As a former owner of a 1983 911SC, I remember the distinctive sound of the old water cooled engine. That was 15 years ago and now I have become the owner of a 2005 C2S. While I realize there have been numerous changes to the engine, exhaust, etc., my C2S exhaust has a sound that resonates as though it has a leak/hole in the exhaust. I doubt it actually does since it only has 21,000 miles. The exhaust note at WOT is beautiful, but at idle and low RPM's it sounds a bit like a pimped up exhaust and very "cardboardy" - hard to describe. My Porsche doesn't have the sport exhaust option and there's no noticeable difference in either normal or sport mode. 6MT.

Is this the normal exhaust sound for the C2S model? I've listened to other
video/audio posts online and they just sound more throaty and aggressive.

 

We all had it, especially at start-up when it sounded like a bunch of ball bearings rattling around in the cans. I tried a variety of things and the solution to get a boost in performance and a great sound was OEM X51 headers (about $600) and AWE Cats (about $1200 when I got them). Total was $2k installed and the wider-open headers and cats really changed things, making the OEM mufflers sound great. And there was more HP / TQ to be had as well based on TraqMate data at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen.

 

Mr C2S: If you have not already searched, there are a bunch of threads on 997 exhaust and mods. Like Ron CT, I too changed the headers and cats (and mufflers while I was at it) and could not be happier. There's a lot of cheap used stuff available now days if you are handy and know what you are looking for.

A couple of years ago a long time Porsche salesman told me that since the 996's Porsche has continuously done everything to make the 911 more of a friendlier, quieter, softer touring car to attract a wider audience. Can you imagine cup holders in your '83?

 

+1 on the Cats, they make the car sing, as well as give it some extra life.

 

I put a full AWE system (headers, cats, mufflers) on mine - different car and really sings at WOT. Also noticeably torquier through the mid-range and pulls harder between 6000 and 7300 rpm. Certainly worth the $$$ (or in my case £££)!

 

The idle on these cars is not very sexy, IMO... I understand what you're mentioning as to the idle quality.

That being said, I have a full AWE setup on my car as well. The idle quality still leaves something to be desired; but, the WOT quality is pure magic...

 

I agree with you totally about the idle / low rpm quality of the exhaust note on these cars. It doesn't seem to matter whose exhaust you use, they sound dreadful until there's some rpms on the engine.

I wonder what it is about these engines makes them sound odd at idle/low revs? The low-lift inlet cams maybe? The certainly sound better over 3200rpm when the high-lift ones cut in

 

I gotta say that I still love the sound of my C2S with the Borla stuff on it.
Mr. B

 

Guys - what does "WOT" mean??

 

Wide Open Throttle...

Herr C2S....PM sent

 

10 day suspension of your man card!

 

Thanks for the replies. While the C2S stock exhaust note is not quite what I had expected, I certainly am willing to live with it for the time being rather than spend more bucks ($$$) on new headers, exhaust, etc. My original concern was whether this was the normal sound or if there was something out of sync with my exhaust. Perhaps more importantly, I'm glad to see such a helpful and cordial atmosphere on the 997 forum.

 

I rther like the rasp, I wish it were a bit louder thouhg. Maybe time for a new muffler or and F 430.

 

Bang for the buck is X51 headers and 200cpi metallic cats (AWE/Fabspeed). I have the AWE cats with X51 headers and Borla cans and I my exhaust rocks. It is extremely loud when you are on it but a nice burble when you are just cruising.

The neat thing about the exhaust is you can do it in your driveway in under 4hrs. I did mine in 3 (did it before) and the car was on thick phone books, I didn't even use ramps or a jack the 2nd time.

Dave

 

Thanks