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I recently had a pair of Joel Godfredson’s brand new catless, long-tube European Racing Headers installed on my 50,000-mile-old 987.2 Cayman at PCS Motorsports here in Colorado Springs, CO. Joel is currently the President of our local PCA chapter and a friend of mine. He asked if he could put these headers on my car for fitment check, dynamometer runs and my evaluation.
I live at 6,200 feet above sea level and can only get 91 octane fuel, which is what the car was running at the time of the dynamometer test. I have a factory Porsche Sport Exhaust and run Softronic software with Sport Mode enabled.
POWER
Travis Smith at PCS Motorsports did before and after dynamometer tests with and without my Softronic software installed, with and without the Headers. Here are those results.
Stock software, with and without European Racing Headers, great improvement
![Text Line Plot Slope Pattern]()
Softronic software, with and without European Racing Headers, even better improvement.
![Text Line Plot Slope Design]()
As you can see, particularly with the Softronic software, mid-range torque and power was significantly improved. The torque curve is much flatter. The power stays longer into 7,000 rpm. This Cayman is my daily driver and i have spent about two months with it so far. I am very impressed with the mid-range torque and with the outright top end power. We all know it’s hard to make power with a normally aspirated engine these days, but these headers really make a difference. I find myself shifting less with due to the greatly improved mid-range.
Sound
Remember that I have the factory PSE exhaust. With the PSE valves closed, and running below full throttle, these headers sound about like the stock headers. Maybe slightly deeper, but not much noticeable difference from stock. However, even with the valves closed, at WOT, with sport mode engaged, above about 4,500 rpm, the car starts to sing a grizzly bear song. A lovely sound in my opinion. With the PSE valves closed, there is no drone, not on the highway, not anywhere.
Now, with the valves open, this thing makes some noise. Still no drone on the highway, but it is loud all the time. I keep the valves closed in neighborhoods, and open it occasionally on busy streets and the highway. Looking forward to hearing it at our local tracks.
Fitment and Construction
I was not present for the installation, but Travis says the headers went on nicely. Nothing needed to be filed or trimmed. He did put on a O2 sensor extension on each rear O2 sensor, so it would not throw codes using the stock software. Even with the extensions, running stock software, it would occasionally throw Cat codes. This isn't necessary with the Softronic software if you request the Cat code delete. The headers are made of mild steel, and thus are significantly less expensive than other manufacturer’s headers. The ones on my car are just painted.
Here are some under car photos of the headers as they are installed.
Drivers' side
![Auto part Automotive exhaust Exhaust system Exhaust manifold Engine]()
Passenger's side
![Auto part Automotive exhaust Exhaust manifold Pipe Exhaust system]()
Smell
These headers have not catalytic converters, and occasionally, when parked in an enclosed area like a garage, when standing outside the car, the exhaust smells worse that stock. My wife noticed this too.
Overall
I am very impressed with how much power these things make, and for such a reasonable price.
You can find more information at Joel's GT-Racing website.
I live at 6,200 feet above sea level and can only get 91 octane fuel, which is what the car was running at the time of the dynamometer test. I have a factory Porsche Sport Exhaust and run Softronic software with Sport Mode enabled.
POWER
Travis Smith at PCS Motorsports did before and after dynamometer tests with and without my Softronic software installed, with and without the Headers. Here are those results.
Stock software, with and without European Racing Headers, great improvement
Softronic software, with and without European Racing Headers, even better improvement.
As you can see, particularly with the Softronic software, mid-range torque and power was significantly improved. The torque curve is much flatter. The power stays longer into 7,000 rpm. This Cayman is my daily driver and i have spent about two months with it so far. I am very impressed with the mid-range torque and with the outright top end power. We all know it’s hard to make power with a normally aspirated engine these days, but these headers really make a difference. I find myself shifting less with due to the greatly improved mid-range.
Sound
Remember that I have the factory PSE exhaust. With the PSE valves closed, and running below full throttle, these headers sound about like the stock headers. Maybe slightly deeper, but not much noticeable difference from stock. However, even with the valves closed, at WOT, with sport mode engaged, above about 4,500 rpm, the car starts to sing a grizzly bear song. A lovely sound in my opinion. With the PSE valves closed, there is no drone, not on the highway, not anywhere.
Now, with the valves open, this thing makes some noise. Still no drone on the highway, but it is loud all the time. I keep the valves closed in neighborhoods, and open it occasionally on busy streets and the highway. Looking forward to hearing it at our local tracks.
Fitment and Construction
I was not present for the installation, but Travis says the headers went on nicely. Nothing needed to be filed or trimmed. He did put on a O2 sensor extension on each rear O2 sensor, so it would not throw codes using the stock software. Even with the extensions, running stock software, it would occasionally throw Cat codes. This isn't necessary with the Softronic software if you request the Cat code delete. The headers are made of mild steel, and thus are significantly less expensive than other manufacturer’s headers. The ones on my car are just painted.
Here are some under car photos of the headers as they are installed.
Drivers' side
Passenger's side
Smell
These headers have not catalytic converters, and occasionally, when parked in an enclosed area like a garage, when standing outside the car, the exhaust smells worse that stock. My wife noticed this too.
Overall
I am very impressed with how much power these things make, and for such a reasonable price.
You can find more information at Joel's GT-Racing website.
