Description
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING: We set out to increase power and sound without throwing a check engine light. Using HJS HD 200 cell catalysts allows us to do just that. We designed our Sport Catalytic Converters to have the best possible exhaust path with valves open in pursuit of maximum exhaust flow – no compromises.
POWER: We approached AWE Tuning about testing our development car at their facility for third party dyno results. We experienced gains of 12 whp and 13 ft-lbs of torque at 4,700 RPM as tested on a 2017 Carrera 4S with no other mods. Peak power was up by 14 whp and 15 ft-lbs. Much greater gains can be expected from the freer flowing exhaust components when paired with a tune.
CONSTRUCTION: Each set is assembled in house out of mandrel bent, thick wall .065″” T304L stainless steel. Back purged TIG welding ensures proper weld penetration and longevity. Each set is tested in a fixture to guarantee fitment and then foam packed to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.
HJS CATALYSTS: The highest quality catalytic converters available, known for their industry leading flow and durability. They are efficient enough to meet strict EURO 4 emission standards while still allowing for an increase in flow – all without a check engine light. The HD design uses premium triple foil winding for maximum strength. The brazing stripe is an extra feature in the interest of durability – it prevents the core from moving or experiencing any damage from sustained high horsepower abuse. We use a large and appropriately sized catalyst to allow for maximum gains – no compromises here!
BOLT ON AND GO: Each product is rigorously quality-checked and tested in a fixture to ensure perfect fitment. Thorough installation instructions are included in the box for a straightforward install that can be performed by most DIY enthusiasts.
LIFETIME WARRANTY: Enjoy your SOUL exhaust components with confidence on both the street and track as they are covered for life! Our team will quickly work with you to resolve any issues or answer any questions that you may have. We cover our HJS catalytic converters with an unprecedented 3 year warranty while the components themselves are backed by our Lifetime Warranty.
NOTE
This product is not CARB certified and may not be legal for use on emissions controlled vehicles; intended for off road use only
Francis Luu –
They’re the best. Loud and burbly but still quiet in standard mode on the PSE. I’m finally able to get decent in-cabin noise with the PSE in sport mode with the windows up!
Chris –
I wanted a more aggressive note but not obnoxious – basically closer to a stock 991.1 understanding that there would be “turbo” notes. That is exactly what I got. The Soul cats on the stock muffler sound perfect for me with the added benefit of more HP, no “smell” and less weight. The Soul cats are obviously precision made and have a beautiful finish on them are arrived timely and packed super well.
Once I got the exhaust off and the original cats off the muffler it I couldn’t get the Soul cats on the muffler because the factory brackets had slightly crushed the muffler pipes. This was easily remedied by taking the muffler to a muffler shop and I had them expand the pipes a bit which they did for free. All I lost was an hour. Everything went back together easily, straight and without fuss from there.
The above mentioned very minor complications concerned the Soul guys so much that they called and were only above and beyond on how they could be supportive which was funny to me because none of it was really a big deal especially since this was the first time I had ever worked on any Porsche ever…. Obviously they make a first class product and their customer service is terrific. All in all I would highly recommend the product and given 4-6 hours on a Saturday anyone can do this themselves. The key is to take your time and be methodical.
The best thing though is the sound – wow!
C.Brett –
The Soul guys were fabulous to work with and made the purchase and shipping easy. The cats were extremely well packed and the quality appears top notch. Instructions were detailed and easy to follow. The install is straightforward and really just bolt on. Some of the bolts are however a bit difficult to get to and require a bit of effort to remove/install. I installed them myself and am no master mechanic by any means.
I have had a prior 991.1 C2 with stock exhaust and then added PSE. I’ve also had a 991.1 C2S with an AWE Switch Patch Exhaust, and currently own a GT4 with stock PSE. The new Soul sport cats on the 991.2 C2S remind me of a cross between the 991.1 stock exhaust and that with the PSE. It definitely takes the sound up a notch and overall increases the quality of the sound while maintaining the turbo characteristics. The burbles sound much better and less manufactured. I believe this is a “must” modification for guys who are used to a Porsche NA exhaust but want the benefits of the new 991.2 cars. I have had such a good experience with Soul that I have ordered a set of headers from them for the GT4 and am looking forward to installing them soon.
flickroll –
I agree with cbrett’s assessment of the sound of the Soul Sport Cats, having installed them on my car. For me, it makes the sound just about perfect for my 991.2 GTS. Press the Sport exhaust buttons and you are sure to turn heads…in a good way. The cats are a nice exhaust upgrade for the 991.2’s. And no CEL. I will also note no stinky exhaust.
