[socal_340]

I am looking into removing both resonators from the car and replacing them with some nice stainless steel pipe. That said, I have some questions for those that have done it:

1. What type of stainless steel did you use? Diameter?

2. If you used a shop, what did you pay for parts and labor?

3. Interior drone/vibrations--I've heard both can be problematic. I don't mind some droning, but vibrations make me nervous. Any feedback?

4. Lastly, if anyone can recommend a solid shop that could do this in Southern California, that would be appreciated. I am in the OC/LA area.

[Mamyf30]

just confirming you are talking about a b58 since your profile has a 335i? If you are talking about 340i, I am interested in this since I've heard sound clips of dinan and awe midpipe and like the extra pops but is not over the top loud.

if the same sounds can be achieved at a fraction of a name brand price, i will definitely do it too!

[socal_340]

Originally Posted by Mamyf30

just confirming you are talking about a b58 since your profile has a 335i? If you are talking about 340i, I am interested in this since I've heard sound clips of dinan and awe midpipe and like the extra pops but is not over the top loud.

if the same sounds can be achieved at a fraction of a name brand price, i will definitely do it too!

Yeah, 340i. Thanks for catching that, I updated my profile!

[kern417]

Any stainless will work. And any decent exhaust shop should be able to do it. It may not be pretty, but as long as it's stainless and the welds hold it'll work. You shouldn't have any vibration or noise issues unless it develops an exhaust leak. Stock diameter should be 3", so just make sure they use the same size piping.

Price for that kind of work is typically ~$200 or less for a straight pipe with no bends. It may be a little higher in Cali.

[NYC_340i]

I've had both my resonstors removed around 7 months ago. Paid $200 to get it done at a reputable shop in the northern NJ area (they were working on 3 GTRs and a Ferrari 458 when I went lol). I've seen some people get it done for under $150 and even under $100 but I guess it depends on location and what kind of shop you go to.

Overall I'd say it was $200 well spent. The car sounds so agressive yet easy to live with daily. I noticed more pops and for the first time I heard the "gun shots" if you rev past 4k rpm. There is some drone on the highway in sport mode but with music on its not really noticable. In eco pro and sometimes comfort there is no drone. I've also not noticed any vibrations.

The one thing is that cold starts are really loud. It was way too loud (especially when starting in my garage) with the golf tee mod. After getting the resonators removed I plugged the valve connector back in and it's still loud but much better.

I'd say it's worth getting this done instead of getting a midpipe for $500 + install. Getting a AWE or dinan muffler would be nice but I can't justify spending $2000+ on it. I'm pretty happy with this current setup.

I do have some before and after cold start clips if you guys want to hear it.

[NYC_340i]

Oh and 1 more thing I forgot to mention. It took the exhaust guys a little bit longer to do the job because the pipe coming into the first resonstor is round while the pipe coming out of the second resonator is more of an oval. They initially wanted to remove both separately and weld 2 pipes in but I had them do it as 1 single piece and it came out great. They just had to hammer the second end into an oval shape.

[socal_340]

Originally Posted by NYC_340i

Oh and 1 more thing I forgot to mention. It took the exhaust guys a little bit longer to do the job because the pipe coming into the first resonstor is round while the pipe coming out of the second resonator is more of an oval. They initially wanted to remove both separately and weld 2 pipes in but I had them do it as 1 single piece and it came out great. They just had to hammer the second end into an oval shape.

Great feedback, thank you! And yes, I would love to hear the before/after clips.

[Mamyf30]

Originally Posted by NYC_340i

I do have some before and after cold start clips if you guys want to hear it.

yes lets hear it! is everything else stock on your exhaust? also show some revs/pops!

[mookie45]

NYC_340i so did you use 3" piping or 3.25"?

Per Dinan says 3.25" https://www.dinancars.com/product/d6...340i-f32-440i/

[NYC_340i]

Here is the before and after video

Originally Posted by Mamyf30

yes lets hear it! is everything else stock on your exhaust? also show some revs/pops!

