It's Nick.
I never said anything about performance, you may have misread my post. The topic or the way I perceived it was about sound. Of course a dummy pair of tips won't make a difference in performance. But on anything other than the stock exhaust which is anemic by construction it does make a difference in sound. Consider you are splitting a stream of air. The sound becomes raspier and it changes in tone.

 

Going matte black. Car is yellow

 

I have the large Fabspeed quad tips and really like them. I am going to powder coat them in the spring.

 

I think that is what I am leaning towards.

 

Ordered the Fabspeed round quad tips in black chrome from Dan at Vivid racing. Can't wait to get them.

 

you guys with fabspeeds, are they touching the plastic exhaust cutout surround?

 

No, they do not!

 

They don't touch. Installed my tips today. Looks much better in person. Will probably have them coated in future. They do look way cooler than the stock tips, more aggressive. I have to go start it up to see how they sound.

 

The tailpipe on the second pic is angled outward some, I took the pic and noticed it was a little crooked, but I have since straightened it out. Didn't want anyone to think that is the way they would have to look. And, I still have to replace the license plate frame. Came from a dealer which I would not recommend. Don't know why I haven't taken it off yet but will be replacing that in the very near future. Anyway, really like the new look to the rear.

 

Here is how mine look.

 

I have not done the comparison test and have never thought about it, but now that you've mentioned it, yes I believe that the tip could change the sound.

I can't help but have a chuckle reading this thread - we are so passionate about the car and pay attention to every little detail, like this one. The audiophiles among us will know that what you say could certainly be true. Sound could be affected by multiple factors: the surrounding area, the surrounding components, what the exhaust system connects to, the listening "room."
When I change my drop link from the soft rubber OEM type to the Tarett metallic type, I swear the exhaust sound also becomes more high strung (less warm, less low frequency). I have never mentioned this lest people think I am crazy.

Question for you: How big of a change in sound does the tip make? Was it very obvious, a night and day difference? Or was it very subtle and could be heard only with back to back comparison? Just curious and don't want to have to do the test myself.

 

In a sports exhaust, not the factory I repeat, the dual tips vs factory tips can make the same difference as the loud vs the quiet model. Stef was also very skeptical when I mentioned I am using dual tips on his ep1. Since I loved the look, I went for it and I am very happy with the outcome. Best way to describe it is raspier. Not louder. More base perhaps too. For this application, I would consider that you would need back to back testing to hear it... Or a spirited drive at least. On idle or cruising I wonder if it is as obvious as I think it is...

On a friends car, who has the speedtech exhaust, the dual tips are what separate the quiet from the sport. Their site does say that it is slightly louder on WOT.

Having said that and paying max attention to detail, the dual tips on the ep1 stick about half a centimeter further out than on the stock exhaust, but I am not willing to shorten the pipe of the exhaust! That could also have an impact on sound...

 

I'm skeptical because some dual tips produce a slightly farting tone during deceleration between 1500rpm and idle.
You won't hear it inside the cabin though so basically it's not a problem.

Even a stock 997S with its dual tips produces a similar farting tone and a 997 Carrera with single oval tips doesn't.
Just saying though, don't shoot the messenger.