Way Too Resonant B&B Mufflers on Boxsters

[mkmurph]

Like a lot of you, all I wanted of the exhaust note from my ‘01 Boxster S was a little warmer sound; and, maybe a little screaming in the very higher registers would not be too objectionable.

Trial and error with Porsches can be plenty expensive though; we all know that, but I had read the B&B ads, bought the message and thought their muffler should do the trick nicely.

Sheesh, was I wrong. Twice!

Here, I’ll explain: B&B muffler Number 1, a large rectangular “can” that, frankly, does not begin to match the visual elegance of the factory unit, but, hey, where great sound is concerned, who gives a s*** what it looks like under the car, you think. It was a tight fit going in. Seems the factory exhaust has a wide notch along the front of the muffler to allow it to wrap around the rear of the transaxle, etc. but the B&B unit lacks this notch with the result that the front of the muffler comes in contact with the rear of the transaxle.

Now, if you force the issue you can get the muffler on but you’ll get a lot of mechanical feed back =, particularly at idle but, that little problem can be fixed with a ball and peen hammer, if you’re so inclined, but who wants to start off a relationship with an $800 piece of gear that way.

But I digress. Forget the ball and peen hammer for now. Bolt that thing up, then switch on and run the engine through the rev counter. Pick some number between 2200 RPM and 3000 RPM --- a place where I would want to spend most of my time on the road --- and in 10 minutes you’ll either be (i) throwing up all over yourself or (ii) throwing up all over your passenger or (ii) getting a huge migrane the resonance is so bad; so bad it will drive you out of the car.

I had my dealer order a new one for me and my detailed email about the problem was dutifully forwarded by my dealer to B&B.

After a couple of weeks my dealer called B&B and spoke to some “customer service” guy there who says he got promptly dismissed when he tried to explain the problem.

Anyway, B&B muffler Number 2, a similar looking large rectangular can, finally arrived and Muffler Number 1 was pulled off. Lo and behold, when I looked in the dual pipes of Muffler Number 1, I saw that the interior exhaust pipes coming from each side of the engine terminated in opposition to one another in a very small chamber that was closed in the forward end that faced the front of the muffler and opened into the dual exhaust collector pipes in the rear.
Now think of that for a moment, in Muffler Number 1, exhaust from one side of the engine is projected into and in direct opposition to the exhaust from other side of the engine and then is substantially compressed even further into the little chamber into which the pipes terminated. Suppose anyone at B&B really understands anything about backpressure?

Anyway, I was pleased to see that Muffler Number 2 had something different at the tailpipes. The pipes coming from each side of the engine now blended together before “exhausting” out the rear, and gone was the effect of that little collection chamber. Bear in mind, though, that both of these mufflers look identical from the exterior so anyone with an older one who can stand the noise should check it out. You may even have a net horsepower loss going for you when compared to the factory muffler.

And anyone still thinking about buying a new B&B muffler, please read on.

Muffler 2 got bolted up and after giving it a fair test of a few days I will say that the reduction in noise was maybe 5%, no more. So I had my dealer pull the damn thing off and bolt back on the factory muffler, and when I did, I immediately noticed better acceleration.

My conclusion: the B&B mufflers were both noisy and may not have added any power, may even have decreased it.
BTW, the service and support the folks at my dealer, CDOC, in Charlottesville, Virginia, gave me was unequalled. They will really work with you to get things right.

Mike Murphy

[Danskman]

Mike,

Resonance is a very big issue with all Porsche exhaust systems... 911, 993, 996, Boxster. It is an exceptionally important issue for vehicles like the Boxster with an open cockpit. As you found out, resonance can absolutely drone on you, and gets old in about 5 seconds.

We (Dansk) have produced sport mufflers for the Boxsters for a few years now, and have been very successful with them. Dansk is an OE supplier for exhaust products to Porsche. We supply heat exchangers and mufflers for all the "classic 911" models (up to 1989). Dansk does not supply any Boxster exhaust components to Porsche right now.

The main objective for our sport mufflers is to offer a bit more of a "sport" sound to the car, without being too loud and without resonating. We also offer perfect fit, with no modifications required to the vehicle. Lastly, our products will produce a modest HP gain. We do not design our products for the people who are trying to squeeze out every last tenth of a HP out of their car - we feel that the resulting sound would not agree with most Porsche owners. Our Boxster muffler was used on a project car in European Car magazine, and we receievd a "Select Gear" award for the product, citing excellent quality, sound and HP gain. Our mufflers are polished stainless steel, and offer either a single out oval, or a dual out showing two round pipes. We have two types for the Boxster, our original sport muffler, which has a roundish body, and our pressed version, which looks identical to the original muffler on your car.

Dansk products are available through Pelican. Please feel free to call me any time with questions. 530-676-7246. You may have seen our ads in Excellence magazine. I am the contact person listed at the bottom of the ad.

[Tone]

Hi all I've just had fitted a DANSK Rear silencer Sport with twin outlet tailpipes Part No.: 705331051 to my 2003 986 Boxster S but I do not like the resonance inside with the top up at about 2,000 - 3,000 revs. It's far too loud and is putting me off driving the car. Is there any way I can quieten it? Thanks Tone

[Sisuguy]

I have to agree on this one! I have a 2000S that came with a B&B muffler and the resonance @ 2800-3000 rpm is almost painful! I have contacted B&B about this with no response from their side....
I will replace it at the first opportunity I have at a reasonable price!

[BYprodriver]

I also nearly bought into the B&B story of race technology & expert craftsmanship. Thank goodness I was saved that heartache & headache by this & other forums. Finally after 10 years I got a good deal on a Dansk sport muffler with twin "S" tips & it is what I wanted, I little louder & zero resonance.