Aftermarket complete cat backs - complete waste?

[Bimmerfanatik]

So I've been reading up, and it seems buying a pre-assembled name brand cat back is a waste of money. I just find it hard to believe that slapping a magnaflow muffler with some piping is going to give me a better sound or performace gain over a well designed cat-back for our cars - whether it be a schnitzer or IE or stromung.

Thoughts?

[Jon325i]

I will agree with you that the price for many of these aftermarket offerings are steeply priced.....its hard to justify dropping $600+ for a new one. There really are just a couple of cost effective options for this:

1) go to a reputable muffler shop and have something fabbed up....this is nice since you can choose what you want and perhaps come up with something better than a manufactured unit.

2) buy one of the aftermarket systems used. of course, this means having good timing on your part. the stromung I have on my car belonged to Dave Adams.....I snatched up up after his car got totaled (and I wasn't really looking for a cat-back at the time).

Jon

[Bimmerfanatik]

Oh, I'm all about used. I'd kill to find a used stromung cat back, but they're harder to find than mtech II bits.

I just want the car to sound good, and if the tips could be attractive, that'd be nice.

[NC325iC]

I'd kill to find a used stromung cat back+10 here

[Dave]

Scott, just get a stock one on there. With the lack of roof - its loud even with that.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Scott, just get a stock one on there. With the lack of roof - its loud even with that.

Dave, keep in mind I've been driving the thing with NO CAT BACK...and don't think it's all that obnoxious ;)

See my other post - I want something that accents the already excellent sound of the stock exhaust - smooth, but louder, a nice rumble at idle.

[NC325iC]

... my current setup is a small hole just before a meinike muffler, its not too bad, i would prefer a cleaner sound,
i drove my car without a muffler just after i put the motor in, im not a big fan of the sound

[Jarvis]

I'd kill to find a used stromung cat back, but they're harder to find than mtech II bits.
Hey dummy, are you forgetting something? There's one available 60 miles from you, and the seller can deliver...

[Bimmerfanatik]

Hey dummy, are you forgetting something? There's one available 60 miles from you, and the seller can deliver...

www.all****ingoverthis.com

www.****offanyoneelsethatthinkstheyrebuyingthis.co m

:)

[Jarvis]

Yeah I've been hanging onto to it because you mentioned wanting it before. And I don't really want to deal with shipping.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Yeah I've been hanging onto to it because you mentioned wanting it before. And I don't really want to deal with shipping.

You're the ****ing man. For real.

I was [__] that close to bidding on an ACS catback in Weare, NH about an hour ago...

[Jon325i]

I want something that accents the already excellent sound of the stock exhaust - smooth, but louder, a nice rumble at idle.

If that's the kind of sound quality you're looking for, avoid the Stromung....and definately avoid a B&B Tri-Flo. As mentioned, I have a Stromung cat-back and since purchasing it from Dave Adams, it has broken in more and is fairly loud now. Just idling it emits a rumble that can be heard really well inside my steel-topper. Get on the gas and all bets are off as far as being stealth is concerned. Any tunnel I pass through warrants a dropped cog and raised revs ;-) The sound is loud and fabulous but it does draw attention. A guy I know locally has a B&B on his '87 325is track car.....****ing loud. Nuff said.

For more subdued tone, look into a SuperSprint or an IE cat-back. A friend of mine has had an IE unit on his '90 325is for over a year now.....its pretty much broken in all the way and it makes a sound that I've labeled "enhanced stock". Idling its not very noticable.....on throttle you can hear it but its not irritating at all. Good enough to be an improvement over a stock system, its all stainless steel so its better quality, and it even has identical angled tips like the stock system so its very low key visually as well. Fits just like an OEM system too so there's no guess work with the install. You can get these new for $445 now....but group buys always help shave off some of that cost.

Jon

[NC325iC]

ive heard of lots of bad fitment for the IE unit

[Bimmerfanatik]

If that's the kind of sound quality you're looking for, avoid the Stromung....and definately avoid a B&B Tri-Flo. As mentioned, I have a Stromung cat-back and since purchasing it from Dave Adams, it has broken in more and is fairly loud now. Just idling it emits a rumble that can be heard really well inside my steel-topper. Get on the gas and all bets are off as far as being stealth is concerned. Any tunnel I pass through warrants a dropped cog and raised revs ;-) The sound is loud and fabulous but it does draw attention. A guy I know locally has a B&B on his '87 325is track car.....****ing loud. Nuff said.

For more subdued tone, look into a SuperSprint or an IE cat-back. A friend of mine has had an IE unit on his '90 325is for over a year now.....its pretty much broken in all the way and it makes a sound that I've labeled "enhanced stock". Idling its not very noticable.....on throttle you can hear it but its not irritating at all. Good enough to be an improvement over a stock system, its all stainless steel so its better quality, and it even has identical angled tips like the stock system so its very low key visually as well. Fits just like an OEM system too so there's no guess work with the install. You can get these new for $445 now....but group buys always help shave off some of that cost.

Jon

Sounds like you know what you're talking about :) I've heard the B&B in person, and I didn't think it was too much, so if this is even slightly more subdued, things should be fine. I'm gonna try it out, because it's local, it's a great price, and Stromung=a top quality brand. If I don't like it, I'm sure I can find someone to take it off my hands... :)

Seriously, thanks for the input Jon. It's good to see there's people that know what they're talking about willing to help out.

[Insanity]

All the aftermarket systems that I've seen for E30s (most BMWs, in fact) are completely useless because they leave the piping size the same. That would be like getting an aftermarket header with the same piping size as the factory manifold.

[///M42 sport]

the only bad thing about the IE fitment is the pipes are a little too close together. See the top flange spacing is closer than the bottom. This cause the ring seal to be loose and not airtight.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/m42sport/100_00811.jpg

[BMW2ner]

does that wistle then?

[golde30]

the only bad thing about the IE fitment is the pipes are a little too close together. See the top flange spacing is closer than the bottom. This cause the ring seal to be loose and not airtight.
i didnt have this problem on my IE exhaust. but i did have another problem, and that was that the tailpipes hit the valence on the left side...this wouldnt be a problem on an early car, but on 88+ e30's(non-vert) it could be problematic. i had to have custom mounting brackets fabbed up.

Jon, wanna trade my IE for yer stromung? ;-)

[Spaz]

All the aftermarket systems that I've seen for E30s (most BMWs, in fact) are completely useless because they leave the piping size the same. That would be like getting an aftermarket header with the same piping size as the factory manifold.

but your forgetting that headers equalize the engine exhaut pulses where stock exhaust manifolds don't.
thats unless you have an m-series which has a stock header :P

[egk2]

Try to find a used prefab cat back, they're out there, I found my
Stebro catback used for $250. You can go with a universal muffler like magnaflow but they sound sloppy imo, while a Stromung or Stebro have a tuned sound.