[derin11]

Im really looking forward to doing a muffler delete on my e90 335i but don't want to make a mistake and regret doing so.

Can anyone with experience with one tell me how you like it?

[AndreM818]

I love it. Don't really feel anything powerwise. The sound is incredible! Cold start sounds really nice and overall its well worth it.

[JeezuzFr3ak]

I just answered your other muffler delete thread, but here are the pros/cons.

Pros:
1. mean, powerful tone without sounding "tinny" or "ricey" at all
2. inexpensive
3. no mufflers hanging below the rear bumper (very clean appearance)
4. shed 25+ lbs if replacing with straight pipe and tips (use nice tips!!)

Cons:
1. drones badly between 60-75mph on e90 335 (not good sound)
2. cut up your stock exhaust
3. doesn't sound like an exotic or "German" car, IMO

If you do it, make sure the exhaust shop uses real stainless steel pipe and tips, or it will rust and look like cr*p quickly (even without snow).

[AndreM818]

Well, unless he coats the pipe. But that probably will come out more expensive. After muffler delete look into some catless dp's or even catted. Might add a little bit more of a better sound to it.

[NiVeDh]

The con is that apparently it's really loud and obnoxious but I haven't heard one in person yet. The pro is that it apparently sounds really good. Obviously these are conflicting opinions.

[3er858]

I LOVE MINE!!! The sound is not that loud at all... I get compliments on the sound all of the time... Inside the car it's not that loud... There is a tiny bit of drone for a very narrow part of the RPM band under certain loads but it is very quiet on the freeway.... Click the link in my sig for my video...

[Mr.Yi]

Originally Posted by NiVeDh

The con is that apparently it's really loud and obnoxious but I haven't heard one in person yet. The pro is that it apparently sounds really good. Obviously these are conflicting opinions.

it sounds good when not cruising on the freeway... so they are not conflicting. it does sound obnoxious when your droneing at 60 on the freeway...

[Mr.Yi]

Originally Posted by 3er858

I LOVE MINE!!! The sound is not that loud at all... I get compliments on the sound all of the time... Inside the car it's not that loud... There is a tiny bit of drone for a very narrow part of the RPM band under certain loads but it is very quiet on the freeway.... Click the link in my sig for my video...

im assuming you have a 328i... when i had my 330ci and i cut the mufflers out it sound great! not that loud... when i heard a 335i with out mufflers its about 5 times louder than stock. very very loud. my 330ci didnt drone very much yet the 335i does. all muffler deletes are not =

[Syndicategt]

Originally Posted by Mr.Yi

it sounds good when not cruising on the freeway... so they are not conflicting. it does sound obnoxious when your droneing at 60 on the freeway...

Even expensive aftermarket exhausts will sound like crap at 60 on the freeway with an AT. Best thing you can do is put the car in DS or drop it down a gear.

[Bimmer This]

The only cons would probably be noise and emissions. But the pros power would out-weigh the cons.

[Orion4]

Mufflers do not affect emissions, at all. Cats do.

[Enjoiyourlife]

Originally Posted by Orion4

Mufflers do not affect emissions, at all. Cats do.

+1

OP I did the Muffler Delete on my e92 and ran it for about 9 months.

Sounds good. It's pretty mean. And it's pretty loud. Not quite obnoxious IMO. Not bad for the money but it can get a bit raspy in the higher end of the RPM band. It also drones pretty bad on the highway but hey - you get what you pay for. If you want to be loud then I'd say go for it!

[JeezuzFr3ak]

I forgot to mention that I have a MT (6 speed), and the drone is pretty bad on the highway unless you go below 60 or above 80. When I have others in the car (esp back seat) I try to drive outside the RPM range of the drone.

You do get used to it, but the whole point of these cars is NOT to settle on anything less than "ultimate."

I often wonder if a very simple H-pipe right behind the rear axle (ie. connecting pipe between the straight pipes) would break up the pipe length and lessen the drone to acceptable levels. I've been tempted to try it, especially when faced with spending $1000+ on an exhaust.

If you can get the pipes for $40/side (great price), you might consider the H-pipe option and see what happens. <nudge nudge>

[3er858]

Originally Posted by Mr.Yi

im assuming you have a 328i... when i had my 330ci and i cut the mufflers out it sound great! not that loud... when i heard a 335i with out mufflers its about 5 times louder than stock. very very loud. my 330ci didnt drone very much yet the 335i does. all muffler deletes are not =

No, i have a 335i sedan 6MT...Non-turbo cars will almost always be louder than turbo cars because the turbos actually act as mufflers... With the 2 turbos, 4 cats and the HUGE resonator that sedans have (coupes don't), it is NOT that loud... I'm not sure what others expect, but you can barely hear the exhaust on the freeway at any speed... This is not just my opinion, but everyone that's been in my car (guys and girls) say that the exhaust note is hardly noticeable when driving at freeway speed... At low speed and full throttle, I think it sounds great! There is a big difference between a muffler delete on a coupe compared to a sedan... The OP has a sedan...

