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removing resonator only??

159K views 437 replies 80 participants last post by  derekwilkinson 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, I currently own a 09 650i convertible
i was thinking going to the shop tomorrow to get the resonator removed and keep the stock exhaust...
will this make the sounder louder? or should i not even bother doing so?
 
#81 ·
I've done this mod quite a while ago and I defintely recommend it. Compared to stock, the car sounds much louder and sportier. I did the airfilter delete and resonator delete. Replaced the resonators with an x-pipe and kept the stock tips. It dramatically increased the sound but not loud as an aftermarket muffler. Always wanted to change the mufflers to aftermarket to get extra sound but still satified with the resonators delete.
 
#83 ·
I shopped around a bit and found a local independent muffler shop that cut the front 2 resonators and welded in 2 straight pipes for $60 last week. Good burble at start up and quiet until you step on it. Nice V8 rasp/crackle over 4K RPM and on downshifts/compression braking. Comments from friends is that it sounds aggressive (when you step on it) but not obnoxious. I have stock exhaust, no engine mods, and kept the 3rd (box) resonator. It's all a matter of personal taste. When I get it back up on a rack I'll take some pics since there always seems to be a fair amount of questions on this topic.

FYI...local national muffler shop chains offered to do the same job for $250?!.
Took my neighborhood shop 20 minutes. I'll be sure and post some video with sound. I'll be sure and include video from inside the car while driving as well (wish more posts had that perspective), since that's where you will hear it most of the time anyway.
 
#85 ·
I shopped around a bit and found a local independent muffler shop that cut the front 2 resonators and welded in 2 straight pipes for $60 last week. Good burble at start up and quiet until you step on it. Nice V8 rasp/crackle over 4K RPM and on downshifts/compression braking. Comments from friends is that it sounds aggressive (when you step on it) but not obnoxious. I have stock exhaust, no engine mods, and kept the 3rd (box) resonator. It's all a matter of personal taste. When I get it back up on a rack I'll take some pics since there always seems to be a fair amount of questions on this topic.

FYI...local national muffler shop chains offered to do the same job for $250?!.
Took my neighborhood shop 20 minutes. I'll be sure and post some video with sound. I'll be sure and include video from inside the car while driving as well (wish more posts had that perspective), since that's where you will hear it most of the time anyway.
video/sound would be great - I'm a little leery of going too loud, especially with the vert...
 
#86 ·
I am still very unsure about this exhaust job.

the road home from the gym is a heavily policed 55mph.

as soon as I turned onto the road I hopped on the gas pedal and the noise produced is amazing and beautiful at the same time. under full throttle with a muffler it produces an amazing sound.

after jamming it up to speed I locked in the cruise control at 65. There is a definite audible note at this speed. it's not harsh, but it isn't the quiet as air cruise that comes with the stock setup.

an interesting thing was that it seems to mellow out even more around 70. this was all in 6th gear.

one good note is this will definitely lead to better fuel economy because I am a lot lighter on the throttle thanks to the audio response.

also I have been rolling out of the throttle whenever I see a officer of the law. I want to get my wife to cruise it around the block so I can hear the volume outside the car.
 
#87 ·
I am still very unsure about this exhaust job.

the road home from the gym is a heavily policed 55mph.

as soon as I turned onto the road I hopped on the gas pedal and the noise produced is amazing and beautiful at the same time. under full throttle with a muffler it produces an amazing sound.

after jamming it up to speed I locked in the cruise control at 65. There is a definite audible note at this speed. it's not harsh, but it isn't the quiet as air cruise that comes with the stock setup.

an interesting thing was that it seems to mellow out even more around 70. this was all in 6th gear.

one good note is this will definitely lead to better fuel economy because I am a lot lighter on the throttle thanks to the audio response.

also I have been rolling out of the throttle whenever I see a officer of the law. I want to get my wife to cruise it around the block so I can hear the volume outside the car.
Record vids when she drives it, have her do a few drive-bys at normal cruise rpm and a few WOT passes...this will be really good for everyone

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#88 ·
Removing the resonators will cost only about $100-$200 and that includes and xpipe installed. With mufflers it is not close to illeagle or too loud even for those who want it just a little louder. With the x pipe it will not drone or be bothersome. If you do not like it after pay $100 to switch it back. Total cost around $300...Not huge $$$

I have had 600+hp cars with no cats, straght piped to an after market exaught system. It would almost shatter glass. Frinking loved that Murci!!! That said you can drive any loud car at low RPM's when you need to and keep her plenty quite.

Friday I remove all and have magnoflow mufflers already I will then try and post a video :thumbup:

get off the side lines everyone who is debating and go for it. I assure you will not regret it
 
#91 ·
I am going to call and see about taking it back to stock. it is just too much for me.

