Eta-to-M50: Build thread

[Mike The Bavarian]

I'm actually considering pulling the ebay headers out this winter and going with the OBDII manifolds.

I'm not a fan of them, I just wanted something other than the stock M50 boat anchors, and I got them for dirt cheap.

the headers don't cause that much rasp...people just seem to think running no cat gives them more hp. a cat gets rid of alot of rasp. and running a good muffler or two helps.

[Jand3rson]

I've got obd2 manifolds -> custom midpipe with a 12" resonator in each pipe -> ebay stainless m20 catback

absolutely zero rasp. it is fairly quiet, though, only a bit louder than stock. I dig it.

I'm actually considering pulling the ebay headers out this winter and going with the OBDII manifolds.

I'm not a fan of them, I just wanted something other than the stock M50 boat anchors, and I got them for dirt cheap.

[shiboujin]

you can look into resonator inserts into your muffler. They look like long funnels that you bolt into your exhaust tips. I forget the technical name...

[Jand3rson]

Don't worry, I just took it out and gave it a pretty damn good flogging. It sounds good, it's just loud. I think I actually like it...

[shiboujin]

I think being sideways is beneath him.

[LJ851]

^ Yes. Janderson, your car has been a project for too long. It is time to get inside and drive the motherfucker! 100 pages!! If you're going post a video lets see a little sideways action or something.

[shiboujin]

You're such a woman... "should I wear the 6 inch heels or the 8 inch heels? I want to look like an expensive hooker and not a cheap hooker. But I still wanna get laid tonight"

Those stock resonators don't do much. I remove them from E36s all the time. Shit, removing the muffler from an E46 doesn't do much either. Just be happy and drive the damn thing.

[Jand3rson]

I was actually thinking about using the stock resonators from the OBDI E36 M3 pipes I got from Curt, the small ones that are right after the cats. Think these would be worth having installed, before that first small Magnaflow that I have in place of the cats?

[Lof8]

I've got obd2 manifolds -> custom midpipe with a 12" resonator in each pipe -> ebay stainless m20 catback

absolutely zero rasp. it is fairly quiet, though, only a bit louder than stock. I dig it.

[Bill 84 318i]

There is still a decent rasp at WOT, which I'm actually ok with, and there is much, much less of it now. Even at hard acceleration into 2nd and 3rd, it's only there for a second or so at about 3k, then it goes away.

I have also heard that after a while of driving, sounds of new mufflers and exhaust systems will change slightly. So my next step I think after this might be to have an X-pipe made to go between the ebay headers and the first small Magnaflow, because right now, it's just dual 2.25" pipes going from the headers into the Magnaflow. I'm pretty sure this will take away the rasp, and should also help to quiet things down even a bit more, yes?

My e30s50 was pretty raspy, and I tried a few things to unsuccessfully get rid of it - last one being ebay headers, 2 -> 1 generic crappy cat, tiny 9" Magnaflow, and then some cheap OBX can or something (only thing I could find with tips).

e46 M3 guys swear by welding an extra AR20 (google it) into the one pipe that doesn't already have a resonator - pretty much kills the rasp that these things come with. Not sure if they'll do the trick, but they're cheap and a pair of them be worth a shot.

[nando]

x-pipes are for flow performance, not sound.

[shiboujin]

xpipe won't do much for you. at least a noticeable amount anywho. Just drive it. be happy.

[BrewCity11]

Nice, at least some people are still cool out there, huh?

I really think these motors sound good with a bit of rasp and yes, once you get some buildup on the insides the sound will change a bit. It took me forever to find an exhaust for my old prelude that didn't sound like a tin can (Greddy). The one i finally settled on still had some pinging but went away after a while.

[Jand3rson]

Alright, just got the car back, and the Dynomax definitely sounds much better. The system overall is still fairly loud, but the sound as a whole is much better. All of the drone is gone, and almost all of the rasp is gone. Idle and cruising are both fairly quiet, much more so than with the Flowmaster. There is still a decent rasp at WOT, which I'm actually ok with, and there is much, much less of it now. Even at hard acceleration into 2nd and 3rd, it's only there for a second or so at about 3k, then it goes away.

I have also heard that after a while of driving, sounds of new mufflers and exhaust systems will change slightly. So my next step I think after this might be to have an X-pipe made to go between the ebay headers and the first small Magnaflow, because right now, it's just dual 2.25" pipes going from the headers into the Magnaflow. I'm pretty sure this will take away the rasp, and should also help to quiet things down even a bit more, yes?

Best part of it? The guy at the shop didn't charge me for swapping out the mufflers, because he recommended the Dynomax, and he didn't think it helped. I just talked to him and said that I think it sounds much better, but he still wouldn't let me pay him.

[Jand3rson]

Josh,

Thanks for posting the update. I have been watching this with great interest, as I will be dropping an M50 in my car veddy, veddy soon. Please post back with your results and final overall setup (I figure you probably would have anyway, but I wanted to make sure you knew that there are people anxiously awaiting updates)!

Cheers!

I'm going to get video of an exhaust clip this weekend with the Flowmaster, and then another with the Dynomax when I get it back on Tuesday.