very inciteful post
i have always said that people need to listen to not just one source, but rather to gather data and opinion and decide for themselves - it is always a good idea to look beyond somebody's opinions to their motivations - do they have an axe to grind that is coloring their opinion? is there some profit motivation behind what they say? is it just sour grapes? a lot of things are in the background, and it's tough to filter through a lot of it, but taking a step back is always a good idea
the decision on an exhaust system can be a pretty subjective one - there are a lot of factors involved, including but not limited to:
cost
aesthetics
acoustics
performance
fitment
everybody has their own ideas, likes, dislikes, and even pet peeves when it comes to some of this stuff - little things like the tip dramatically affect the sound, so it isn't hard to have widely varying opinions
each system has its own plusses and minuses, and so far, i have not found ANY system that makes me totally happy in all of the above categories - on other threads, i've commented on all of these points on each system out there
currently i am working on a new system, because none of the ones out there do it all for me, so i don't have any particular bias one way or the other, beyond merely passing along my own experiences with some of them, as well as the impressions i have heard from others who have compared them and made choices or changes, or done testing
if only each manufacturer would post charts with before and after tests, we could at least put that one to rest - the aesthetic choices, both in sound and appearance would still be there to make, but that one is a lot easier
there has been incinuation that my opinions are biased toward rs barn, as if to minimize the validity - yes, i have chosen him to be the distributor of some of the things i have come up with - yes, i like a lot of the stuff he has - yes i like him and respect him as a person and a 968 expert, and as a business owner - does that mean that i automatically bias myself toward him over someone else? of course not - we don't even agree on everything, but that doesn't affect what i think about anything - i look at each and every product and situation one by one, make my choices for my own reasons, and go from there - it just happens that pete has been very active in either gathering the parts that work, or coming up with new ones - he has really been the only one to run with the ball - if somebody else was stepping up to the plate, my responses and opinions might be very different (sorry for the mixed metaphors)
for the record, i also have no issue with being ignored - heck, my better half does it all the time
