im new to my 914 and find it loud.ive ordered sound dampening pad for engine compartment as mine is missing,will this sigificantly reduce engine sound ?also is it help to just replace exisiting stock muffler with quieter one form muffler shop?

The soundproofing pad should make a noticeable difference. The stock "banana" muffler is actually quite effective at sound deadening. The Type 4 engine is just naturally loud. There is no water to dampen the sound, it is pushrod-based, and the horizontal offset broadcasts the noise to both sounds. You'll learn to love it.

Hell, I took all that bulkhead pad stuff out cause wanted to hear the cam chains, blower fan and carbs at work. . .