I got the resonator removed today... kept everything else including secondary cats in-tact. It's a very noticeable upgrade in sound levels when you get on the gas but the great thing is, it's still virtually silent when cruising and when you drive in "E" mode where the tranny seldom lets the revs get over 1500-2000 RPM you would never know the resonator was removed unless you really listen for it. At idle, it's still quiet. Driving hard in M mode is a lot more fun now thanks to the added sound - it's more alive. You can hear the turbos spinning down when you let off the gas, and you get a nice burble when downshifting. It really just gives this car a dual personality... Old-man Benz in "E" mode and Mad-Max Merc in "M" mode.

When I was driving home from the shop, I was a bit concerned that it was maybe a bit too loud. So I got off my *** and did a project I've been planning for awhile now which is to line the trunk floor with sound deadening material. When I first got the car a few months ago, one of the first things I noticed was how much road noise is transferred to the interior. It seemed to be mostly coming from the back seat area so I purchased a 36 sq-ft box of Noico 80mil deadening mat from Amazon and it's been sitting around for a few weeks waiting for me to do this project. So I finally did that this afternoon as well. It took me about 2 hours to line the entire trunk floor which is super easy to access with the spare tire and plastic tray out of the way. After driving with that, wow... a noticeable reduction in road noise, and a little less cabin noise from the new exhaust. So a win-win.

The true test will come this evening when I pick up the wifey... I'll drive in E mode and see if she even notices anything.

I took before and after videos, but they were done with my iPhone revving the engine while parked. I would consider them useless for assessing the change. There's very little difference in the sound when doing that. It's a bit more raspy without the resonator, but the biggest difference to my ears is when under load at 2000-5000 RPM.

BTW, I can understand why people who replace the resonator with a cross-pipe say there's not a lot of difference: looking inside the resonator, it's just a hollow cavity - effectively making it a large cross-pipe. I expected there to be a bit more to it than that. Anyway, I kept it and can add it back at some future date if I want or if a future owner wants it.

It's an easy job as the replacement pipe is straight. Took about 1.5 hours and 6' of stainless steel pipe. Cost me $300+Tax.

 

Did you lose low end torque? I know I did on my CLS55 but it sounded so bad *** do didn't even care

 

Congrats looks like a clean job!
Where are you located that they charged you that much? Removing a resonator should cost about 60-100 at least that's what it is in Mass

 

 

How's the sound at idle? I got the resonator mod done on my E550 with the N/A 5.5 liter V8, and the car had a really funny, almost exhaust leak type sound, Sounded great when matted tho! I want to remove the resonator off my CLS550, but keep getting flash backs of the horrible idle sound lol.

Also would this mod void warranty on the turbos? Kind of a weird question I know, but since the turbos run off of exhaust gasses, could MB Blame a resonator delete if anything goes wrong with the turbos?

 

Interesting write up. Maybe I'll do the same and have them removed and see if the wife notices

Do you have any pics of the sound deadening install?

 

 

Nice write up.
Thanks for letting us know.
A sound clip would be sweet!

I think I'm going to remove the resonator and secondary cats. Leave the mufflers.

so it should be interesting to hear the difference.

I took the Mufflers off my 5 Series and I could not believe how amazing the sound was. Gurgles and pops on downshift etc. Deep and mean.

I also I have an amp and a sub going in, so I will probably sound deaden my trunk as well. it's good to know it's fairly easy to take it apart.

we really need to start a picture thread and try and get this forum rolling a little bit because it seems like there's three or four of us that really love/mod our cars.

 

Im going this route.
Watch the whole thing to see the setup.

On another note, shipper said my car should be here by Monday!

 

Yeah, that's one of the videos I watched before doing it as well. He removed the secondary cats as well as the resonator. I'm not sure what impact the cats have on sound, but removing them is likely good for breathing.

You can see that before, you can't even really hear the exhaust. It's all engine sound. His sounds a lot more aggressive at a stand-still than mine... maybe that's due to the cats being removed? Either way, I would say you will remove the quiet luxury car character it has now, and get more of a muscle car character after.

 

I don't mind.. I'm rowdy.. Lol.

If it sucks I'll just reverse it.

If my car actually shows up this weekend I will be getting it done next week 100%.
So I'll try post a sound clip up.
I also bought some sound deadener today thanks for the heads up!

I used to have a Lincoln pickup truck when they first came out in 06 and I completely tore the interior out and sound deadened the whole thing. I did a very very high-end stereo and it was amazing.

 

Here's my before and after clip. As I said, not much of a change when revving the engine at stand-still, but don't let this fool you. When driving under load at RPMs over 2000, it is very noticeably louder and more aggressive.

EDIT: the switch from before to after is at about 0:35 sec. into the clip.

 

And here's a pic of the trunk with the sound deadener mat in place. I took the spare out and did the entire wheel well and also the floor just forward of the spare tire well and before the rear seats. I did not do the sides. I expect there's too much stuff tucked in there to make the sheet metal easily accessible. Anyway, this did make a difference in road noise reduction... it's nothing but bare thin sheet metal and plastic.

 

How much of the pack you bought did you use?

Did you do more than 1 layer?

 

I still have a few sheets left. I would say I used about 2/3rds of the 36 sq-ft package I purchased. I only did a single layer with a bit of overlap here and there.

 

Good to know. Thanks

Lol, I copied you Bought the same pack

 

 

Lol I'm about to remove my resonator today and now you're giving me second thoughts. Good news is that if you hate it you could just weld it back on

 

Don't doubt it guys. It sounds good .

Big v8 should make a rumble.
Drive it for a while.

 

A lot of people have done the resonator delete and love it. In my case, I suspect the x-pipe is what I probably want - I'm not 25 anymore . What makes this kind of decision so difficult is that people's opinions of what sounds great vary so much. And videos are not the best way to decide. They can be deceiving. As you point out, the good news is that if you don't like it, you can go with a x-pipe or just put the resonator back on. Just let the shop know that's a possibility so they cut it out in a way that makes it feasible to put back.

Let us know what you do and your thoughts.

 

Sounds good VR...nice rumble without being too obnoxious. I've always thought there was a bit of road noise with these cars. I'm going to give what you did a try. Thanks for posting.

 

So yesterday I decided to install the cutouts!
Not happy with them at all. I hear little to no difference from this.

I installed them before the mufflers to get a muffler delete effect but that isn't the case. Either the shop missed a step or didn't cut the factory pipe right I am not sure.
I remember my c300 sounded like a beast with muffler delete (no cutouts) and this v8 sounds pretty much stock lol

Here are some pics if anyone can tell where we went wrong.
Next step is to bring this area back to stock and remove the resonator







I love the concept of the cutouts so you get both loud and quiet but right now I am getting quiet and quieter. Would upload a video but there really is nothing to hear

 

Strange. I'm not sure why the cutouts are not producing a helluva racket.

 

Yah no idea either... I'm assuming it has something to do with airflow and maybe an extra pipe or something needs to go on. Might make a trip to another exhaust shop and have them inspect it

 

There should be no extra piping. Cutout its just a Y pipe. One entrance (from the engine side) and two exits (one to the muffler and one to outside). There should be day and night difference in sound between closed and open cutout.
Are they opening fully? Did you wire everything correctly?
S.