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Straight pipes, back pressure and cold air intake

Old Aug 14, 2014 | 05:32 PM
  #1  
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Post Straight pipes, back pressure and cold air intake

Hey all,

I have recently installed straight pipes on my 2010 C300 and it sounds mad.

Question is, i have heard that since the exhaust gases are flowing more freely (see backpressure) , i would have to flash my ecu to get the fuel to air ratio back on track and instal a cold air intake too.

Is this true? will the ecu, as it is stock, be able to regulate the fuel to air mix already without having to do anything?

thanks for replies
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 05:46 PM
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2012 C250
Originally Posted by FireHive
Hey all,

I have recently installed straight pipes on my 2010 C300 and it sounds mad.

Question is, i have heard that since the exhaust gases are flowing more freely (see backpressure) , i would have to flash my ecu to get the fuel to air ratio back on track and instal a cold air intake too.

Is this true? will the ecu, as it is stock, be able to regulate the fuel to air mix already without having to do anything?

thanks for replies
The ecu should make the adjustments needed. When you say straight pipes, did you remove the cats as well? If so, that may require a tune, but merely removing the muffler/s shouldn't affect your afr. The increased airflow via intakes/exhaust is too minor to "need" a tune.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Spd Racr
The ecu should make the adjustments needed. When you say straight pipes, did you remove the cats as well? If so, that may require a tune, but merely removing the muffler/s shouldn't affect your afr. The increased airflow via intakes/exhaust is too minor to "need" a tune.
Negative sir. The cats are still up (for legal reasons and because i dont want my car to smell like a lawn mower).

I hope you didnt misunderstand me. My mufflers are still up. What was removed was the resonator.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 06:11 PM
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So you didn't straight pipe anything. You just removed the resonator.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 06:23 PM
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Basically, you did an x-pipe? From what I have read on the forums, it does not change anything that would relate to the engine. The only difference it makes is the sound, which is awesome.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by diodia
Basically, you did an x-pipe? From what I have read on the forums, it does not change anything that would relate to the engine. The only difference it makes is the sound, which is awesome.
yes. Basically thats what i did but instead of it being an X, its two straigh pipes joining the cats to the mufflers.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 09:28 PM
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2011 C300 4Matic Sport
Originally Posted by black lavender
So you didn't straight pipe anything. You just removed the resonator.
Lol.

OP how did you think you have a straight pipe if you just removed the resonator?

There are still the Mufflers, Primary and Secondary Cats, which make it not a straight pipe by all means.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by FireHive
..and instal a cold air intake too?
MB already did that for you..no extra charge.
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Old Aug 14, 2014 | 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by splinter
MB already did that for you..no extra charge.
Thank you all for replies. this next question might sound a little bit odd but does this mod affect mpg in anyway?
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Old Aug 15, 2014 | 01:31 PM
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Wish we could hear the new sound, I would like get a bit more music from my 2013 C350
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Old Aug 15, 2014 | 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Claudela
Wish we could hear the new sound, I would like get a bit more music from my 2013 C350

Magnaflow mufflers will do the trick for you! - got it installed on my C350 a few weeks ago. adds a nice rumble to it, though it can be pretty loud around 2500rpm
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Old Aug 15, 2014 | 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by FireHive
Negative sir. The cats are still up (for legal reasons and because i dont want my car to smell like a lawn mower).

I hope you didnt misunderstand me. My mufflers are still up. What was removed was the resonator.
If you don't want your car smell like a lawn mower and 2 cycle oil install oil catch can.
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Old Aug 15, 2014 | 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Claudela
Wish we could hear the new sound, I would like get a bit more music from my 2013 C350
View My Video


here you go good sir
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Old Aug 15, 2014 | 07:42 PM
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With this said, i would really apreciate it if somebody could give me a hand with figuring out if having the exhaust in a "true dual" manner has any pros and cons over having the X-pipe. ( i asked this since, upon looking through the resonator, i saw an X-patern, which would explain why people decide to put x-pipes, it follows how the stock exhaust was designed to flow but without the silencing effect)
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Old Jun 28, 2015 | 09:55 PM
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I know its super late, but would this video on a V6 mustang exhaust help to differentiate x pipe from H pipe? I'm not quite sure what to make of the flow animations, but looks pretty interesting nonetheless.

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Old Jun 29, 2015 | 02:58 AM
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Here is my two cents...

I did the resonator to xpipe first. It was pretty good, doesn't really kick in until 4k+ rpms. After having that on for a few months, I wanted something more. A few friends were getting ready to get muffler delete and I thought "sure, why not". Getting my mufflers delete plus having the xpipe makes my sounds so perfect. Its such an exotic sound (even with all my other friend's car around ie bmw audi infinty sti evo...). I have some videos on my youtube channel if you would to see.
As for the cats, I'm always going to keep those in because I dont want to mess around with legal stuff.



EDIT: as for the back pressure, there is some but not too much. Normally only happens when I hold a gear and slow down. Sometimes I'll hear a loud pop but its random.

Last edited by ickdeep; Jun 29, 2015 at 03:13 AM.
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Old Jun 29, 2015 | 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Rodpwnz
I know its super late, but would this video on a V6 mustang exhaust help to differentiate x pipe from H pipe? I'm not quite sure what to make of the flow animations, but looks pretty interesting nonetheless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2crCWF5cmLk
I only have academic experience with fluid dynamics so I'm sure someone else will be able to elaborate more. The main difference is the H-pipe mainly serves to mix sound waves whereas the X-pipe mixes both sound waves and exhaust gases. Both will sound differently though.

