So look what my UPS man dropped off for me today:
That there is the new
Borla 12653 Catback Exhaust System for the Cayman S. I know there are other threads already going on this system, but I wanted to start a new one because I will be installing this system into my 2007 Cayman S and I will be writing a full installation article and product evaluation. Might as well get started.
Out of the box first impression:
As I opened the box, I was sort of expecting to find some shipping damage. This is a pretty heavy system so it wouldn't take much mistreatment to scuff or bend the tips. I was pleasantly surprised to find the entire system encapsulated in foam. They wrap the system in plastic and then spray expanding foam into the box which ends up taking the shape of the box and the system. Very clever, and it worked. The system is undamaged.
The next thing I noticed as I took the parts out of the box is that they are substantial. And by that I mean heavy. Once I got all of the parts out and spread across my floor it became obvious to me that this is one HEAVY DUTY exhaust system. I can now see how
Borla can offer a 1
Million Mile Warranty. This thing will outlast every other part of my car. Not only is it made of some of the best stainless steel available (T-304), but they were very generous with the material. The tubing and mounting brackets are so thick that you'd expect this system to go onto a Caterpillar Bulldozer or something. Do you see the mounting bracket coming off of this pair of mufflers?
Well I took my vernier caliper to them and they measure in at 0.135 inches (3.4 mm). That's more than 1/8 of an inch....! I also measured the thickness of the muffler wall. It came in at 0.070 of an inch (1.8 mm), that's very thick.
Overall, the shipping weight of the system was 46 lbs. Take out about 5 pounds of box and packing material, and that will leave the system at about 41 lbs. That's right about the same weight as the factory system (
according to gforce). This got me thinking. Shouldn't this system be lighter? But then after more thought I realized that in exchange for shedding a truly insignificant amount of weight (10-15 lbs), you are getting a truly rock solid system that won't buzz, vibrate or fail. The thickness of this system has got to help reduce resonance and transfer heat. Both of those are good things. Further inspection of the product reveals a truly hand made piece of work. Welds are smooth and clean, but obviously not robotic. Every point on the brackets that looks as though it might be able to vibrate is welded so that it can't.
(
EDIT: After removing my stock system and putting both systems on the scale, I have found the
Borla system to weight ~40lbs and the stock system, with mounting brackets and exhaust tip, to weigh ~48 lbs. The
Borla system is in fact lighter, despite it's heavy duty construction.)
The overall design is interesting and appears to be well thought out. The flange is large and very thick (0.355" / 9mm), feeding a 2.25 inch pipe that splits off into two 1.75 inch pipes, each of which feeds gasses to a 10" x 5" XR-1 racing muffler. I stuck a mirror down one of the pipes to have a look inside and I could see that these mufflers are of a Triple Core Straight Through design.
Borla is big on preserving exhaust gas velocity. These pipe sizes and muffler designs show that commitment.
Something else I found interesting was the tips. Here's a picture:
As you can see, the tips are smoothly bent to vent the gasses out of the rear, but there is a little jumper between the two tips. Well guess what? That jumper is not a pass through, it's just a mechanical connection to keep the tips aligned as one piece. This is a true dual exhaust system from header to tip.
I am very curious about how this system will sound. At first glance I was worried that it might be loud or droney, but after inspecting it further I am not so sure. This system does have 4 mufflers. I had an XR-1 system on my 944 Turbo that had only one XR-1 muffler, and that wasn't too loud. Straight through mufflers like this typically deliver a soft note when you are going easy, but then open up big time when you ask for power.
In summary, this system appears to be all business. No fancy polished surfaces (except the tips), although if you wanted to you could hit this thing on a buffing wheel and make it shine like a mirror. But I just don't get the point of that. It's going to be burried up underneath my car and after hitting a few puddles and after a few thousand miles of heat cycling, that shinny surface will shine no more.
I have an appointment to take my car into a little shop around the corner this Tuesday to do some before install dyno testing. They know a thing or two about performance. Maybe you've heard of them. They call themselves
Farnbacher Loles.
After I get a good baseline dyno run, I will be installing the system myself. Yes, myself, so that I can clearly communicate how hard it is for a DIY installer. Hopefully I can jump in the weekend after the dyno run. Until then, please stand by. If you have any questions about the system, or would like me to take a picture of something specific, please let me know.
Porsche Girl 
