Brian B

On 6/27/2021 at 9:04 PM, Castaway said:

I got a silencer from a US dry state (Ebay) and it is in excellent condition compared to the UK ones I saw for sale on Ebay, they just get an easier life over there! Might be worth the customs charge if you're going for OE.

Thanks Castaway.  I've tracked one of those down too and it does look pristine in the pic - but priced accordingly!!  Do you mind me asking what you paid for yours so I can gauge if this one is fair price?

On 6/24/2021 at 8:34 AM, brillomaster said:

If your car is your daily driver, and does any urban driving, then on balance, i probably wouldn't recommend the ebay one. mine is just a weekend b road blaster, and every time i start it i think 'wow thats loud' and then when trying (and failing) to drive quietly through a village, i feel everyone is watching me go past thinking whos the twonk in the poor mans porsche.

but it all comes good when the NSL sign appears, and you can stretch the legs in 3rd a bit 😉

dont suppose you're anywhere near leamington spa are you? if so you're welcome to come over and hear mine fitted...

Thanks so much for the offer.  I'm in Belfast so can't take you up on it at the moment.  We're well used to loud bangs here but I don't want to scare the neighbours or look a bit ridiculous for my age with something too boy racer so I'll try and find something a bit more civilised.

However, it's good to know the ebay one is an affordable fallback option if the alternative is MOT failure and a period off the road

On 6/24/2021 at 6:23 AM, Chukkieegg said:

I had noisy backbox as baffles were gone and was unsure what to do 

I found a used dansk back box on ebay for £350 delivered it's has a small dent in it but otherwise not been on donor car that long was in very good condition and cost £120 to get fitted with new brackets supplied by exhaust centre but then I didn't want the drone 

It's not any louder than orginal box but does have a deeper note which I like so search ebay ads you may be lucky

Good suggestion. Thanks

On 6/23/2021 at 10:48 PM, ½cwt said:

I feel your pain on prices, however £400 for a decent used back box doesn't seem too unreasonable.  Check the list price from Porsche for a new one if you think Dansk is costly!

I daren't 😂

22 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Nice of you to say, but mostly smoke and mirrors, just too much time reading the forum whilst WFH for the last 15 months and owning a Boxster for nearly 3 years doing most of the work myself.  There are others far more qualified.

Dansk seems to offer the nearest to OE based on feedback on here but best bet is look up people how have done and exhaust and see if you can meet them to get the 'live' experience.  Remember if you want the sports exhaust experience it is easier to get them the more muffled OE experience.  The challenge is reasonably priced.  Manifolds and U bends from the common eBay listing seem to work out well if you need those too.  That said a salvage box from a lower mileage newer car should be in better condition if yours is high mileage or older.  Steve Strange at Douglas Valley Breakers will tell you the mileage of the donor car for major components and send extra pictures on request.  I've just had a replacement driver's seat from him for example - a bit of work and it ahs come up really well and a lot less wear than on my 100k mile old seat.

Thanks mate.

I've tried Steve at Douglas Valley and he has nothing at the moment but I've still a bit of time to check back with him.

I've located a used US-import that looks totally rust-free....but it's £400. That's a lot to pay for a used unit.

Dansk prices are out of the question at the moment.

I'll keep looking...

3 hours ago, ½cwt said:

Cheap after market ones are often reported as droning at cruising speed, some like it some don't.  If you want sports exhaust noise, great sound. If you want OE spec it'll drive you mad.

Thanks ½cwt. 

Given your extensive knowledge and familiarity with the forum are there any other reasonably-priced after market options apart from this ebay cheapy?

Cheers  

5 hours ago, brillomaster said:

PS heres another £20 off that exhaust here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184155667855?epid=22033524457&hash=item2ae0887d8f:g:Z9AAAOSwXFJgdAva

or you could risk this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255022473350?hash=item3b60862086:g:DBgAAOSwK0Fgzdf5

Thanks Brillomaster - and thanks for the better price!

