Frequently Asked Questions

• Helmholtz resonators (also known as anti-drone tubes) are an effective way to reduce undesirable frequencies at a targeted point in the RPM range when engineered and utilized correctly. Through calculations on factors such as number of cylinders, target RPM, and other factors you can determine the appropriate volume necessary to create the Helmholtz resonator. These “anti-drone tubes” can effectively reduce drone at a certain frequency without reducing desirable tone or volume like a muffler. The only downside to them is the added weight and reduction in space in which to craft the exhaust system itself, but the pros far outweigh the cons as you’ll be able to happily cruise on the highway yet still enjoy an aggressive exhaust note when you drive more aggressively.

• They’re proud to be partnered with a top quality ceramic coater – Jet-Hot High Performance Coatings! They ceramic coat several of their exhaust components as it results in a better product for you – and you have the option of custom coatings any time you desire! Let’s dive in to what ceramic coating is and how it’s beneficial.

THE COMPANY

• In 1981 Jet-Hot pioneered their Classic Polish Ceramic Coating. Back then, it was cutting-edge technology. Today, they are still the industry’s leading ceramic coating company. They stand by each and every coating with a lifetime guarantee. Not all coatings are the same quality – almost 30% of the parts they receive are requests to re-coat after other coatings have failed.

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY

• Retaining heat in the exhaust maintains exhaust velocity of the gasses ultimately improving efficiency and power. If you’re chasing maximum power, the fastest quarter mile, or the pass on the left every little bit matters. The effectiveness of the catalytic converter is also improved, allowing it to reduce your vehicle’s emissions, which is better for the environment and you can feel good about that!

PROTECTS OTHER PARTS

• Protects vulnerable plastic and electronic parts that weren’t meant to endure the increased heat levels produced by modified vehicles as a result of increased power. Some aftermarket exhaust products forgo crucial heat shielding that was in place from the factory as well. Extreme 1300 Classic Polishcoating withstands temperatures up to 1250°F and reduces surrounding temperatures by up to 65%!
  RESISTANCE TO CORROSION**

• Ceramic is a highly durable substance that resists corrosion. It helps stainless steel resist rusting and tarnishing which is especially helpful for vehicles driven in winter conditions where salt can quickly attack everything.

Real world examples:

• GT3 side muffler bypass pipes where heat coming off of the pipes can also increase the temperature of the rear tires – not what you want on track!
• The McLaren 720S can produce enough heat from the factory to discolor / burn the tip outlet surrounds – which is why they ceramic coat the tips on their Competition Exhaust.
• Early 911 Turbo models are known for having their engine mounts wear and allow for excessive play of the engine and exhaust. Coating the tips can prevent burning the bumper on contact during hard driving.

THE PROCESS

• On most applications, both the exterior and interior of the components are coated to effectively lock heat in. Color top coats are available to make your part look as desired. Jet-Hot can also do custom logos in separate colors for a truly unique finish on your SOUL exhaust tips – like these 991.2 Carera Bolt-On Tips below. Jet-Hot’s proprietary coating process can only be done at their facilities.
• Jet-Hot provides custom quoting which allows them to let you know exactly what to expect as far as pricing. Any components from SOUL are prepped prior to shipping out to Jet-Hot for whichever coating is to be applied. From there it can take 2-4 weeks for your components to be shipped to you depending on the complexity of the customization.

• Ensuring proper penetration and proper welding is crucial to ensure the longevity of exhaust components that are welded together. Purging the metal of oxygen with an inert shielding gas can keep the weld fully protected from oxidation that could lead to corrosion. The formation of oxides usually results in black “sugaring” on the back side of the weld. They seal any openings on the component they are welding and introduce a pinhole on one side to allow air to flow out and Argon to flow in from a cap on the other side. This process, combined with skilled fabricators results in the most durable welds on your product, minimizing any chance of exhaust cracks or failures.

• They highly recommend rinsing your exhaust with water every time you wash your car to remove contaminants, road grime, and salt. Salt is very corrosive and can cause surface rust if left on your exhaust, suspension, and other components. If you’re going through an automatic car wash, definitely consider an option that washes your undercarriage! To maintain the tips, they recommend non aggressive cleaners without and type of grit to leave the finish intact. Wash your tips every time you wash your car.

• They use HJS catalytic converters due to their long standing reputation for quality, performance, and durability. They achieve the mark of preventing check engine lights and reducing noxious fumes while increasing flow.

