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      07-21-2018, 12:36 AM   #1
smeard
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N51 Muffler and resonator delete

Ok, lemme explain my actions. Wanted sound, couldn't afford BMW PE, opted for Y-pipe muffler delete. Couldn't notice at first, gradually got louder, still way quieter than all the youtube vids. I would imagine the PE being of equal or more volume. Cold starts and heavy accelerations were the only time this setup was slightly loud. Still had that annoying vacuum cleaner sound after letting off at high RPMs. Little to no drone, only under heavy throttle and low RPMs. Anyways, started looking at headers or secondary cat deletes. won't pass the strict smog here in CA, so I just had a shop delete my resonator and replace with Y pipe. "If it was too loud, I could always add a vibrant/AR30/glasspack res". Instantly noticed the difference. It is like my car was half awake this entire time and now just chugged a redbull, ready to burp and yell. I would say this is now twice as loud. It backfires under decel, but not overly obnoxious. I can control the backfire amount with the gas. LOTS of burble. Free revs are MUCH more angry. Cold starts are also noticeably louder. I do feel self conscious sometimes as more than 30+% throttle at any speed is noticeable by anyone around you. However, WOT is absolutely orgasmic. Not raspy really, but LOUD and it feels faster top end. I may add a smaller resonator if need be, but right now I like the volume and the tone. It does drone quite a bit more if you hold it at the 2500ish RPM range with heavy throttle input. No more vacuum cleaner sound, instead a healthy, guttural growl at high RPM throttle let-off. Overall, very satisfied, especially for price (~$150, I gave my guy a tip). If someone is in CA, looking for a decent sound and tone increase while being smog-legal, I would delete the resonator OR the muffer and replacing with a Y pipe. For the braver, go both

P.S. Videos are coming soon, including: fly-by, cold start, warm start, free revs, decels and interior/exterior accels

EDIT (7/27/2018): Has gotten louder, still love it. The backfires are more common now and if you go over 4k RPMs in any gear you are guaranteed to get a few pops here and there. 1-3 gears are the best for all the burbles/pops. Video is almost done, just need to film some fly-bys.

UPDATE (9/13/2018): Decided to delete my sec. cats. She is obnoxious... and I love it. backfires to hell and back in nearly every gear at the right RPM. Maybe twice as loud as before. Stinks on cold start and spits spray of emissions on to the ground. Cold starts are damn near deafening, but surprisingly my neighbors don't mind as they all have loud ass cars too . After a few days, car learned its new parameters and feels freer in top end, revving faster than before. definite power boost, not just a placebo. Only con to this was that now I had a reason to fail smog (but should still pass as my primaries are still in) and that it cost me a lot (~$100) to remove because NO shop in my area wanted to remove them because of legal issues. Other than that, I am a very happy guy. Perfect tone for me. Not raspy until high rpm, more guttural growl and a free rev decel burble i LOVE. she sets off car alarms, pops like a machine gun and wails like a banshee! vacuum cleaner noise has been demolished. this is how the rural bavarians would have wanted their bimmer to sound. will post videos soon. Current setup: full straight pipe from primary header cats.
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Last edited by smeard; 09-27-2018 at 11:17 PM..
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      07-24-2018, 09:21 PM   #2
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Noted! Which shop and which city?
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      07-25-2018, 02:16 PM   #3
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Noted! Which shop and which city?
I had it done by Bob's muffler in Bakersfield (Kind of soCal, couple hours north of LA). They do decent work, but they originally charged me a little bit more. I told them I had cash and they did it for cheaper (cheapest in town by far). Place is in a shadier part of town, but don't let it fool you everyone goes there for their exhaust needs.
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      08-04-2018, 04:23 PM   #4
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- Here is my video, apologize about the lighting, potato-quality film and the vertical orientation. Things got very loud and we had to be quick hahah! Hope you all enjoy.
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      08-05-2018, 11:34 PM   #5
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friend shot a flyby after a photoshoot, took 1st gear to redline slow shifted and took 2nd to about 5k rpms. Just realized that the vacuum cleaner noise is present on the outside at redline, but I can’t hear it over the growl inside. Enjoy!
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Last edited by smeard; 08-07-2018 at 03:41 PM..
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      08-07-2018, 10:56 AM   #6
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Shame, sounds slightly fake, not the best tone. Would have put a 135i backbox in.
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      08-07-2018, 02:56 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by kuuzu View Post
Shame, sounds slightly fake, not the best tone. Would have put a 135i backbox in.
I don't regret it, I think it sounds good and has a really nice top end power gain too. Again, I can always put a high flow muffler or resonator on. Would've opted for headers, but can't work here in Cali. Have gotten many compliments from other bimmer guys, and I personally love the tone. I have another car that I use for commuting, so it is nice to hear raw sound for once. Sounds very s54-ish to me. Also, a lot of open country roads where I live! Not a lot of in town driving at all.
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      09-14-2018, 01:39 AM   #8
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was going to go for headers, but smog was going to be too much of a hassle. I ended up deleting my secondary cats as well, a lot more pops and burbles, even louder than before. She is more obnoxious, but I like it hahah! Will post videos.
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      09-14-2018, 05:45 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kuuzu View Post
Shame, sounds slightly fake, not the best tone. Would have put a 135i backbox in.
Fake? Please elaborate. In California we have crazy smog laws! I know people that have had to buy stock parts just so they could pass a visual test.

So about the car sounding fake, compared to a full exhaust and tune? I would go with fake and save some money. Shoot he's even got burbles! People are paying $800+ for burbles tunes.