IMO the exhaust note no longer matches the appearance of the car.

The thing that I realized through this endeavor is that for me the 6er is a sporty luxury car. By fooling with the exhaust I tried to swing the balance the other way, making I a luxurious sports car and it just didn't work. to me it ended up feeling cheap and less refined.

oh well... it's only money.
 
#92 ·
Drone is exhaust humming and typically seen at around 2k-2500 rpm...before you get them taken off have someone else drive your car by a few times and record it, and also record you revving it, please

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#98 ·
ok here we go:

first up we have my exhaust note pre muffler delete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZSyIt7HA1s&sns=em

then we have same parking spot same camera location after the delete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Z9lRpd2sQ&sns=em

then we have my daily stress reliever, a sweeping right going slightly up hill. testing the tires here usually washes all thoughts of work away. i only got it to 80 because I only had one hand on the wheel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPd9lEIp33M&sns=em

finally we have a WOT pass. I would have loved to keep it planted a little longer, but other cars come up quick when I put the left foot down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Ne-rvaX6E&sns=em

what these videos don't capture well is the boomy low frequency this setup puts out. that frequency hurts my ears. not really the volume but just seems to resonate in my head and give me a headache.

I don't really have a problem with the volume. yes it is loud but that isnt necessarily bad. what bothers menus the low frequency and the burpiness.

it almost sounds like Harley underwater.

to me it doesn't sound "right". it sounds like a car in disrepair.

a set of aftermarket mufflers would probably polish it up without loosing all the edge, but I'm done messing with the exhaust. I'm going back to stock and trying not to feel stupid for doing this in the first place.
 
#99 ·
So to understand you took off the mufflers and replaced them with straight pipes out the back and left the resonators correct?

The car needs a muffler or I agree it sounds like crap.
 
#105 ·
I will check tomorrow when it is on the rack:thumbup:
 
#106 ·
Funktek: you did good! Thanks for pioneering for us all. Before your comments and videos, I wanted to delete mufflers, but now (not to mention that it's illegal), after reading and hearing your post I'll go with the x pipe. Thanks again for all of your troubles!!
 
#108 ·
funktek: You did good! Thanks for pioneering for us all. Before your comments and videos, i wanted to delete mufflers, but now (not to mention that it's illegal), after reading and hearing your post i'll go with the x pipe. Thanks again for all of your troubles!!
+1
 
#107 · (Edited)
Thanks for posting those vids funktekk.

Comparing the eurowned video in post #40 vs the funktekk videos in post #98 it's hard to believe these are the same mods. I agree the setup in the funktekk videos is way too loud for me; it almost sounds like what I would expect in a straight pipe setup (no resonators and no exhaust). Under load is where it really sounds rough with that "Harley with an open exhaust" sound.

The other YouTube muffer-delete vids were also a lot quieter. Maybe funktekk's cats have been gutted or the resonators are not muffling?

I think to be safe I'll go back to resonator delete plus x-pipe as step 1. If I don't like that I'll then change out the stock exhaust for something like a Supersprint. I'll do vids and dyno too. Just waiting for intake to arrive so I can dyno everything at once.
 
#109 ·
the rest of the exhaust is all stock and in good working order.

volume is difficult to tell on a YouTube video. that's why I tried the before and after with the same camera in the same location.

I will say it wasn't the overall volume that drove me back to stock so quickly. it was the quality of the sound, particularly this low frequency drone when under light load. it is the type of sound that just cut right through my brain. instant headache, hence it had to go.

like I said before, this little exercise taught me a lot about what I like about this car. I thought I wanted this car to be sportier, but in the end I appreciate the GT qualities it has.
 
#416 ·
Wish I'd read this thread.



Just going through what FunkTekk did years ago - after watching YouTube vids and deciding a muffler delete on my 545i would be OK with resonators left in. But *no* way - I honestly feel like an idiot driving the car like it is and it's going back to stock Monday. I picked up kids and had the 'I'm getting a headache' feedback after 5min.

What a muppet! :D So glad it didn't cost much and I kept the stock muffler.

So the moral is (a) don't believe what you read on the Internet and (b) if not sure - read MORE better bits of the internet.

:stupid:
 
#111 ·
I will try removing a middle resonator and go with an xpipe, leaving front 2 resonators and mufflers in place. Muffler shop guy said he can put it back to stock if I didn't like it. According to Jasmal (seems to be some kin of guru here, kinda like Yorgi, but hasn't post in along time), removing a middle resonator and putting an xpipe, wil not only improve an exhaust tone (a little), but will open up breathing of the engine. Leaving mufflers will take care of back pressure. I'll post when I do this mod. Xpipe should arrive today.
 
#112 ·
Please post before and after, with and without load. I'm considering the smallest increase in additional volume/tone, and this might be the mod. thanks.
 