• Have over 30 years of experience producing catalytic converters for aftermarket and OEM applications
• Use high quality foil winding designs and premium wash coats to achieve catalyzation with increased flow, all while withstanding the abuse of high performance cars
• Brazing stripe around HD cores prevents cat from being knocked loose from exhaust pulses
• Aim to have a “zero defect quality”
• Manufactured under strict tolerances (DIN EN ISO 9001, ISO/TS16949, DIN EN ISO 14001)
• Try to offset environmental effects and recycle

• Show them the data! Without flow data it’s impossible to make a valid claim. As always they suggest looking at all claims critically and not taking any percentage claims without solid evidence as proof of performance. HJS cats DO offer industry leading flow without triggering a check engine light due to the high amount of precious metals that perform the job of catalyzation. HJS claims a 60% reduction in exhaust back pressure here.

• Replacing your tips is a safe bet – anything else can get complicated.

• Legally, you will not be able to delete your catalytic converters on a vehicle designed for road use.

• Short of measuring in a soundproofed, climate controlled environment it is impossible to have a standardized dB reading for vehicles – but even then the results would vary in the real world. There are many conditions which affect sound: distance, measuring angle, weather, sensitivity of the testing device, other sources emitting noise, and even reflection from the environment nearby. They’ve had reports of cars registering louder during the morning than in the afternoon at Laguna Seca due to sound retention from the thicker air / fog in the AM!

• Their valve controller kits need a 12v source of power and a ground wired up to the control unit to operate. A third wire coming off of the control unit acts as the antenna. An included cable runs from the control unit to a solenoid to supply a signal. When the key fob is pressed, it sends a signal to the control unit, which determines if the solenoid is open or closed. The valve actuator / diaphragm will allow the valve to open or close depending on if there is a vacuum or not.

• The SOUL valve controller fobs can also be paired with your factory garage door opener buttons, or HomeLink on your Porsche as well. Just follow the instructions to pair your car with device and hold down the desired key fob button to link functionality.

• They’re often asked – what exactly is the finish on your exhausts? Is it a coating? Why not just polish? Isn’t that just sand blasting? Definitely not! SOUL uses a proprietary blend of premium blasting media that was specifically arrived on after much testing to get the look that you see on their systems today. Let’s discuss the benefits to “Signature Satin”!

• During development of their finish, they tested different blasting materials affect the surface in different ways. One organic material left an inconsistent, undesirable look. Another media during testing was not durable enough and broke down quickly. Their proprietary blend of media and blasting process yields the best possible results and a quality resulting finish that they call “Signature Satin”.

Benefits of bead blasting:

• Helps their fabricators to make sure the welding surfaces are free of any contaminants before welding. It’s possible to share tools (wire brushes, sanding pads) across different metal types which embed material like carbon into stainless steel.
• Reveals any imperfections in the welding process such as pinholes that may not be noticeable with a polished finish
• Environmentally friendly. Polishing metal by hand can create harmful dust that is a skin and lung irritant. Their blasting stations are constantly filtered and regularly changed to ensure consistency and quality. The used media is then recycled.
• A uniform, desirable looking finish that can be refreshed at any time
• Allows them to apply the finish in stages during fabrication to minimize machining marks and scratches. It’s very difficult to remove these marks from hard to reach areas on a finished product with hand polishing.
• Clean and ready for ceramic coating – such as Jet-Hot 1500 Extreme!
• Allows them to incorporate custom logos into their components as seen below!

• They’re also able to refresh old exhaust components! Below is a pair of their 981 Boxster / Cayman Competition Headers that saw almost three years of daily driving in all kinds of weather. They’re able to restore the finish to almost new!

• Signature Satin is their signature that every SOUL exhaust component has been thoroughly inspected and finished to their high standards.

• Sometimes it makes sense to externally source the best possible solution for an individual component that they need for manufacturing. ISO certification is reflected in the quality of the individual components. More specifically, this means they ensure mandrel bent pipes and flanges are produced to the strictest tolerances with highly calibrated machines by highly trained professionals. The end result is the best possible fitment.

• Physical vapor deposition is the process of vaporizing metal in a high vacuum environment and depositing it on electrically conductive materials yielding a microns thick finish with a very durable bond. PVD coatings vary in their function and properties as well, from coefficient of friction to hardness. Cutting tools benefit from abrasion resistance and cutting tools achieve maximum efficiency. It’s also often used on gun slides to lower friction for less resistance and heat buildup. You’ve most likely seen it used on one of your cars as most black OE tips are chrome tips finished with a black PVD coating!

• Powder coating would not suffice as it is not able to withstand the heat of an exhaust system nor does it adhere well to hard edges where it can crack. Ceramic coating will offer heat protection, but is much thicker and does not look uniform in appearance. It also makes doing logos more difficult.
  As they are so thin, PVD coatings can take on the properties of the surface underneath. Their Signature Satin finish will result in a black satin finish while the polished logo section will end up black chrome in appearance. Their polished chrome tips take on a black chrome like finish.