So at least it's not a con. And at £170 it looks like a decent option vs £200+ for a rusty used unit even as a stopgap until budget permitted something else.

On balance would you recommend? Ta

Hi All,

I'm looking for a replacement silencer/ back box for my 2004 986.2 2.7L.  The car needs to be MOT'd in July and I've been advised the current unit may not pass as it's got the classic split seams.

Looks like a decent used one from a reputable breaker will be around £250 if I can get one (no luck so far).  Cheaper units on ebay don't look much better than my own and the trusted independent specialist who I've used for other work on the car doesn't recommend welding splits.  It also seems like a lot of money to spend on a used unit that's going to be as old as the one on the car.

I've seen this stainless steel one on ebay as cheap as £189.99 which seems too good to be true.

STAINLESS CAT BACK EXHAUST SYSTEM BACK BOX FOR PORSCHE BOXSTER 986 2.5 2.7 3.2 | eBay

Reading through other chats on the forum I've seen references to "the ebay one".  Is this it and has anyone any experience of it? is it any good/ worth fitting?  My current exhaust (with split seams) makes a nice throaty noise so I'm keen to keep a sporty sound but I'm not after anything too boy racer.  The car is my daily driver but it's mainly urban or country B-road driving so a bit of motorway drone wouldn't be a major issue.

So apart from a used replacement or this ebay unit what other options would forum members recommend?  Budget is an issue so I'm hoping not to have to spend more than £300 for the unit as I also need front discs for the MOT.

Appreciate any suggestions/recommendations.

Thanks.  I think PS4 would be my preferred option if budget wasn't an issue.

So far the best prices fully fitted I have are £370 Kwik-Fit less 10% promo (net £333) or £360 from a local tyre company. Michelin seem to run an DFS-style never-ending promotion giving a £10 off per tyre rebate so that would net down to £340 - unless like me when I got a set of excellent Cross Climates on the front of my A6 last year and forgot to claim the rebate until after the closing date!

As a comparison I've been quoted £290 for a set of Goodyear AS 5's which looks like a decent price. At the lower end it's £168 to replace with the same HiFly's that are on it.

Anyone else have good experiences with something mid-range like the Kumho Ecsta, Hankook or Yokohama? 

As usual I'm staggered by the knowledge and experience on this forum so I would value your advice on replacement tyres

My 2004 986.2 has the tyres that were on it when I bought it: 225/40 ZR 18 Hankook Ventus on the front and 265/35 R 18 HiFly on the rear.  I was pretty shocked when I saw those when I was buying the car last June but it was otherwise in great condition, well cared-for, great history and great price so I bought it anyway.

I've been using the car as a daily driver - although obviously that's much less than normal at the moment - and frequent blasts on the great and plentiful B roads around where I live in Co Down.  No track driving and likely none/very little in future. I've done 5,000 miles in 8 months but I would imagine in normal circumstances that would probably be my upper limit for annual mileage. 

I've been amazed at the performance of the HiFly's - it really takes a bit of deliberate provocation with some damp/loose gravel on tarmac to get them to move.  Even now that they are needing replaced they haven't deteriorated too much.

This is the only Boxster I've ever driven so I don't know how much different the rear grip and handling would be with more premium tyres.

So I'm looking for your recommendations.  I'll put on premium tyres if the difference is worth it but equally there's no point over-paying for no benefit. And it's a 17 year old car, not one that's still under warranty where resale value might be a factor.  I won't be doing thousands of miles annually so wear probably isn't an issue and sadly I'll have limited track opportunities.

I live in N Ireland so decent wet weather performance is all-too-frequently necessary although I'm not doing much hood-down pleasure driving when it's wet so it would be more about wet braking performance than grip/handling.

There is still meat on the front Hankooks so I'm not looking to replace all 4 tyres at this point.

What do you recommend?