Porsche 997 GT3 Valved Side Muffler Bypass Pipes

All, some additional feedback on a 997.2 GT3 with recently installed Soul valved side muffler bypass. Wasn't too hard to do at home, without a lift & with the rear bumper removed. After doing it, I wouldn't even attempt it without removing the bumper unless you have a lift. The only hassle I had was with the horrible deformed torque prevailing nuts that Porsche use on the side pipe to centre muffler joints, and that's nothing to do with the Soul kit. I've been modifying cars myself for 20 odd years and I have to say the quality of the Soul valved SMB's is brilliant. I was concerned, as I've never dealt with a fully hard mounted exhaust before, but the dimensional accuracy of the Soul parts was spot on.Now to the sound. I do have drone around 2500rpm, which I was surprised about given some prior comments indicating that there was no drone with the Soul SMB's, though I can't imagine any SMB from different companies being any better. I think it's just an inevitable downside when you ditch those huge standard side mufflers. It's not unlivable drone like I've had in modified Supra's before, but I would however still like to do a back to back vs other GT3's with different modified exhausts just to check. Drone aside, I can't overstate how amazing the thing sounds now above 3500rpm. It surprised me a bit actually as I thought that above 3500rpm once the valves are open on the stock exhaust and more or less bypassing the side mufflers that the sound would be more or less the same, but it isn't, it's much better. Unlike many on this forum that think Mezger's sounds amazing even in stock form, I don't, give me a GT350 Voodoo for sound any day of the week. Does the car sound as great as a Voodoo 5.2 now? No, but jeeze it's close. It's a completely different sound, but sounds like an exotic supercar above 3500rpm, and below 3500rpm when the closed side valves made it sound asthmatic with the stock exhaust, it now sounds like a proper performance car should. For anyone like me that's spending a lot of time trying to decide on whether to go SMB or CMB, and which brand, all I can say is that having forked over what I consider to be a decent chunk of cash for the Soul SMB's, I would absolutely do the same again if I got a stock GT3 tomorrow.

Weight savings: Confirmed on the scale, solid weight loss of the rear of the car as advertised. Reduced heat: This was VERY noticeable as soon as I removed the side mufflers and installed the valved bypass pipes. The engine compartment is WAY cooler after a long drive compared to when I had the side mufflers on the car. Very Impressed with this . Tire pressures are more stable in the rear as well ( due to reduced heat in the back I believe). Performance: I’ll be honest here, nothing to notice in regards to power gains ( I did not dyno the car as I wasn’t looking for gains anyways). Sound: FANTASTIC ! I’m running the car with race headers ( catless) and it is absolutely addictive. In normal mode it sounds tame , no drone at all and can be driven daily without annoying anyone ( perhaps 20% louder than stock) . Sport mode is a different story lol ! The closest thing is ( if I wanted to describe how it sounds in words) would be a 997 cup car. Really aggressive, heel toe is way more pronounced compared to the stock setup and throttle blips just rip. Really satisfied with this aspect. I would easily say this is the BEST exhaust solution for a GT3 if you are looking for sound + weight saving. Quality and packaging: Professional packaging , really nice quality and welds on the bypass pipes as well. Install: If you can put together Legos, you can install the bypass pipes on the car. Really satisfied with the purchase John, two thumbs up !