Straight Pipes

[lilcdkey]

Hey guys, haven't been on here in a while.. I've been looking into straight piping my car. My last E36 had a B&B Triflow exhaust and it was LOUD. This makes my ZHP sounds tooo quiet.

I'm looking for a cheap way (college kid) to make my car loud. I wanted to straight pipe my ZHP, but I don't want it to sound to ricey. I've heard that if I straight pipe but leave my muffler then it will be loud and sound good. Maybe I could remove cats/res or something. Help please!

[zj96sc]

Not to come across as negative or critical, but exhaust is one arena where I really believe you have to go at it with the right funds to do things correctly or you'll wind up ruining what a couple of guys in Munich worked pretty hard on.

Deleting your resonators will, well, not surprisingly....probably generate a resonance in the exhaust, more commonly known as drone. If you've ever spent time in any vehicle with a serious resonant drone, you'll know it can really sap the energy out of you or make you downright nauseous. I think your best bet is to find a muffler you like, and try replacing the muffler box only, leaving the headers, cats, resonators, etc intact. Perhaps headers alone will be the ticket for you. Luckily the E46 is a pretty common car so you can find almost any exhaust combo on youtube.

Also, please do not remove your cats. Doing this only gives the EPA more ammunition against our hobby and passion. There are infinity ways to get great sound and great horsepower while still meeting emissions regulations.

Good luck.

[nike001]

...please don't. Your car isn't fast enough to justify the loudness. It's like flaunting something you don't have.

Stick to deleting your resonators if you must. Or get an aftermarket exhaust such as the TSE3

[az3579]

If you want to go the cheap route, the resonator delete would be best. You can always put it back if you don't like it, which is the beauty of it. Cheap mod at its best.

Straight pipes would be too loud, IMO. Dunno how good it'll sound, either.


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[UdubBadger]

I'd go muffler delete 1st, keep the resonators. then if you don't like get an eisenmann race with the connecting pipes

[lilcdkey]

what about removing resonators and my muffler?

[Hornung418]

No.

Read ZJs post.

[UdubBadger]

yeah don't and if you need a professionals opinion come meet me up at IND this week and I'll have you talk to Anthony.

I did the muffler delete on my E90 328 and it was right at the cusp of drone - if you remove the resonators its dunzo - you'll hate it.

I notice that a good cat back will actually ENHANCE the sound/growl. This isn't American muscle, straight piping the car doesn't give you the meanest sound. You need a quality engineered muffler to CREATE the right sound.

[nike001]

what about removing resonators and my muffler?

That would effectively result in straight pipes, no? lol

[lilcdkey]

Aright, looks like i'll be saving up for an exhaust. Thanks for the help guys.

[zj96sc]

Great decision my friend. TSE3 muffler only gets my vote. Hear it on GT172i's 330 daily, am jealous daily.

[Johnmadd]

I say just get a nice catback. I have car with a gutted cat (e30) and the sound is louder but not deeper, it kind of echoes in the pipes, I don't recommend straight pipes.

[Taliben]

ebay headers (SS reps) ====> 3 inch straight pipe=======>magnaflow DTM
My friend with an AW ZHP has this and it's straight nasty. Maybe you could add a resonator.

[M0nk3y]

I ran a Rogue IKON and I was fine. Nice and subtle. Not loud, perfect for a DD car

Sent using mental telepathy

[UdubBadger]

I think he wants the opposite of subtle :dunno

[Rovert]

Resonator delete hardly does a thing for volume. It's all in the muffler. My car has a supersprint muffler with the resonators and I get minor drone under low RPM with regular load. I believe if the resonators were still attached it would get rid of that whilst still retaining the sound and volume of my supersprint sport muffler. Either change out your headers, muffler delete, or a new louder muffler.

I have a youtube video of when I had my exhaust system naked from exhaust manifold. It sounded so crazy that I felt the need to put the car into neutral when I passed by a person especially a mom with her baby. It was fun for 15 minutes though. LOL.

[danewilson77]

A lot of mixed ideas in here. Sounds like a personal preference thing to me.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[midlandtech]

I did the muffler delete with 3 inch tips. In the car it's a bit louder but not droning outside its quite loud which is what I was after... I added a CAI and now she screams from both ends


~Steve
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[UdubBadger]

^ got any sound clips/video?

I know RoverT has the whole system deleted plus headers but since most of us don't plan to go so far I'd like to hear a more "tame" version with the resonators still attached.

[midlandtech]

I can do an audio clip with the iphone today if you'd like. what do ya want? exhaust only or exhaust and intake? I was thinking stationary both in and out of car and driving both in and out of car.

[Hornung418]

^ got any sound clips/video?

