Anyone done a custom exhaust for 35i?

[YXEM5]

Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone has had any luck attempting a custom exhaust on 35i? I have a 2016 35i with the M sport package and I really want quad tips rather then the factory trapezoids. I was looking at available exhaust options but with the Canadian exchange rate being so low going with something like the ACS or Meistershaft exhaust becomes quite costly, especially when it is essentially a small cosmetic and sound improvement modification.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Chad

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by YXEM5

Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone has had any luck attempting a custom exhaust on 35i? I have a 2016 35i with the M sport package and I really want quad tips rather then the factory trapezoids. I was looking at available exhaust options but with the Canadian exchange rate being so low going with something like the ACS or Meistershaft exhaust becomes quite costly, especially when it is essentially a small cosmetic and sound improvement modification.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Chad

Will attempt to do the same w/Flowmaster 50 series delta flow and Akrapovic exhaust tips. Am still considering getting the MPE muffler, but not purchasing the trapezoid tips. Local mechanic told me he can do whatever I wanted.
Just wondering if these mufflers are made for this vehicle....would like to avoid the MPE muffler because of cost.
Also thinking of buying a used M Performance muffler from another vehicle and use the Akrapovic tips.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Will attempt to do the same w/Flowmaster 50 series delta flow and Akrapovic exhaust tips. Am still considering getting the MPE muffler, but not purchasing the trapezoid tips. Local mechanic told me he can do whatever I wanted.
Just wondering if these mufflers are made for this vehicle....would like to avoid the MPE muffler because of cost.
Also thinking of buying a used M Performance muffler from another vehicle and use the Akrapovic tips.

Technically it's about exhaust volume flow - 335i has same n55 engine and a used MPE from it should sound similar. However, there may be differences due to different resonators/cats and pipe length. I think it's doable, but you may want to first check what is the consensus on custom exhaust for n55 in e90 community - they have more knowledge accumulated over years

[YXEM5]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Will attempt to do the same w/Flowmaster 50 series delta flow and Akrapovic exhaust tips. Am still considering getting the MPE muffler, but not purchasing the trapezoid tips. Local mechanic told me he can do whatever I wanted.
Just wondering if these mufflers are made for this vehicle....would like to avoid the MPE muffler because of cost.
Also thinking of buying a used M Performance muffler from another vehicle and use the Akrapovic tips.

I was thinking something along those lines as well. Would love to know what it sounds like.

[menelaos]

Could not find anything used from 335 MPE, plus did not like the sound I found on youtube. Will talk to mechanic next week, get some technical feedback from Flowmaster too. Maybe I need two of these mufflers for volume!
Although, I saw the ACschnitzer mufflers for F15 and they're pretty small..so not sure how muffler size factors into the overall picture.
I certainly don't want to buy something useless.

[sbinshihon]

keep us posted, personally I think MPE lacks in volume. Barely worth it for $1k exhaust from factory!

[menelaos]

I know there is a huge thread on muffler delete for the 50i model.
I wonder if we should venture into that. Saves us $1000.
There is one downpipe, so I don't know if it will work as well as it did for them!
Will discuss, although, wife may not like it!

[DuSh]

Guys mufflers muffle the sound not add to it. The more mufflers you have the quieter the car will be. If you want louder exhaust you need to remove something - either cats, resonators or mufflers. AFAIK 35i only has main cat and rear muffler - that's it. So your options are:
1. Go catless and put some aftermarket muffler instead of stock one (I only recommend this if you are after a tune to gain some hp/tq)
2. Leave stock cat and delete muffler: cheapest and will have enough volume since there will be no muffler - but may have some unrefined sound due to inline 6cyl turbo engine
3. Leave stock cat and put MPE (rear muffler) - expensive, but IMHO most refined from what's available for that money
4. Go with Supersprint/Akrapovich/Meistershaft/Gintani etc - very expensive, but adds some exotic car note (more like hint of it, but this is all there is)
5. Leave stock cat and put some aftermarket muffler - if you guys want something louder than MPE - you need to find some less restrictive muffler than MPE one - maybe something from Flowmasters - but you need to understand that inline 6 cyl. n55 engine with stock cat and turbo - will never sound deep like V8 or scream like some exotic Ferrari/Lambo - it's going to be a compromise - I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if you wanted good loud sound - should have went with 50i

