I thought of getting rid of my Europipe loud (w/ cats deleted) for a custom 3 inch.

I did not and as a result I am still on good terms w/ my neighboors. The car sounds absolutely wonderful and is only really loud when the wastegates open up which of course never happens in my neighboorhood.

 

My car has a switzer system that is now 1.5 years old and has probably 15k miles. No change in sound (which, to be fair, got huge kudos by the PCA instructors at VIR when you hear it on the straights....it is very gt3 like for a turbo car....).

I did the drilled out OEM system before this at that was less nice sounding (but a lot cheaper).

GMG, EP, Switzer, UMW, and the new speedtech are all very, very fine systems. Others are there too. Fabspeed has cat replacement that is easy, etc.

The switzer, at 1.5 years, is like new in terms of sound.

Jeff

 

Great point Mike, I had not realised the the "wearing in" implications with the majority of these aftermarket exhausts.

 

Mike: You are right on point. Several of the guys I hang with have the Europipe system...including myself....and they never seem to "wear in". Most of the comments you see on these forums are from guys who have just installed their new exhaust systems and are enthusiastic about how it sounds. Some of those systems wear on the buyer within a month of buying them....too loud and drone which usually seems to come in around 2800-3000 rpm....which is freeway cruising speed in 6th or around town speeds in the lower gears. We seldom hear favorable comments from the folks six months or a year later....but we do see a number of the same manufacturer's systems consistently up "for sale" with comments that would indicate they are looking for something a little more sedate.

When I was looking for my TT, I drove a number of them that were just flat out unacceptable because of the drone or difficulty in being able to carry on a normal conversation in the cab. The most frequent reply was..."I can put it back to stock for you if you want".

 

Well I comment about this because I was a HUGE cheerleader for the DGI Speedtech system. It was a very solid performer and honestly my situation is different than most. I tracked my car extensively and in high heat conditions and this has impacted my car's "sound". The system is much louder than it was 18 months ago when I bought it. I "hope" that isn't the case for others who took my advice when buying this particular system.

Kevin has my tuner and is going to detune the program for me until I can find an alternative system to meet my needs. Until then, I'm going to instal and OEM system and live with much less power...And a happier set of ears, and a happier wife...

Mike

 

Mike,

As you pointed out, I don't think that is typical of most users - I have not heard of this before - other than from our conversation. I have been using the same Speedtech exhaust system as you for twice as long and as a daily driver. I have probably logged a great deal more miles than you with it, too - about 25,000 miles over 2 years. The sound of my exhaust has not changed. I am pretty sure your sound change is probably the result of your track sessions and like most parts...they dont last as long when tracked hard. Also, our new cross-flow system uses stainless steel wool packing, which will not break down regardless of heat.

 

The exhausts that change sound are most likely packed with fiberglass, as opposed to stainless steel wool. For street use, the fiberglass holds up very well, but with the extended high temps seen in track sessions, I think the fiberglass "burns" and as a result, the sound can change. Again, for street use, it does not seem to be an issue.


Watch for the SpeedTech crossflow "quiet" version. It is under development now and the results will be posted shortly .

 

Really, I feel a certain loss of power and torque with straight pipes. Maybe it's the size of the turbos.

D

 

Just for your information too..

I recently buyed a Europipe Stage I and installed it a month ago on my 996 GT2. The car has stock sw now and everything else is stock too.
To verify if I had improvements from the exhaust I run a dyno before installing the exhaust and again after installation. With my durametrics I also logged the powerruns, so I could compare even engine data of the runs.
Made naturally different runs in both configurations.
The outcome is: I didn't had any power or torque increase at all. Stock and with EP Stage 1 both dropped 400 whp down (on a MAHA braked dyno).
Interestingly driving on the road gives me the impression of having more power, but i suppose now it's just for the nicer sound...

Anyhow the EP is a great exhaust, great sound, no drone when warm (just a little around 2000rpm's) and perfect installation.
Therefore, even without any performance increase, i recommend it.

 

Wonder why an x-pipe would make matters worse. In most cars including turbo cars, they make things better.

how many manufacturers actually test exhaust systems. I found that with some of the less restrictive systems, you loose low end power and get more on the top end. I had a large exhaust on a 500 hp Evo and when I installed smaller piping and some resonators I actually gained some low end power, the difference could be felt....

 

I am not going to slam anyone.. but for the record... EP exhaust choked up on the dyno when my friend Bobby pushed the car past 620 rwhp... and he did many dyno tests over the years.... but that does not mean that it is inferior in any way.... just maybe not for everyone....
I also am aware of X type exhausts that are well over 800+ rwhp...
just my .02 cents
markski

 

It could have a whole lot to do with the firing order, the BOXER design of the motor/heads and the exhaust pulses...

One thing I've learned is to stop questioning Kevin. Everytime I do, I end up with egg on my face...

Mike

 

GT,

I think most manufacturers test their exhausts. Our Speedtech 70mm exhaust, which has extremely low restriction, posted a 42 AWHP peak gain - about 50 flywheel horsepower with increased power beginning immediately in the RPM band and reaching a 25Hp gain very quickly. It is a straight thru design - you can roll a golf ball from the tip right to the cats. We have not had a chance to dyno the new cross-flow X-cellerator design yet, but during testing with 3" piping and 100 cell cats vs. 200 cell on the 70mm - the crossflow feels much peppier, enables quicker turbo spool and sounds great - all of which are very desirable exhaust attributes. The dyno figures of our 70mm exhaust are hard to beat, but I can tell you that our test car actually feels quicker with the cross-flow system. It may be the 100 cell cats or it could be the 3" piping. It's probably a combination of the two - bottom line, IMHO the cross flow is a fantastic performing design, which produces a very desirable high end exotic sound on top of everything else. The performance is certainly light years ahead of a stock exhaust.