[Bmw doubles]

Has anyone gutted their OE muffler for the 5 series? If so do have pictures of the internals?

It has been done on 3 series
Modify OEM exhaust to sound like PE exhaust http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=739970

I would be down to be the first if no one has done it. I know I can delete the muffler, but I would rather remove any internal baffling and put a perforated straight pipe inside the shell of the muffler. I am imagining that would be the right amount of sound with no drone on freeway speeds.

[combatbmw]

OEM system sure is expensive to ruin it like that.

You drive an expensive car man, just save some $$$ and get your self a real system.

[bake]

I already have the OEM Performance exhaust but would be willing to sell my stock 535 mufflers for cheap to anyone that wanted to take this on as a project. My outlet tips are cut short because I had quad tips welded to them, but otherwise they are in perfect shape. About 30k miles on them.

[Jonny550]

Sounds like a great idea . I asked AutoCouture about doing this and the master welder said it probably cant be done since the 550 mufflers are not like the m3 mufflers or n54 mufflers ( one big can ) .


However the main word is "probably' . seems to me the welder didnt want anything to do with it since he was quitting his job .


Iam in the same boat as you right now , iam not interested in a full system . Iam not all that interested in making the car sound like a mustang .

The idea of paying $2k+ for an exhaust thats loud and obnoxious along with the drone thats comes with it is not a fun idea to me .

[combatbmw]

Originally Posted by Jonny550

Sounds like a great idea . I asked AutoCouture about doing this and the master welder said it probably cant be done since the 550 mufflers are not like the m3 mufflers or n54 mufflers ( one big can ) .


However the main word is "probably' . seems to me the welder didnt want anything to do with it since he was quitting his job .


Iam in the same boat as you right now , iam not interested in a full system . Iam not all that interested in making the car sound like a mustang .

The idea of paying $2k+ for an exhaust thats loud and obnoxious along with the drone thats comes with it is not a fun idea to me .

Ive never heard a 550i sound like a mustang.
I've heard nearly all the systems that are made for the car, none of which make it sound obnoxious. Some do have drone, some do not.
Unless of course you throw on some cheap magnaflow mufflers.

To each their own I guess.

[Jonny550]

Originally Posted by combatbmw

Ive never heard a 550i sound like a mustang.
I've heard nearly all the systems that are made for the car, none of which make it sound obnoxious. Some do have drone, some do not.
Unless of course you throw on some cheap magnaflow mufflers.

To each their own I guess.

Well usually the 550's or M5's that ive heard have cat less downpipes . Not to say that mustangs sound bad (they are one of the best sounding cars out there ) . I just feel that style exhaust does not match this platform .


My cousin did a muffler delete to his m5 competition package and it sounds amazing almost exotic sounding . With very very light drone at 75 80 mph that can be tuned out with the radio on the lowest setting .


IMHO there are so little enthusiasts that own a 550 , in turn meaning there is not alot of info on these cars at all when it comes to modifying them . The more experiments done the better as it helps with future owners and growing the community .

[combatbmw]

Originally Posted by Jonny550

Well usually the 550's or M5's that ive heard have cat less downpipes . Not to say that mustangs sound bad (they are one of the best sounding cars out there ) . I just feel that style exhaust does not match this platform .


My cousin did a muffler delete to his m5 competition package and it sounds amazing almost exotic sounding . With very very light drone at 75 80 mph that can be tuned out with the radio on the lowest setting .


IMHO there are so little enthusiasts that own a 550 , in turn meaning there is not alot of info on these cars at all when it comes to modifying them . The more experiments done the better as it helps with future owners and growing the community .

I totally agree!
When Shetigen developed their system, the #1 I told them about our community is, we don't want our cars to sound like american muscle (not that there is anything wrong with that).
And sure enough, they came out with a very exotic sound.
#2 thing I told them was DRONE. NO DRONE.. and why it was important to us.

Hopefully this turns out good for whom ever decides to do it.

Cheers guys.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by combatbmw

I totally agree!
When Shetigen developed their system, the #1 I told them about our community is, we don't want our cars to sound like american muscle (not that there is anything wrong with that).
And sure enough, they came out with a very exotic sound.
#2 thing I told them was DRONE. NO DRONE.. and why it was important to us.

