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Have a 2011 GTS that I would like to add a little more drama to, but want to respect the "GTS" model and not deviate too much from strictly stock class for club AX events (the clubs I run in have more lenient classification rules than PCA or SCCA - - I will check specifics depending on potential mods).
Thinking about xpipe (center muffler delete) and potentially an alternate intake.
I feel going back any further in the exhaust system (e.g., side mufflers) compromises the PSE as a core GTS attribute. I have no loyalty to the stock intake, but am on the fence about the value of an alternate intake such as the Fabspeed comp.
Have a 2011 GTS that I would like to add a little more drama to, but want to respect the "GTS" model and not deviate too much from strictly stock class for club AX events (the clubs I run in have more lenient classification rules than PCA or SCCA - - I will check specifics depending on potential mods).
Thinking about xpipe (center muffler delete) and potentially an alternate intake.
I feel going back any further in the exhaust system (e.g., side mufflers) compromises the PSE as a core GTS attribute. I have no loyalty to the stock intake, but am on the fence about the value of an alternate intake such as the Fabspeed comp.
Any thoughts appreciated.
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There are a lot of opinions here on these, here are mine for what they're worth.
On a PSE (or aftermarket exhaust) the x-pipe or crossover steps the sound up a good notch or two without being annoying or causing drone (On a non-PSE the increase is much more subtle). If you have a PDK, I'd recommend avoiding the pure crossover since on my car the idle got very rough with it and this problem doesn't seem too uncommon as noted in chatter on other threads. Some with PDKs are okay with it though.
The Fabpseed x-pipes I first tried didn't seem to have this problem, but unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the sound increase (I didn't have the PSE yet) so I sold it to try the crossover. Due to the crossover idle problem, I removed that after only three weeks (I tried to give the car time to adapt but 3 weeks was enough of that) and sold it to a manual tranny driver. Fortunately I found a good deal on a PSE and tips from a GTS (without the wiring and switches) and I love it on all the time, so for now I'm back with a factory center until I get motivated to get another x-pipe which I'm likely to return to. If you go that route I'd love your opinion on the final result with your PSE.
I also ran a Fabspeed dual-cone intake for a while and loved the additional intake howl. The sound at max RPM just as you shift is quite cool with a bit of a race car flavor to the sound. It uses washable dry cotton filters so no problems with it causing MAF problems like some get when they over-oil their oiled-cotton filters. I did have trouble with the tube rubbing against the edge of the fan shroud and wearing down the carbon. I removed and sold it to someone due to concern about the wear (the buyer was aware of it and knew how to fix it properly) and uncertainty as to whether the filter might affect my CPO. I've since learned that I could have fixed the rubbing problem by pushing way down on the tube before tightening it down and that the warranty problem was likely unfounded (this is endlessly arguable though). I may do this again just for the sound.
If you decide to go with this, send me a message if you feel like you need any installation advice. I think I have exhaust and intake related changes down pat now (I also ran Fabspeed Maxflo's for a while and liked them a lot - no need for the electrically switched ones as "loud" is not as loud as you might expect and is the way to go - but they ended up being trumped by the PSEs once I found a good deal on them).
Last edited by StormRune; Sep 25, 2014 at 06:14 AM.
We have seen great results with the competition air intake on the 997.2 Other then the notable performance gains, its great eye candy for the engine bay!
I've got the carbon intake and the x-pipe on my 997.2 C2S and love the setup. Not too loud, no drone and the intake just wails (in a good way) when you are full gas and over 5k rpm. Nice HP bump too. Intake is easy mod and worth it IMO. Xpipe adds a really nice extra voice and bite to the exhaust note w/o being too much.
This weekend I went back to a Fabspeed competition carbon fiber intake to boost the sound under heavy throttle. I like this combined with my unswitched PSE since the PSE brings extra sound all around yet lets me be conservative enough in my quiet neighborhood, then the Fabspeed intake brings quite the nice addition under half to wide open throttle.
My 16 year old son and I recorded before and after sounds with windows up and down using a very nice mike hooked up to a laptop. The windows-down sound got too much wind noise to be useful, so here is the recording with the windows up. The Fabspeed intake brings a lot of nice sound into the cabin even with the windows up. Even with the good mike, this video (just audio really) doesn't do it justice but you get some taste of it. It is really much more impressive in person.
I've added the histogram of the recording on the video. You can see the after part of the histogram is notably louder. We were careful to do both recordings with the mike in the same place (pointing backwards about ear level next to our heads) and with the recording inputs set up the same.
I'd suggest using good headphones or really good earbuds to hear this best. On the video the difference is much more subtle than I expected given how different it sounds in person.
And here is an image of the recording histogram. Notice the additional sound on the after side. Remember, the audio setup was the same so the difference is coming from the intake.
And yes, my son and I had a blast doing this together!
Last edited by StormRune; Oct 7, 2014 at 07:59 PM.