• They use PVD coating due to the high quality of the finish not only in terms of appearance but durability as well.

• There is no yes and no answer to this question. There are dealerships that will not touch or support anything that doesn’t have an OEM part number on it. There are dealerships that purchase, sell, and install all manner of aftermarket products (including SOUL exhaust systems) and even have their own dedicated performance departments. What you will experience at your dealership will vary, and US dealerships have been found to be much more friendly than European dealerships. At the end of the day, it is up to the discretion of your dealership to take the necessary steps to ensure submitting a warranty claim in a way that will be accepted by the OE company. You can absolutely have aftermarket components on your car and still have your warranty intact and used without issue. This requires proper communication with your service manager and their willingness to accommodate any steps needed to fulfill the warranty requirements. If you would like to discuss this in more depth and/or have them contact your dealership to discuss an exhaust upgrade, please give them a call they would be happy to make the necessary arrangements to ensure you are comfortable with maintaining your warranty.

• This can vary from car to car and product to product. Modern ECU’s are incredibly advanced and make the necessary adjustments automatically for proper drivability. As a rule of thumb, none of their catback exhaust systems require an ECU tune, and none of their exhaust products that include their HJS 200 cell catalytic converters require an ECU tune. It is only when you delete the catalytic converters (for competition use only of course…) that you enter a scenario where you could consider an ECU tune “required” though it could be for different things. When running catless, an ECU tune is required to conclusively prevent a check engine light from coming on. Some people choose to try oxygen sensor spacers to turn off this check engine light, but results vary with this method. Running catless without an ECU tune on most modern cars has shown to still maintain proper drivability. An exception to this that they have found is the 718 generation Boxster/Cayman and McLarens, which running catless on requires a tune to prevent boost spiking/surging under hard acceleration.

• That said, an ECU tune is required to maximize the performance potential of any given vehicle and exhaust combination. Most cars are detuned (restricted via software) or tuned conservatively from factory. There is always room left on the table with the factory software (especially when freeing up the exhaust flow) that an ECU tune can take advantage of. If you would like to review ECU tuning for your specific vehicle and upgrades, please give them a call and they will ensure you make an educated decision.

• Depends on your goals! They’ve outlined all of the differences in this blog post here to help you make a decision. They have extensive professional experience building GT3 cars for both street and track use and they are well qualified to answer all of your questions.

• They guarantee you no flow data exists which can substantiate said misleading claims. It’s like a power claim with no dyno chart for verification. If cross talk of exhaust gases caused a gratuitous power loss in this manner, someone should report this to Porsche immediately given the design of their tip section!

• Their cast X-pipe allows for a smooth transition into and out of the X section. The casting of the interior is also smooth, without any protrusions from welds. A proper back purged weld with full penetration will most likely have some material on the backside in the X. Non-cast designs can and have failed at this point due to stress and possibly lack of proper welding techniques. They’ve made a very conscious decision to offer the most durable X solution possible with their customers in mind. They’ve also been using these X-sections with great success on their full line of Boxster / Cayman exhaust systems which are proven to perform, and warrantied to do so on the track for life! Cast components such as this have been proven for years in OEM applications and by an aftermarket performance staple in the industry for intake plenums and throttle bodies, IPD Plenums.

• To be realistic, the effects of any x-pipe would be small to where the any power gains or losses would not be felt. You can expect a smoother exhaust note and they have a wealth of tip options with customization available to have your tips built exactly how you see fit.

• They are first and foremost Porsche owners and enthusiasts. You will see across various social media outlets that they chime in on a consistent basis not to sell, but to educate and be active members of the community. They support their local Porsche dealerships such as Porsche Conshohocken and Porsche of the Mainline, sending customers their way and attend their social events. Starting in 2020 they will be an annual sponsor for the Smokies GT event benefiting The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. SOUL is an annual sponsor for PCA’s Hershey Swap Meet, the largest in the world. Their local Reisentoter region Porsche Club of America is very important to them. They aim every year to attend all of their events, especially their charity drives – the largest of which is the Phil-A-Frunk event in conjunction with WMMR’s Campout for Hunger. They also have a PCA trained National Instructor that volunteers at all of Riesentoter’s track events to work with new and improving drivers in the club. This same team member volunteers as an instructor with PCA to help teach teenagers hands on car control and handling in real world situations, as part of the Street Survival program. Every year they aim to give back more and more to the Porsche community, and welcome any proposals to do so!