JCR CARRERA GT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCT RELEASE

We're very excited to launch our direct replacement Inconel Valved Race Pipe, suitable for the legendary 980 Carrera GT.

CHECK OUT THE PRODUCT HERE

If you follow the JCR socials and check in frequently on our website updates, you will have noticed that we have been sharing some snippets of progress and what we've been up to with the 980 Carrera GT project for the past couple of months.

We're really happy to once again share an in depth look at our development process.

The 980 Carrera GT has already reached cult status within the car community. The F1 developed / derived 5.7L V10, in stock form, produces an unmistakable howl. Something that we wanted to ensure that we maintained and complimented with our parts installed.

THE CONCEPT

It's clear that in 100% stock form, the Carrera GT's exhaust note, whilst wonderful, is somewhat muted. The mission with this car was clear. Rather than simply create a 'straight pipe' exhaust solution, we wanted to bring the car to life, whilst maintaining its factory character. That distinctive V10 howl is lost in so many aftermarket systems and that's something that we wanted to ensure we maintained.

In its day, the 980 Carrera GT was well ahead of its time, however, 20 years on it's clear that technology and manufacturing techniques have moved forward.

Bringing this wonderful car up to date with a modern hi-tech exhaust system was a key target too for us. Modern production techniques, tolerances and materials being utilised to create a true masterpiece, fitting for a car of this status.

The finished result of all of our work is plain to see in this comparison image above, but let's explore that process.

3D SCANNING

As with all new JCR projects, we start the journey by scanning the factory components and car space, if required. This allows us to build an extremely accurate model and understand the constraints that we're working with before we get working on the initial design concepts of our development exhaust parts.

We acquired a stock 980 Carrera GT rear silencer to complete this work. Giving us the time necessary to complete accurate scanning, measurements and investigations such that we could fully understand how the factory exhaust operates. Including the parts of the exhaust you can't see.

With a volumetric accuracy of 0.02mm / m³ the Creaform HandyScan 307 is regarded as one of the best hand held scanners available on the market today and we've had brilliant success using it on all of our latest projects.

We wanted to ensure that we stayed within the area of the factory exhaust box, not only from a heat management point of view but also to ensure easy installation, with the JCR parts being physically smaller than the factory exhaust box.

Scanning the factory parts allows us to create an extremely accurate model of the space we have available to work with. This data is invaluable at the very early stages of the design phase.

This method is not only significantly more accurate than building parts on a car or hand fabricating jigs around factory parts. It also gives us a huge amount more understanding of the available space but also allows us to run simulations with the factory components and begin the testing phase of the new JCR parts before we commit to any kind of first development parts.

THE DESIGN

Using the Scan data, we're now able to build a model in our CAD software (Siemens Solid Edge) and get to work with the initial concepts.

The design of this exhaust was absolutely key. As mentioned, at the concept phase of the project, we had a very strong idea of exactly what we were setting out to achieve. Maintaining the beautiful tone but at a sensible volume level, whilst retaining the valved functionality to ensure quiet driving when required.

The Factory exhaust is a large unit, over 34.90kg (76.94lbs) and produced from a low quality steel with internal baffles which limit flow and create pockets of back pressure, holding back the full potential of the 5.7L V10.

Understanding how the factory unit works was key in our design process. We measured and mapped out all of the internals of the stock rear silencer which gives us the data necessary to ensure that all our numbers stack up in our final design.

With all of that in mind, we set to work with some initial design concepts. Exploring the space available and being able to work through multiple ideas in CAD gives us a huge advantage over those physically working on vehicles or confined to strict timescales due to limited access to vehicles.

Just a few of the design concepts which we explored are pictured below. Each of these system concepts we ran through simulations to understand the benefits and shortfalls in the design.

Design concept 1

Design concept 2

Design concept 3

We landed on a design which would deliver a sufficient level of silencing when the valves are open but also maintain the wonderful tone of the 5.7L V10.

A carefully calculated merge in both the valves open and closed route would not only promote scavenging, improving performance, but also assist in creating that distinctive JCR sound that we've all come to know, and love whilst delivering drone free driving with valves closed.

Final design concept

And the final JCR design concept within the factory exhaust scan

It's safe to say that our design looks like nothing else available on the market today and we're confident that it performs like nothing else, too.

MATERIAL CHOICE

For this particular exhaust system, we selected Inconel 625 for the material of choice. The gauge of the material itself, changes depending on the section of the exhaust to ensure that we not only deliver excellent durability but also still reduce weight as much as possible. We range from 1.0mm to 0.7mm in this particular application.

It's possible to log and test exhaust gas temps when testing the car and that data, in this particular application is incredibly important to understand at the very start of a project to ensure that the design is data led. Again, no guesswork.

