My impression and review of Kline catless system
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My impression and review of Kline catless system
Hey guys,
I just joined the Kline club this weekend with their catless system. I want to start with just one word "AMAZING!!!". Well, I swapped the exhaust from Fabspeed V.3 with 200 cell cats, not from OEM. Don't get me wrong the Fabspeed V.3 exhaust is a great exhaust and I loved it but I have been wanted catless system with X-pipe design lately. There are few systems available on the market but the Kline system was the first in my mind because of their good review and relatively cheaper than others. When I was normally surfing on the forum, I found great condition of used Kline for sale from a great forum member (ryem3). But his exhaust was 200 cell cat version which I was not looking for. So I contacted Sam at ByDesign and asked him if I can trade in my cats to new de-cat pipes. He said he can do even trade plus just for the shipping or straight sale for $350 shipped. Price was pretty good so I just bought them and now I have a choice to keep the cats or send to him. He shipped the new de-cat pipes with 2 day priority mail on the same day I paid. What a great guy/vendor he is!
Now onto my first impression of the new exhaust. I will refer to 1-10 scale of each category.
1. Sound (10 out of 10)
Well, I will mention about the sound first since it is everyone's most concern about the exhaust. The first start up after the installation I was like "Wow, I gotta love this!". I was little worry about the cold start being too loud since it doesn't have cats. But I was wrong. It was actually quieter than my Fabspeed exhaust. It started with sound of GT3 or like exotic cars! Aggressive enough but not obnoxious. After little warm up, I drove out for a spin. I immediately had big grin in my face and couldn't stop! It's just PERFECT for my taste. In normal driving (2k~3k rpm), it's very quiet and just little bit louder that stock (well, I don't really remember how quiet the stock exhaust was, haha) which means it's even quieter than Fabspeed with cats. On to the screaming range (>5k rpm), I was like "Holly ****! lol". It sounded like pure race car with tons of air blowing noise. I was shocked! Lol
2. Drone Level (9.5 out of 10)
Everyone's perception is different so I can't really judge this so it's my perceived level of drone. To me, it has absolutely no drones. The reason I gave 9.5 is that there is just hint of drone below 2.5k rpm but I think that's part of exhaust sound, not drone. But some people may say that's a very very minor drone. Compare to my Fabspeed exhaust (8 out of 10) which was not bad either, drone level is much less even with catless. I'm sure the 200 cell cat version will have zero drone like 10 out of 10.
3. Power (10 out of 10)
Well, mine is catless so I can't tell the power of 200 cell cat version which is most people use. However my catless version gave me a huge power improvement from my Fabspeed exhaust. I think that's because of catless vs. 200 cell cats and X-pipe design vs. separate pipes design. Sam and my local shop told me that I would pick up about 30hp and I believe that. It's not exaggerated.
4. Fitment and quality (9.5 out of 10)
I would wanted to give 10 but .5 reduction because of inside of de-cat pipes. The O2 sensor bungs were beautifully welded but they were not flat even inside of the pipes. I don't think that will affect the exhaust flow but it could have been perfect if they are flat even. And also when I installed them, I had little struggling to align de-cat pipes flange and muffler pipes flange. The bolt holes were slightly off so I had to loosen the de-cat pipes for playing. I guess this because my de-cat pipes were brand new and muffler pipes were used with many heat cycles. But there was no issue at all. The build quality is nothing but great. All welding is beautifully done and material they used is nice.
5. Price (10 out of 10)
Who will complain their price? IMHO, most aftermarket exhausts for 997TT are overpriced including Europipes. I think that's because of Porsche tax. But the Kline system is very reasonably priced. Although I got a good deal for nice used one, I wouldn't mind to pay full retail price for brand new system.
6. Conclusion
I was always wondering how each aftermarket exhausts sounds and performs differently but I'm pretty sure the Kline system is one of the best out there. I can't justify myself spending $4k~5k for other exhaust system while I can get decent system from the Kline. I highly and strongly recommend the Kline system to anyone who is on the fence.
I attached few pics of exhaust taken while I was installing. I know everyone wants to hear it. So within next week, I will take some detailed video clips including .3 mile rolling race event at Pocono Race Track on this Saturday and post them here. Stay tuned!
I just joined the Kline club this weekend with their catless system. I want to start with just one word "AMAZING!!!". Well, I swapped the exhaust from Fabspeed V.3 with 200 cell cats, not from OEM. Don't get me wrong the Fabspeed V.3 exhaust is a great exhaust and I loved it but I have been wanted catless system with X-pipe design lately. There are few systems available on the market but the Kline system was the first in my mind because of their good review and relatively cheaper than others. When I was normally surfing on the forum, I found great condition of used Kline for sale from a great forum member (ryem3). But his exhaust was 200 cell cat version which I was not looking for. So I contacted Sam at ByDesign and asked him if I can trade in my cats to new de-cat pipes. He said he can do even trade plus just for the shipping or straight sale for $350 shipped. Price was pretty good so I just bought them and now I have a choice to keep the cats or send to him. He shipped the new de-cat pipes with 2 day priority mail on the same day I paid. What a great guy/vendor he is!
