AMGAffalterbach

*Walkthrough

So thanks to the great advice of GregD, I went ahead and did a muffler delete on my E550 and to reduce the droning had a ~30-inch J-Pipe installed that acts as a Helmholtz Resonator. It sounds quiet at idle, a little lower while cruising or under normal acceleration, and it is a growly beast when you give it gas. Not too loud, and not muscle-car sounding, but a perfect exotic sound with a nice pop when you let off the gas.

I had the work done with the guys at Intermountain Muffler & Radiator off Federal in Denver. The owner Riley is a great guy and I was able to take some pics of the progress - please note I was on my phone that has a scuffed up lens so quality is horrible. I took a video earlier but the mic on this Galaxy S isn't too great so I will get one up later this week. I forget the name of the guy welding, he was a bit skeptical of the concept at first but did a great job to my exact specs.


BUILD:


1) Make sure you have one of these, a car. It will become useful in later steps. It needs to be the kind with an exhaust and put it up on a lift.




2) We marked the muffler tips to make sure they will remain in the proper position when straight-piped which was the most difficult part, to get them aligned. They first cut off the pipe that comes down and "dumps into" the tip.



3) Then we cut out the muffler itself by cutting the pipe behind the muffler and using a tool to remove the muffler mount from the grommet on either side. I kept my mufflers just in case. At this point I also found it essential to run across the street to 7/11 and pick up a bag of chips for $1.29. I used extreme caution when doing so.



4) After this they fabricated a piece of pipe that would connect the exhaust to the tip - so it was straight-piped. He used a metal forming press and the same diameter pipe, then expanded one end to fit around the existing exhaust input and welded it. On the side of the tip, he welded the tip pipe to the straight pipe. This was before he positioned it and re-welded a piece that fit into the gromet to hold it into a final position.



5) Accidentally weld your Rick Perry belt buckle to the side of your car, call emergency services. (for some reason the following tip looks circular in this picture but it is the OE tip).



6) We fabricated the J-pipe with one end welded shut via a metal disc. Made it about 30 inches long and cut a hole in the existing straightpipe at a site where it is easy to weld, and attached it. This is a pic of the final product from under the car, you can't see a difference unless you look under the car at all. Sounds amazing! Very little drone and sexy pop on shift or off acceleration.

blrx7r1

Looks great. I hadn't seen anyone do a J pipe before.

AMGAffalterbach

Thanks man, I can't think of anyone else but Greg on the forums that has done it but it turned out great hope to get a video up in a day or so.

sopranoNZ

Good work. Tried to fabricate a Helmholt resonator on my E55 but the dreaded drone still persisted. Perhaps my combination of other work upstream contributed to this. Second cat and resonator delete. Look forward to a better picture of the finished product when you get a chance to crawl around underneath again.

fila0220

interesting, subbed for a sound video. Did you get a chance to run the car? Did you find any loss in power or low end tq?

AMGAffalterbach

Yeah, I will definitely get a better pic for you. Finally, my Arnott air struts arrived today - so either tomorrow or Wednesday I will take it in and they will have it up on the lift when installing the struts and lowering links, maybe then I can grab a shot. Some droning is still there but not very noticeable. When my dad was first in the car after the change, going to lunch he noted that it doesn't sound too loud or anything inside the cabin. Honestly doesn't sound hugely different from the stock while inside if I am driving normally, the difference is when I rev it or give it a good flogging. I like having that flexibility of both a civilized and monstrous exhaust.

Fila - I have driven it since then and haven't noticed a difference although it is certainly hard to judge. I know the theory of the M272/M273 needing adequate back-pressure or low-end power will suffer, but unless I were to quantify the difference I couldn't tell you. Also, considering each muffler is fairly heavy and removing both probably saves a good ~30 pounds, I have a feeling it would compensate to some extent. Video coming tomorrow I hope, if I can get my camcorder squared away and a friend to help me out as I do a flyby it will surely meet your expectations.

AMGAffalterbach

As promised, here is the video. The quality is okay it was recorded on a camcorder that is a few years old but the mic is a lot better than you can get on any little budget 1080p device like they have out now.

