Quietest option for turboback catless exhaust?

[bradford]

Just wondering what the turboback catless exhaust options are, and which would be quietest?

It seems that all of the exhausts out there have been designed to produce a pleasurable volume only if the OEM cats are in place.

[SpacE82]

I have the CP-E turboback with catless downpipes. Its loud, at first I considered getting the resonator to quiet it down a little, but it has grown on me and I opted to not add the resonoator

[xxx_mina]

iam the same way...i want exhaust for performance...not noise... whats the best option??? turboback.....

[BroDoze]

I think our queitest option is to piece together a Maddad axle back, MadDad midpipes and any catless DP's...

Tell me if there's a quieter option than that...

[bradford]

Originally Posted by Brahmzy

I think our queitest option is to piece together a Maddad axle back, MadDad midpipes and any catless DP's...

Tell me if there's a quieter option than that...

That was my plan. I'm not sure whether it still might be too loud however. The Maddad system is designed for the stock catted DPs.

[MadMan77]

Originally Posted by Brahmzy

I think our queitest option is to piece together a Maddad axle back, MadDad midpipes and any catless DP's...

Tell me if there's a quieter option than that...

Originally Posted by bradford

That was my plan. I'm not sure whether it still might be too loud however. The Maddad system is designed for the stock catted DPs.

I think the above option would be good if you exchange the catless DPs for catted DPs. The aftermarket DPs would still flow better and it would definitely quiet it down a bit since there are still cats on them. Oh yeah, and it won't stink either like most catless setups.

[BroDoze]

Originally Posted by bradford

That was my plan. I'm not sure whether it still might be too loud however. The Maddad system is designed for the stock catted DPs.

Yes, true. Oooops. That'd be pretty quiet. You'd lose some power, but you wouldn't have to mess with O2 shiz. I think just removing the cats in the midpipes would make quite a bit of difference.

This is my mod path anyway....

[bradford]

AFAIK, by far the most gains are to be made with catless DPs. A friend of mine who had an E92 did catless DPs are retained the OEM exhaust secondary catted midpipe and axleback, and still made big gains.

However, I understand that the E92 exhaust also flows a lot better than the 135i one. Where is the major restriction in the OEM 135i system - the midpipes or the rear section?

[escobar929]

maddad sounds like the best option, but def catted downpipes if you wanna keep it quiet or stick w/ the stock ones for now

[ridin135]

torn between agency and maddad

[BroDoze]

I like Agency's price, but I think it'd be way too loud for me.

Maddad is rediculously expensive, but very high quality and quiet.

Kinda pisses me off. Just because it's a BMW doesn't mean we should be charged a premium for exhaust parts.

On my Subarus, I had some extremely high quality stuff (some exhaust pieces more expensive to manufacture than the 135's) and the prices were always very reasonable.

The whole argument I've heard from multiple vendors on this board like "You paid $x for a quality vehicle, and you want to cheap out on the parts?".

That argument is utter complete BS. Piping is piping. There is nothing extraordinary about a 135i exhaust system. Pretty simple stuff. They are counting on a little profit margin just because we own BMW's. I mean business is business and if people are willing to buy, then fine. Doesn't mean i agree with it. Unfortunately I don't have much of a choice in the matter.

[ridin135]

Originally Posted by Brahmzy

I like Agency's price, but I think it'd be way too loud for me.

Maddad is rediculously expensive, but very high quality and quiet.

Kinda pisses me off. Just because it's a BMW doesn't mean we should be charged a premium for exhaust parts.

On my Subarus, I had some extremely high quality stuff (some exhaust pieces more expensive to manufacture than the 135's) and the prices were always very reasonable.

The whole argument I've heard from multiple vendors on this board like "You paid $x for a quality vehicle, and you want to cheap out on the parts?".

That argument is utter complete BS. Piping is piping. There is nothing extraordinary about a 135i exhaust system. Pretty simple stuff. They are counting on a little profit margin just because we own BMW's. I mean business is business and if people are willing to buy, then fine. Doesn't mean i agree with it. Unfortunately I don't have much of a choice in the matter.

Same place I am in right now. I dont know if I should order the maddad now and pay double or just get the agency.

[///M1]

I'm going with Maddad downpipe-back setup. Quality and fit and finish is superb, pricing is more than reasonable, exhaust note should be distinctive but not over the top. Few things out there meet these criteria IMO. Also, gains would be pretty decent (will post dyno numbers once I have it installed), and the weight savings wouuld be significant seeing what the stock mid and axel back is with its 2 cats, resonator, rear mufler and needless kinks.

