Shark Werks muffler bypass & Laguna Seca sound buster

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 02:22 AM #1

Hey guys, I am a late comer as far as Shark Werks center muffler bypass. Alex had this fantastic product for a while and I have heard them on the track and it sounded flat out amazing when you step on the gas! I got hold of a set from Alex couple months back (sorry Alex it took me this long to post ... blame the kids lol) and like to share the simple DIY with few sound clips

Also, as many of you know that Laguna Seca has a sound limit of 92 db and OEM GT3/RS muffler set up will not pass even with sports button off. I busted the sound limit last time out at 95+ db with OEM muffler. Apparently there is a simple way to connect the vacuum hose as nicely demonstrated by Joe . This in turn channel the exhaust through all 3 chambers on the main side mufflers hence reduce exhaust sound significantly enough to pass the 92 db sound limit. But how does this affect the hp and torque? I will attempt to answer that question in this post.

OK, the Laguna Seca sound buster DIY lol

The principle is simple enough that your friendly Porsche dealer will charge $160 to route the exhaust through all 3 chambers on the main side mufflers by simply connecting two hose together. All you need is a 5/16" vacuum hose connector and two 5/8" corbin clamps to do the job. They can be had from any parts store and I got mine from Kragen for less than $5

The vacuum solenoid is located at the right side of the engine bay. The hardest part is removal of the OEM steel clamps - I sware, they are made out of titanium alloy or something. it was impossible to pry them open. I busted the head of couple small screw drivers to get them off. Now I can see why dealer charge $160. lol I am sure there is a special tool to do the job which will cost $398

Now all you need to do is connect both of these vacuum hose together and once you fire up the engine, the vacuum created by the intake will close the lower exhaust pipe on the main side mufflers and force the exhaust through all 3 chambers hence "muffle" the sound

Some dealer may use a different way to route the vacuum as shown below to achieve the same effect. It is a bit too much work and looks like they use another vacuum check valve (the white strip valve) to maintain the vacuum which is not needed since there is already a factory vacuum check valve on the left side of the engine bay. The way I have shown above will take less than 1 minute to switch out on the track and most importantly cost next to nothing to DIY

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mikymu · 06-19-2009, 02:22 AM #2

OK, here is the Shark Werk muffler bypass

First of all, Alex will include a detail step by step DIY with the goods which is very easy to follow. I waited a while to get the center muffler bypass because I want to make sure it has the following qualities:

light weight
nice to look at lol
will not drone
will not rob power
not annoying loud

Well, Shark Werk center muffler bypass does all of the above and much more.

OK, let's take the rear bumper, aluminum beam, left heat shield and one small horizontal heat shield on top of the center muffler to gain access

Next, remove the bolts that secure the center muffler to the side mufflers. You only need to disconnect the left main muffler to install Shark Werks bypass muffler. To do this, remove the C clamp that secure the side muffler to the header/cat assembly and also 3 bolts that anchor the side muffler to the engine. Rest the left side main muffler on some blocks and take care not to stretch the vacuum hose for the muffler valve

Let's pop the Shark Werks bypass muffler on and secure it to the side mufflers and install the exhaust tip. The whole process took me less than two hours. It was an easier DIY than modifying the vacuum hose lol.

Now, let's look at the weight saving. The OEM center muffler with exhaust tips and all the bolts etc weigh 22 lbs and Shark Werks bypass muffler with all the necessary install hardware and OEM exhaust tip weigh 8 lbs. WOW, that is 14 lbs weight saving. The Shark Werks bypass muffler itself only weight 3 lbs. This is just amazingly light which make it a moot point to get a titanium bypass exhaust which will only reduce the weight further by maybe a pound but cost a whole lot more.

Excellent craftsmanship Alex .... two thumbs up!!

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 02:23 AM #3

So, how well does Laguna Seca sound buster work and what is the reduction of sound in decibel? Sound energy degrade with distance and it's louder the close you are to the source. The intensity of sound energy degradation with distance depends on many factors such as density of air, temperature and source of sound wave etc. Below is a summary of the decibel difference between OEM and Shark Werks muffler bypass with and without vacuum valve and sports button ON. Both measurements were done 20 feet from the car with ambient temperature around 75 F in the late afternoon

OEM exhaust with muffler valve ON: 91.9 db
OEM exhaust with muffler valve OFF: 98.4 db

This Equal to 6.5 db reduction with muffler valve ON all the time

Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON: 93.2 db
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF: 105.4 db
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 91 db
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF -- drive by test: 97.9 db

This Equal to 12.2 db reduction with muffler valve ON all the time at stand still and 6.9 db reduction with drive by tests. I had to warn my neighbor before I let the Shark Werks bypass exhaust rip ... and they LOVE IT!

As speedoflight has demonstrated that you can pass Laguna Seca sound limit with Shark Werks bypass as long as you plug in the vacuum hose and leave the muffler valve ON. But how does it affect the engine performance. My butt dyno says some lost of power in 4K to 6K range. let's answer this question in the proper scientific way .... let's DYNO!

