The stock exhaust on the GTi is actually pretty efficient so with the downpipe already on the car, there really wasn't much to gain performance-wise from adding an exhaust but one of the most important parts of having an engaging car is having it make all the right noises. I've been wanting an excuse to buy an Akrapovic exhaust since I saw one at the Porsche tech day in real life so when I found out they made one for the GTi, I simply had to get one.
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| Akrapovic Titanium Slip-on Installed - 10-20-2019 |
Although this all Titanium and carbon fiber axle-back exhaust cuts the weight by a good 15lbs, it's really all about having the right exhaust note and how they look. It's such an expertly hand-crafted piece that's just a nice subtle touch to the rear of the car. Below 2500rpm it's pretty quiet and under the radar but as you go up the revs it starts to sing in a very distinct exhaust note. Unfortunately, it was raining most of the way home so having the windows up muffled most of it, but when I had a chance to put the windows down especially going under overpasses, wow, it really sings but not in an obnoxiously loud way.
Installation was pretty straight forward with the right tools. SJF just hacked off the rear muffler where the instructions indicated (2nd dimple) and then a couple was attached to connect the new axle back with the OEM pipe. The exhaust hangers are held on by only one bolt each so it was a pretty quick install even with us taking our time to make sure we didn't scratch or dirty anything up.
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| Even the flange is titanium - 10-20-2019 |
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| Such a gorgeous tip |
We also worked on Kay today. She's developed a bad exhaust leak that unfortunately continues to prevent me from setting ODB2 readiness to pass NYS inspection. One of the biggest sources of the leaks is the coupler going from the pipe to to header and the muffler itself. It looks deformed probably from installing and reinstalling many times with an impact gun.
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| Leaky exhaust coupler - 10-20-2019 |
We needed a new one with a 2" inner diameter and didn't think we'd find any. We went to the local Napa and were shocked they had it. That was relatively easy enough to swap in and that took care of that leak.
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| New 2" ID couplers - 10-20-2019 |
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| New coupler installed - 10-20-2019 |
Unfortunately when we ran the car on the lift, we could definitely feel another leak coming from the flange after the header on both banks. The gaskets that Soul Performance provided just aren't holding up so I've gone ahead and ordered new OEM Porsche gaskets but will have to wait for it to arrive to attempt to fix that leak.
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| Stud conversion removed - 10-20-2019 |
Much to some people's dismay, I got sick of the stud conversion from Rennline that we installed back when Kay was getting prepped for B-Street. For starters, I really don't change wheels that often so putting on wheel hangers isn't that big of a deal and most annoying for me was how badly the nuts they provided rusted up. I simply got sick of seeing rusty wheel nuts on nice wheels so I replaced them with Titanium wheel bolts from Acer Racing (specific length designed for 5mm spacers which I run).
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| New Titanium Wheel Bolts - 10-20-2019 |
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| Hooray for clean bolts that will never rust - 10-20-2019 |
After the big Nationals road trip, I didn't want to leave the car with potentially contaminated oil over the winter so we put in a fresh 8.5 quarts of Driven DT-40.
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| If you own a Cayman, be religious about oil - 10-20-2019 |
Finally, I picked up a set of used 17x8 +35 OZ Superleggera wheels and had SJF mount a fresh set of 225/45/17 Pirelli Sottozero 3 performance winter tires. These are nice and strong and will do quite nicely as my winter setup once the temps regularly drop below the 40s.
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OZ Racing 17x8 +35 Superleggera
225/45/17 Pirelli Sottozero 3 |
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| Gotta love these old school OZs |
Maintenance Update:
Miles: 39,650
- 8.5qt Drive DT-40
- New Napa Gold filter
