AWE/Fabspeed visit
Today, Chris from NY (E55AMG) and I went over to visit the AWE and Fabspeed facilities to check out their exhaust systems. While Chris's car is still a twinkle in his eye, I brought mine along for comparison.
Both shops seem top notch. AWE fabricates everything in-house, and has quite a set up for both R & D and manufacturing. We saw a really sweet white GT3 they had for prototype fabrication. Mike, the P-car sales specialist, was very friendly and helpful, showed us around the whole place. We took a ride in their beautiful basalt 997 with their exhaust set-up and GIAC ECU. Holy crap!! That's the way a turbo should be! Trying to compare to my stock car, I would estimate about 25% more "go", much quicker spool; I didn't get the chance to really open it up, but I can imagine that sucker really flies! The sound is a little louder than stock, but deeper, more aggressive. Zero drone IMO. A beautiful tone, music to the ears.
Fabspeed, about 6 miles away, just finished adjustments to their GT3 set-up and somebody from the shop peeled away in it (white again) just as we pulled up. Jay was kind enough to let us drive their GR turbo, fitted with exhaust and intake mods, but no ECU mod. Their products are made off-site, but the quality is said to be top-notch. What little I saw seems to agree with that sentiment. The sound of the FS system is even more agressive than AWE, a tad louder still, throatier. At idle, makes a very nice purr and growls just about right when pulling off. No drone, per se, but cabin sound level is higher. Too little time to determine if it would be too much for a long drive. I drove with Bill, the chief designer, and he acknowledged that drone can be a bummer and he made every effort to eliminate it while maintaining the "growl". I think he did a great job.
Which is best? you ask. That's about as subjective as which color do you like best? I'm definitely going to get an aftermarket exhaust, and these two seem to be good options. Decisions, decisions.
Both shops seem top notch. AWE fabricates everything in-house, and has quite a set up for both R & D and manufacturing. We saw a really sweet white GT3 they had for prototype fabrication. Mike, the P-car sales specialist, was very friendly and helpful, showed us around the whole place. We took a ride in their beautiful basalt 997 with their exhaust set-up and GIAC ECU. Holy crap!! That's the way a turbo should be! Trying to compare to my stock car, I would estimate about 25% more "go", much quicker spool; I didn't get the chance to really open it up, but I can imagine that sucker really flies! The sound is a little louder than stock, but deeper, more aggressive. Zero drone IMO. A beautiful tone, music to the ears.
Fabspeed, about 6 miles away, just finished adjustments to their GT3 set-up and somebody from the shop peeled away in it (white again) just as we pulled up. Jay was kind enough to let us drive their GR turbo, fitted with exhaust and intake mods, but no ECU mod. Their products are made off-site, but the quality is said to be top-notch. What little I saw seems to agree with that sentiment. The sound of the FS system is even more agressive than AWE, a tad louder still, throatier. At idle, makes a very nice purr and growls just about right when pulling off. No drone, per se, but cabin sound level is higher. Too little time to determine if it would be too much for a long drive. I drove with Bill, the chief designer, and he acknowledged that drone can be a bummer and he made every effort to eliminate it while maintaining the "growl". I think he did a great job.
Which is best? you ask. That's about as subjective as which color do you like best? I'm definitely going to get an aftermarket exhaust, and these two seem to be good options. Decisions, decisions.