I hooked up with Shad at Driving Ambition and used their Dynapack to answer the question. I meet Shad at Laguna Seca and they had an amazing twin turbo red NSX that pulled > 600 hp at the wheel and spun around Laguna Seca with a time of 1:30 .... OMG! The car pass me like I was standing still lol.

I decided to use Dynapack since you don't need to strap down the car and the Dynapack bolt right on to the wheels. For those of you new to dyno, it's best use is to help gauge the differences in hp and torque gain/loss with mods. It's not a tool to see how much hp you have so you can brag to your neighbor ... we will leave that to Dr. Porsche inc. lol

Shad's Dynapack setup gave consistent reading pulls after pulls with and without muffler valve on (sports button ON). Here is a video of the sound test and dyno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIY6qfz4YX0

a clip of Speedoflight and I at Thunderhill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7MyTn5VGCA

and the result .....

Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON: 221.4 lbft and 353.5 hp
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF: 238.6 lbft and 362.9 hp

This amount to 8.2 lbft of torque and 9.3 hp loss with muffler valve ON but most importantly 17.2 lbft loss of torque at 4300 RPM ... OUCH! Oh well, this the price to pay to play at Laguna Seca

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 02:23 AM #4

all done ... time to catch some snooze

speedoflight · 06-19-2009, 02:07 PM #5

hey mike thanks for the great post. quite honestly when i did the solenoid bypass at laguna, my butt dyno said i'm loosing power. judging by the way i come out of a corner especially T11 on the front straight. watching my videos it seems that way too 'cos it looks like the car couldn't pull on a slower car as i thought it used to. and there i dismissed it as maybe i'm just imagining things. your dyno data puts that to rest. ironically, i pull my fastest time @ LS with the solenoid bypassed because i can go WOT with no worries of getting meatballed.

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 03:29 PM #6

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedoflight

hey mike thanks for the great post. quite honestly when i did the solenoid bypass at laguna, my butt dyno said i'm loosing power. judging by the way i come out of a corner especially T11 on the front straight. watching my videos it seems that way too 'cos it looks like the car couldn't pull on a slower car as i thought it used to. and there i dismissed it as maybe i'm just imagining things. your dyno data puts that to rest. ironically, i pull my fastest time @ LS with the solenoid bypassed because i can go WOT with no worries of getting meatballed.

Yeah Joe, my butt dyno told me there is a slight loss in the mid range which is demonstrated by dyno above. it's not a huge loss but 17 ftlb to torque can rob you 1/10 of a second out out a turn lol. No worry, your driving skill made up any power loss and most importantly we don't get black flag for breaking the lame sound limit

Are you ready for Thunderhill tomorrow!! Can't wait. What time are you going to be there?

Thomas@bbiautosport · 06-19-2009, 03:42 PM #7

Great writeup! Thanks for sharing your results, and putting this post together.

Is this a typo?

Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 91 db
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 97.9 db
Shouldn't the second line say "off"?

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 04:01 PM #8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas@bbiautosport

Great writeup! Thanks for sharing your results, and putting this post together.

Is this a typo?

Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 91 db
Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 97.9 db
Shouldn't the second line say "off"?

oops, you are right ... it was late last night and pretty tired when I did the post. It's suppose to be off

Thanks

sharkster · 06-19-2009, 04:25 PM #9

wow mikymu when you do stuff you go all out

Seriously thanks so much for all this info and so glad you like it too! The Laguna guys are going to love this thread:P

Sick NSX btw!

Best of all is the ASE certified Tech!

ThisFlyGuy · 06-19-2009, 04:40 PM #10

great info and nice vid

speedoflight · 06-19-2009, 06:18 PM #11

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikymu

Yeah Joe, mu butt dyno told me there is a slight loss in the mid range which is demonstrated by dyno above. it's not a huge loss but 17 ftlb to torque can rob you 1/10 of a second out out a turn lol. No worry, your driving skill made up any power loss and most importantly we don't get black flag for breaking the lame sound limit

Are you ready for Thunderhill tomorrow!! Can't wait. What time are you going to be there?

o hell ye. i plan to leave ~4.30am. so probably get here ~6.30ish. i'll give you a call.

mikymu · 06-19-2009, 06:24 PM #12

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharkster

wow mikymu when you do stuff you go all out

Seriously thanks so much for all this info and so glad you like it too! The Laguna guys are going to love this thread:P

Sick NSX btw!

Best of all is the ASE certified Tech!

Thanks and I just gave my ASE certified tech a raise ... he gets to watch Barney tonight

Glad you like the post. Sorry it took soooo long to get this done. I been itching to get this project done for a while. New house and new baby ate up all my free time in the last couple months

Now we can track Laguna with your bypass pipes w/o startling all the rich folks around lol

Hey Alex, you should include one of these vacuum connector and couple clamps as an optional accessory with your bypass muffler if your customer wish to run Laguna .... Joe and I will take 25 cents royalty with each sale

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThisFlyGuy

great info and nice vid

Thanks!