[maddad]

OK, so I feel compelled to make a comment here. Our 135i products have a very low margin for us. There isn't even enough margin at the current price to have a distribution network or resellers. The cost difference is 100% made in USA vs. made in Taiwan. I don't mean that in a negative or bashing manner. We have 2 parts in our Subaru lineup that are made in Taiwan and they are very good quality..but neither of those pieces are the "mufflers". We do some very specific engineering on our canisters, and we are picky about the exhaust packing material used(its imported from Germany and the manufactuer has a patent on the fiber) and we just don't sub that out to any other country. Generally speaking a good quality Taiwan exhaust product will cost anywhere from 50-70% less than what it cost to build in the US. That is the price difference right there.

I just put this out there because I know everyone thinks there is price gouging in the BMW market. Yes, I think that is true for some products, but if you look at US manufactuers like CP-E, or MadDad(and others) these products are positively priced quite fair for the high quality hand crafted nature of the products. You simply cannot hand built these products for much less. They are not machined welded, they are all hand TIG welded. They actual "muffler" part(which is arguably the most important part) of the exhaust is not some $25 canister that also does double duty on a hond civic(no offense to the civic owners) for another application...they are hand made, hand packed canistered designed for a speicfic vehicle applicaiton.

Now if an exhaust is built in China..it cost about 30-40% less than Taiwan.

And just to be clear I'm not making any comments about one product brand being better than another, I'm just stating some 100% true facts about the cost differences of manufacturing outside the U.S. and the slim margin some U.S. manufactured prodcuts have. In particular those companies that actually manufactuer their own exhaust canisters. There are some manufacuters that still take an off the shelf magnaflow or similiar and then bend pipe to make it plug and play. Sometimes that works out well sometimes it doesn't, but it does make the build cost less because an off the shelf muffler cost less than hand assembling every unit...as we do and a few other of the US brands.

R.

[stevenc]

Until the Agency exhaust came along, the maddad exhaust was one of the cheapest on the market.

The maddad is priced very fairly especially compared to many of the other american and german brands.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by Brahmzy

They are counting on a little profit margin just because we own BMW's. I mean business is business and if people are willing to buy, then fine. Doesn't mean i agree with it. Unfortunately I don't have much of a choice in the matter.

Sure you do. Since "a little profit margin" is clearly too much for you, feel free to set up a not-for-profit organization that builds high quality exhausts with zero margin. Okthxbye.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by stevenc

The maddad is priced very fairly especially compared to many of the other american and german brands.

Agreed. The pricing is very fair.

In any event, if we could return to the subject at hand, it would be much appreciated.

[BroDoze]

Point taken. I guess the muffler and quality welds are where a lot of the overhead comes in. Typically other exhausts use (exactly what you said, Maddad) a generic muffler, from say, Dynomax or Magnaflow. While these can be and are quality systems, in some cases, they are able to source the mufflers on the cheap - very cheap in volumes, I'm sure. I'd be willing to say a standard Magnaflow woud be way too loud in an 135i application, for what you intended this exhaust to be. A quieter alternative (and with no drone (equally important, if not more)) than pretty much anything else out there.

This wasn't directed at you Maddad in particular, although that's how it came out. I was basically spammed for multiple days by a vendor online here, when I asked him to PM a special Christmas price on something. His price for this prioduct was well above anybody elses price for the same item, and his 3-4 emails lasting over 2 days were pretty offensive - like he took it personally that I didn't choose to go with him. In fact I had 3 PMs from him before I even got to reply, and didn't - all to the effect of "Everybody that owns a BMW on this board always wants the cheapest price on something. They paid x for their car and they don't want to pay for a lot for aftermarket parts." I never replied to him, and I won't buy from him. He didn't even give me a chance to reply.

That was my introduction to the approved vendors on this board. Didn't mean to take it out on you Maddad, but it came across that way. Anyway, I look forward to your quality muffler and midpipes. I want a product that's not going to negatively deteriate the audible state of my car now, and you make a product that won't. Thank you.

My only hope is that you make a matching DP set, keeping the entire TBE's audible characteristics the priority!

Oh, and offer them in ceramic coating.

[kirby135i]

I can prob guess which vendor that was bc i got the same treatment...needless to say i wont ever buy from him.