Shark Werks muffler bypass & Laguna Seca sound buster
 

I am a late comer as far as Shark Werks center muffler bypass. Alex had this fantastic product for a while and I have heard them on the track and it sounded flat out amazing when you step on the gas! I got hold of a set from Alex couple months back (sorry Alex it took me this long to post ... blame the kids lol) and like to share the simple DIY with few sound clips

Also, as many of you know that Laguna Seca has a sound limit of 92 db and OEM GT3/RS muffler set up will not pass even with sports button off. I busted the sound limit last time out at 95+ db with OEM muffler. Apparently there is a simple way to connect the vacuum hose as nicely demonstrated by Joe . This in turn channel the exhaust through all 3 chambers on the main side mufflers hence reduce exhaust sound significantly enough to pass the 92 db sound limit. But how does this affect the hp and torque? I will attempt to answer that question in this post.

OK, the Laguna Seca sound buster DIY lol

The principle is simple enough that your friendly Porsche dealer will charge $160 to route the exhaust through all 3 chambers on the main side mufflers by simply connecting two hose together. All you need is a 5/16" vacuum hose connector and two 5/8" corbin clamps to do the job. They can be had from any parts store and I got mine from Kragen for less than $5

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3035/pict6818r.jpg

The vacuum solenoid is located at the right side of the engine bay. The hardest part is removal of the OEM steel clamps - I sware, they are made out of titanium alloy or something. it was impossible to pry them open. I busted the head of couple small screw drivers to get them off. Now I can see why dealer charge $160. lol I am sure there is a special tool to do the job which will cost $398

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4711/pict6697.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5771/pict6701.jpg

Now all you need to do is connect both of these vacuum hose together and once you fire up the engine, the vacuum created by the intake will close the lower exhaust pipe on the main side mufflers and force the exhaust through all 3 chambers hence "muffle" the sound

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/6470/pict6716.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8559/pict6736.jpg

Some dealer may use a different way to route the vacuum as shown below to achieve the same effect. It is a bit too much work and looks like they use another vacuum check valve (the white strip valve) to maintain the vacuum which is not needed since there is already a factory vacuum check valve on the left side of the engine bay. The way I have shown above will take less than 1 minute to switch out on the track and most importantly cost next to nothing to DIY

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/6720/pict6270.jpg

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/8611/pict6269.jpg


Shark Werk muffler bypass

OK, here is the Shark Werk muffler bypass First of all, Alex will include a detail step by step DIY with the goods which is very easy to follow. I waited a while to get the center muffler bypass because I want to make sure it has the following qualities:

• light weight
• nice to look at lol
• will not drone
• will not rob power
• not annoying loud

Well, Shark Werk center muffler bypass does all of the above and much more.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2056/pict6719.jpg

OK, let's take the rear bumper, aluminum beam, left heat shield and one small horizontal heat shield on top of the center muffler to gain access

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2087/pict6718.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4886/pict6721.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4931/pict6724.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1921/pict6730.jpg

Next, remove the bolts that secure the center muffler to the side mufflers. You only need to disconnect the left main muffler to install Shark Werks bypass muffler. To do this, remove the C clamp that secure the side muffler to the header/cat assembly and also 3 bolts that anchor the side muffler to the engine. Rest the left side main muffler on some blocks and take care not to stretch the vacuum hose for the muffler valve

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/7563/pict6731.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8923/pict6725.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9393/pict6727.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1046/pict6739.jpg

Let's pop the Shark Werks bypass muffler on and secure it to the side mufflers and install the exhaust tip. The whole process took me less than two hours. It was an easier DIY than modifying the vacuum hose lol.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1079/pict6752.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/7554/pict6772.jpg

Now, let's look at the weight saving. The OEM center muffler with exhaust tips and all the bolts etc weigh 22 lbs and Shark Werks bypass muffler with all the necessary install hardware and OEM exhaust tip weigh 8 lbs. WOW, that is 14 lbs weight saving. The Shark Werks bypass muffler itself only weight 3 lbs. This is just amazingly light which make it a moot point to get a titanium bypass exhaust which will only reduce the weight further by maybe a pound but cost a whole lot more.

Excellent craftsmanship Alex .... two thumbs up!!

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9646/pict6740.jpg

So, how well does Laguna Seca sound buster work and what is the reduction of sound in decibel? Sound energy degrade with distance and it's louder the close you are to the source. The intensity of sound energy degradation with distance depends on many factors such as density of air, temperature and source of sound wave etc. Below is a summary of the decibel difference between OEM and Shark Werks muffler bypass with and without vacuum valve and sports button ON. Both measurements were done 20 feet from the car with ambient temperature around 75 F in the late afternoon

• OEM exhaust with muffler valve ON: 91.9 db
• OEM exhaust with muffler valve OFF: 98.4 db

This Equal to 6.5 db reduction with muffler valve ON all the time

• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON: 93.2 db
• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF: 105.4 db
• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON -- drive by test: 91 db
• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF -- drive by test: 97.9 db

This Equal to 12.2 db reduction with muffler valve ON all the time at stand still and 6.9 db reduction with drive by tests. I had to warn my neighbor before I let the Shark Werks bypass exhaust rip ... and they LOVE IT!

As Joe has demonstrated that you can pass Laguna Seca sound limit with Shark Werks bypass as long as you plug in the vacuum hose and leave the muffler valve ON. But how does it affect the engine performance. My butt dyno says some lost of power in 4K to 6K range. let's answer this question in the proper scientific way .... let's DYNO!

I hooked up with Shad at Driving Ambition and used their Dynapack to answer the question. I meet Shad at Laguna Seca and they had an amazing twin turbo red NSX that pulled > 600 hp at the wheel and spun around Laguna Seca with a time of 1:30 .... OMG! The car pass me like I was standing still lol.

I decided to use Dynapack since you don't need to strap down the car and the Dynapack bolt right on to the wheels. For those of you new to dyno, it's best use is to help gauge the differences in hp and torque gain/loss with mods. It's not a tool to see how much hp you have so you can brag to your neighbor ... we will leave that to Dr. Porsche inc. lol

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3989/pict6813.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5673/pict6817.jpg

Shad's Dynapack setup gave consistent reading pulls after pulls with and without muffler valve on (sports button ON). Here is a video of the sound test and dyno


YouTube - Shark Werks muffler and Laguna Seca sound buster

a clip from Thunderhill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7MyTn5VGCA

and the result .....

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9328/dynochart.jpg

• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve ON: 221.4 lbft and 353.5 hp
• Shark Werks bypass with muffler valve OFF: 238.6 lbft and 362.9 hp

This amount to 8.2 lbft of torque and 9.3 hp loss with muffler valve ON but most importantly 17.2 lbft loss of torque at 4300 RPM ... OUCH! Oh well, this the price to pay to play at Laguna Seca :roll:

Excellent Forum contribution!! Great job!

Nice write sounds great also.

cool, glad you like the new setup

Great write up, thanks for taking the time sir. Love the car as well!

you are welcome. I update the post with a clip from Thunderhill yesterday :)

Seriously thanks so much for taking the time to do that...Even for guys that don't have the bypass this is a great way to help them past the sound Nazis @ Laguna! It's great that you also know what you're doing too... Well that's the hired help anyways:P As long as you follow their instructions to the T you'll be ok?

Sure thing Alex. I don't understand why you bother with sound limit on a race track. It's like having a makeup police on a fashion show .... they don't go together lol

excellent write up