Everything else is stock. Recently I added a BMS Intake and JB+ but I doubt they will have any difference on the exhaust sound. I have a video of some driving around but I will need to find it. I will share it as soon as possible.

[NYC_340i]

Originally Posted by mookie45

NYC_340i so did you use 3" piping or 3.25"?

Per Dinan says 3.25" https://www.dinancars.com/product/d6...340i-f32-440i/

I have no clue what size the shop used. They just grabbed a few different pipes and they eventually found one with the correct diameter.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by mookie45

NYC_340i so did you use 3" piping or 3.25"?

Per Dinan says 3.25" https://www.dinancars.com/product/d6...340i-f32-440i/

The Dinan piping is bigger than the stock piping. If you're just replacing that section, making the pipe bigger won't improve anything.

[mookie45]

Originally Posted by kern417

The Dinan piping is bigger than the stock piping. If you're just replacing that section, making the pipe bigger won't improve anything.

No sound difference? Also, will the type of stainless steel make a difference?

Lots of muffler shops have SS piping but how necessary is it get T304 quality?

[mookie45]

Originally Posted by NYC_340i

Here is the before and after video

Everything else is stock. Recently I added a BMS Intake and JB+ but I doubt they will have any difference on the exhaust sound. I have a video of some driving around but I will need to find it. I will share it as soon as possible.

Idle sounds great. Looking forward to some driving videos to showcase the burbles and pops

[mookie45]

_josh.340i do you still have a resonator delete with everything else stock? Would love for you to post up some revving action too

[Ian83w]

Sounds nice with the deletes. With the mppsk I would like to here the difference between them. as on start up it sounds very similar. Well from what I’ve herd

[Ian83w]

Originally Posted by mookie45

_josh.340i do you still have a resonator delete with everything else stock? Would love for you to post up some revving action too

+1

[kern417]

Originally Posted by mookie45

No sound difference? Also, will the type of stainless steel make a difference?

Lots of muffler shops have SS piping but how necessary is it get T304 quality?

nah, especially with the rest of the piping being the same. pretty much all exhausts are optimized at 3".

and t304 is just more resistant to rust, but all stainless works for our purposes imo. sound won't change until you move to titanium or thicker cast piping, which isn't worth it for this sort of job.

[socal_340]

Quick thread update.

I had one shop tell me I'd be better off buying the midpipe from somewhere and having them install it--that it would be cheaper that way

Took it to a second shop and they ripped out the smaller resonator closer to the muffler for $75 in about 15 minutes.

I kept it a few days like that, and noticed a very small increase in volume and what I'd describe as a higher pitched more whiny sound to the exhaust. The gunshots (which I don't really like) only seem to occur on hard let-offs over 4500 RPM, and even then it's not every time.

Today I had the shop pull the second resonator, and this one was harder to do as NYC_340i mentioned since the pipe is oval instead of round. They charged me $145 for this one, for $225 total.

To try and put numbers on it, if the first resonator made volume go up by 10%, the second resonator added another 15-20%. Overall I am much happier with both resonators gone, and I don't notice any vibrations or drone yet, although I only have about 15 miles on the car with 2nd resonator gone. I will get a sound clip for everyone, hopefully by the end of the week. Unfortunately I didn't take a before clip, but I think there are enough of those out there already. Plus, we all know what our cars sound like

[itschuto]

Its amazing i paid $80 for parts and labor. I'm not sure what diameter pipe was used, i think 3 inches. Absolutely no droning. Backfires and pops sound amazing on high RPM but when i just got it done, i couldnt figure out how to make it backfire or pop so great. Its all a matter of figuring it out. But you wont regret it one bit

[mookie45]

I'm sold. Will be doing this soon!

[drummerlauw]

Hmmm.....I really wanna do this now. However, i've been reading some posts regarding loss of Torque by doing resonator or muffler delete? Is this true even for turbo/ force induction car?