Hello,
I currently own a 2014 E350 facelift model, after years of owning her, I've decided to make my car a little louder / more raw without causing tremendous drone.
( In my case, I ordered a moderate burble tune that are safe to cats and I want to increase the pop sound a little more.)
So I crossed out the 'muffler delete' since that cause extreme drone in cruising RPM, and I heard resonator delete will be the better option.

I've done my research and almost everyone said X pipe is a better option than H pipe due to better airflow / scavenging and will perform better.
So my mind was tilting toward X-pipe and H pipe wasnt even in my consideration. But...


[^ C43 AMG Performance Exhaust]



These pictures are from mbusa.com, an OEM Mercedes AMG Performance Exhaust.

As we can see they are using the H-pipe instead of X-pipe in place of resonator.
I've heard that H-pipe give more deeper growl while X-pipe gives raspy tone of exhaust.

It seems like everyone is saying H pipe is like the American muscle car and X pipe is like European tuned sound but isn't Mercedes all about muscle growl than raspy tho??

But I'm no professional at these topics so I can't really trust my own knowledge.

What do you guys think about a H pipe instead of X pipe, just like how manufacturer did ?
Would it damage the exhaust overtime just because its a H pipe and less flow than the X pipe? or maybe more drone than the x pipe?
I've seen a lot saying resonator delete don't do much but would it sound more raw than how muffled it is?

[P.S. I'm not looking for catless, secondary cats or muffler delete. I don't want it to be LOUD LOUD, just want to make the engine sound more raw]

 

it just depends. literally every different combo will have a different sound. Won't know how it will sound until you try it. Also, your car doesn't have secondary cats. Just one set of cats and either (1) 2 small and one large, OR (2) one small double and one large double resonator, and mufflers. I have an X-pipe and I like it a lot. sounds nasty when you are up in the revs. some people argue about which is better, but I don't think there is much difference, other than the sound. One setup will make marginally more torque, and the other more HP, but we're talking miniscule differences.

 

[This is not my car but I have an exact same exhaust system as picture above.]

You said my car does not have a secondary cats but
I thought the #2 was secondary cats? or is that another resonator?
Would I be able to pass emission without those? or Throw codes?
Also I heard once i take those off, it's not recommended to put it back on, so I'm little concerning

 

correct, #2 are resonators. you can remove either 1 or 2, or remove all 3 pieces for more volume. I would start with the large one(#1) and replace with an x-pipe or h-pipe. If that's not loud enough, remove the 2 smaller ones(#2). I would leave something though as (in TX) you cannot get an inspection with straight pipes. I just added some 3 chamber ("flowmaster" style) muffler to mine.

No emissions or CEL concern with removing the resonators.

 

Here is a short vid of cold start, catless 3" downpipes, X-Pipe, and dumps just under the rear seats...