Okay, I did a basic Iphone recording of the external sound with the phone about 3' from the rear of the car, and a second cabin recording with the phone laying on the center console. I will say that the external recording sounds louder to me than it actually is, and the internal sounds more muted than it actually is but they're fairly close.
The sound I was looking for was modeled on an S63. In the 63, there's a steady undertone of bass rumble from the exhaust even at cruising speed, and then when you open it up it gets very pronounced. Mine is a little less aggressive, and at cruising speed with the audio on and the AC blowing it fades way back. It does get louder when its under load (like rolling from a stop) or when the throttle is punched. To me it plays to the sporty nature of an S in AMG trim and it has increased my enjoyment of the car overall.
Thanks so much for posting those. It will help for sure in making my decision. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the becker exhaust. So your saying the exhaust alone without resonators was too loud for your liking? I wonder if there's different resonators that specifically vary from louder to quiet.
Thanks so much for posting those. It will help for sure in making my decision. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the becker exhaust. So your saying the exhaust alone without resonators was too loud for your liking? I wonder if there's different resonators that specifically vary from louder to quiet.
Yeah, way too loud. Mine cut the volume down by half vs just the Beckers. The shop says they were just generic 18" glass packs. Generally they contain baffles and fiberglass insulation, and the length determines how aggressive the sound attenuation is. They chose 18's for mine because they were the easiest fit.
It's a company out of Asia somewhere, not called "Becker". The US distributor knows nothing about the product at all. When I called with a question the guy who answered the phone told me they don't provide technical support, but if I was unhappy with the product (uninstalled) I could return it for a refund less a restocking fee.
Dang. So what's the name of the company in Asia? How could I get in contact with them? So ebay is the only market place where the distributors are operating from?
Dang. So what's the name of the company in Asia? How could I get in contact with them? So ebay is the only market place where the distributors are operating from?
Yes eBay is the ONLY place you're going to see these exhausts sold, and I believe the general consensus out of maybe the one or two people who actually installed their kits is that the quality is a little rough, a good exhaust shop will need to make some modifications out of the box because the main issue is that it is just so loud, and a little bulky.
There is zero information about this brand/company aside from eBay or this message board.
I think you're better off going to a trusted custom exhaust shop and fabricating something yourself. It will probably be same or better quality.
Any shop you take the Becker to is going to complain about the quality, mainly because the Becker has 4" flex joints to accommodate a little slack at the splice in to the factory, the implication the parts somehow aren't precisely made. The truth is the flex joints are there to accommodate installer imprecision. In any event the mufflers and pipes are stout, although the mufflers are quite small (and loud). The tailpipes are stainless and look really good, and that's the only part you're ever really looking at. Alignment to the factory diffuser was on the money, very little adjustment there. The biggest issue for us was trying to use the OEM bumper with an S63 diffuser. Not a direct fit.
Any shop you take the Becker to is going to complain about the quality, mainly because the Becker has 4" flex joints to accommodate a little slack at the splice in to the factory, the implication the parts somehow aren't precisely made. The truth is the flex joints are there to accommodate installer imprecision. In any event the mufflers and pipes are stout, although the mufflers are quite small (and loud). The tailpipes are stainless and look really good, and that's the only part you're ever really looking at. Alignment to the factory diffuser was on the money, very little adjustment there. The biggest issue for us was trying to use the OEM bumper with an S63 diffuser. Not a direct fit.
Any shop you take the Becker to is going to complain about the quality, mainly because the Becker has 4" flex joints to accommodate a little slack at the splice in to the factory, the implication the parts somehow aren't precisely made. The truth is the flex joints are there to accommodate installer imprecision. In any event the mufflers and pipes are stout, although the mufflers are quite small (and loud). The tailpipes are stainless and look really good, and that's the only part you're ever really looking at. Alignment to the factory diffuser was on the money, very little adjustment there. The biggest issue for us was trying to use the OEM bumper with an S63 diffuser. Not a direct fit.
Sorry gents, i haven't been on in a long time. Mike is right on the money. The exhaust fit pretty well for me and lined up to the diffusor. However, the custom portion was fitting the diffusor to the oem bumper. It required a bit of work but was able to get it fitted. Mike, was that video with the cat back and resonators removed? It sounds little louder than mine. Mine is a bit quieter then that and i don't even hear it in the cabin. Either way, the exhaust is worth the 650 or so due to it being a direct bolt on. I do agree i've been thinking about cutting the tips out for the newer angles exhaust tips. I love the look of my exhaust and diffusor.
Sorry gents, i haven't been on in a long time. Mike is right on the money. The exhaust fit pretty well for me and lined up to the diffusor. However, the custom portion was fitting the diffusor to the oem bumper. It required a bit of work but was able to get it fitted. Mike, was that video with the cat back and resonators removed? It sounds little louder than mine. Mine is a bit quieter then that and i don't even hear it in the cabin. Either way, the exhaust is worth the 650 or so due to it being a direct bolt on. I do agree i've been thinking about cutting the tips out for the newer angles exhaust tips. I love the look of my exhaust and diffusor.
Car looks great BTW!
Originally we simply made the cut after the rear axle and swapped the Beckers for the OEM mufflers. No other changes, and it was very loud. Then we removed the X pipe and ran two straight pipes with 18" glass pack resonators and that got me where I'm at. The recording was made with the car nosed into the garage...maybe that caused more reverberation, but it is fairly loud.
I have a remote starter and when the car fires up out in the garage or anywhere in the driveway I can hear it in the house.
The 2010 S65 diffuser does not fit the oem 07-09 bumper I tried. You have to change the rear bumper to the updated 2010 bumper it a bit bigger then the older model
Why can't I find a dang kit! Facelift is done and I missing the exhaust. Smh
Call All Motor Sports in CA (see pic of invoice header a couple of posts up.) They're showing none available on their EBay site but I'm guessing they could order one for you.
Yeah, way too loud. Mine cut the volume down by half vs just the Beckers. The shop says they were just generic 18" glass packs. Generally they contain baffles and fiberglass insulation, and the length determines how aggressive the sound attenuation is. They chose 18's for mine because they were the easiest fit.
Hey do you know the diameter of the inlet and outlet of your resonators? How about the diameter of the entire resonator? I'm trying to figure out which ones to buy. Since they will be side by side I don't wan to buy some that are too big.
Would appreciate if any one could figure out the size of oem s550 exhaust diameter. How about the diameter of the becker exhaust. I assume they are the same but you never know.
You can figure out the OEM diameter. The Becket kit and OEM exhaust are the same diameter. Your muffler shop will be able to sort out the resonator size for you. Might take some experimentation to get the sound you like since there's no way to tell by looking at an exhaust how it's going to sound.
Thanks for the compliments, they are Rennen Forged R10. I ended up aquiring them from a local buddy of mine that were on his CL63 AMG. They line up to the fender pretty well that made me raise the car just a bit. I love the look and how aggressive the width/offset is. Make my car look like a beast from behind.
My next mods are AMG Caliper upgrades to fill out since the OEM S550 brakes tend to look small especially in the rear. Then facelift for the front to the S63 bumper and carbon front lip.
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
