Hey all,

After a little over a year of ownership, and ~14k miles, I'm looking around for a good after market exhaust for my C2S Cab w/PSE. I really prefer deeper sounding exhaust systems, especially in the lower RPMs while boulevard cruising. This is my commuter car, so the bulk of my miles are street driving w/drop off at school, then carpooling ~25 miles on the freeway. So, I really want the 'valve closed' mode to be about as quiet as PSE valve closed (sometimes even PSE-off cold start will still wake up my youngest).

I've been searching around the forums, and I think I've compiled a list of what sound like deep systems. Am I missing any, and anyone have direct experience with these?
(note that I don't care about any bhp or torque claims, just looking for sound)

TechArt
This sounds pretty good, but I've seen little feedback on any of the forums. One person said it sounded like a V8 at low RPMs and a V10 at high RPMS... which sounds good to me. However, the lack of adoption or even discussion on the forums is concerning to me.

CargraphicTS X-Pipe
6speed member Christophosphorus has an excellent review, including great PSE comparison videos (http://goo.gl/5aBUXw), the sounds awesome... but he does mention it has drone. From my understanding, drone is amplified in Cabs, so maybe this isn't the best option for me. I do a lot of top-down, sport mode, valves open driving on the highway.

Supersprint
Similar to TechArt, I've seen very little on the forums about this system. It sounds incredible with valves on, but the valves off video has a bizarre ticking sound at idle.


Others looked at
Tubi - sounds too much like PSE for me
Sharkwerks - they don't recommend this for a DD
IPE - amazing sound, but not the deep tones I'm looking for in my car
FabSpeed - sounds good, but doesn't sound like the deep tones I want
Remus - Text descriptions say this is deep, but not too loud. However, haven't seen any videos of sound samples.
FVD - Concerned this is too loud.
AWE Switchpath - I know a lot of members have gone with AWE, but I'm not sure it's deep enough for me. However, I haven't seen many videos of it where it's cruising around in traffic, lots of high-revving drive-byes. Would be interested to hear what owners say how it sounds while cruising.
Akra - Sounds interesting, but it's probably too loud. I think I read that valves closed is about as loud as PSE valves open, so that wouldn't work for me.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

I love the sound of the Awe SwitchPath both while cruising and at WOT. The exhaust note isn't as deep as my Terminator (Magnaflow pipes), but it does have a nice, rich note when cruising around.

The other evening when I was leaving the Bear Mountain cruise night, the car certainly turned a lot of heads as I slowly pulled out. I also received a lot of "thumbs-up" signs from a group of Import Enthusiasts as I wound out first gear and smoothly entered second. You need to hear the sound in person to understand what I'm trying to convey.

Awe offers a thirty-day money-back guarantee, so maybe you should simply give them a try.

 

As you mentioned, my CragraphicTS x-pipe has quite a deep tone; in fact, I was caught off-guard by how deep and loud it was. It was a pleasant surprise. It does drone, though. I sometimes wonder if the fitment isn't spot-on, which may be causing some sound to leak out.

Supersprint's x-pipe was my original choice. The cost (almost $6,000 for the x-pipe system with side mufflers alone), along with the lack of any information, made me go with the Cargraphic system instead.

I decided against the AWE system for the same reasons as you mentioned: it does not sound deep enough. It's a great, quality setup and sounds great, but I wanted something louder and deeper. While videos are never a great way to judge an exhaust setup, it's apparent that other systems like Cargraphic's and Supersprint's are indeed louder/deeper.

Keep us posted!

 

You might like the Arka. With the valves open though its super loud.

 

Thanks for the responses guys!

CarreraPete - How would you describe AWE's sound while boulevard cruising, compared to regular PSE?

Christophosphorus & Stalker - I feel like Goldilocks here, but too loud might actually be a problem for me. I commute with the wife, so if valve-open is too wild, I may not get to press the button very often. Do either of these systems draw the ire of your wives? =/

 

Great thread, Spath, and thanks for compiling the info. As with many other topics, Serge has been the best source of info on the AWE, and hopefully he'll chime in here. I'm sure Matt will too as soon as he gets his system.

I too wish there was more info about the TechArt system out there, especially forum user reviews. The Sport exhaust really intrigues me. The Racing exhaust with the center pipes looks badass, but I'm guessing it would be hard to live with (and obviously requires some body mods).

 

A night and day difference; for the better. In other words, The car now sounds the way a refined 400-hp car should sound while cruising.

I used to cringe when people asked me to switch the exhaust on and off at the car shows because there really wasn't that much of a difference at idle.

