Monday, July 4, 2011

Exhausts

I've always loved the sound of the air-cooled engine. For me it's one of the best things about the pre-996 Porsche, and an enduring part of air cooled 911 history.

I always felt that the 993 was too quiet. My understanding is that Porsche had to seriously dumb down the noise to comply with strict USA emissions / noise tests. This may or may not be true, but for the 2000 miles that I drive each year, I wanted to be able to really hear the sound of that glorious air cooled flat 6.

I had RSR mufflers on my previous 993 and I really liked them so they were a serious consideration. Having owned a pair before, I thought I'd try something different, and  initially, I put some nice cargraphic boxes on. Ultimately, I decided that these were too similar to stock. After much deliberation, and after reading the glowing reviews on rennlist,  I absolutely had to have the Fister FD 3's.

Darin Fister who's based in California has a modification to the standard boxes which I think is perfect. I sent a pair of stock mufflers over to him, and he worked his magic and sent them back. I don't recommend sending 993 back boxes to the USA and back. It's ridiculously expensive, and that's probably why there are only a few pairs of these in the UK.

Anyway, they arrived, and I had them installed. Oh YES! That rasping, throaty and beautifully metallic noise of the air-cooled engine is music to my ears. Here's a little before and after video.

First up, the cargraphics....



And now, the Fister's...


This is an easily reversible modification. I can put original mufflers back on whenever I like, but why would I? There's no resonating, and I've driven for hours on the motorway without any intrusiveness into the cabin. Testament to the build quality of the 993..!

You have to hear them to believe them. They're the perfect combination of noise, without crossing the line to anti-social.

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