Sounds good @smeard I would guess you had a full system w/ headers and a tune.
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      09-20-2018, 04:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smeard View Post
was going to go for headers, but smog was going to be too much of a hassle. I ended up deleting my secondary cats as well, a lot more pops and burbles, even louder than before. She is more obnoxious, but I like it hahah! Will post videos.
I was thinking about going this route. How will you pass smog and how bad is the drone? Is it horrible on the highway? Are the cold start ups obnoxious? And I would love to see a video, I'm really interested.
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      09-20-2018, 09:21 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FLATBMW View Post
Fake? Please elaborate. In California we have crazy smog laws! I know people that have had to buy stock parts just so they could pass a visual test.

So about the car sounding fake, compared to a full exhaust and tune? I would go with fake and save some money. Shoot he's even got burbles! People are paying $800+ for burbles tunes.

Sounds good @smeard I would guess you had a full system w/ headers and a tune.
I think he meant the overall exhaust sounded fake, but I would beg to differ. It sounds raw to me, very e36 with more bass and less rasp. I have PLENTY of pops and bangs with the newly deleted secondary cats. I will post a video on youtube when I can, but there is one already on youtube and mine sounds exact same. no tune, no headers, just straight pipe after cats.
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      09-20-2018, 09:25 PM   #12
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Also wanted to mention since I got my sec cats deleted, the throttle response is noticeably better! Pulls harder too.
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      09-20-2018, 09:26 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by OneTwenty8i View Post
I was thinking about going this route. How will you pass smog and how bad is the drone? Is it horrible on the highway? Are the cold start ups obnoxious? And I would love to see a video, I'm really interested.
With just resonator and muffler, it is loud for most. Cheap to do, I paid $80 I think, but I live in rural area. Cold starts are very loud and a few subtle pops here and there. I hang around X piped 5.0 mustangs, my car seemed quiet still. The secondaries delete REALLY woke the car up when driving around, but only for brave at heart. Paid more because no one in Cali wanted to cut out my cats, you can cut them out yourself and bring it to exhaust shop if you want it cheaper. LOTS of pops, bangs and burbles, even on startup. So loud, I set off car alarms often when I rev it. When I let off at high RPM, SOOO many pops and burbles. Upshifts and downshifts have a nice crackle to them now. Cold starts are even louder, but there is clear drone when giving it gas in a higher gear at a lower RPM. Easy to avoid drone, either stop giving gas or downshift. I personally have grown used to it, taking it on freeways and long highways. With this setup, you will have a difficult time staying "under the radar" as even under normal driving the exhaust is noticeable to others. For sure obnoxious as hell, but I always end up with an ear to ear grin. Look up 128i straight pipe on youtube, should be short video of a white 128i with an M bumper doing a fly by. That what made me do it. Despite the obnoxiousness, I get compliments very often. Theoretically, the car passes smog if they do not perform a visual inspection under the car (they have never done it when I went to smog shop), but it would fail if they checked. I don't need to smog for another 2 years, but I am sure it will pass. PM ur email or number and I can send videos, most videos don't want to upload on here.
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      09-25-2018, 10:02 AM   #14
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What tips did you go with for the muffler delete?
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      09-25-2018, 07:27 PM   #15
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What tips did you go with for the muffler delete?
kept the stock ones (they slide off the actual muffler). Will go for a set of gloss black angle cut tips when I get my quad exhaust going.
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      09-25-2018, 08:28 PM   #16
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Sounds good to me! I'm considering a cat delete bc I just want more sound in the cabin. The only trade off is that I do a lot of highway driving.
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      09-26-2018, 10:18 PM   #17
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Sounds good to me! I'm considering a cat delete bc I just want more sound in the cabin. The only trade off is that I do a lot of highway driving.
Noticeably louder for me, but I think it would be tolerable with otherwise stock setup for sure. It adds some nice burble!!
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      09-27-2018, 11:16 PM   #18
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updates in original post! VIDEOS SOON!
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      11-18-2018, 11:43 AM   #19
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updates in original post! VIDEOS SOON!
Would love to see some videos with the cat delete as well!
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      11-22-2018, 08:24 AM   #20
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All this juggling of mufflers, resonators, etc, when all you need is this: Magnaflow exhaust. Uses stock hangers, easy bolt-on, all stainless, fantastic sound. I'm running AA headers and lower cats only, so it'll be quieter with stock exhaust manifold...about $700

Forget BMW Performance Exhaust...$800 for THAT??
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      11-22-2018, 02:40 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Blacksport View Post
All this juggling of mufflers, resonators, etc, when all you need is this: Magnaflow exhaust. Uses stock hangers, easy bolt-on, all stainless, fantastic sound. I'm running AA headers and lower cats only, so it'll be quieter with stock exhaust manifold...about $700

Forget BMW Performance Exhaust...$800 for THAT??
Thought about this option, but didn't like the sound of it to be honest. Sounded very airy and light to me. Also, price was way more than my whole setup (~$250). I am sure the magnaflow addresses the drone issue, but it doesn't bother me. Magnaflow is definitely a great brand and has been around for years, so I understand why many go that route. Thank you for your reply!
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      11-23-2018, 08:55 AM   #22
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Quote:
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Thought about this option, but didn't like the sound of it to be honest. Sounded very airy and light to me. Also, price was way more than my whole setup (~$250). I am sure the magnaflow addresses the drone issue, but it doesn't bother me. Magnaflow is definitely a great brand and has been around for years, so I understand why many go that route. Thank you for your reply!
A couple of points on your response...I have AA headers and lower cats only, the upper cats are built into the stock exhaust manifold so they're gone...Headers add a sweetness to the exhaust note that you cannot get with a cast-iron manifold...There is no "droning", with the windows up & A/C on, you can barely hear it on the highway. And the sound? More than a few BMW owners have commented at traffic lights, "Damn, that thing sounds so sweet..." There's a huge difference between muffler-less, back-firing, irritating loudness and the sweet performance sound of properly-dampened headers...
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