But now it's totally different: everyone, including myself, now smiles knowingly when I hit the "on" button.

 

How is the AWE on overrun? Do you get similar pops and burbles as the PSE, and if not, how would you characterize it?

 

Since I'm not married (yet ), I can't comment on it being "too" loud for a significant other. However, it is somewhat difficult to talk over the drone when the valves are open. If it's something that bothers the wife, would you consider cruising around with the valves closed all of the time? Also, I should probably have a local shop do a quick inspection of the system. I keep wondering whether something may have been overlooked during the exhaust install, causing my in-cabin drone to be so noticeable. That said, this particular x-pipe I have is an aggressive system (the sportier/less restricted of the two they offer).

Have you looked at all the Supersprint videos? This one caught my attention when I was shopping around:


The difference between the valves open/closed isn't very noticeable to me (both in the interior and exterior clips). At least, it isn't as drastic as the difference on my system. When my valves are closed, the car whispers along. When my valves are open, every single person turns around and looks at the car.

You should also consider doing the Sound Symposer mod I wrote about: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...poser-mod.html. It reduces in-cabin volume and drone. While I liked the feature at first, the drone and increased noise got a bit old after a while. This will help with any system you install.

 

I loved my FVD Brombacher on the .2. It was civil when cruising and just crazy good at WOT! I hope it's the same on the 991 as I'm saving my pennies now. Good luck!

Dave in Dallas

 

Christophosphorus - Ah, no conversation with valves open means I'd probably never be allowed to open them... so that would end up being a net decline for me. I didn't realize your version was more aggressive than normal, which system do you have? I was looking at their website, and they seem to have a large number of parts to choose from.
http://www.cargraphicts.com/en/produ...11-models/991/

Regarding Supersprint, I did see that video, but didn't notice until you pointed out that in in-car volume sounds almost identical with valve open/closed. Weird, because the difference is huge in the parked-car video. I'm still wondering about the ticking in the valve-off parked car version. FWIW, I sent Supersprint a couple of emails asking about it, but haven't gotten a reply yet. Also of note, they offer a more aggressive race muffler, the one if the videos is their "road" muffler.

I also emailed Sharkwerks about the TechArt exhaust, since they're local and they offer it on their website. They said it generates some drone, and that overall they prefer Tubi. That may just be a personal preference on the Tubi tone though, the two systems seem pretty different from the videos I've seen. It sounded like most of the TechArt exhausts they install are for non-PSE cars going for an upgrade. In general, they had high praise for standard PSE.

CarreraPete - Thanks, maybe it is worth giving them a shot with their 30-day return policy.

 

Its very aggressive and loud with the valves open, my wife thinks Im a child when I open the valves and I get a stupid grin on my face. She is not a huge fan though. So it might be over top in that case. But its glorious!!! LOL.

 

I have the "Center Silencer Replacement X." The quieter, more muffled version is the "Sport Center Silencer."


I can definitely relate; it took them a long, long time to finally respond to one of my many emails.

Also, the system Supersprint showcases in their videos is a combination x-pipe, along with their side mufflers. The sport/race mufflers you speak of are actually for their side mufflers. In my (and many others') opinion, it isn't worth upgrading the side mufflers since they don't have a noticeable effect on the exhaust note when the valves are open.

When the PSE valves are closed, the exhaust leave the headers, go into the main center muffler, and then exit through the side mufflers. When the PSE valves are open, the side mufflers are bypassed and the exhaust exits through the center muffler only.

As such, I didn't find it worthwhile to upgrade the side mufflers at all. I wanted to retain the stock, quiet side mufflers. Supersprint, however, notified me that their x-pipe is NOT compatible with the stock side mufflers of the 991. You have to purchase their own side cans to go along with the x-pipe.

The addition of the side mufflers, along with the cost of the system itself (~$6-7,000 for an x-pipe/side mufflers only) made it easier to walk away, even though I love the company.

 

Interesting, I didn't know that about the side mufflers, good to know. I'm starting to lean away from Supersprint due to lack of customer service and making you buy extras isn't my cup of tea.

I sent an email to Cargraphics asking them about the two-box system, hopefully they have some sound samples... could be a compromise that works for me. Right now I'm thinking TechArt, Cargraphics 2-box, or giving AWE a shot. TechArt is north of $5k, so that's the most expensive of the bunch right now.

 

I agree about keeping the factory side mufflers.
You need them for quiet mode, otherwise what is the point of a valved exhaust.

Where did you get your Cargraphic?

I'm trying to decide what would give the best sound quality improvement, Headers & 200CEL Cats
or
Sport Center Silencer (muffler version)