I know RoverT has the whole system deleted plus headers but since most of us don't plan to go so far I'd like to hear a more "tame" version with the resonators still attached.
Have you PM'd Trev about that? As far as I know he has a SuperSprint setup...

[Johnny330zhp]

whatever you decide to do, put up a sound clip or video? I'm still deciding what exhaust route to go with my car.

[midlandtech]

video is probably gonna be easiest to do with the phone

[midlandtech]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfUR4fL1YDA&feature=plcp&context=C332d448UDOEgsToPDskIcYl4SwQcc_UaQGBRH9P8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW71hTSvubA&feature=plcp&context=C3c1cfedUDOEgsToPDskLQwv4Knz9C-IiP954_YwAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQNVaCI2ETY&feature=plcp&context=C30adb9aUDOEgsToPDskJ8YKe2yjrQnLkQEwkr5f25

sorry for the sub par quality of the videos but try as I might this is the best I could do with what I have available to me

[Rovert]

Are you trying to pass out in the garage from carbon monoxide or do you just like the smell of burnt fuel? LOL

You're right about the video quality. So since a few us of still know what the stock ZHP muffler sounds like...what's your verbal review on deleting the muffler? :)

[midlandtech]

I personally love it... its loud on the outside but inside its still subdued. During normal acceleration the exhaust sounds like an amplified stock exhaust but give it the beans and it gets much louder with just a hint of straight six rasp (not overly raspy which IMO is the case with headers and a free flowing exhaust). Driving around with the windows down verses up is a night and day difference as you can hear the car revving much better. Is it for everyone? probably not but as a cheap louder exhaust with low rasp it works for me

[Rovert]

Do you still get a deep sound out of it under low RPMs? Like when you hear the ZHP muffler when the engine is running at idle?

[midlandtech]

just did this one real quick to see if I could do any better... not sure that the sound quality is any better but there is a shot of my sexy ass for your viewing pleasure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_4ayKk_F3Y

[midlandtech]

Do you still get a deep sound out of it under low RPMs? Like when you hear the ZHP muffler when the engine is running at idle?
up to about 2500 RPM its still pretty deep (maybe a just a little rasp) just more amplified above about 4500 it gets pretty loud and definitely has more rasp

[Johnny330zhp]

@midlandtech, the title muffler delete. Is it just like it sounds.... removing the muffler? Or am I missing something here lol. Sounds great btw,.

[midlandtech]

the rear muffler has been removed and replaced with pipes then I put 3" tips on its pretty easily done. If your considering it make sure to keep the stock muffler in-case you want to revert to stock

[Johnny330zhp]

Oh alright, yea right after i commented I watched your video again and saw tips so I wasn't sure. wow yea that is a cheap upgrade so did you buy piping and took it somewhere for the bends? how many feet did you buy? Im deff thinking about this upgrade once spring comes I like the loudness from outside the car but the driving while inside didn't sound much different then stock, as far as I'm concerned thats best of both worlds. lucky for us power wise I can't see gaining much but I also can't see loosing any, and if all your looking for is sound then this looks to be the best option on a tight budget due to the fact 90% of exhausts I've looked at are close to the 1,000 dollar range

[midlandtech]

no gain and no loss noted or felt on the butt dyno I had a local shop do it. total cost was about 100. I wasnt worried about loosing power because stock cats and both stock resonators are in place allowing for adequate back pressure. basically its just a noise maker which sets the car out just a little more than it was

[RVAzhp]

youtube is blocked at work...damn i had been thinking about a muffler delete for a while, was just worried about a drone on the highway...

[RVAzhp]

Just listened to those videos on my phone, and boy am I impressed. Sounds darn good. May have to start looking into finding a reputable muffler shop.

[UdubBadger]

Midland can you snap a photo of the delete for me? I did it on my 328 e90 but it was just a single pipe then a Y tip attached. I want to see how it was done having 2 pipes this time. Also what tips did you use/where did you get them?

[ryankokesh]

maybe we can get a discount at a shop if we bring in two cars...

[nike001]

Why would you delete a muffler when you can just delete resonators? You can always tell when theres a car with no muffler around, plus it doesn't look right.

[RVAzhp]

well i guess the issue we've discussed above is that deleting the resonator's will increase the "drone" of the exhaust at cruise. and if you listen to those videos, just deleting the muffler increases the sound just enough to make it sound better IMO

[nike001]

That's why you add an x-pipe, no?

IDK, I would never be able to part with my ZHP muffler. I love the way it sounds when cruising with that nice low note it gives. If I was getting rid of that, it'd only be for another full exhaust

[UdubBadger]

zhp muffler is nice but I'd like something louder until I can afford something else.