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by DuSh

Guys mufflers muffle the sound not add to it. The more mufflers you have the quieter the car will be. If you want louder exhaust you need to remove something - either cats, resonators or mufflers. AFAIK 35i only has main cat and rear muffler - that's it. So your options are:
1. Go catless and put some aftermarket muffler instead of stock one (I only recommend this if you are after a tune to gain some hp/tq)
2. Leave stock cat and delete muffler: cheapest and will have enough volume since there will be no muffler - but may have some unrefined sound due to inline 6cyl turbo engine
3. Leave stock cat and put MPE (rear muffler) - expensive, but IMHO most refined from what's available for that money
4. Go with Supersprint/Akrapovich/Meistershaft/Gintani etc - very expensive, but adds some exotic car note (more like hint of it, but this is all there is)
5. Leave stock cat and put some aftermarket muffler - if you guys want something louder than MPE - you need to find some less restrictive muffler than MPE one - maybe something from Flowmasters - but you need to understand that inline 6 cyl. n55 engine with stock cat and turbo - will never sound deep like V8 or scream like some exotic Ferrari/Lambo - it's going to be a compromise - I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if you wanted good loud sound - should have went with 50i

was anxiously awaiting for you feedback since you did it.
I was looking at a catless, but am being reserved by possible engine faults...plus got some "green" concerns as I does pollute more than stock.
I got MPKK and looking to buy Dinan MPKK-compatible tuner.

I do understand that it can't be as rumbly and "tony" as V8, just looking through options.
Looks like safest is MPE, cheapest is flowmaster...which will need some technical info to see if it will work...50 Series Data Flow and Proseries produce quite a good rumble, with little inside decibels. Not sure if my 1 1/2 year old daughter would like to hear noise

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by menelaos

was anxiously awaiting for you feedback since you did it.
I was looking at a catless, but am being reserved by possible engine faults...plus got some "green" concerns as I does pollute more than stock.
I got MPKK and looking to buy Dinan MPKK-compatible tuner.

I do understand that it can't be as rumbly and "tony" as V8, just looking through options.
Looks like safest is MPE, cheapest is flowmaster...which will need some technical info to see if it will work...50 Series Data Flow and Proseries produce quite a good rumble, with little inside decibels. Not sure if my 1 1/2 year old daughter would like to hear noise

Yes, if you are going catless - then you'll have enough loudness to start with - which is good! All you will need is to chose which muffler to put to make it just right for you

Just for information catless with MPE muffler will be already loud enough, but you might as well go with a cheaper muffler

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by DuSh

Yes, if you are going catless - then you'll have enough loudness to start with - which is good! All you will need is to chose which muffler to put to make it just right for you

Just for information catless with MPE muffler will be already loud enough, but you might as well go with a cheaper muffler

Do you think Dinan tuner + MPKK + some muffler will be loud, but not overly loud?
Living in a very rural area, where noise is of no concern!

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Do you think Dinan tuner + MPKK + some muffler will be loud, but not overly loud?
Living in a very rural area, where noise is of no concern!

I think it's the right choice and loudness will depend on the muffler used. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 quietest and 10 max) stock 35i is about 2, with catless and some muffler it will get anywhere from 5-9 depending on the muffler
This is all very approximate, also keep in mind that most videos on youtube distort sound a bit, they cut lower frequencies too, so it's always better to hear it in person if possible

Just as an example a catless 35i with MPE - will scream at WOT in tunnels like a racecar and for many that is enough loud

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I think it's the right choice and loudness will depend on the muffler used. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 quietest and 10 max) stock 35i is about 2, with catless and some muffler it will get anywhere from 5-9 depending on the muffler
This is all very approximate, also keep in mind that most videos on youtube distort sound a bit, they cut lower frequencies too, so it's always better to hear it in person if possible

Just as an example a catless 35i with MPE - will scream at WOT in tunnels like a racecar and for many that is enough loud

Ironically, a good catless is around $900, equaling or surpassing MPE.....we're between a rock and a hardplace!

