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Specifically 997.2 Turbos..... is the Sharkwerks muffler delete worth the $1,600 entry fee? Does it sound "good enough" and loud enough to where you no longer want a full exhaust system costing 2x as much?
I had the Sharkwerks muffler delete on my 997.2 GT3 and L O V E D it!!! I had no desire to get a full exhaust after that. Yes, I know the engines are totally different and why I'm asking for input in this thread.
I'm on the fence about buying it. The videos sound good (
) but I want too hear from actual customers that have (or had) it. I just can't see spending $1600 for a few pieces of bent pipe. I'm tempted to go to a local speed shop that is known for making custom exhausts here in town and seeing what they would charge for something similar. I doubt it would be anywhere near the cost of the Sharkwerks (or similar) system.
If there was a muffler delete for around the $800 (which is a fair price for what they are) I'd buy it but it seems that everyone wants to make serious profit on these systems.
I was in the same boat as you just a few months ago. I came to the conclusion that if I'm going to pay for something like an exhaust, I would want to have the positives that go with it (faster turbo spool, hearing turbo spool through exhaust, raw sound, substantial power gains especially when coupled with a tune and other airflow goodies) all that are not going to happen with a simply muffler delete. If all you are looking for is a little more sound, then I'd say go for it. If you're looking for exotic sound not really achievable with just a muffler delete, and power gains (not really noticeable), etc... go for a full exhaust.
The 997.2 is different than the 997.1 turbos. All the top exhaust brands that sound so awesome on the 997.1, sound less awesome on the 997.2 for whatever reason. In my trials, only the muffler delete options produce the aggressive sound on a 997.2 DFI turbo.
Regarding power gains, Sharkwerks claims their muffler-less separate pipe design increases exhaust velocity, improves power, and turbo spool. Not sure you can automatically claim you don't get power on a muffler less design. You should speak with Alex at Sharkwerks. He's well respected throughout the Porsche community.
I'm completely happy with my Sharkwerks bypass. No drone. Aggressive sound (but only slightly louder than stock if you're not punching it). Neighbor friendly.
I pretty much made up my mind and will pull the trigger and get this. It's just for sound anyway. My car is 100% stock and I don't see it being any other way for a very long time. If it honestly sounds like the video (or better) then I'll be happy having not spent $5k! lol
Don't want to ruin anyones bussiness by my local shop would charge me for those two pipes under $300. They charged me 600$ for this complete exhaust for my BMW 5 series:
301 Stainless Steel 3" pipe with 3 custom resonators
Running straight pipe such as you showed us is one thing. Making the muffler delete like the Sharkwerks is a bit more involved. It has compound bends and angles and would require more labor to set it up and get the angles right. That is where the cost would increase. Material costs are squat.
I actually went to a local speed shop I've used before for just that reason. He said it would be between $700-$800 for stainless and $400-$500 for galvanized.
But the more I thought about it, the less I was inclined to leave my car at his shop for a day or so to have it fab'd up and have the potential for fitment issues.
Then after talking to Alex and being a previous Sharkwerks customer he gave me a good deal on the muffler delete so I am going to order theirs. Yes I spent more but for me the piece of mind is worth the extra money.
Running straight pipe such as you showed us is one thing. Making the muffler delete like the Sharkwerks is a bit more involved. It has compound bends and angles and would require more labor to set it up and get the angles right. That is where the cost would increase. Material costs are squat.
I actually went to a local speed shop I've used before for just that reason. He said it would be between $700-$800 for stainless and $400-$500 for galvanized.
But the more I thought about it, the less I was inclined to leave my car at his shop for a day or so to have it fab'd up and have the potential for fitment issues.
Then after talking to Alex and being a previous Sharkwerks customer he gave me a good deal on the muffler delete so I am going to order theirs. Yes I spent more but for me the piece of mind is worth the extra money.
You will be very happy with the exhaust, especially when accelerating in traffic.
Running straight pipe such as you showed us is one thing. Making the muffler delete like the Sharkwerks is a bit more involved. It has compound bends and angles and would require more labor to set it up and get the angles right.
Are you serious??? My local shop is able to make those pipes without welding, just with a pipe bending machine in about an hour and with the perfect alignment. Believe me, those pipes is as easy as it seems because i've been there when they made mine. The hard part was the turbo flange and alignment, y-pipes for rear tips with perfect bumper alignment and custom resonators, all made from scratch with stainless steel sheets and straight pipes. The welding is also a process that consumes some time.
The money that you are going to spend for just a muffler deleted pipes is almost the same that i spent for my Kline decat exhaust.
But i do understand that sometimes we don't have the time to go custom and don't mind paying a bit more. And you can't go wrong with Sharkwerks. Their products quality is top notch.