#113 · (Edited)
OK everyone it is official and a no brainer IMO. Instantly remove all resonators and replace with an X-pipe!!! Cost is only $100-200 dollars and will make you feel like you just droped down at least $3-5k for the result you get.

I took pictures before and after plus videos before and after. I have the magnoflow mufflers but that was barely louder than a stock sixer. The key is to where you place the x-pipe my guy said in terms of the sound you are looking for. For less drone ( I mean NONE) the x -pipe should be all the way forward. This gives you less base deep sound and an amazing F-1 sound starting at about 3k rpm. I was told the farther back the x-pipe the more deep sound you have and therefore drone.

Paddle shifting in sport mode with the gear lever to the left and DTC button pushed once the car sounds awesome. At 5-7k rpm you feel like your at the race track and the gates of hell had just opened up. Frickin sounds like a $3k system!!!

That said cruising around top down in traffic it sounds maybe 5% louder than a stock sixer. I can not tell the difference at idle at all. As a bonus the revs climb much faster now with less $hit backing up the exhaust and choking the car.

Enjoy and if on the fence..trust me ( I know I am just some dude behind the keyboard) but the way to go for sure if you want just a much better sounding car with fast RPM climb You will not feel like a some punk kid with some crappy sounding car or turn your car into something other than what it should sound like stock. Those with stock mufflers I am sure will see a big difference for the better as well.

Now to see if I can post pics. They will show the stock resonators, then the replacement
 

Attachments

#114 · (Edited)
here is the video

first one before all stock except magnoflow mufflers. second one is the first start up after the work:thumbup:

Damn can't upload if someone can PM me their email I can email them both to you to post otherwise embarassed to say got to wait til the wife gets home. she decided to go rip the car now that it....she says....."sounds like a real car, smiled, grabbed the keys and took off. Love that gal!

edit: I figured it out all on my own!!!.
listen to how slow the revs are on the video with the resonators compaired to the one without
with resonators. sorry for the short clip thought I got more



AAAA...MAZING
 
#116 ·
first one before all stock except magnoflow mufflers. second one is the first start up after the work:thumbup:

Damn can't upload if someone can PM me their email I can email them both to you to post otherwise embarassed to say got to wait til the wife gets home. she decided to go rip the car now that it....she says....."sounds like a real car, smiled, grabbed the keys and took off. Love that gal!

edit: I figured it out all on my own!!!.
listen to how slow the revs are on the video with the resonators compaired to the one without
with resonators. sorry for the short clip thought I got more



AAAA...MAZING
Sounds very good! I'm either going with your setup but I'm leaning towards straight pipes or maybe even a H-pipe...clip of straight pipes below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNIDFsarMu8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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#117 ·
Big problem removing the resonators!!!!

I can't keep my foot out of it!!!!!!

Amazing the different sound when you put in sport mode. In regular drive the car sounds almost identical to the stock set up but push sport mode and mash the throttle and the sound is great. The straight pipe has a raspy sound I am not found of personally. The H-pipe I was told gives yopu a more muscle car sound
 
#118 ·
I can't keep my foot out of it!!!!!!

Amazing the different sound when you put in sport mode. In regular drive the car sounds almost identical to the stock set up but push sport mode and mash the throttle and the sound is great. The straight pipe has a raspy sound I am not found of personally. The H-pipe I was told gives yopu a more muscle car sound
Exactly I want something deep, but your clip really has me thinking...

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#119 ·
Be carefull of the deep sound. If too deep you get that vibrate in your head:thumbup:
 
#120 ·
Thats why I really like that straight pipe clip, it is sounds very subtle at idle then wakes up at revs. When he is pulling forward and parking he has to give it a quick 2500 rpm tap to even really make it heard, so I'd assume no drone with this setup.

I would have this done now but some people think straight pipes has to do with no mufflers as well[straight pipes means no resonators(or cats) and has nothing to do with mufflers]; and if he deleted all 3 resonators or what.

I can't tell if he has stock mufflers.

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#121 ·
My exhaust guys with 40 years experience told me you need the X pipe up front to keep some back pressure or you will loose torque as well as have a drone sound at low rpms. Who really knows until you do it? Cheap to send back to stock if you do not like it or put in an x or h pipe afterward
 
#123 ·
The xpipe was made by the muffler shop any good muffler guy can make one plus t is alot cheaper than buying an x pipe. There is NO difference in emmisions as the cats are still on the car and it has mufflers. Plus the sound is well within the legal limit.

I do not know about mileage as I have my foot in it so much I more than likely am now getting less :thumbup:
 
#131 ·
does anyone have a clip of resonator AND muffler delete?

i have my stock muffler delete, but maybe i can use all resonator delete with X pipe to make it little louder haha
 
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