Doug H –
I figured it was a good time to get these and have them installed, since the exhaust would be off with the X-51 kit install, and I didn’t really want to do it myself (although it’s a pretty simple task). I am surprised at how much improved the sound is with only this addition. I also get a sense of the increased flow working harmoniously with the bigger turbos at mid to high revs (although this is admittedly subjective). In any case, I expected increased whine from the turbos, but I don’t hear it. What I do hear is a nice growl that was absent before. Great sound on a cold start and at idle in sport mode, the growl really comes on during acceleration, more natural sounding burbles and pops on overrun, and a rich howl under compression braking. If I were to do just one thing to a 991.2 with PSE, it would be to swap the cats for the Soul product. They exceeded my expectations.
George –
+1 for Soul Performance. Had the 200 cel cats installed yesterday. You won’t notice much of an in cab sound difference (windows up of course), but those outside said it was noticeably different. No drone, perfect if you are looking to up the PSE sound a to be turned up, but don’t want your ears to ring while you are driving. You’ll definitely hear the turbo’s spool more too! The customer service is top notch too.
Richard –
Cats fitted today, very pleased so far. Thanks for your help
luv2sleep – Rennlist –
Swap out the stock cats with high flow cats. I went with SOUL 200 cell. No CEL and the sound is perfect to me.
ReinhardtK (Rennlist) –
Best mod ever! I was really missing the ‘soul” of my 997 and this brought much of it back.
Rennlist User –
Low frequency poster/daily forum user but wanted to share my experience after installing these 200 cell cats from Soul. Picked up my 991.2 about 3 months ago and immediately went to the drawing board for bolt on upgrades. After the BMC filter install I wanted to free up the exhaust but didn’t want a car that was “race” loud and wanted to avoid any potential intrusive exhaust smell. My car is a 2017 CS with 7MT.
First impressions- wow! Wish the car came this way from the factory! These cats improve almost everything about The drivability of the car. Deeper sound with more cracks and pops, but not overdone. Better throttle response, faster spool, smoother acceleration and an obvious power increase all the way to redline. Overall just simply a much more visceral driving experience! No difference in smell, aside from the break in smell, which is already decreased in about 30 miles.
One observation was that for the first 5-10 miles I didn’t notice much difference, but after driving a bit, shutting the car off and driving again, it was obvious that the ECU was “learning” the new air flow dynamic, and within about 20 miles, it was significantly better.
I would highly reccommend these for anyone looking for a tasteful and noticeable improvement to their 991.2. Next comes the tune!!!
Thanks so much to John and the team at Soul for a great experience!
SB27 (Rennlist) –
I just had the Soul Sport Cats installed on my 2019 Targa 4 GTS and took it out on the town last night to really understand what the “changes” from the PSE / factory sound/feel like. My learnings last night as follows:
+ In valve closed (non-sport) mode, the exhaust is still very quiet and well mannered. I love this. Quiet when I want it to be quiet and low on the notice band.
+ In valve open mode (sport mode), the Sport Cats provide some really, really interesting enhancements:
+ Spectacular sounds / whistling from the turbo chargers. You cannot believe how subtle but cool these sound. It’s amazing.
+ Much deeper/nicer sound on hard acceleration. Nothing that will get you pulled over, but a great/deep/solid sound.
+ Much more interesting burbles on down-shifting.
The only way I can describe it is this. If you have the Targa top down, and you spent extra $$$ on the GTS, there is no better enhancement / bang-for-buck than the Sport Cats. It just brings the car alive a bit more when you want to get on it. And makes the whole experience far more involving and enjoyable.
BIGWORM (Rennlist) –
I just had the sport cats installed on my 19 GTS and OMFG! I am in love! You can clearly hear the turbo spooling, (which I personally love), the startup sounds meaner. The idle sounds meaner. The rpms climb faster. It’s throatier. My butt dyno feels it. And it pops a little louder in sport mode.
I had my dealership install them and they loved the quality and sound just as much as me. If you are on the fence about it, just do it! It’s so worth the sound alone in my opinion.
Worth every penny!
Matt –
TLDR: Soul great service. Sport cats sound awesome. Sound way better than video. BUY THEM.
Absolutely. While I can’t really speak to aftermarket support to the product because I haven’t installed it yet, the ordering process was super awesome. I worked with John B. He is basically available at all times. I had a question about the product and he picked up his cell phone while he was at a track event. The only reason I am waiting for the to be installed is because you guys got them to me earlier than promised.
