Hey folks, couple months ago I installed Speedtech 2.5 Quiet (w test pipes) exhaust system. Personally, my main concern when I was choosing a new exhaust system was that it might be too loud inside the car. The videos below are recorded inside the car with the windows closed and were not really intended to show how amazing the exhaust actually sounds (it really does sound amazing btw). My goal was to show the difference of sound levels INSIDE the car while cruising and at idle.

Before purchasing the system I watched countless videos of many of the great exhaust systems that we as 996TT owners have to choose from. Most of the videos give a great idea of what the systems sound like outside the car and some give you an idea of what they sound like inside the car but normally you really don't have a reference point since you don't have what the same car sounded like inside using the same equipment!

Prior to installing the new Speedtech in the car I wanted to document in a somewhat scientific manner how the car sounded with the stock exhaust and then be able to compare it with what it sounds like with the Speedtech in hopes that it could help someone in the process of studying the various systems on the market. Even though my videos were made at different times, I used all the same equipment so that it it should give a good idea of the difference between bone stock and bone stock with Speedtech 2.5" Quiet (my engine is still bone stock, I do not even have a tune).

Review of the system vs stock.

I personally did not think the stock exhaust sound was bad it just didn’t let me hear any of the character of the engine at all. Also, I noticed for the most part that the sound was almost the same regardless of what rpm you were in. The Speedtech on the other hand is much deeper sounding. At idle inside the car it sounds slightly louder and quite a bit deeper. Outside the car at idle it sounds just a bit louder and more detailed. If you did not know what a stock TT sounds like it could probably pass for stock. The Speedtech is very quiet at idle and below 2000 rpm. Once you begin to accelerate it changes to a different animal and is MUCH louder than stock. You can VERY clearly hear the turbos spooling even just off idle in neutral which I love. Also, you get an incredible gurgling on decel. All in all I’m really happy with the system.


About the videos:

I highly, highly recommend listening to these videos through a stereo system or a good set of headphones. Most of the sound is in the lower frequency band (BASS) so if you listen through your phone/tablet speakers or standard PC speakers you will pretty much be missing the bulk of the comparison.

The purpose of the videos is to give an idea of the changes inside the cabin at idle and cruising inside the car so that you can get an idea of the differences in reference to long trips and/or conversations, music listening etc.

The Speedtech systems are modular in that you can change mufflers, tips, test pipes/cats. My system would probably be in the “loudest” configuration for the Speedtech 2.5” Quiet since I am running test pipes AND dual 3” round tips. The quietest version would be catted + the Speedtech single tips.

I have no affiliation with Speedtech just thought these vids could be helpful to anyone thinking of making a similar upgrade

VIDEOS:





Couple pics of install:

 

Great write up. Plenty of WOT videos out there. This gives a much better idea of in cabin noise. How is it at 70mph cruise in 6th gear?

 

Nice write up! However, you didn't speak about how much of a difference it made in power?

 

70 is not bad at all as long as you are cruising steadily, if you give it gas it does get considerably louder. This is what I wanted tough...nice and quiet while cruising and at idle but step on the gas and it's party time

 

Good point..lol..Response is definitely quicker and it does feel like it's pulling harder and sooner. The system is very well put together with beautiful bends and welding also the muffler itself is an X type setup inside (no baffles, or other restrictions) so it has to have much less backpressure than stock. If you are cruising around in pretty much any gear, say at 2500 or so rpm and you just give it a tiny bit of gas you can hear the turbos whistle very freely...so I know they are loving the reduced back pressure.

 

This observation spot on - the cat bypass pipes with dual tips is considerably louder than the catted 2.5 with the 2.5 single tips. There is quite a difference in sound volume. We sometimes fabricate the dual tips with only one side active (by special request) for an even different sound level AND for a few customers that wish to alter the sound level, we have built "removable plugs" that mount deep into the tip in order to cap one of the dual tips on each side for a quieter sound option.

Thanks for taking the time to post a review of our system!

 

No problem John, I'm really happy with the product. I had been meaning to do the videos sooner but just had not had a chance. One of the main reasons I went with the Speedtech was because of the modular aspect of it. I figured if I wasn't happy I had a few options for tweaking the sound.

I'm really curious as to what the difference in sound would be between dual 3" and single 3" or 2.5". I never thought tips could make a noticeable difference in sound. Could I see a pic of the removable plugs you mentioned??

Thanks!!

 

Yea, tip design can tailor the sound characteristics and we have spent a lot of time testing various designs. Here is a picture of our dual tips with the volume reduction plugs in them to convert them to single 3" tips, which reduces the sound level and changes the tone to a higher pitch. The plugs are in deep and not visible when installed on the car.

 

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Just noticed in this pic that the mid pipe after the test pipe has an angled section welded in. Mine do not. What's up with that?

Here's a pic of mine.

 

Hmm, that's strange..maybe John will chime in.

 

We are transitioning to an angled cat section with rise to eliminate that additional weld. Everything ends up in the exact same spot, just a revised approach...

 

The more you know.