A few notes, this was only after a couple minutes of driving. For some reason it sounds a little raspy as the engine winds down but it doesn't come through as much in person - might be because of the cold too. And the other thing, noticeable on the flyby, is that wretched ticking noise that only happens during hard acceleration - I have no idea what is causing it but do your best to imagine that didn't ruin the flyby. Had it occur after driving on a rough road in the snow a few weeks ago, even before the curb incident so it has nothing to do with the exhaust - it sounds more drivetrain. Thanks.

fila0220

im feeling the exhaust! i bet you hit pedal a lot more now to hear that rumble.
As for the ticking, i'd get that checked asap. Let us kno whats the diagnosis

AMGAffalterbach

Thanks man, and thanks for the video comment! Exact type of roar I was going for - very tame at cruising speed but an elegant roar when I step on it - and yes I do, haha!

Whatever problem(s) exist it/they turned into a check engine light today so I scheduled an appointment at StarTech tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's related because it started way before without any adverse effects, but for some reason the engine seems to shutter or cut out momentarily and cause a vibration I can feel in the cabin. So the light came on, however the ticking seems to be unrelated. Hope this is something as simple as a faulty COP assembly or spark plug.

AutoHaulersINC

isnt this considered a resonator delete? I thought the resonators are what you removed and the muffler is the big box mid car -I had that removed on my magnun and kepts what I was told was the resonators...whole exhaust systems looks eerily similar...

AMGAffalterbach

Responded on your thread a couple minutes ago, no need to write it here too =)

Rdoad

man im loving that noise ,Im considering getting my e300's mufflers deleted ,do you think its worth it?

AMGAffalterbach

Oh definitely! I don't think the sound will be as deep or growly on the V6 but it will DEFINITELY open it up a bit, and give you that right bite when you step on it. I paid only like $70 per muffler to have this done at Intermountain Muffler here in Colorado (great older gentleman who owns the shop) and it was WELL worth it. Go for it! (and post a vid if you have the time )

Rdoad

yeah it probably wont be as deep a noise but I can live with that hah ,yeah im getting the mufflers deleted for 70 bucks each as well its a really good price considering how much people pay for after market exhaust systems, im probably not going to get the J pipe done though ,how much drone do you think there will be with no J pipe? I don't mind a little bit but I don't want to go insane from the drone either haha

AMGAffalterbach

Honestly, I don't think it will be intolerable. I've heard some users here say it was so bad it would make their ears bleed, but that's probably an exaggeration. Furthermore, it does take some time to get used to driving it with a different exhaust note - so this might explain their initial discomfort.

Passengers in my car have noted that it doesn't sound much different, only a bit deeper. For me, it is more noticeable since I am tuned into every nuance of the car as is every enthusiastic car owner. At first, when I had the conversion done, I almost regretted it for the first hour of owning it without mufflers as it seemed very foreign to me. But soon after, I grew accustomed to it and I never looked back - one of the best $140 I've ever spent. Without the J-pipe, I couldn't tell you as I had mind fitted and fabricated when the car was on the stand doing the muffler delete as well. To me, I honestly don't know how much of a difference they make, but I don't think it's a world shattering difference.

You can always have them fitted later if you find that the droning is bad, and that is even better since you can tailor the length of the J-pipe to the RPM range of droning. There is a chart GregD put on on the Muffler Delete thread he had a while back (just search on Google GregD Muffler Delete MBWorld). The J-Pipe install consists of fabrication of a 28-30 inch pipe, blocked off on one end, and a hole cut into the straight pipe where the muffler used to be. Weld it on and there you have it.

Either way, let of the gas at high RPMs and you will get a nice, exotic-sounding "pop" it's the best feeling ever.

Welcome to the forums by the way!

Rdoad

yeah I figured it would take some time to get used to but im willing to wait ,worse case I take it back and have them and weld the mufflers back on or just put in a j pipe down the road. I think you've sold me to the idea of getting this done! ill for sure check out that graph too

Thank you ,its always nice to have a warm welcome!

