #1 car.

Natey

If I were in your shoes, I'd cut it up, mount a quality muffler under there and remember the way they treated me.
"Bolt on" means you can bolt it on and "Change the way you drive" is laughable for an aftermarket exhaust manufacturer to tell you.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I steer clear of Fabspeed.

R_Rated

It'll be interesting how this shakes out since Fabspeed is a sponsor and well liked option on here.

We (consumers and enthusiasts) want to hear about products but I'm not sure why so much labor is involved in the install either the installer was inept or the product is not a bolt on...

Drone is something that would be dumb for any exhaust manufacturer to make statements about... hell - even a stock 911 has some drone. It's like the PPF people saying that it's completely non detectable when it absolutely is detectable. This is where overstating product attributes gets people/companies in trouble.

STG

I’m sure they’d offer you a refund if not happy, why not take that route?

It’s a well known fact that all X-Pipes have some drone.

This isn’t as easy as swapping out clear side markers. Should be common sense. Just peek your head under the car. “Direct bolt on” means no modifications necessary. Doesn’t mean “minimal effort”.

If you’re missing the .1 exhaust sound, you may have a hard time finding that with any option on a .2

Unless they refuse to stand by their product or offer a refund, not sure how they are at fault here. I have read on the forum over and over again that they have stood by their products and refunded ones that weren’t happy. These are my observations without even owning any of their products.

///M3THOD

The X-Pipe is a direct bolt on, it bolts onto your car without modification. I don't mean to stir things up, but it just sounds like you may have not understood the whole installation process before starting it.

Ive bought their bypass pipes and the muffler had to come off to get them into position on my car. In no way does this mean that the pipes aren't a "bolt on" mod.

The sound aspect, even though I don't believe I would have phrased it as you've indicated they did to any unhappy customer, is subjective and capable of being modified. The sound symposer suggestion is a good place to start.

Its kind of up to you to do your due diligence to hear exhausts, gather information and user experiences prior to purchase. You can't really come back to them complaining about an exhaust note after installing it. You're removing the muffler that eliminates some of the undesirable frequncies in your exhaust note.

However, if they've clearly stated in an email or in their marketing that its drone free and it otherwise in your experience, I would argue they misrepresented it.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck finding your ideal exhaust setup!

brainzito

Bolt on for me means something I could do at home with the right tools and following instructions. This wasn't the case. Just say "professional installation required" and that'll care of any doubts, right?
As far as the sound is concerned, I wasn't expecting anything close to a PSE system, but it actually sounds ok, or so I thought. But when several people commented how annoying the drone is, even I couldn't neglect it any longer. I did what any reasonable person would do, reach out to the manufacturer for help...to no avail

Oh I'm sure Fabspeed is going to defend themselves saying they didn't promise anything and that their warranty doesn't cover this or that...

TSOS

I went with Soul Performance for my aftermarket exhaust. Ive spoken to them about the drone sound and not having the valves close sufficiently. My customer service experience has been completely opposite of yours though. These guys have bent over backwards to make sure Im happy. Basically offered to have another installer look at it at their cost, return and refund the product, etc.. Seems like some drone is to be expected but the services from Soul has been remarkable.

phx991

I and other forum members have asked Fabspeed to post audio clips of the x-pipe-only installation several times, and their only reply has been that certain other people who bought the x-pipes were happy with them. Although it would take all of 5 minutes to create one, audio clips have never been posted.

I also asked about droning in the cabin, and they deflected the question rather than answer it point blank. The existence of droning is not a subjective. It's there or it isn't. Whether you like it or not is subjective.

Regardless of their status as a forum sponsor, this and the issues noted by the OP suggest this is a company to steer clear from.

surquhar

I had a totally different experience. I bought my .2 Fabspeed X-pipe in Aug of last year. I took it to my shop and they installed in in 1 1/2 hrs including the time needed to let my stock exhaust cool before they could handle it. Cost me $150. And I think it sounds awesome. I can't hear any drone whatsoever. I guess it goes to show that exhaust sound is 100% subjective.

brainzito

My understanding of bolt on is remove existing muffler, replace with x-pipe, done. NOT removing other bits and pieces to be able to install the replacement piece.

"It's a well known fact that all X-Pipes have some drone." Not to me it wasn't well known, and I did do plenty of research...

A refund was neither offered nor requested...Just some poor excuses

brainzito

This is great news. I wish they'd even offer an exchange, but not even that...

brainzito

THIS. Thank you for understanding

STG

These questions in a thread like you just created would have given you the answers beforehand.

If wanting a refund, ask. Not like they refused one.

Ryan_G

I assume you do not wrench on cars very often if the idea of removing extra pieces in order to access the part you are actually looking to replace is such a foreign concept. That is like saying that an intake is not a bolt on modification because the packaging of the car requires you to also take off the strut tower bar, engine cover, and unbolt the alternator so you can properly access some of the bolts on the intake. It's still bolt-on. There are just a lot of bolts.