Havent seen a thread on this in awhile. Im thinking of upgrading and wanted to gather some opinions first.

Currently I have AWE cats and Cans which I absolutely love! The build quality is outstanding and the exhaust note is amazing particularly at WOT....in a tunnel .Also changed the filter to bmc and added a fabspeed cold air upgrade kit (red cap and hose) which looks nice but I don't think it actually does much. Thats it for the "power mods".

Im looking to further improve sound and if I pick up some addl hp/torque great. It seems there are a fair number of opinions on hp figures though.

So my question is, based on experience and any factual info out there what do you recommend:

• Leave it Alone
• X51 Headers
• AWE Headers
• Fabspeed Headers
• FVD Headers
• Agency Power Headers

 

Thanks for the input!

 

I see you are considering Fabspeed already.

Our headers will add power and a more aggressive exhaust tone to your 997.

http://www.fabspeed.com/porsche-997-...sport-headers/

 

"Headers work, how and for what always depend on the application. For a NA car equal length or long tuned headers really work well. To pick up 30 and 30 is not unheard of and very common",this quote was taken from PorschePHD on Rennlists forum.A lot of the aftermarket headers being sold also hang lower,not good if your car has been lowered. I'm truly thinking myself of getting the X51s.You could also put SCARGO Headers on your list but there hitten close to $3000 grand.Good luck though on you search! I will be following.

 

Thanks! Yea I thought long tube was the way to go and I am concerned with height as the car has been lowered. 3K seems a bit much particularly when others run from 1,000 to 2,500. Its too bad I didnt do this a few years back when the X51's were only 7-800!

 

Headers seems like a lot of money for very little benifit.

 

headers alone do squat IMO but when it's coupling with hi-flow cats, airbox, tb, plenum, flash...it will benefit.

Plus it look great during an oil change...LOL!

 

On my C4s I had the PSE, with fabspeed sport xpipe and there long tube headers and it sounded amazing. Shoot me a pm and I can send you a video of some revs

 

Thanks Much! Appreciate the help.

 

is X51 notably even or possibly better than full aftermarket that the vendors sell?

 

Back when the X51 headers were $700-$800, they were Good values for the performance they provided. Now that they are over $1000 new, the value is not there anymore, IMO. I can tell you that when I replaced my X51 headers with the long tube headers like FVD, the push from 3K to 6K was more noticeable than before. Perhaps with an S/C engine, the feeling is more noticeable compared to N/A.

 

808 is spot on.

 

I went back and forth with this myself, looking specifically at X51, Fabspeed, AWE, and custom made ones by the supreme fabricator, Mark at S Car Go here in San Rafael.

Like 808 said, I felt the X51's have become overpriced in comparison to what is available on the market, but if I had seen a used set pop up before I snapped up the Fabspeed headers for 800 or less, I would have bought them.

In the end, the customs were too rich for my blood, the AWE's though beautiful and tempting didn't seem to offer more than double the value of the Fabspeed pipes, and Fabspeed was particularly quick to respond to my queries and was also offering a sale, plus I was already quite happy with their highflow cat/xpipe & the EVOMS CAI - and (Fister D sport mufflers)

For the money, I would encourage the Fabspeed headers and put the $1200 or so in savings toward an ECU flash/tune - I bought the Protomotive tune, but the EVOMSit tune is on sale for holiday right now, so you could possibly get the Fabspeed headers, tune, and install of both for the price of the AWE headers.

I had noticed a definite torque drop (in the 2-3.5k range) with the x pipe, and can assure you it is absolutely back now, and then some- with the combo of tune & headers: the sound is intoxicating, almost unbelievable. To me it felt like I had picked up a completely new car. I think the tune is a must once you've got the full exhaust going.

I plan to make a clip after the big storm passes if we aren't completely under water in the next few days.

 

Waste of money, I've been here too long, hear people spend too much on bolt-ons with hardly any results. If you are serious about power. Trade it in for a turbo or go FI route. Save your money.

 

Concur. But knowing me to well, i would mod a Turbo too

It's a toy...ain't no fun playing with it.