Now onto my first impression of the new exhaust. I will refer to 1-10 scale of each category.
1. Sound (10 out of 10)
Well, I will mention about the sound first since it is everyone's most concern about the exhaust. The first start up after the installation I was like "Wow, I gotta love this!". I was little worry about the cold start being too loud since it doesn't have cats. But I was wrong. It was actually quieter than my Fabspeed exhaust. It started with sound of GT3 or like exotic cars! Aggressive enough but not obnoxious. After little warm up, I drove out for a spin. I immediately had big grin in my face and couldn't stop! It's just PERFECT for my taste. In normal driving (2k~3k rpm), it's very quiet and just little bit louder that stock (well, I don't really remember how quiet the stock exhaust was, haha) which means it's even quieter than Fabspeed with cats. On to the screaming range (>5k rpm), I was like "Holly ****! lol". It sounded like pure race car with tons of air blowing noise. I was shocked! Lol
2. Drone Level (9.5 out of 10)
Everyone's perception is different so I can't really judge this so it's my perceived level of drone. To me, it has absolutely no drones. The reason I gave 9.5 is that there is just hint of drone below 2.5k rpm but I think that's part of exhaust sound, not drone. But some people may say that's a very very minor drone. Compare to my Fabspeed exhaust (8 out of 10) which was not bad either, drone level is much less even with catless. I'm sure the 200 cell cat version will have zero drone like 10 out of 10.
3. Power (10 out of 10)
Well, mine is catless so I can't tell the power of 200 cell cat version which is most people use. However my catless version gave me a huge power improvement from my Fabspeed exhaust. I think that's because of catless vs. 200 cell cats and X-pipe design vs. separate pipes design. Sam and my local shop told me that I would pick up about 30hp and I believe that. It's not exaggerated.
4. Fitment and quality (9.5 out of 10)
I would wanted to give 10 but .5 reduction because of inside of de-cat pipes. The O2 sensor bungs were beautifully welded but they were not flat even inside of the pipes. I don't think that will affect the exhaust flow but it could have been perfect if they are flat even. And also when I installed them, I had little struggling to align de-cat pipes flange and muffler pipes flange. The bolt holes were slightly off so I had to loosen the de-cat pipes for playing. I guess this because my de-cat pipes were brand new and muffler pipes were used with many heat cycles. But there was no issue at all. The build quality is nothing but great. All welding is beautifully done and material they used is nice.
5. Price (10 out of 10)
Who will complain their price? IMHO, most aftermarket exhausts for 997TT are overpriced including Europipes. I think that's because of Porsche tax. But the Kline system is very reasonably priced. Although I got a good deal for nice used one, I wouldn't mind to pay full retail price for brand new system.
6. Conclusion
I was always wondering how each aftermarket exhausts sounds and performs differently but I'm pretty sure the Kline system is one of the best out there. I can't justify myself spending $4k~5k for other exhaust system while I can get decent system from the Kline. I highly and strongly recommend the Kline system to anyone who is on the fence.
I attached few pics of exhaust taken while I was installing. I know everyone wants to hear it. So within next week, I will take some detailed video clips including .3 mile rolling race event at Pocono Race Track on this Saturday and post them here. Stay tuned!
Last edited by swc; Mar 30, 2014 at 02:54 PM.
What an awesome right up and thank you for the kind words! I feel your excitement and fun. That's what it's all about. Enjoy it safely my friend and I'm here for anything you need including the next step!
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My buddy Easy2speed has a Kline exhaust on his 997 and it really sounds fantastic. Has a slightly high pitched note to it in the higher rpm range which is really great. In contrast, the AWE system on my car is a lot more gruff and kind of just bellows the whole time. Nice system, for a great price. Here is Easy's car with the Kline system installed:
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Thread Starter
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Registered User
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 497
From: Lansdale, PA
Rep Power: 81
My buddy Easy2speed has a Kline exhaust on his 997 and it really sounds fantastic. Has a slightly high pitched note to it in the higher rpm range which is really great. In contrast, the AWE system on my car is a lot more gruff and kind of just bellows the whole time. Nice system, for a great price. Here is Easy's car with the Kline system installed:
^ Thanks bud
Easy has the big 100 cell cats guys. We can do 100 or 200 cell European cats or HJS upon request at added cost. Catless of course also.
These systems are a great value yes...They hold up to or surpass quality and craftsmanship with the top offerings out there!
Easy has the big 100 cell cats guys. We can do 100 or 200 cell European cats or HJS upon request at added cost. Catless of course also.
These systems are a great value yes...They hold up to or surpass quality and craftsmanship with the top offerings out there!
Last edited by SamboTT@ByDesign; Apr 2, 2014 at 01:54 PM.
