sorry, for yet another exhaust thread, but since I have PSE, I am thinking of adding X51 headers and 200 cell AWE cats. Does anyone have a sounds clip for this combo? Also, why might AWE headers be double the price of X51 and if anyone has a sounds clip of AWE headers, AWE cats and the PSE mufflers, that would be cool. I've only owned this car a month now.

 

Adding the AWE 200 cell cats greatly enhanced and improved the exhaust note- and seemed to add a little power as well, although I acknowledge this may be entirely psychological. After install, I had the PSE "on" all the time- it was awesome!

 

I have Evo Headers, AWE Cats, and PSE. The PSE keeps the noise down to below the dB levels that most tracks have in place. So it is fine for the city, when you turn PSE on, it is nice and loud, I hardly run in Sport mode, as I think it is a little too loud for the city.

 

Sound clips do not do any exhaust real justice. IMO you will not be disappointed with that combo (I might be biased though )

 

On my last car, T4S, I had PSE, AWE cats, and X51 headers. I doubt that the headers did anything, but the sound with the cats and PSE was terrific. As Northvan said, it is not obtrusive in quiet PSE mode, and has a great sound at higher RPMs, and even greater in loud mode. It is all sound, no power difference IMO. The various headers look better, but make little or no difference in actual performance.

 

yeah, I read a lot and realize that even if there is a say 10% increase in HP with cats and headers, you won't feel it. If I do it, which I'm probably going to, I wanted to do it for the sound.

 

Doing it for the sound is a valid reason.

 

Interestingly while switching in "gundo" mufflers I noted that the C2 actually has X51 like headers, see first picture. For some reason the C2/4S's are being strangled with their headers. X51 might make sense on an S but not on the 3.6 non S motor.

Adding the gundo mod, see second picture, to my std exhaust, makes it operate like a PSE, and has made the world of difference to the sound, listen to the clip.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb0pc-7VPu0

I also noted, by the seat of my pants, that it seemed to rev easier after the mod. Others have noted this fact too.

 

Just curious why someone would spend 2x on other headers instead of the X51s? A piece of pipe if it's the same material, is a piece of pipe in this case right? It's not a muffler, there isn't any "additional" engineering in terms of shape and I can't imagine the size of the opening that Porsche makes on the X51 is somehow too small or something. Anyone have an ideas on this?

 

You are correct. The stock C2 headers are perfectly fine and are identical in design to the X51 but have smaller diameter tubes. If I recall correclty the stock are 42mm diameter and the X51 are 48mm.

Header design is a matter of compromise. Length of the runners, diameter of the tubes, collector styles all alter how the exhaust is scavenged and can change the torque band and peaks. IMO, Porsche knows best and X51 is great for the price. However, if I was considering a complete system that included the mufflers and the CATs, I'd consider staying with the same vendor as they tuned it to work together nicely. Also, the Porsche X51 build quality in terms of bored smooth welds and finish may not be as nice as the more expensive options if you care about such things.

 

Makes sense ..thanks

 

<Raising my hand>...I'm a little green.... What are "headers" and "CATS"? Are they part of the exhaust systsem? What do they do? I need some matieral to impress my husband.

 

Elementary my dear.

Cats or catalytic converters clean up the exhaust gases, and are visible as two "barrels" running parallel to the rear bumper on my car.
Headers are the start of the exhaust system and are where the gases exit the engine, and are visible as 6 (two groups of three) tubes in the center of the frame.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_converter

I'd be impressed.

 

Why was I under the impression that X51 headers were designated for the turbo models? So, given a stock C2S is there a horsepower gain with just swapping to X51 headers and retaining the stock cats+mufflers?

-Eric

 

Yes, suppose to be ~5-7hp and ~5-7lbs. torque but you won't notice it. The real benefit I believe is it shifts peak torque from about 4600rpm to the low 5000's. I haven't seen any before and after dyno's to prove either. For me adding the headers made it sound slightly deeper in tone and I just feel better knowing those restrictive stock ones are gone. I may get slighlty better fuel economy as well.