Rdoad

By the way could you please post a couple more pictures of the J pipe its self and the muffler delete from a couple different angles? I want to have a reference that I can pull out on the spot that I can compare too hen I am getting mine done, and just in case the drone is too loud and I decide to do the J pipe right after they give me my car back. thanks!

AMGAffalterbach

Definitely bud, always glad to help out. And, as you'll find, there are members here on the forum that are much more technically inclined than I am that can help you with other specific topics in the future.

I will try to get some up tomorrow if that works for you, tonight I'm a little bit strapped for time on some projects I need to finish up so have to log off here soon

Rdoad

yeah everyone on the forum actually knows what they are talking about its pretty useful hah

yeah that works ,thanks again !

Rdoad

So I just got my mufflers taken out last weekend, I really love the noise at high rpms but the drone at low rpms is a problem, between 1000-2100 ish the drone gets really loud, I think I'm going to go ahead and get a j pipe done, how exactly do they work?

AMGAffalterbach

Glad you got it done!

Yeah I had the car up on axle stands today but I couldn't get a really good picture, sorry. You can pretty much see what you need to see above. So now you have a straight piece of pipe where the muffler used to be. Somewhere alone that pipe (I did it on the inner part of the new section right as it is angled up - right above the weld as you see above) you cut a hole the same diameter as the J-pipe. From there, you make a 28 to 30 inch piece of pipe in a u-shape (maybe we should call it a u-pipe resonator lol, sure looks like one) that is welded to that hole and run under the current pipe taking up the space where the muffler used to be. You weld the end of the pipe shut and it acts as a Helmholtz resonator that will cancel out the lower RPM drone for the most part by manipulating the exhaust pulses and canceling out the drone frequencies. Fairly simple harmonics but it's been a while since I've done that area of physics to properly explain the scientific properties of how harmonics and the fundamental frequency work.

Rdoad

yeah I love the noise is makes after 3000 rpm but around 2 thousand its really bad ,I think I am just going to have them put back in and try a X pipe instead

AMGAffalterbach

J-pipe would be much much cheaper but up to you, whatever you decide on post a vid when it's done! Hope it works out

smokin_buddha

This video is making me second guess spending money for mufflers. Do you feel any gain in power high end or low end?
Any chance you have another video of your exhaust sound you would like to share?

After driving with the j/u pipe for half a year what are your thoughts on this kind of setup and have you experienced any issues?

AMGAffalterbach

Don't spend money on mufflers, they will either make your car sound too muscle-car like or not grunty enough in my opinion. You even get a very nice exotic pop on upshift or letting off the gas at high RPMs with this setup.

I did not gain any power on the high-end or low-end, this *might* be the case of the E500 or E550 were forced induction engines, but being naturally aspirated there are no power gains for a less restrictive exhaust in this setup from what I've researched. In some cases (resonator delete, secondary cat delete with H-pipe or X-pipe) you can actually lose low-end power as there isn't ENOUGH backpressure in the system (a very basic explanation). So the positive of this setup is since you're only changing the last item in the exhaust system (axle-back exhaust mod is what it is really), you don't LOSE any power noticeably either.

After living with this setup I've absolutely fallen in love with it. Absolutely no downsides or issues - mufflers are dumb components not monitored by sensors so there is little to no risk of reducing reliability with just a muffler delete and J/U pipe. The first day I owned the car I thought I had honestly made a mistake as it was very very different to me, but as I drive the car more, the more I love it every single day. My syndrome of uncertainty on my mod was cured by the second day when I had my dad take a spin around the block and I could hear it from the outside, and damn is it good. Blasting through tunnels or underpasses is an indescribable experience - I get compliments at car shows and on rallys all the time. It still has a refined German V8 sound but is grunty and loud - but not too loud, you barely notice a difference in the cabin except for a slightly lower exhaust note probably attributed minimal drone at low RPM which isn't bad at all. I don't even know if I would call that drone, as it takes nothing away from the car but adds so much.

As for another video, I could get the W211 trailer edited without music and possibly upload it if you want additional clips, but they're on Danny's setup right now where we did the editing so I will have to contact him.