See how on the high pressure flow with the H-pipe there is a concentration of gas in the bridge? This high pressure region effectively serves as a dam preventing the free flowing gases from freely passing through, but it does not stop sound waves, however; because of the higher density of gas in the high pressure bridge the sound waves will be attenuated more.

The X-pipe does not have a bridge but instead a smooth transition crossover which prevents the formation of a high pressure region. This allows the gases and sound waves to mix more freely and evenly.

As for what will happen at what RPM with what kind of sound, I have no experience so I have no idea. Hope this helps somewhat.







Originally Posted by ickdeep
Here is my two cents...

I did the resonator to xpipe first. It was pretty good, doesn't really kick in until 4k+ rpms. After having that on for a few months, I wanted something more. A few friends were getting ready to get muffler delete and I thought "sure, why not". Getting my mufflers delete plus having the xpipe makes my sounds so perfect. Its such an exotic sound (even with all my other friend's car around ie bmw audi infinty sti evo...). I have some videos on my youtube channel if you would to see.
As for the cats, I'm always going to keep those in because I dont want to mess around with legal stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xcWhC6SFXM

EDIT: as for the back pressure, there is some but not too much. Normally only happens when I hold a gear and slow down. Sometimes I'll hear a loud pop but its random.
So you kept the stock resonator, added an X-pipe after it, then deleted your mufflers? Sounds very nice. I have my resonator completely replaced with an X-pipe and for a day (after I cut my mufflers out to be replaced with a pair of Magnaflow 10416's) I had straight pipes after the cats. I did not like it. Yours sounds a lot more refined which, I'm assuming, is because of the resonator helping to manage the sound waves.

The way I had it the drone was unbearable cruising at 1500 rpms but surprisingly no drone on the highway. There was definitely a noticeable affect from the lack of back pressure too. In your case you have the resonator, which helps; in my case there was nothing and certain gear shifts became more sluggish and acceleration took a hit.

I'm sure the ECU would've straightened it out but after the Magnaflow's went on everything was back to normal. So the myth with back pressure is partial and subjective to the individuals liking.
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Old Jun 29, 2015 | 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Shimee
So you kept the stock resonator, added an X-pipe after it, then deleted your mufflers? Sounds very nice. I have my resonator completely replaced with an X-pipe and for a day (after I cut my mufflers out to be replaced with a pair of Magnaflow 10416's) I had straight pipes after the cats. I did not like it. Yours sounds a lot more refined which, I'm assuming, is because of the resonator helping to manage the sound waves.

The way I had it the drone was unbearable cruising at 1500 rpms but surprisingly no drone on the highway. There was definitely a noticeable affect from the lack of back pressure too. In your case you have the resonator, which helps; in my case there was nothing and certain gear shifts became more sluggish and acceleration took a hit.

I'm sure the ECU would've straightened it out but after the Magnaflow's went on everything was back to normal. So the myth with back pressure is partial and subjective to the individuals liking.
I dont have the resonator in anymore. I replaced the resonator with the x pipe completely.
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Old Jul 1, 2015 | 12:20 AM
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From: SF bay area
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Originally Posted by Shimee
I only have academic experience with fluid dynamics so I'm sure someone else will be able to elaborate more. The main difference is the H-pipe mainly serves to mix sound waves whereas the X-pipe mixes both sound waves and exhaust gases. Both will sound differently though.

See how on the high pressure flow with the H-pipe there is a concentration of gas in the bridge? This high pressure region effectively serves as a dam preventing the free flowing gases from freely passing through, but it does not stop sound waves, however; because of the higher density of gas in the high pressure bridge the sound waves will be attenuated more.

The X-pipe does not have a bridge but instead a smooth transition crossover which prevents the formation of a high pressure region. This allows the gases and sound waves to mix more freely and evenly.

As for what will happen at what RPM with what kind of sound, I have no experience so I have no idea. Hope this helps somewhat.
I can see, so that extra chamber in the middle is causing turbulence, and back pressure? The xpipe still has some turbulence and little back pressure, while straight pipes cause no turbulence or back pressure.

I'll have to go dig up an old thread about how back pressure will affect performance in our cars, or if the difference is even noticeable. I'll probably just spend a few hours googling and reading up on backpressure and exhaust performance in general lol

Thanks for the insight
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Old Jul 1, 2015 | 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by ickdeep
Here is my two cents...

I did the resonator to xpipe first. It was pretty good, doesn't really kick in until 4k+ rpms. After having that on for a few months, I wanted something more. A few friends were getting ready to get muffler delete and I thought "sure, why not". Getting my mufflers delete plus having the xpipe makes my sounds so perfect. Its such an exotic sound (even with all my other friend's car around ie bmw audi infinty sti evo...). I have some videos on my youtube channel if you would to see.
As for the cats, I'm always going to keep those in because I dont want to mess around with legal stuff.

Mercedes Benz C300 Muffler Delete & X-pipe, first start + take off - YouTube


EDIT: as for the back pressure, there is some but not too much. Normally only happens when I hold a gear and slow down. Sometimes I'll hear a loud pop but its random.
Since it doesn't kick in until 4k rpm does it make a lot of noise while just cruising? I like how quite my w204 is but sometimes i just want to let the monster roar.
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