New sedan

[funcrew]

How does the muffler sound? I've got a fairly new (2yrs old) stock "i" exhaust system that's very quiet, if you're not looking for any performance gain at all :D

Also sweet jesus that thing looks clean from the photos.

Thanks. The interior is mint and no body rust, but the exterior is much more chewed up than you can see in the photos. I'll take pics in 2 weeks when my life settles down.

I love the OEM exhaust sound. However my exhaust is a 2.5 inch single pipe system - I will only be replacing the muffler.

[kronus]

Thanks. The interior is mint and no body rust, but the exterior is much more chewed up than you can see in the photos. I'll take pics in 2 weeks when my life settles down.

I love the OEM exhaust sound. However my exhaust is a 2.5 inch single pipe system - I will only be replacing the muffler.

2" single pipe that's y'd together before or after the cats? Or straight from the header?

I hear you on photos hiding exterior quality. I spent a couple hours today armed with claybar and cleaner wax, and found out that there are about 5000% more scratches and cracks in my paint than is apparent from photos. :(

[funcrew]

2" single pipe that's y'd together before or after the cats? Or straight from the header?

I hear you on photos hiding exterior quality. I spent a couple hours today armed with claybar and cleaner wax, and found out that there are about 5000% more scratches and cracks in my paint than is apparent from photos. :(

OEM twin pipes from the manifold, then y-pipe into single 2.5 inch cat, resonator, and muffler. Crazy loud and droning. I'm an old geezer and want the car SILENT. Not so much as an idle rumble. I wonder how much the OEM muffler on a Rolls costs?

[kronus]

OEM twin pipes from the manifold, then y-pipe into single 2.5 inch cat, resonator, and muffler. Crazy loud and droning. I'm an old geezer and want the car SILENT. Not so much as an idle rumble. I wonder how much the OEM muffler on a Rolls costs?

Well, you're not going to get silence from a 2.5" single unless you try really, really hard.

I don't have much of an idle rumble... the intake is significantly louder than the exhaust from almost all angles and at all RPMs. How does your exhaust sound right now, besides loud?

[funcrew]

Well, you're not going to get silence from a 2.5" single unless you try really, really hard.

I don't have much of an idle rumble... the intake is significantly louder than the exhaust from almost all angles and at all RPMs. How does your exhaust sound right now, besides loud?

It has a nice rumble at idle (just not my thing, though) but sounds cheap and droning at speed. For tone, I really like what a spintech sounds like, except that it's too loud. I like a deep, basso profundo tone on a muffler. But performance mufflers are all too loud - I'm thinking I might end up going OEM something.

[Julien]

ozium for the smoke odor.. can be bought at hemp shops are car washes
for the exhaust get a resonator right behind the cat and a dynomax superturbo muffler

[funcrew]

ozium for the smoke odor.. can be bought at hemp shops are car washes
for the exhaust get a resonator right behind the cat and a dynomax superturbo muffler

Bumping my own thread here.

ODOR: Took out the seats and carpet. There was a ton of rice in the heater ducts and under the carpet. I'm not kidding. Shampooed everything thoroughly outside the car, took a layer of grime off the leather with acetone, and conditioned the seats with expensive leather oil. Turns out the front seats are fake leather, the back seat real leather. Cleaned the interior with kitchen cleaner spray. Treated the interior shell and the carpet/seats with an electrical ozone generator. The ozone and cleaning killed the smoke, but the car reeked of ozone for 3 months. Not so bad now, after 4 months of leaving the windows cracked all the time.

NOISE: Had our local custom hot rod shop install a dynomax turbo muffler as recommended by Julien, and re-route the pipe to clear the axles better. That cut the sound to about a third of the PO's fart can, and much better tone under all conditions. Very expensive work, but it's hard to find a decent shop in Vegas. Paid twice what I thought the job was worth, but very happy with the results. Would have been just as happy if the PO had put in a replacement OEM exhaust instead of the 2.5in single, though.

FRONT END: One wheel bearing was shot. I replaced both of them. Did generic solid rotors, mintex red pads, and OEM hoses on 4 corners while I was at it. Ditched the cheap slotted rotors from the back end.

OTHER:

Adjusted valves but engine still ticks like a MF. I can't believe that it's just the injectors and healthy valves - what a racket:

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85081

Fixed odometer & rolled forward to reflect 6 weeks without it. Fuel gauge still does not work: http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthre...ighlight=gauge

NEXT:

Bad squeaking in back seat - will remove and add padding where needed. Planning to fix all dents and roller paint. The trim strips on the bumpers will go back to black (stock).

If I decide to keep this car long term, I'll do the suspension & wheels. I might sell it and acquire an E30 323i - lightweight, less electrical crap to break, and euro bumpers pre-installed. Downside: small case diff.

So far, the sedan drives great. I flog it every day and it never misses a beat. The A/C refrigerant leaked out the first week I had it, so the PO must have juiced it up right before my test drive. I have the rest of the winter to decide about this car vs a 323i. Come May or so, I'll have to fix the A/C or sell it.