3D PRINTED COMPONENTS

'3D printing' or DMLS / SLM / DMP as it's referred to is a technology which allows complex shapes which would have usually been reserved to casting or multi-axis machining to be created as one off parts without large investments into tooling. This technology is particularly helpful in applications where the geometry of a part required might be outside the normal scope of other manufacturing techniques available.

Whilst this isn't the first use of 3D Printed parts in JCR exhaust systems, we're using this production method more extensively on some of our latest exhaust designs.

The factory exhaust is largely supported by the two brackets situated on each side of the large silencer box.

With the JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe, we wanted to produce this bracket from 3D printed metal, ensuring that the factory hardware and components can be used such that the system is supported as intended by Porsche.

The design can be found below

And the printed component

Whilst this isn't purely performance related, it does mean that installing these parts is a breeze. They fit exactly as per OEM. No wasted time and expensive installs, paying additional labour for poor fitting parts isn't something that we feel our customers should ever have to endure.

CAD DESIGNED BILLET JIGS

Another aspect that sets JCR apart is the way in which our parts are manufactured. This area is often totally overlooked when considering which parts are best to invest in.

Rather than cheap, hand fabricated jigs, usually made from box section mild steel. All JCR parts are fabricated using CAD designed Billet Aluminium Jigs which not only allow us to work to much tighter tolerances but also mean repeatability and consistency is drastically improved.

This, of course, comes at a price. Our Billet Jigs are a big investment but we feel that investment more than pays for itself when our parts fit on the cars they're intended for, perfectly and without hassle or fuss.

Now that we have our exhaust components designed, we get onto designing the jig in CAD also.

And with the JCR Valved Race Pipe included in the jig. This gives an idea of the level of accuracy we're working to. Ensuring perfect fitment and repeatability well beyond that of tradition cheap manufacturing methods.

The jigs start life as a 20mm thick Aluminium tooling plate. The additional components are billet aluminium blocks which serve as our fixtures. This gives us a level of accuracy which cannot be replicated with cheap hand fabricated jigs.

Once machined, laser etched and constructed, we re-scan the jig to ensure that the data correlates perfectly with the original jig CAD model which houses our exhaust component. Nothing is left to chance.

The scan image above features a colour map indicating that the key areas of the jig are within the tolerance that we deem acceptable.

Once all of the above is complete the jig is ready to be used. For some of our more popular products we have multiple jigs to speed up production times.

In the event that we want to make a modification to a part after the initial testing phase, we can easily design modified blocks or sections of the jig which will alter the geometry. This is a very controlled way of making a change, knowing that we're not affecting any other area of the part.

This particular Jig has been designed with future derivatives of this system in mind.

FABRICATION

All JCR parts are produced in the UK under one roof. Flat sheet, in this case a mixture of 0.7mm and 1.0mm Inconel 625 is cut to size, seam welded into tube and bent as required using an extremely comprehensive selection of tooling.

This allows us to total freedom at the design phase. All exhaust systems are designed at the outset to be optimised for the specific application, rather than working within any self imposed production constraints due to lack of manufacturing capability.

Another step which we've taken to ensure perfect repeatability is to create custom 3D printed plastic trim tools. We use these tools to mark out perfectly and consistently the areas in which the pipe needs to be trimmed during the manufacturing stage.

These are all, of course, designed in CAD at the time we design the system and jigs.

All parts are produced to ISO 9001 standards working to the latest PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) with a comprehensive QA process to ensure that every JCR part meets our exacting standards prior to heading out to our customers.

THE FINISHED RESULT

Our first test parts are now complete and we're very happy with how the system turned out.

We scan the first parts and confirm that the scan data lines up with what we expect, all the results we're perfect so now we're good to install and begin testing.

FIRST TEST PARTS INSTALL

Now the first development / test parts are complete, it was time to get them on the car. Taking care of this process ourselves gives us a first look at how we did with the design and to make notes of any changes that might be required from an installation point of view.

Thankfully everything worked perfectly, no issues and the parts are easily installed with no battles or modifications required. An absolute breeze.

The 3D printed bracket integrates perfectly with the factory mounting system. This allows for some movement in the mounting system. This is extremely important when designing a part which will last the test of time.

Overall, we're very satisfied with our work in the design and production phase, the fit was perfect.

Now, onto the really fun part!

DYNO TESTING

It's now time to dyno test the car. We completed a full back to back dyno test on the 980 Carrera GT to ensure that all of our calculations work in reality and the JCR parts are out-performing the factory components.

