I was reading a thread on noise makers (like Fisters) and it reminded me of the old days where people used to put roadrunners and trush exhaust noise makers to sound loud. I found them silly.

I realize that I love the sound of my car and I may be the only one that hears it or anyone riding with me (they always say something about the sound).

The question is does the sport exhaust with the sound valves , fisters or what not give you more HP?

Wouldn't headers capped with a standard exhaust increase the sound anyhow and give you a few more HPs? Reason I ask is taht I see these headers for sale under $200 and I know the Porsche Sport Exhaust for my car is over $2K so, very confused. Has anyone been down this path of headers with standard exhaust (is that even possible) and what are the caveats of doing so.
Also, is it too loud? I need my music and frankly, top down and fast, i have to crank the stereo up.
If I am going to sacrifice music for noise, it better give me some umph. Thanks for any good input.

 

Do a little research on headers and you'll find that many people actually experience a decrease in HP and torque when they add headers.

 

No way. Well, I have looked and there doesn't seem to be any metrics. I see them in other cars. I stumble on a vette site and they claim over 20HP gain.
So, the sport exhaust from Porsche or any of these do not make any difference other than louder sound? That is crazy. I'll keep looking. thank you

 

(1) The OEM Prosche exhaust manifolds are as good or better than most aftermarket headers.
(2) There are only a few companies that design and test thier products for a specific engine platform (AWE and cargraphic come to mind). Their products are developed specifically for the applied application. Meaning their 3.6L headers will fit the 3.4L but they are not designed and tested for maximum performance on that platform. Some manufactures sell a one-size-fits-all header. Thats wrong! As Dennis C states, a decrease in low-end torque can occur. What you end up doing is moving the power and torque curve around (i.e., loss low-end and gain at the high-end, maybe).

If you are looking for more HP from an aftermarket exhaust system on non-turbo 996 forget it. You may get some, at the high RPM range (5K +) but how much $$ will it cost you.. IMO the best change would be to a good set of 200 cell Cats...

 

If all you're doing is adding a set of headers to an already stock exhaust system I don't see you getting an increase in hp from just adding headers but you will lose a few lbs. Just go with the sport catalytic converters, they're saying a 10+ hp increase is possible.

 

Pmkazz, thank you for that candid response. It matches what I was told today by others. I will look into the cell cats too. Thank you