so when i bought my tt i made a promise to myself that i would at least attempt to do some things myself, not becuase i cant afford a mechanic, more out of principal that i care more about my car than anyone i would hire to work on it and now the house is finished i need something to keep me occupied (i get bored and restless very easily)

i dont have much experience working on cars (i have a lot of construction experience and some common sense...and a british gung ho attitude !), so far i have painted my rockers and front lip, changed out the center console for a non scratched one and installed a short shift kit but thats about it

so i picked up a speedtech exhaust from John on thursday, had the great pleasure of meeting him, hes is an incredibly nice guy and went out of his way to make sure i had all the info i needed, great guy to do business with

so this morning i started pulling my car apart...thinking 20 minutes and i would be all done ! well 3 hours later it was finished, removing the old one was a huge wrestling match and took a lot of time, the straps just would not budge, but the end result was well worth it, the car sounds amazing, i just got back from a 2 hour drive, stereo turned off, windows and sunroof open, ac turned off...its 90 degrees right now so it wasnt comfortable but i didnt care at all, the car feels amazing, more power, amazing sound, not too loud but just loud enough to sound ballsy

i always heard about this mod bug thing and just laughed it off as bs...i am pretty sure i now have this disease




and here is a pic of my 'custom' tips, unfortunately the correct tips (they look like oem tips, which i like) were out of stock so i had to pick up a couple of cheap extenders from VIP, John is sending me the correct tips asap, i thought about painting them black so they would look a little better (Johns idea) but i couldnt wait to drive it so didnt bother !

 

Hi Stephen,

You didn't waste any time getting that exhaust on - I had a feeling you would be anxious. And I see you found getting the OEM exhaust off was as bad as I predicted. :-) It's very satisfying to do some of these projects yourself and it seems you are finding that out, too.

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the sound and performance today - it was a perfect day for driving. Did you hit any of the Boston tunnels at WOT? I have with that same exact exhaust and I guarantee it will bring a smile to your face.

It was great to meet you, as well and thanks for the kind words!

Take care,

John

 

As far as I can tell, nothing on these cars that requires a wrench can be done in 20 minutes. For this particular job, you might have spent 20 minutes just grinding a wrench to fit into the spaces available.

Congrats on your handiwork.

Jon

 

i was forced to go out and buy a really nice set of ratcheting, adjustable head wrenches (what a shame ) to fit into the space for the top 2 nuts on the turbo, i couldnt believe how tight it was in the engine bay

i didnt really expect it to take 20 minutes but wasnt expecting such a fight to remove the old exhaust, if i had to do it over again i would buy new straps and just cut the old ones off, that would have saved me a ton of time

 

i almost took friday off to put it on !

i havent hit any tunnels yet, cant wait to hear the sound

Stephen

 

changed my oil to mobil 1 can't rember the correct weight help 01 tt moded thanks in advance

 

Thanks for the post. I am in almost the same position as you except the exhaust is coming by the way of Joe Twint FOR FREE!! (Seriously, thanks again Joe you are a stand up guy).

I am having surgery on Wed and will probably get my exhaust sometime after that. I, like you, get pretty bored sometimes and was considering switching the exhaust on my 996TT on my own, especially as impatient as I am. I have had this car for almost a month now and because of a tune-up and some thoughtless driver sideswiping my car (without leaving a note) it has been in the shop for almost all of that time, the bodywork will hopefully be done by close of business Monday.

I am dying to get it back and enjoy it for just a few days. The last thing I need to do to it is switch out the exhaust. It currently has a RUF auto exhaust, but the catalytic converters have broken loose and it sounds horrible, like part of the internals of the engine are trying to squeeze out the exhaust pipes. It would be great if I went by RUF auto and they changed their mind and decided to warranty it and switch them out for me, so I could be done with all the repairs and get down to enjoying my new car. I like to dream though, and people have to feed their families and pay bills, so no hard feelings there.

By reading through your post, you have confirmed that this is something I can do, but not in my current condition or place, so I will leave it to the experts at the DFW Porsche dealership. I hate having to drive the 4 1/2 hours over there for such a small thing but I am not comfortable with anyone in West Texas, and really don't know of more than one shop that would even do it. I would love to save the money it will take to get it switched out, but I would rather it be done, and be done correctly.

I have a tendencey to be impatient since my injury, so I will have to continue to battle impatience and let anticipation continue to build for the time when it will all be fixed, and I can enjoy it. Thanks for the post, and I hope to catch the "bug" like you, I just have to plan it out and do it slowly.

 

i'm 12 weeks post op from acl and meniscus reconstructive surgery so feel your pain, i couldnt drive for weeks (had an e46 m3 at the time) i've had my tt for approx 6 weeks now

you should keep searching for a good mechanic closer to home, 9 hours of driving just for an exhaust is madness, maybe someone on the board knows one, try searching or if that doesnt get results try posting

i dont think there is much a mechanic could mess up other than putting the o2 sensors in the wrong place but a simple piece of painters tape to mark it solves that potential problem, other than that its just time consuming and hard working in cramped quarters, i would avoid the dealer/stealer at all costs, they are a rip off

good luck with the recovery

Stephen

 

It is insane, I agree. The only consolation is that it gets me out of the house and there is a Jamba Juice in FT Worth close to the Dealer. In all fairness to them though they have been extremely nice to me and have given extremely great customer service.
I am post Traumatic Brain injury, 13 months out and am probably over cautious of people taking advantage of me, so at least the dealer has to have some level of honesty right??? If I could find one closer to home that someone else knows and trusts I would be all for it. Anyone, fell free to add here if you know someone in West Texas or the vicinity, I am in Big Spring which is 100 miles south of Lubbock, 100 miles from San Angelo and Abilene. I am all for closer to home and cheaper prices, that is crucial at this point in time. My Wife is growing weary of relenting and letting me get this car the deeper into our pockets it gets.

 

wow, that makes my knee surgery look like a broken nail ! i hope your making a good recovery

you should start a thread, i'm sure someone on this forum (or other porsche forums) knows of a good mechanic a lot closer to you, the dealer prices are a rip off compared to the indy guys, they are probably very nice to you and make you feel very welcome and looked after, thats what they are good at, it makes people feel better about handing over money to them

having said that, if you are comfortable and feel well taken care of going to your dealer then thats not a bad thing

 

What Dealership are you bringing to in Fort Worth ?

I went to Park Place, I was not impressed by their PPI.

 

nice, congrats! good luck getting over the mod bug.