It's extremely important for us to complete this step to demonstrate that our parts work. Poor exhaust design can easily lead to a loss of performance on any car but it's especially important on a high powered N/A engine to ensure that power and torque isn't negatively effected.

Missing this step or not sharing this data simply means either the testing wasn't completed, or the results weren't favourable.

The dyno we're using is a Superflow SF-832 AWD Chassis Dynamometer based at Racingline in the UK. We feel it's important to test on an independent, highly respected and accurate dyno, for obvious reasons.

The Dyno Cell features 2x 30kW extraction fans plus a 15kW auxiliary fan. This particular Dyno set up is used for R&D purposes only and is not open to the public.

OEM Exhaust Dyno Runs

First up was to get some solid baseline data on with the factory exhaust installed. We opted to first remove the bumper before running any tests, not only to see clearly which parts are on the car for each run but also as this would allow us to change the components on the dyno without having to remove the car or alter the set up at all.

Again, consistency is key and we wouldn't like to give anyone any reason to doubt the results we're sharing.

Now the car is strapped down to the dyno, the operator ran the car thought the test procedure and we got our baseline numbers.

What's immediately clear is that despite being almost 20 years old, the car is still producing extremely close results as the factory quoted numbers. No one does it quite like Porsche!

Porsche quote that the 980 Carrera GT left the factory with 603HP & 590Nm of torque.

We completed a further three runs and the numbers were extremely consistent, verifying that not only the dyno is operating very well but also the conditions inside the dyno are suitable for testing and will deliver accurate and consistent results.

JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe Dyno Runs

Next up was to install the JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe and put things to the test.

We re-ran the test and instantly saw an immediate, and pretty drastic improvement in both power and torque. A peak gain of 13HP & 11.4Nm with a large delta throughout the whole rev range and a pretty great sound improvement too!

Again, we repeated the test a further three times and yielded extremely similar results.

Below is the comparison of OEM exhaust versus JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe. The difference is pretty plain to see.

OEM Exhaust - 598HP & 595.2Nm (VS) JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe 611HP & 606.6Nm which demonstrates a 13hp & 11.4Nm increase in our back-to-back dyno test.

The graph also highlights that the JCR exhaust system provides a very healthy boost in HP and TQ across the FULL rev range with no drop in torque or power throughout the pull which is often the case with aftermarket systems installed on these cars.

Needless to say, with further adaptations the delta in power and torque will grow but for the purposes of this test, we want to check and confirm the instant, back-to-back results.

ROAD MILES

The final step was to run the car on the road to ensure that the parts performed as expected and mirror the results we gathered from the Dyno test.

What's instantly clear here is that our Inconel Valved Race Pipe absolutely transforms the car. Not only from a performance point of view but also fun factor. The car just comes to life once the valves open and the added response, torque and power is certainly noticeable from the drivers seat.

With the valves closed, we've achieved an improvement in sound characteristics versus OEM but importantly, zero drone which we feel is key to enjoying this car, especially with the roof on.

We're very happy with the results and feel this system represents the perfect upgrade to any 980 Carrera GT.

THE FINISHING TOUCH

As the factory exhaust system is so heavy, rare and expensive. We wanted to create a bespoke storage / transport solution to ensure that the factory exhaust can be kept safe, when not installed on the car.

Using our CAD designs, we enlisted the help of Guerrillacast to create a bespoke solution for this particular application.

The Storage Box not only perfectly and safely houses the stock exhaust, it also makes for a pretty impressive display box for the beautiful JCR Inconel Valved Race Pipe when it's delivered.

Just another small touch which we feel is important to owners of one of the rarest and most legendary Porsche's available today.

THE FINISHED PART

JCR INCONEL VALVED RACE PIPE

Key Features

• 100% Inconel 625 Construction
• OEM Valve Control Retained
  
• Improved Sound Quality
  
• 19.98kg (44.05lbs) Weight Reduction vs OEM Rear Silencer
  
• Dyno Proven 13HP & 11.4Nm Increase vs OEM Rear Silencer
  
• Bespoke Storage Solution Included
• Price £10,995.00 GBP

WHEN CAN I ORDER?

At this point, we're opening the order books for the JCR Carrera GT Inconel Valved Race Pipe, with the first customer systems delivering in around 6 weeks time.

If you would like to order now, we're offering our first 10 customers a 10% discount from the advertised retail price, up until the 17th March 2025.

To redeem this offer, please use the following code at checkout JCRPREORDER-980CGT

Please note this introductory offer expires on 17th March 2025.

We really hope that this blog has helped give some real insight into the lengths we go to ensure that our parts are the very best available on the market.

If you have any questions or would like more information on any of the subjects covered, please do GET IN TOUCH and let us know.

JC