Hopefully this turns out good for whom ever decides to do it.

Cheers guys.

I would love this on.my 535 but they Don't!

[Bmw doubles]

Since my 535 doesn't have flaps like my 335 I am unable to get a burlier sound. So if I gut my muffler it couldn't be any worse then just cutting it off. Plus I would have it dissected from the top so it would be almost undetectable to the dealer. Almost.

Ps I used to have a SRT-4 with summit racing mufflers($30.00 each) and it made it sound, well not like a 4banger. Point I'm making is wether the car is European or not the goal is to get a deeper growl.

[peter91118]

I will be cutting open my mufflers soon. I have a link saved on my other computer with a picture of the internals of the 550 muffler. It's no wonder the thing is so quiet..

[peter91118]

550 muffler

[Bmw doubles]

Originally Posted by peter91118

550 muffler

Geez super silencer. That would make me want to just cut the muffler off entirely. Still curious to see what my 535 internals look like. That image is dual piping into one muffler.

[Jonny550]

Originally Posted by peter91118

550 muffler

looks like BMW trapped a snake in there.

[Bmw doubles]

Originally Posted by Jonny550

looks like BMW trapped a snake in there.

That muffler needs a laxative

[peter91118]

My plan is going to be to just cut a small window and then remove the section I circled. Hopefully it will allow the flap to do something..

[Bmw doubles]

Originally Posted by peter91118

My plan is going to be to just cut a small window and then remove the section I circled. Hopefully it will allow the flap to do something..

YouTube video when you're finished.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by peter91118

My plan is going to be to just cut a small window and then remove the section I circled. Hopefully it will allow the flap to do something..

I'm still trying to understand what ur trying to accomplish here? Why not go with a muffler delete instead of modify a stock muffler?

[peter91118]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

I'm still trying to understand what ur trying to accomplish here? Why not go with a muffler delete instead of modify a stock muffler?

I did that with my e39 and there was a little too much drone for my liking. If I modify it first and it's still not loud enough then I can go for a full delete.

Also, I'm hoping for a near stock amount of noise with the flaps closed for those long highway trips.

[FenixMike]

You end up doing this yet? I may do the same thing, I just hate to waste my time instead of just replacing the mufflers if it doesn't add anything, or sounds terrible.

[FenixMike]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

I'm still trying to understand what ur trying to accomplish here? Why not go with a muffler delete instead of modify a stock muffler?

Most other cars running a vacuum operated secondary such as the Corvette have a louder and much better flowing side where the flap opens, and then the spaghetti snake approach on the side that doesn't have a flap... BMW has identical pipes on both sides and the flap just reduces flow (and a very slight bit of noise). By removing the section of pipe he's taking about, it would more or less create a high flow secondary and bypass all the spaghetti. Currently not many mufflers under $4,000 from the aftermarket world do this (Akra to name one) so if that worked, its a couple hour science project with nothing other than cutting open a case, cutting the pipe, and welding the case back together.

Here are the vette pics and a diagram on how it flows




Technically with enough boredom, I can just cut the nice tips off a Z06 muffler (3.5 inch angle cut tips with 2.5 inch piping and one having the same valve as the BMW) and run one through the muffler and one passed the muffler, but thats a lot of work and it would likely be too loud for me every time I got on it unless I got bored enough to wire up a mild/wild style switch like the vettes have. The other option (and more expensive/heavy) would be run one side through a glass pack style resonator and the other side through a muffler, but thats just way too much work when in reality I'm sure I will be happy when I eventually put some XR1 Borlas on there, I'm just dreading the cost of whatever tips I'm going to like. Anything with 3 inch in and dual 4 inch out with an overall length of under 9 inches and dual wall tips is about $250-300 per tip.

[peter91118]

Pipes are out guys. I should have some audio clips tomorrow if things go to plan.

[FenixMike]

Originally Posted by peter91118

Pipes are out guys. I should have some audio clips tomorrow if things go to plan.

Figures, a week after I ordered my Borla XR1s Im probably going to stick mine in next week sometime if I can get away from work.