Why does a stock Porsche 911 sound so much better than..

[Rat3d ///M]

..a stock (or even modified) E9x M3?

Not trying to start a flame war, though I have my flame suit on just in case. There has been several occasions where I have been behind, or passed by on the Autobahn, a few different Porsche 911's, and I have noticed that their exhaust sounds 10x better than ours. I am assuming they are all stock, because they all sound the same, and I doubt that they all have the same aftermarket exhaust setup.

So why, may I ask, does the E9x M3 factory exhaust sound so weak and mild, while a stock 911 exhaust sounds amazing? I would go so far as to say that even an aftermarket exhaust setup on the M3 can't touch the 911

[strokeZ]

Purpose and pitch....

[marksae]

I wonder the same thing. The caymans don't sound nearly as good either. Perhaps it's because the 911's engine is in the back and you can hear both the intake and exhaust together in harmony? I absolutely LOVE the way NA 911's sound, even the stock ones.

[vsix]

Originally Posted by ||||||||||

..a stock (or even modified) E9x M3?

Not trying to start a flame war, though I have my flame suit on just in case. There has been several occasions where I have been behind, or passed by on the Autobahn, a few different Porsche 911's, and I have noticed that their exhaust sounds 10x better than ours. I am assuming they are all stock, because they all sound the same, and I doubt that they all have the same aftermarket exhaust setup.

So why, may I ask, does the E9x M3 factory exhaust sound so weak and mild, while a stock 911 exhaust sounds amazing? I would go so far as to say that even an aftermarket exhaust setup on the M3 can't touch the 911

I would weven go that far and say a 911 can't touch the stock exhaust mod-sound.
Once you get your stock muffler modded you'll notice the difference dramatically

[strokeZ]

Sharkworks exhaust by-pass on a 911 is cheap relatively speaking and will simply out class pretty much any exhaust out there (very little drone, can still talk on the phone in the car and pretty much make anyone's ears bleed that you pass at over 5k revs).

[Craigy]

I disagree.

From inside the car our exhausts are uninspiring.... but my wife took my car the other day and I have to say the note is super sexy and exotic, even at low revs and oem. I rarely encounter other M3s, but when I do hear them I'm usually impressed.

I mean, if you really like that 911 sound, a 911 is the only place to get it. It's unique. And definitely more of the sound roars into the cabin than inside the M3. But I don't think it's any better than the M3...

Generally speaking the only factory exhausts that I think sound better are Lamborghini and Ferrari.

[JRV]

Originally Posted by Craigy

I disagree.

From inside the car our exhausts are uninspiring.... but my wife took my car the other day and I have to say the note is super sexy and exotic, even at low revs and oem. I rarely encounter other M3s, but when I do hear them I'm usually impressed.

I mean, if you really like that 911 sound, a 911 is the only place to get it. It's unique. And definitely more of the sound roars into the cabin than inside the M3. But I don't think it's any better than the M3...

Generally speaking the only factory exhausts that I think sound better are Lamborghini and Ferrari.

For real there was an M3 slowly accelerating a from a light and it made me turn my head to see where that awesome sound was coming from. I don't think it was stock and it sounded so damn good. I wish I was able to ask what it was because I wanted it!!

[vsix]

Originally Posted by JRV

For real there was an M3 slowly accelerating a from a light and it made me turn my head to see where that awesome sound was coming from. I don't think it was stock and it sounded so damn good. I wish I was able to ask what it was because I wanted it!!

This is so true.
I find myself sometime's beeing unhappy with the sound while sitting in the driver seat. Then I just let my wife drive it, while I'm standing outside...and boooy does this car sound awesome. What I like to say is, only because our isolation isn't comparable to a mustang (almost none ) doesn't mean our car's don't sound good. We're just better protected from the outside noises then other's

[xaappx]

I think the S65 sounds awesome.

[STALKER]

Cause Porsches are just better.....

