[Azimmerlyjr]

hello! this weekend I will complete my exhaust system. disclaimer: I am not well enough off (yet) to justify spending 3-5K or more on an exhaust system that makes 5-10 hp. so anyway, here is my setup:

Secondary cat delete
X-pipe
resonator delete
replace OEM mufflers with Vibrant Performance "ultra quiet" resonators (basically a straight through 10" long muffler with a 4"x6"x10" can)
- 3" pipes from downpipes back instead of 2.75"

I had the same setup on my Mercedes. I loved the way these cans sounded. there is also a video of this same setup on the 550i on youtube and they sound great (from what I can tell). on my Benz it eliminated all the unwanted drone but left me most of the awesome sound I wanted...if that makes any sense. we will see how it works out for me on the 550i!! if there is any interest in this thread I will take and post pics and sound clips if wanted. let me know!

[gclions]

Always interested in anything done to these cars. Are you tackling the welding or are you using an exhaust shop?

Do you have a breakdown of where you got the components to be used?

Best of luck, I look forward to a sound clip or two.

[Zer0Cool92]

Just did a muffler delete to my 550i.. Not as loud as I expected but still has a badass tone. I like my exhausts raspy so I would like to remove the resonators. The muffler guy said he'd have to detach the whole exhaust to remove the resonators or some sh!t and that it would be bout 2 hrs labor. Does this sound about right or is this guy full of sh!t?

Defy would like to hear exhaust clips when yours is done tho!

[combatbmw]

How much did you spend total?

I had a company make a system for those that didn't want to spend 4-5k on a full length system.
I think they retail for 1999.

Drone free too not sure how important that is for you. There was alot of R&D done on the system I have.

Hope this turns out as you expected.

[Azimmerlyjr]

ok so I will attempt to address all of your questions lol...

gclions: I did not do the welding. all of the welding and bending I had a shop I have been using on my vehicles since high school do the work. they do a great job and they are insanely cheap. they are very rural and they are a one shop type place. they name their own price and they really take care of me. the total labor totaled $160 haha!! all of the components I got from ebay and funny enough, they are the same components I used on my Mercedes and I really liked them so I got the same setup for the 550 and it sounds awesome. starting at the round secondary cat looking things, we cut the whole exhaust out and used 3" pipe all the way back. we did an X-pipe then Vibrant Performance "ultra quiet" resonators near the back pretty much where the OEM mufflers were placed. the x pipe was $28 shipped and the resonators/mufflers were approximately $100 each. so I guess in total, I spent just under $400 .

zer0Cool92 - complete bullshit. we detached mine in about 2 minutes to weld the tops of the pipes we couldn't get to while they were attached up near were the resonator used to be. NOTE: the little round "resonators" and the rectangle "resonator" do not appear to be resonators at all. my mufflers hadn't come in yet 2 weekends ago so I went ahead and did a complete resonator delete and had the x pipe installed. literally, NO sound difference whatsoever. in addition, you can see straight through both of these "resonators an there sees to be no "packing" in there. very odd. the rectangle one is essentially a x pipe. can I load them straight from my iphone?

combatbmw: as stated above, in total, (I forgot to mention the tips - $75) I spent $475 all in!!! it sounds amazing. little to no drone, I think that is due to the high quality resonators as mufflers rather than regular mufflers, yet still a very clean, high quality V8 sound. it sounds amazing. how do I load video and pics on here?

[badblack550xi]

Originally Posted by Azimmerlyjr

ok so I will attempt to address all of your questions lol...

gclions: I did not do the welding. all of the welding and bending I had a shop I have been using on my vehicles since high school do the work. they do a great job and they are insanely cheap. they are very rural and they are a one shop type place. they name their own price and they really take care of me. the total labor totaled $160 haha!! all of the components I got from ebay and funny enough, they are the same components I used on my Mercedes and I really liked them so I got the same setup for the 550 and it sounds awesome. starting at the round secondary cat looking things, we cut the whole exhaust out and used 3" pipe all the way back. we did an X-pipe then Vibrant Performance "ultra quiet" resonators near the back pretty much where the OEM mufflers were placed. the x pipe was $28 shipped and the resonators/mufflers were approximately $100 each. so I guess in total, I spent just under $400 .

zer0Cool92 - complete bullshit. we detached mine in about 2 minutes to weld the tops of the pipes we couldn't get to while they were attached up near were the resonator used to be. NOTE: the little round "resonators" and the rectangle "resonator" do not appear to be resonators at all. my mufflers hadn't come in yet 2 weekends ago so I went ahead and did a complete resonator delete and had the x pipe installed. literally, NO sound difference whatsoever. in addition, you can see straight through both of these "resonators an there sees to be no "packing" in there. very odd. the rectangle one is essentially a x pipe. can I load them straight from my iphone?

combatbmw: as stated above, in total, (I forgot to mention the tips - $75) I spent $475 all in!!! it sounds amazing. little to no drone, I think that is due to the high quality resonators as mufflers rather than regular mufflers, yet still a very clean, high quality V8 sound. it sounds amazing. how do I load video and pics on here?

[VMRWheels]

Nice, look forward to seeings pics and vid

[twelve535i]

$160 for labor is a steal

[Azimmerlyjr]

Originally Posted by twelve535i

$160 for labor is a steal

hell yea it is. and they do great work. they have always done my exhaust work. HOW DO I POST PICS AND VIDEO FROM MY IPHONE?

[twelve535i]

Originally Posted by Azimmerlyjr

hell yea it is. and they do great work. they have always done my exhaust work. HOW DO I POST PICS AND VIDEO FROM MY IPHONE?

I upload the vids to youtube and pics to photobucket, then copy and paste the links

[Azimmerlyjr]

Here are the pics!!!

[Azimmerlyjr]

First cut

[Azimmerlyjr]

Same cut looking toward the front of the car.

[Azimmerlyjr]

This is the total section cut out

[Azimmerlyjr]

Here are the Vibrant performance resonators and the tips

[Azimmerlyjr]

This is the tube that disconnects from the OEM muffler that another member had problems with dort being sucked up. I plugged these with 2 little screws that screwed in nice and tight.

[Azimmerlyjr]

Muffler gone!

[Azimmerlyjr]

Attempting to position the mufflers to limit extreme bends in the system.

[Azimmerlyjr]

Almost...

[Azimmerlyjr]

Another view

[Azimmerlyjr]

Shot of the system. 3" pipes from the first cut all the way back.

[Azimmerlyjr]

Before the final bend and tips...