MR_560SEC

Hello every one i am looking to get an exhaust system for my 06 e350. i have been doing a little searching here on the site and found a few people using magnaflow mufflers as an aftermarket setup.they look really interesting and exciting but i have a few questions to those who have the magnaflow setup.

1-why magnaflow and not flomaster or any other muffler brand ? does it have to do with size, performance, fitment or just preference ?

2- can you feel any type of difference in performance maybe more low end or mid range ?

3- more sound clips. i have only heard two but am looking to hear and possibly see more.

4- on a scale of 1-10 what do you rate you happiness with your setup ?

5- like i said on #3 i have heard a few clips but not great quality and was wondering if you can really hear the difference from factory to moded over the engine growl.

6- any one here in los angeles that has a set up that i might be able to take a look at and hear before i make the upgrade?

mbuskuhl

I did the Magnaflow setup, $400 installed with polished stainless mufflers and tips. Have put 5k miles on it.

1. Flowmaster would be too loud, plus Magnaflow seemed to be the muffler of choice under $1k.

2. Only pyschologically, I doubt there is any real performance gain. Only aesthetics and sound.

3. My only sound clips are Outside and Inside
The sound quality is low, but it was done on a PDA spur of the moment from a friend.

4. Happiness of 8. I am content with the setup, but if I had it to do all over again I would probably have done AMG mufflers and tips or something nicer. When my deck lid or side mirrors costs more than the exhaust, there is something wrong with that. A buddy just did the same exact setup on his car at the same muffler shop. Unfortunately they did the worst job ever, a 95 yr. old blind man in a wheelchair with one arm could have done a better job. The owner of the shop is out of town right now, when he gets back we are heading down to the shop with my car and my buddies. I would rate my install at a 8.5 out of 10, I'm picky. My buddies I would give .1 out of 10, only get a rating because they actually got the muffler on the car.

5. Absolutely 100% you can tell a difference. The difference is loud enough to not sound like stock and quiet enough to not sound obnoxious or ricey.

6. Sorry, I'm in Dallas.

For $400, it's the best thing you can do to the car. If you do get the exhaust, you MUST cut the bumper (or get AMG or similar bumper), otherwise don't bother with the exhaust, it will look terrible IMO. Search for my other thread on cutting the bumper, it's not to hard. Used $30 car ramps on my buddies car last weekend to do the cuts, worked fine without the lift.

SKBENZ

Thanks for the info Mbuskuhl. I have been thinking about the same install but I do not want to cut the bumper or have the tips hanging out from under the bumper. Do you think I can have curved tips welded on to the back of the Magnaflow mufflers giving it a 'stock' look?
Thanks
SK

mbuskuhl

I did not want to cut my bumper either - prior to having my exhaust installed I had no intention or desire to cut the bumper - in fact I did not want to do it. Right after the exhaust was installed, I realized cutting the bumper or changing bumpers was my only option. The exhaust hung down below the bumper looking very tacky and an afterthought. If you are going for sound only, you could replace the stock mufflers with Magnaflow and have a tip design similar to the stock setup that curves down and dumps behind the bumper. I originally was going to go with tips only, I ordered a set online and after they arrived never even installed. The "elbow" shape exhaust tip didn't work for me - many on here will probably agree, our OEM stock exhaust design does not allow for tips to look half way good.

IMO, the option for exhaust is:

1. new mufflers and tips with new bumper or cutouts
2. new muffler and stock tip design - no visual tip

wanted_560sec

hey mbuskuhl do you think you might be able to get me some more sound clips and maybe a video or two ?

mbuskuhl

I don't have a camcorder, the other sound clips were done on a PDA from our IT guy at the office (hence the poor quality). I can have him do some more, but it would be late in the week or early next week as I'm heading to the lake for a few days.

55fanatic

if you have a laptop take it out to the car and use windows sound recorder

also lets see some pics

mbuskuhl

This is the original exhaust thread with pics - It was one of the first things done on the car. https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/139761-my-new-custom-exhaust-pics.html

...And the most recent pic I have, but have since added the Renntech deck lid. I also found another pic of the exhaust, car was a little dirty. Will do some more exhaust clips later this week (have laptop and PDA, just got to figure out how) and pics if requested, too late tonight and leaving for the lake in the morning.

MR_560SEC

looks awsome.