SSI on a 3.6 conversion

[Alan.UK]

I am after some exhaust advice for my 3.6 conversion. I know that many say to retain heat the best set up is B&B headers or go for some 993 headers and an aftermarket muffler but the price tag is a little high. I don't need a cat as the car is not emissions checked.

Anyway, after getting the motor and the conversion kit funds are a little tight so I am thinking on using a pair of early SSI heat exchangers and a Stainless muffler I have. I know this set up is a little restrictive but does anyone know by how much, and will I reeeaaalllly notice. The car will be 95% used on the road. I am wondering whether I should even contemplate this route or just save some more and go for a less restrictive option.

Any advice much appreciated.

Alan.UK

[marcesq]

Alan:

You probably know this but the exhaust head studs changed for 993 motors and are not compatable with SSIs or any other early set up.

Bill Verburg ran SSIs with his 964 motor, you might want to send him a PM and ask his impressions. Bill also has a neat set up for the heat,

FWIW, and I know that the 3.6 head ports are bigger than my 3.2, I have SSIs on my car (which people say are restricting) but I have 2 close friends with Carrera that wished thier 3.2 behaved like mine and they have the stock exhaust set up for smog reasons. My long winded point is that the SSIs are so good that they probably will ok for the 3.6 until you can install something else. SSIs are not cheap either though.

Good luck.

[Moses]

The owner of SSI tells me that he has dyno proven evidence that his SSI's do not impair top end HP on a 3.6 motor (964).

Several people on this board have tried SSI's. To my knowledge, none of them continue to run SSI's with a 3.6

Also, a larger diameter SSI unit is at least a year or two away and SSI was vague about what specific applications they were working on.

[Jack Olsen]

You will not notice a big difference at all. I started out with the poor-man's 3.6-conversion exhaust: a stock Carrera (3.2) setup, which is an even more restrictive set-up than SSI's. Moving to B&B headers, the throttle response seemed crisper, but that was about it. It's not like the engine was dramatically transformed.

If you have the SSI's, and it's a 964 motor, then it probably makes sense to use them. Down the road, when you've put aside a little more money, you can go to one of the bigger solutions, and enjoy a mini upgrade.

Going to a 1 7/8 exhaust from a 1 5/8 one is kind of a fine-tuning step, more than a big leap forward. And unfortunately, it's also a very expensive step. If the more-restrictive pipes are cutting your peak horsepower, slightly, then keep in mind that they're also boosting your low and mid-range torque -- which is going to make the car quicker in street driving. In my not-so-educated opinion, peak horsepower is most important for flat-out sections of big racetracks and (of course) dyno test boasts. Torque is what you feel in real-life driving.

[dwightp]

"Going to a 1 7/8 exhaust from a 1 5/8 one is kind of a fine-tuning step, more than a big leap forward. And unfortunately, it's also a very expensive step. If the more-restrictive pipes are cutting your peak horsepower, slightly, then keep in mind that they're also boosting your low and mid-range torque -- which is going to make the car quicker in street driving. In my not-so-educated opinion, peak horsepower is most important for flat-out sections of big racetracks and (of course) dyno test boasts. Torque is what you feel in real-life driving."

Jack, you da man! Glad to hear "real world" information!

Alan, I've got SSI's on my 3.6l with a dual monty exhaust. Love it. Very driveable. Next upgrade for me is intake side, not exhaust side.

[Bill Verburg]

A search will return lots of threads
here's one exhaust thread

a quick summary is here

a copy of a post;
I have yet to see the perfect exhaust for this application. Every one has some good and some bad points.
84-89 Carrera
pro; cheap, a cat is possible but not necessary, heat, uses stock 911 1in muffler
con; inefficient performance wise

993 ;
pro; cheap, efficient, heat
con; if used w/ a cat mufflers are problematic

B&B 1 3/4", 1 5/8"
pro; efficient, heat
con; expensive

SSI 1 1/2"
pro; efficient, heat,uses stock 911 2in muffler
con; a bit small, needs tweeking, semi-expensive

GHL
pro; efficient, heat
con; very expensive

Bursch 1 5/8", 1 3/4", 1 7/8"
pro; efficient, cheap
con; no heat

FVD 42mm
pro; efficient, heat
con; very very expensive

Summary, yes ssi will work fine(for street use)