[JRV]

Originally Posted by vsix

This is so true.
I find myself sometime's beeing unhappy with the sound while sitting in the driver seat. Then I just let my wife drive it, while I'm standing outside...and boooy does this car sound awesome. What I like to say is, only because our isolation isn't comparable to a mustang (almost none ) doesn't mean our car's don't sound good. We're just better protected from the outside noises then other's

Yea the car sounds exotic from outside when cruising. I actually like the stock exhaust just would like a tad more volume but not too much.

[Ezio]

IMO a catless S65 with the right mufflers sounds very good. a non catless setup can sound under whelming i will admit.

Porsche spend time tuning and making a good exhuast note. BMW doesnt spend much time trying to make the exhuast sound good. the S65 and S85 by nature sounded good.

[kchu221]

sounds good yes, but my track pipe on my gt3 got me 5 warnings from the HOA already... getting mine takin out next week... haha

[SunnyD]

911s sound good for 6 cylinder cars, especially if you have the Sharkwerks bypass exhaust but to say that they sound better than a modded m3, I don't know if I agree with that. M3 with IPE sounds better than a stock 911 IMO.

[Dave07997S]

I had a 997.1S with AWE 200cpi metallic cats and Borla cans. The car sounded great..not better than my E92 M3 with testpipes and Megan catback though..IMHO not even close.

Now if you want to talk about GT3s, well then we are talking.

Dave

[Z K]

I think the stock sound is great. Just need a bit more volume.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by vsix

I would weven go that far and say a 911 can't touch the stock exhaust mod-sound.
Once you get your stock muffler modded you'll notice the difference dramatically

This and nothing else ! Finally someone knows what he's talking about...
So 100 % agreed about our Oem. exhaust mod .
Amen !

[fitchesbass]

air-cooled flat 6 from a classic porsche is a great sound.

S65 has great note too. I'd agree with the poster that mentioned inside vs. outside of the car. Note everyone wants a loud car - so appealing to the masses the M3 sounded is relatively mellow.

I have a mustang owner in my neighborhood with a super loud exhaust. I love cars and even I find it annoying. The entire neighborhood knows when he comes and goes. Perhaps I'm getting old - but the sort of volume in a daily driven car is just annoying.

Plus that why I have near straight pipes on the motorcycle - now that's a great sound... a V twin Ducati.

[Hujan]

Flat-plane vs. cross-plane

I also suspect Porsche spends more time on exhaust tuning than BMW (see also: chassis and brakes)

[xpunisherx]

OP...let me know when you are in the K-Town area. I'll play you the sweet exhaust tone of my car. Does it sound...

... better or worse than a Porsche??

Who knows.

... so badass that it will knock your socks off??

HELL Yeah!!

[Rat3d ///M]

xpunisherx: I live in K Town. I've probably seen your car driving around, as you have probably seen mine. There is a LB/IB (couldn't tell) M3 with a crazy loud exhaust on Ramstein that I saw maybe in November? at the Shoppette. Might've been you. I have the IB E90 with black ZCP wheels on Ramstein. BTW: People were talking about you on Facebook on an automotive page. Some guy said he saw and heard your car and wanted to meet you. You have a fan club lol.

To the individual that said to get the OEM exhaust mod, I already have it, and I still say the 911 stock sounds better. Maybe it's because I haven't really heard my car from outside the vehicle. I will tend to agree that (especially with windows up) the OEM exhaust mod sounds tame and unimpressive from inside the car, but sounds alive and beastly from outside (which I haven't really experienced much of).

To clear things up, I never said our cars don't sound good (or if I did, I did not intend to do so). I just think the 911 stock sounds 10x more impressive than our cars

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by Craigy

I disagree.

From inside the car our exhausts are uninspiring.... but my wife took my car the other day and I have to say the note is super sexy and exotic, even at low revs and oem. I rarely encounter other M3s, but when I do hear them I'm usually impressed.

I mean, if you really like that 911 sound, a 911 is the only place to get it. It's unique. And definitely more of the sound roars into the cabin than inside the M3. But I don't think it's any better than the M3...

Generally speaking the only factory exhausts that I think sound better are Lamborghini and Ferrari.

Jaguar V8 F type
Any V8 or V12 Aston Martin
Audi R8
AMG exhausts

These are all simply phenomenal sounding stock exhausts, and better than any modded M3 system IMO.