[Jsnscot]

Heard 3er858's car tonight, sounds incredible! I'd be all over this if I had a sedan. You can't beat the cost!

[dbjb]

Originally Posted by Jsnscot

Heard 3er858's car tonight, sounds incredible! I'd be all over this if I had a sedan. You can't beat the cost!

Do you say that because the e92 has a xpipe and not a resonator? I sat in an e92 with muffler delete and it droned bad 60-80mph or 1800-2500rpm. I'm curious to how the e90 sounds retaining the resonator.

Anyone close to Sacramento with an e90 muffler delete? I'd love to hear it. In the end, I want the exhaust to be louder but NO or very little drone.

[Jsnscot]

Originally Posted by dsbj

Do you say that because the e92 has a xpipe and not a resonator? I sat in an e92 with muffler delete and it droned bad 60-80mph or 1800-2500rpm. I'm curious to how the e90 sounds retaining the resonator.

Anyone close to Sacramento with an e90 muffler delete? I'd love to hear it. In the end, I want the exhaust to be louder but NO or very little drone.

Yea, I don't want to take the chance of my car droning. Trust me, it sounds aweseome on the E90! I think you'll be happy.

[dbjb]

I believe you. Problem is, I also have an e92.
It makes me wonder if I should find an unused e90 resonator for sale. That seems so weird though... considering going from an xpipe to a resonator. Does the resonator share the chamber inside? Does it actually crossover or are both pipes completely separate?

Originally Posted by Jsnscot

Yea, I don't want to take the chance of my car droning. Trust me, it sounds aweseome on the E90! I think you'll be happy.

[JeezuzFr3ak]

Measurements were taken outside, approximately 1 meter back, between the two mufflers. All measurements are in decibels (dB).

Outside Measurements
Cold start: 95 db at approx 1200 RPM idle
Warm start: 85 db at approx 600 RPM idle

Interior Measurements
Warm idle: 55 db
55-80 mph Highway cruise (when not droning): 64-65 db
60-75 mpg highway cruise (when droning): 68-69 db
Peak drone, driving up-hill partial throttle around 2400 RPM: 70 db
Max interior sound volume under full throttle: 72 db

Again, my car is a manual transmission (6MT) 2009 335i x-Drive Sedan (e90 AWD). My only mod is muffler delete, so the stock resonator and cats are all still in place.

The cold start measured louder than I thought it would, and the inside measurements show how great the stock acoustical treatments are ( -30db). I've seen people physically jump and/or turn around when my cars starts up, warm, so I knew it was somewhat loud. I will have my wife start the car and take peak measurements soon.

As you can see, the drone adds between 4-6 decibels (db) during highway cruising, so it's very noticeable when it kicks in and starts resonating. For reference, every 3 db represents a doubling of acoustic pressure (loudness). However, with that said, the overall interior sound level stays pretty low overall (70 db or less), especially for a performance car. Thus, it's not really all that loud at all in terms of absolute measurement. How we interpret it subjectively is going to differ vastly, but I wanted to give people some facts to mull over.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my sound level meter when my car was stock.

[v4voodoo]

Originally Posted by 09335xibwm

Cons:
1. drones badly between 60-75mph on e90 335 (not good sound)

THIS ^ The drone is absolutely horrible. I only remove the mufflers for track days, and even then I'm dreading the trip to the track (30 minutes) because of the drone. If you want more sound do yourself a favor and get an aftermarket muffler.Muffler delete is the cheapest you can get away with but that's the only thing going on for it. IMHO it's just not worth it.

And no, I'm not an old fart. I'm in my twenties.

[IlChengis]

Originally Posted by 3er858

Non-turbo cars will almost always be louder than turbo cars because the turbos actually act as mufflers...

I didn't know about the Turbos, but a known reason N/A motors are louder is due to higher compression. That's one of the reasons most Civics (even the non riced out ones) have that high pitched, obnoxious sound with aftermarket exhausts... because they're running insanely high compression.

-Walter

[shockin330i]

hhhmm any n55 guys try this yet?