Update. I had my sport cats installed on my C4S/x51. PSE now sounds awesome. For me the stock PSE was a must when purchasing a 911. While stock PSE is going to be loud enough for most people (and it is a loud exhaust), I found it a bit lacking. I wanted an exhaust with not only more volume but more character. Plenty of after market exhausts make cars louder, but they sound like crap in the process. I had some hesitation because by most accounts the PSE is pretty good. I was concerned about messing with a good thing. I watched a ton of videos of high flow cats on youtube. The videos generally get the sound right but they don’t do it justice. It sounds much better in person. There are more nuances and subtle sounds that I can hear now that make the car that much more fun to drive. It keeps the OE exhaust character but turns up the volume a few notches. The sounds of the turbines are much more present now (which I think is cool). It could be placebo but the throttle response feels more immediate. There is no droning. You can always turn the PSE button off and it sounds like stock. No CEL. No smells. My local porsche dealer was totally cool about installing it. Soul customer service is outstanding. I am extremely happy with it.
SB27 (Rennlist) –
Installed the Soul Sport Cats 6 months ago….
If you have PSE, you get a GREAT/FUN sound in Sport Mode. Turbo’s spooling. Whistling. The crisp retort on shifts, etc.
When you go to Normal Mode, the car goes into near full STEALTH MODE in terms of sound. Awesome.
It’s almost like having a Neighbor Mode and a Fun Mode at the flick of a switch. Amazing. Great bang for the buck.
siete-speed (Rennlist) –
OK, got mine installed, it increases stock noises (which is a low growl) about 15%, but on Sport the burbles are louder, maybe 20-25% they really pop.
No smell that I can notice, no lights, and quiet when you want to be quiet. The thing I like the most is heel/toe shifts are nice and any rev-matches are crisp/loud, somewhat exotic.
That is what I wanted. Would an exhaust do the exact same thing, probably, but so many members suggested the cats that it became an obvious choice for me.
I think people who want crazy loud may want louder, but for me the 991.2 in stock form with low growl noises seemed quiet, since I did not hear the engine or exhaust enough for my liking,
but my ears always felt like there was a lot of noise after an extended drive
due to road noise, etc…..so I did not want anything too much louder than stock. A modest increase was the goal with more theatrics on downshifts, so far, so good.
GT3FZS (Rennlist) –
I had the SOUL Performance Sport Cats installed on my 2019 911T yesterday at Sewickley Porsche (Pittsburgh metro area) and the experience was 100% positive!
First, let me say the previous reviews of the Soul Cats were accurate regarding sound, throttle response, reduce lag/spool time.
Second, no surprise, the Soul product is very high quality, it almost a shame to hide them under the car!
The sound level is fantastic outside the car; with PSE valves closed idle is still throaty, but nor disturbing. With valves open, exhaust tone is what you expect, and turbo whistle is noticeable, but not objectionable.
While driving, cabin sound is increased of course, but exactly what I was hoping for. Crackles/pops in Sport mode are more noticeable, and to me just right. Highway steady state (75-80 mph) is stock quiet with valves closed, but (to me) not too loud to leave valves open full time.
911CSC (Rennlist) –
Finally the Soul Sports Cats are on the car, yay!!!!!
Thanks to John at Soul Performance for making me the cats quickly and the time in helping me find a good shop to get them installed.
The cats are just what the car needed to wake her up, they sound great. Loud but not so loud that I can still enjoy the top down. No exhaust fumes and pops are much better now. Can’t wait to break them in this weekend.
A must have if you want your 991.2 sounding aggressive
nicholascanada (Rennlist) –
I have had my Soul PP sport cats installed for a few months now and I have waited on purpose before posting a review. I have many miles in many different conditions and think I can fairly give a good review now of them. As others, I watched a ton of videos online and read forum posts as I had no opportunity to hear the sport cats in person. That concerned me a lot, but I will try to give a few comments to put your mind at ease in you are on the fence on these.
My absolute #1 comment is that the videos online simply do not do justice at all to the sound. Not one of them. It is not even close. When I first started up my car inside my garage with the sport cats on, I was shocked at the level of noise. They are loud. I do not feel they are obnoxious, it is just that after listening to a million videos they simply do not capture the live feel obviously. Many people have wondered if they are enough, as I did since the videos sometimes made them out to be more, but perhaps not much more. That was my biggest concern when I contacted them prior to purchase. What if I install and I do not notice much difference? I can tell you that this will 110% not be the case. You WILL notice them. They very much alter the noise level. Soul and others here told me subjectively 25% more, since I am a numbers guy, I might go as far as saying it is more like 40% more. Windows down, sunroof open, windows closed, does not matter what combo..you notice the difference..in a good way.
