Alright Fellas, I just did it - ZeroTek headers, mufflers, Turbo tips and the FabSpeed cat bypass. Total - $1935.47. They should be here by Friday.

If this all work right, that is a DAMN good price for a complete SS exhaust system!!

Any advise one could share regarding such an install would be greatly appriciated. Can I remove and install the the entire exhaust system in one giant unit, or should it be taken off and put on piece by piece? Hardware, gasket, fitment issues?

I asked the guy who took my order at FabSpeed about "Check Engine Lights" and he said there's a 40% chance I'll experience them. His "fix," if it occurs, is to just "ignore them." (I ordered them anyway. Shows you where my head is at). I'm not the "just ignore it" type. If I’m replacing the O2 sensors properly with the new exhaust, why should there be a 40% chance of a CEL? If I get my CEL reset at the dealer will it come back on?

The fact that it’s an “idiot light” and Porsche installed it anyway bothers me a little.

As soon as I get my member confirmation (anyone know when that might be??) I’ll post some pix of the process.

 

Take the mufflers out first (3 nuts each side and clamps), then the headers (12 bolts total 6/6 loosen all of them then remove the 4 interior first then the ends. then 3 nuts on the cat each side (13mm) ) , then the Cats 4 bracketshold these on IIRC. I have heard the CEL light if it comes on is every 30-40 starts you need to have it reset. or get an ODBII reader and reset them yourself. You can reuse your hardware or buy new the Ztech exaust does not come with any installation hardware so you will need the brackets off the muffler, gaskets, and both sets of clamps. Joe at Fabspeed has some great quick connect clamps for the tips for $30 I recommend you buy a set. My car was in Chicago before and had rusty bolts so I am replacing everything clamps, bolts, nuts, gaskets etc.

 

take sands advice on the fabspeed clamps. they're worth their weight in gold. the factory clamps suck with a capitol "S"

i think you're just going to have to live with the CEL with the cat bypasses. it's my understanding the 02 sensors see bizarre readings with high flow cats and bypasses and will continually trigger a CEL.

as i told sandoval in another post, i would be a little leary of the high flow/ and or cat bypasses. they have been known to make very little or even rob power on the 996 motors. not to mention that it's going to loud as ****. i would do some before and after dyno testing to see if you want to keep them. it's only $50 a run and you'll know for sure if it worked or not.

 

I'll chip in $10 for the dyno fund.

 

Interesting about the CEL...... Will chipping the car solve it? I'm not installing the exhaust system until the high flow intake arrives - put everything on at once. I imagine a chip would be in order to make it all work most efficiently together, no? Any chip reccomendations? What's is an OBDII reader and what does it do to reset the CEL?

BTW - I heard a 996 with headers, no cats and high flow mufflers (not sure the brand but I think he said FabSpeed) and it sounds awesome - loud, yes, but good loud.

Sandovl, do you still do caliper painting?

Thanks!!

 

a new chip won't correct your cel. EVO was looking into the high flow cats for their supercharger systems. last i heard they still hadn't found a way to get rid of the CEL. like i said before, take the cats off on an NA 996 and you may lose power. i would definatley do some dyno work before consider keeping them on permanently. it works on some cars, i have that it is not helpful on ours in a NA state as it passes too much air and causes a possible compression loss.

OBD2 reader (a good one anyway) will scan error codes, engine sensors, and allow you to reset the error codes getting rid of the check engine light.

it a situation with cat bypasses, the engine will continually see the "out of parameters" situation and keep setting off the CEL even if you reset it.

sandobal did a great job on my yellow calipers!

 

Cat bypass pipes causing a compression loss, that's a new one. Sounds like BS to me Dog.

 

i know somebody who tested some on the 996 and lost HP. just throwing it out there. don't know if it's factual or not, but for what these parts cost, i would spend the $50 and get it dyno'd. besides, it's helpful to us all when members dyno their own stuff so we can see for ourselves.

 

Do you possibly mean "back pressure" instead of
compression....

 

i'm sure i'm misquoting, but the reduced "back pressure" causes a lslight loss of compression. again, don't take this for gospel. just something i've heard being an issue on NA 996's. i personally haven't done the dyno testing. i'd love to test a set though. i can live with the CEL

 

No one out there can verify this? Why would there be an industry in cat bypasses if employing them resulted in a loss of power?

It would seem to me that in order for a reduction in back pressure to negatively affect compression there would have to be a moment when the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time (I don’t know if 996s do that.) Perhaps by virtue of the reduced back pressure, at the moment the valves are concomitantly open, a significant enough draft runs through the intake and exhaust route to the degree that the cylinder is depleted of some of its charge? That’s gotta be a stretch.

If not that, then it might be a computer problem? If so, would a chip correct it?

If that FabSpeed cat bypass is a waste of money then I’m sending it back and putting the money toward a set of yellow Sandoval calipers…

 

people sell stuff all the time that doesn't work. it's all about marketing


i'm not saying whether it will or won't work for you. i know someone who tested them and came up with nothing or losses. do some before and afters on the dyno with your car. then you'll know for sure. dyno runs are cheap. these parts are not

 

Very true indeed. Alrighty-then, here's what's cool about a forum; cat bypass people please come forward!! in the mean time, I'll pop for a couple of dyno runs. I'm in the process of aquiring aftermarket performance parts for my little tuning session I have planned. I'm going to do everything at once, so it will still be a couple of weeks before I'll have dyno figures.

 

sounds good. looking forward to the results.

 

you should install everything, then pull the bypass pipes off and redo the dyno run same day. That is a big thing people don't do. You should do testing back to back.