Are you serious??? My local shop is able to make those pipes without welding, just with a pipe bending machine in about an hour and with the perfect alignment. Believe me, those pipes is as easy as it seems because i've been there when they made mine. The hard part was the turbo flange and alignment, y-pipes for rear tips with perfect bumper alignment and custom resonators, all made from scratch with stainless steel sheets and straight pipes. The welding is also a process that consumes some time.
The money that you are going to spend for just a muffler deleted pipes is almost the same that i spent for my Kline decat exhaust.
But i do understand that sometimes we don't have the time to go custom and don't mind paying a bit more. And you can't go wrong with Sharkwerks. Their products quality is top notch.
I didn't mention anything about "welding" so I'm not sure where you got that from? I just mentioned more labor to bend, align and fab up the pipes. The only welding would probably be with the angle brackets to secure the pipes like the OE system.
And I do not want an exhaust without cats. I have yearly inspections, my car is on stock tune (so I would get CEL) and I don't want the smells associated with not running cats.
I gotta say lots of misinformed people giving bad advice on this thread. Muffler deletes do not make more sound than a full exhaust. A full exhaust is essentially a muffler delete in addition to high flow cats. Common sense tells you that a less restrictive cat will equate to more sound and power especially when combined with a tune. I've heard the Sharwerks Muffler delete, and it is no where near the sound of a full exhaust. No to knock on their product as I know all of Sharkwerks stuff is quality, but it comes down to personal preference. I was planning on doing other mods and it just made sense to go with the full exhaust as this makes more power with tune and other mods. I went with BBI full exhaust and the sound is intoxicating. Super high pitch sound at WOT combined with turbo spool. Cold start also sounds very exotic - neither of which i experienced with just a muffler delete/ GL with whatever you decide. Can't go wrong here.
I didn't mention anything about "welding" so I'm not sure where you got that from? I just mentioned more labor to bend, align and fab up the pipes. The only welding would probably be with the angle brackets to secure the pipes like the OE system.
And I do not want an exhaust without cats. I have yearly inspections, my car is on stock tune (so I would get CEL) and I don't want the smells associated with not running cats.
I thought the Sharkwerks muffler delete pipes were welded together where the two pipes cross at an angle in the middle?
Last edited by 997.2 TTS; Dec 4, 2014 at 10:48 AM.
I gotta say lots of misinformed people giving bad advice on this thread. Muffler deletes do not make more sound than a full exhaust. A full exhaust is essentially a muffler delete in addition to high flow cats. Common sense tells you that a less restrictive cat will equate to more sound and power especially when combined with a tune. I've heard the Sharwerks Muffler delete, and it is no where near the sound of a full exhaust. No to knock on their product as I know all of Sharkwerks stuff is quality, but it comes down to personal preference. I was planning on doing other mods and it just made sense to go with the full exhaust as this makes more power with tune and other mods. I went with BBI full exhaust and the sound is intoxicating. Super high pitch sound at WOT combined with turbo spool. Cold start also sounds very exotic - neither of which i experienced with just a muffler delete/ GL with whatever you decide. Can't go wrong here.
▲▲▲ This. Performance/money wise, i rather swap the oem cats for 200cpsi units combined with oem muffler than oem cats with muffler deleted pipes. The sound would also be improved by just swapping the cats. In oem system, the cats is entirely responsible for flow restrictions and high egt's.
I gotta say lots of misinformed people giving bad advice on this thread. Muffler deletes do not make more sound than a full exhaust. A full exhaust is essentially a muffler delete in addition to high flow cats. Common sense tells you that a less restrictive cat will equate to more sound and power especially when combined with a tune. I've heard the Sharwerks Muffler delete, and it is no where near the sound of a full exhaust. No to knock on their product as I know all of Sharkwerks stuff is quality, but it comes down to personal preference. I was planning on doing other mods and it just made sense to go with the full exhaust as this makes more power with tune and other mods. I went with BBI full exhaust and the sound is intoxicating. Super high pitch sound at WOT combined with turbo spool. Cold start also sounds very exotic - neither of which i experienced with just a muffler delete/ GL with whatever you decide. Can't go wrong here.
Not misinformed. I know full well what it is and what it is NOT. What you fail to see is that I and others are willing to make compromises with buying something like the muffler delete which DOES increase exhaust sound in exchange for not spending $5k for a full blown exhaust.
I'm not really sure how you can listen to the video clip I posted and not hear how much more exhaust note there is over that of the OEM exhaust? You'd have to be deaf. Is it as loud as a full blown exhaust? Of course not but it IS louder than the OE exhaust with the muffler.
My car is stock and will remain that way for the foreseeable future. And if at some point I do go with a tune and full exhaust I can easily sell my muffler delete for 75% of what I bought it for.
