I didn't find any threads on the Carnewal exhaust with their 200 cell headers specifically as a combo and since many of you are probably interested in this setup, I decided to post some of my impressions.
The setup (skip if you know the Carnewal products already):
Carnewal, as many of us already know, modifies the original 981 mufflers and manifolds. At the manifolds, 2 of the 4 cats will be removed and the remaining two will be replaced with HJS 200 cell units. The modded headers will pass emission test without a problem. The muffler insides will also be modified to match the volume and tone of the Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE). The modified headers will increase to sound further +10-20%. The HJS cats will give you about 7hp more and the exhaust maybe 5-7hp but you will not notice any difference unless you mess with the engine tune. A good tune can easily get a fair amount of extra power, with Boxster S, from 315hp to 350hp, and with exhaust, plenum and headers some have gained 370 crank hp. That is huge for N/A engine. But the power wasn't the point for me, the sound was. The stock exhaust is a bit quiet for my taste and quite simply, Carnewal exhaust + headers will fix it.
Some more background:
I purposefully looked for a car without PSE since many have been posting comments about the small drone with it (even with the flaps closed). For many PSE owners, the slight drone isn't a problem but if you want stock-ish Porsche tone and the most drone free exhaust, this might be for you. There is no drone with the Carnewal setup, weirdly.
I was very interested in Borla but was afraid it would be too loud for daily use. I ended up with the Carnewal since it's said to be civil on lower rpm's. Best of both worlds they say, loud only when you push it. Soul offers some great products but I live in Finland so the tax and shipping would make it 2-3 times more expensive with full exhaust. I also really wanted to keep the sound&tone of the exhaust as close to stock as possible.
The sound:
When I first started the car and drove it home, it seemed very quiet, maybe a bit deeper tone but after a day of driving the exhaust got louder and more as I pictured it from other forum members' comments.
On tunnels the combination of headers and GT exhaust is 2-3 times louder than the stock setup (or my previous 987.2CS with PSE) and, the tone is excellent and very PSE like. On higher rpm's it screams, LOUD. Inside the parking hall you should not be revving the engine if other people are at present, it is that loud now. First time I did it in an empty parking hall I freaked out a bit. I did not expect it to be that loud at the top of the rpm range.
For a reference, I have driven almost every possible Porsche and would say that soundwise there isn't much better tone to be found (991 GT3RS and Carrera GT are obviously in a different league). I won't comment on aftermarket exhausts since I only have heard some YouTube clips.
Different driving modes:
Sport plus gives a bit more burble than the regular sport mode and as you can guess, the normal mode is very civil and no pops and bangs can be heard. I love how the ECU is programmed on the 981 to give different sounds from the exhaust between the different modes. On stock exhaust, you won't hear the overrun burble at all but with this setup, it's more noticeable, but nowhere near as loud as the GTS (btw. GTS exhaust is the same unit as PSE and the outside sound difference is due to the different factory engine tune).
The conclusion:
Stock exhaust sound is more metallic, simply perfect near the redline but was very quiet on lower rpm's. The Carnewal full system will add sound gradually and is definitely louder on normal driving but gets really loud on redline (but far from Borla loud or race headers). For people that usually spec PSE or do like to install aftermarket exhausts on their cars, I would say that the Carnewal setup with the 200 cell cats is a no brainer because of the low cost, east bolt-on installation and Porsche level of quality.
I will be posting videos later on.
The setup (skip if you know the Carnewal products already):
Carnewal, as many of us already know, modifies the original 981 mufflers and manifolds. At the manifolds, 2 of the 4 cats will be removed and the remaining two will be replaced with HJS 200 cell units. The modded headers will pass emission test without a problem. The muffler insides will also be modified to match the volume and tone of the Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE). The modified headers will increase to sound further +10-20%. The HJS cats will give you about 7hp more and the exhaust maybe 5-7hp but you will not notice any difference unless you mess with the engine tune. A good tune can easily get a fair amount of extra power, with Boxster S, from 315hp to 350hp, and with exhaust, plenum and headers some have gained 370 crank hp. That is huge for N/A engine. But the power wasn't the point for me, the sound was. The stock exhaust is a bit quiet for my taste and quite simply, Carnewal exhaust + headers will fix it.
Some more background:
I purposefully looked for a car without PSE since many have been posting comments about the small drone with it (even with the flaps closed). For many PSE owners, the slight drone isn't a problem but if you want stock-ish Porsche tone and the most drone free exhaust, this might be for you. There is no drone with the Carnewal setup, weirdly.
I was very interested in Borla but was afraid it would be too loud for daily use. I ended up with the Carnewal since it's said to be civil on lower rpm's. Best of both worlds they say, loud only when you push it. Soul offers some great products but I live in Finland so the tax and shipping would make it 2-3 times more expensive with full exhaust. I also really wanted to keep the sound&tone of the exhaust as close to stock as possible.
The sound:
When I first started the car and drove it home, it seemed very quiet, maybe a bit deeper tone but after a day of driving the exhaust got louder and more as I pictured it from other forum members' comments.
On tunnels the combination of headers and GT exhaust is 2-3 times louder than the stock setup (or my previous 987.2CS with PSE) and, the tone is excellent and very PSE like. On higher rpm's it screams, LOUD. Inside the parking hall you should not be revving the engine if other people are at present, it is that loud now. First time I did it in an empty parking hall I freaked out a bit. I did not expect it to be that loud at the top of the rpm range.
For a reference, I have driven almost every possible Porsche and would say that soundwise there isn't much better tone to be found (991 GT3RS and Carrera GT are obviously in a different league). I won't comment on aftermarket exhausts since I only have heard some YouTube clips.
Different driving modes:
Sport plus gives a bit more burble than the regular sport mode and as you can guess, the normal mode is very civil and no pops and bangs can be heard. I love how the ECU is programmed on the 981 to give different sounds from the exhaust between the different modes. On stock exhaust, you won't hear the overrun burble at all but with this setup, it's more noticeable, but nowhere near as loud as the GTS (btw. GTS exhaust is the same unit as PSE and the outside sound difference is due to the different factory engine tune).
The conclusion:
Stock exhaust sound is more metallic, simply perfect near the redline but was very quiet on lower rpm's. The Carnewal full system will add sound gradually and is definitely louder on normal driving but gets really loud on redline (but far from Borla loud or race headers). For people that usually spec PSE or do like to install aftermarket exhausts on their cars, I would say that the Carnewal setup with the 200 cell cats is a no brainer because of the low cost, east bolt-on installation and Porsche level of quality.
I will be posting videos later on.
