Looking to make a few changes to my new Targa 4s. Looking for a little performance bump and a nice sound but not too loud. These are the 2 routes I am kicking around, I dont want full set up because I feel it will be too loud for me in the city. Which way would you go?

-AWE cats and x51 (or suncoast) headers and leave the stock exhaust.

-Borla exhaust and Borla Headers.

 

The cats will give you the biggest performance bump, but they are loud. I would start with just the cats and see how you like the sound. If you want it louder try the headers.

I went with a mixed system (stock and aftermarket) to reduce the sound, but keep the gains as high as possible.

 

Low loss CATS certainly will give you more performance gain as opposed to just headers & mufflers.

Your exhaust will be louder and might not pass emissions testing if your state requires one.

 

I went the header and muffler route first with a Tubi system. The headers make a huge difference in loudness, the mufflers not so much. I elected to go this route first because I didnt want to screw with possibly getting a error light with the cats or fail emmissions. It seems though that the CEL light has been worked out if you stick with 200 cell or higher cats. If the cats increase the sound level even more i dont know if i could deal with that, my system currently is loud when you get on it, any louder and it may be to much.

 

I initially ran Borla headers and mufflers. It gave a nice bump in performance, and it didn't sound too loud at all. It was a little louder than stock, but the big difference was the sound of it. It was a nice deep throaty sound that wasn't too overbearing. Go on youtube and search 997 borla and you'll see various clips of my car. Good luck.

 

The full exhaust system that I had was too loud for the tracks in my area. I thought that it sounded amazing, almost Italian sounding. The PSE mufflers gave me a different sound in both settings, but the normal setting quieted it down to an acceptable level for the tracks, the Sport Mode it sounds very loud (almost like the full system). The best part is the car looks stock, a bit of a sleeper.

 

Sport cats are the best option.

 

Thanks for the replys. In MA we have emissions tests each year so if the 200 cell cats wont pass thats going to be a problem.

 

200 cell cats will pass just fine. We have a some non local customers that passed emissions with them.

 

DCI,

I've got the first option you listed and am pleased for now. The AWE cats definitely add the power and the aggressive exhaust note! Some describe this setup with the stock mufflers to have a "raspy" sound but I don't mind. I'm considering the PSE cans or possibly Remus if I can locate some.

Enjoy!

 

Remus makes a full system for the 997, not a lot of info though:
http://www.remusexhaustshop.com/pors...us-p-1181.html

 

+1

 

I see that headers make some difference in the way the car sound. Is it really noticable between different tuners (tubi, awe, fabspeed ,,,,etc). Different brands of mufflers make big difference in sound is it same deal with headers ?

 

I'd go with AWE's headers and cats - they give a very noticeable increase over 3500rpm and sound superb with AWE's mufflers too. If you want to retain a higher-pitched and more 'raspy' European sound, retain the standard mufflers - they're quite free-flowing and you won't lose much compared to the full AWE setup.

Either setup will be markedly louder than standard when you're on it but both can be perfectly well modulated with your right foot!!

 

Headers and cats seem to be the winner, I am going to order on Tuesday. Thanks to everyone for the replys!