[r33_RGSport]

I have videos of my own muffler with or without catless downpipe.
You can find it on my mod thread.

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

I have videos of my own muffler with or without catless downpipe.
You can find it on my mod thread.

Can you send link?

[sbinshihon]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Ironically, a good catless is around $900, equaling or surpassing MPE.....we're between a rock and a hardplace!

Not really, its around 400 for ER Catless. the one you are looking at is Catted which dose not grantee no CEL (Pointless IMHO). Keep in mind Catless downpipes will require stage 2 JB4 to work properly. So basically another 1000 for me just to increase the loudness of MPE!


For you I would just get AC Schnitzer exhaust its not too expensive, sounds good. And works well since you don't want the factory tips!

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by sbinshihon

Not really, its around 400 for ER Catless. the one you are looking at is Catted which dose not grantee no CEL (Pointless IMHO). Keep in mind Catless downpipes will require stage 2 JB4 to work properly. So basically another 1000 for me just to increase the loudness of MPE!


For you I would just get AC Schnitzer exhaust its not too expensive, sounds good. And works well since you don't want the factory tips!

You don't think it will work w/Dinan, stage 1, MPKK-compatible tuner?

BTW, ACS exhaust is $2K+

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Can you send link?

If I am not lazy, I would've done it already. Haha.
It is as simple as a search in the forum.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by sbinshihon

Not really, its around 400 for ER Catless. the one you are looking at is Catted which dose not grantee no CEL (Pointless IMHO). Keep in mind Catless downpipes will require stage 2 JB4 to work properly. So basically another 1000 for me just to increase the loudness of MPE!


For you I would just get AC Schnitzer exhaust its not too expensive, sounds good. And works well since you don't want the factory tips!

AFAIK, JB4 wouldn't do that anymore. Unless they are asking for more trouble from EPA and CARB. Because clearing CEL is illegal.
And to clarify, you don't need to clear the CEL to have it work properly.
Actually a CEL suppressor or CEL delete module that is connected to OBD2 or CANBUS, will make your car not in a ready status. And when your car is not in a ready state, your car is running rich and not optimized. Because what those module do is just resetting the ECU to clear all the faults. So, while the ECU rescanning all of the sensors, before it is completed, it got reset again after certain amount of preset time set in the module.
In other word, it is worst than putting a black tape over the CEL.

The best solution would be an O2 simulator, which so far, I haven't seen one in the market yet for these newer cars.

[sbinshihon]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

AFAIK, JB4 wouldn't do that anymore. Unless they are asking for more trouble from EPA and CARB. Because clearing CEL is illegal.
And to clarify, you don't need to clear the CEL to have it work properly.
Actually a CEL suppressor or CEL delete module that is connected to OBD2 or CANBUS, will make your car not in a ready status. And when your car is not in a ready state, your car is running rich and not optimized. Because what those module do is just resetting the ECU to clear all the faults. So, while the ECU rescanning all of the sensors, before it is completed, it got reset again after certain amount of preset time set in the module.
In other word, it is worst than putting a black tape over the CEL.

The best solution would be an O2 simulator, which so far, I haven't seen one in the market yet for these newer cars.

Thanks for the detailed information.

I really wanted complete my exhaust, I like how the 35i exhaust is just a straight pipe. Only missing piece of the puzzle for me now is the DP.

[sbinshihon]

Originally Posted by menelaos

You don't think it will work w/Dinan, stage 1, MPKK-compatible tuner?

BTW, ACS exhaust is $2K+

Yes, those will work but it will trigger CEL. Only Jb4 will auto clear the check engine light but that also has some negatives.

Regarding ACS is not cheap, but its about one grand less than other aftermarket options such as Meisterschaft.

Have a listen, it sounds great as if you have installed Catless dp and muffler together...

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by sbinshihon

Yes, those will work but it will trigger CEL. Only Jb4 will auto clear the check engine light but that also has some negatives.

Regarding ACS is not cheap, but its about one grand less than other aftermarket options such as Meisterschaft.

Have a listen, it sounds great as if you have installed Catless dp and muffler together...

You're absolutely right for ACS..its cost equals MPE+Catless DP!
Dinan will trigger CEL???