I have since had the opportunity to drive a 991.2 base with PSE without Soul PP sport cats, and I was reminded why I wanted them in the first place. Without them, I personally notice very little difference inside the cabin. Prior to buying my car, I test drove it and went for an extended drive constantly turning the PSE on and off. From inside the cabin, with the windows closed, I could tell little difference. This was my first instance driving a 991.2 with PSE and I was shocked. I thought to myself, but it has a sport exhaust now, why can I not hear it??? This was my biggest gripe on the car..it looks like an iconic sports car, drives like one, but sounds so muted. To me without the sound in the mix, the package falls apart.
I can tell you honestly that with the Soul SC the package is completed. Perfectly. Start this car up now outside, or inside with someone around and it announces itself to the world. At WOT it just simply makes this car even more addictive. The cats IMO make the burbles less robotic sounding, and deepen the exhaust note to a more exotic tone..more throaty..more robust. Just driving around town the noise is intoxicating, you simply do not want to stop. But wait, your wife says she hates loud exhausts? Your neighbors called bylaw enforcement? Turning off PSE brings the car back to awfully close to stock before the cats install, and the car sounds like an Accord. The best of both worlds if need be. Brilliant on Porsche and Soul PP for not ruining that apsect.
Finally with windows up you can hear the exhaust, you know what you are driving is special. I so much hated that missing before, the sport cats transform this car to what it should have been out of the factory. Windows down? Oh my. Bring a change of shorts. Seriously, it just implants a permanent grin on your face..I dare you to try to not get goosebumps. Again, it just finishes off the package absolutely spot on and IMHO is worth every single penny Soul PP charges. Simply brilliant.
PS A special thank you to John at Soul PP. I am a MASSIVE stickler for good customer service and John nails it out of the park. Always available, always helpful, incredible insights on everything. John was a huge reason I went with Soul PP because he took care of me from day one.
mammothcar1 (Rennlist) –
I just installed a set of Soul Sport Cats this past weekend and I came away very impressed. ( Carrera T with PSE )
Just as the other reviews and videos show, there is a definite increase in turbo whistle, especially at idle and an overall more aggressive sound throughout the rev range.
And the cold start up is awesome, it will definitely get your attention.
The install was straight forward but I’ll add a few notes of ” I wish I had that tool instead”
When using the T30 to get the heat shields off I wish I had a T30 using a 1/4 inch drive rather than my 3/8 in drive. The 3/8 ratchet was just too long, and when reducing the T30 to my 1/4 ratchet, it became too tall.
So, T30 with 1/4 drive is a game changer.
I wish I had a stubby 22mm wrench for the cat O2 sensors (I bought a stubby now after the fact just to have). The cats O2s are accessible, but if your 22mm is just a bit too long like mine was, it’ll make for a longer day.
In addition to removing the rear wheels to access that T30 heat shield screw, I also removed the rear wheel well liner. It’s just a small section, and is held in place by just a few screws, T25 I think. This will allow for a straight on shot at that T30.
In order to stabilize the exhaust when pulling it away from the turbos, I used a 5 gallon bucket sitting underneath the muffler using my QuckJack on the 1st level. The bucket was at the right height for my wife and to wrestle the exhaust away without damaging the bolts or turbos.
The guys at Soul really did their homework with this product. The fit and finish is top notch and the sound is fantastic.
k_h_d (Rennlist) –
The local Indy installed my sport cats. Dropped it off in the morning and picked it up late afternoon. Absolutely love the increased aggressive sound. To be honest I am not really a fan of the pops but it is amusing to hear when showing off the exhaust to friends. They are definitely loud.
The turbo spooling sound is great. Very happy with the mod.
I might do a tune sometime. But the local Indy who knows his stuff wasn’t too keen on tuning. His take is that Porsche knows what they are doing and doesn’t like to mess with too much. He did love the sound of the soul highflow cats though.
812SF –
I have these on my 991.2 Targa GTS and they really sound good. No stinky exhaust and no check engine light. You can really hear the turbos whistle with these.
MingusDew (Rennlist) –
The sport cats are cool to me specifically because they make the turbo sounds even louder. No added drone, just slightly louder with more cool turbo whooshes. Totally agree headers+sport cats+PSE seems to be the sweet spot for sound, HP gains, and cost. Really gives the car a great turbo car sound mixed with flat 6. Still nowhere near the sound an N/A motor makes, but cool and fun sound that is just it’s own thing. Sounds way better to me than 996/997 TT engines.