[RVAzhp]

well that video sounds pretty enticing for only ~$100 dollars. could be fancy. i guess i'm not in love with my muffler and maybe would prefer two black pipes hidden in the opening for a bit meaner look? i will have to think on this one and evaluate the videos some more.

[ryankokesh]

Yeah, I don't know the first thing about exhausts. Except, well, that it allows noxious gasses to leave the engine. Which I suppose may be considered the first thing...

[Rovert]

Keep the resonators on for sure. My car's setup was castrated. Both boys are gone. The sound is great but at low RPM cruising it can be concerning. Drone is a simply a resonance within the exhaust system's metal. On my car if you listen VERY carefully, after I let off the throttle you hear a quick decreasing echo of the metal vibrating until it's silent. I only notice this on sunny Sunday mornings with no others on the road or in my car while the Earth is lined up with the moon, Mars, and Venus. :D

[UdubBadger]

Yeah, I don't know the first thing about exhausts. Except, well, that it allows noxious gasses to leave the engine. Which I suppose may be considered the first thing...

all you need to know is:
headers - restricts or increases airflow from engine and changes sound
the catalytic converter (or "cat") - for filtering the noxious fumes legally. restricts airflow because of filtering
catback pipes - any resonator/silencer is purely for audible restrictions. larger pipes can also increase airflow.
muffler - further filters or increases SOUND - nothing environmental in a muffler.

[midlandtech]

Midland can you snap a photo of the delete for me? I did it on my 328 e90 but it was just a single pipe then a Y tip attached. I want to see how it was done having 2 pipes this time. Also what tips did you use/where did you get them?
hope these work for ya. I got the tips from O'Reilly auto parts and simply used exhaust clamps to install them.


@ Nike: when it comes to exhaust, I think it boils down to personal preference. while I did like the ZHP muffler sound, the volume wasn't enough for my personal tastes. I listened to as many sound clips as I could on deleting resonators vs muffler deletes and my preference was for the muffler delete. :dunno

[MiniD]

I am having my resonators cut out this week or early next week. I will report back.

[midlandtech]

I am having my resonators cut out this week or early next week. I will report back.

any possibility you could post a couple videos similar to the ones I posted for those that are trying to make a decision between the two options?

[MiniD]

Yep. Will hook the Go-Pro up.

[UdubBadger]

cool thanks.

where did you cut to get the muffler out? what size tips did you buy?

[midlandtech]

Muffler was cut about 4 inches up stream so it could be reattached if desired I went with 3" tips. They were the largest that would fit in the stock spot in the rear diffuser


~Steve
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[UdubBadger]

Cool thanks for the info


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[RVAzhp]

most i listen to those videos the more i like this idea. i definitely like the mods that are lots of cool for little $$- ballin on a budget is my motto.

[zj96sc]

If having the muffler deleted, ask the shop to do what you see in midlandtech's photos - tie the two pipes together with rod or flat bar in multiple places. this can help cut down on resonance and drone as it couples the vibration of the two pipes together. Also ensure you get the tips as far aft of the bumper as the OEM ones - this also helps cut down on drone as well.

You can also just put in a universal magnaflow, 14815 or 14816 are both popular, difference is the tip size. They're straight through designs so they will be functionally transparent to straight pipes but will probably wake it up a little less. Both are in the mid $100s and a good local guy exhaust shop should send you out of their door for $200 or less total.

I had this setup on my E30 - stock everything except muffler replaced with magnaflow, and loved the sound. I've been trying to find clips of it on M54s/330s/ZHPs and from what I can find I really like it.

If I ever do an exhaust this will be the route I take.

[UdubBadger]

It's a good temporary solution or like RVA said - for when you're trying to ball on a budget. However companies like Eisenmann and UUC know how to manipulate the sound to make it sound BETTER than straight pipes and this is where you're gonna fall in love with the sound of your ZHP.

[midlandtech]

It's a good temporary solution or like RVA said - for when you're trying to ball on a budget. However companies like Eisenmann and UUC know how to manipulate the sound to make it sound BETTER than straight pipes and this is where you're gonna fall in love with the sound of your ZHP.

I have been thinking of getting the tse light but it's still 5-600... Maybe some day down the road


~Steve
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[midlandtech]

If having the muffler deleted, ask the shop to do what you see in midlandtech's photos - tie the two pipes together with rod or flat bar in multiple places. this can help cut down on resonance and drone as it couples the vibration of the two pipes together. Also ensure you get the tips as far aft of the bumper as the OEM ones - this also helps cut down on drone as well.
.

Well put sir my tips stick out a little more than stock ones just for that very reason



~Steve
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