After waiting several weeks, I received the go ahead from SOUL PERFORMANCE that their first production valved exhaust was ready to be installed. I dropped the car off late last week and it was finished on Monday. It has been hectic week and I am just beginning to really drive the car to experience this new “sound system” and it’s nuances. I intend to open a new thread soon to share sound clips inside and out during startups, idle and performance runs, but that will have to wait as the P car will be buttoned up during our summer vacation. After 3 days of moderate driving, I will say that I AM BLOWN AWAY! In fairness, I tend to get excitable about every modification I do to my 997.1, but this exhaust is insane! First, starting up cold always defaults to the valves-closed position. The initial sound perhaps slightly louder than my stock mufflers, but very close in decibel level. I was really concerned about this quieter setting, but the SOUL mufflers are working well. Sound inside the car during spirited acceleration, especially past 3800 RPM is essentially the same. Note that I do have 200 cel X-pipes, a GT3 throttle body & plenum, as well as an air intake installed, which substantially increase the engine report in the power band above 38k. Back to the SOUL valved exhaust, at idle, the sound quality seems to have a bump in the low frequencies, just a bit more low rumble, which I really like. Absolutely no drone that I have detected. The valved system can be actuated with the two supplied remote key fobs, but even better, the HomeLink garage button above the windshield was activated as the main controller. Pressing the left side button for a second, sets the valves open and the sound changes definitively. The pitch and rumble deepen and it is definitely louder, but not bothersome to my ear. Step on the accelerator and the beast awakens. Wow! Race car sound levels. It’s really impressive. On the highway, the valved-open sound response is powerful and commanding. Passing thru gears is joyful and the downshift blips are wonderful. Approaching my neighborhood, I just return the valves to closed and nobody is wiser. Love this! I chose to swap the stock tips for the SOUL PERFORMANCE, custom black carbon fiber tips, which (I think) are beautiful. I am really liking black exterior accessories to harmonize with the Meteor Gray color. Last note: the guys at SOUL have been a pleasure to deal with. I have been working out the details with them for a couple of months and have visited their facility outside of Philadelphia, several times. They patiently answered all my questions leading up to the installation and managed a number of my crazy concerns. Overall, my expectations were greatly exceeded and I am a very happy customer.
