Resonator Removal
 

Has anyone here done that? I'm planning on getting it done on the weekend and wanted to know what you guys thought.

yea how easy/hard is this to do? What does it sound like after?

I had my resonator deleted and its real easy. price may vary on where you live but I got mine done for $80. There are some guys who paid less than me and some who paid more. Any muffler shop like meineke should be able to do it. All they do is cut out the resonator and weld a straight pipe in place of it. Ask them what kind of piping they will use in place of it? Make sure it will be a non rust pipe. But yea, its real easy and doesn't take long at all. It may not sound so awesome at first b/c your ECU needs to adapt to it and make its changes. Also it doesn't sound like much at a cold start but once it warms up, it sounds real good. I get compliments all the time. To me it sounds the way a Mercedes SHOULD sound. Not obnoxious, but not silent. It is definitely more throaty as well. Good luck with it. Here is what the resonator looks like...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/P1010040.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/P1010042.jpg

Unless you want a real aggressive and obnoxiously loud sound, you will love it. Just give it some time to warm up and adapt to your car. Ive had people on motorcycles pull over and tell me it sounds awesome.

Well if all goes well i'll be doing it on Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes and try and post some clips:)

Ive removed the resonator on my SLK55 via the SuperSprint/Carlsson X pipe and Installed Kleemann Sport primary 200 cell 3" cats, the sound is intoxicating.

I would suggest you to get your Ecu Remapped, Drop in filters with the Resonator removed for a 13-18hp increase. For the Airfilters stick with Green filters.

In my CL55 have been out for a couple years now. Love the sound. Not to loud but difinately more throtier.

Those who have done it, where did you get it done and at what price?

TIA

Getting your resonators chopped of and replaced should cost you no more than 50$... :)

It depends on where you live!!! I got mine done for $80. It also depends on what kind of piping they use in replacement of your resonator. I got mine done at meineke. Some will do it, some will not mess wit it. Any custom exhaust shop will do it for you, just call before you go in case they dont want to do it.

Good advice.

Called 6 places in SoCal, 4 wouldn't do it. One claimed it was illegal because he said you cant modify the exhaust of an obd2 car. the others just said they wont do it because of liability blah.

But i found a few to do it for 50-100 bucks. Unfortunately, as soon as they see the car, they want to charge more. I'd go in telling the store that you've gotten quotes from other places for 50 bucks and see what they do.

I'm getting it done monday, i'll post a video clip afterwards.


Any other cheap mods I can do? I'm so bored with this car already.

Hey guess what, there are no resonators in an SL500:smash:

I ended up straightpiping the 2ndary cats and...

Damn, I gotta say. Best money i've spent on the car so far. It sounds much more throaty and much less muffled then before. The highs are crispy and the meds have been amped up a little bit. The sound really comes alive at around 3-5k rpm.

Performance wise I do think i'm seeing an improvement. My tires spin a lot easier now and it feels like i've got more torque. I was cruising home last night with music cranked up high so I couldnt hear the engine, it still felt more responsive. After looking at the 2ndary cats it does look like the backpressure was too high.

Bottom line: Driving it is more fun now :D

Here's a pic...forgot to take one of the after but it's not hard to imagine what it looks like:p:

Videos to come later.

http://www.tekka.sys-techs.com/murta.../underside.jpg

I'd like to hear a sound clip before deciding either way.

So straightpipe the secondary cats and not the primary, correct?
Don't the cats serve some useful purpose?

Yeah they reduce emissions so you will fail your emissions test if you have to go for one. Its about 100 bucks to cut them out so not exactly wallet busting... definitely worth it imo.

Here is a quick vid my buddy Roupin made...i'll try and get some more. Keep in mind, the real thing sounds a hell of a lot better, wasn't really flooring it in this video either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqoxfWoJ3UY

Here's a better video, courtesy of chrispham and jorge :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JagZ1x-xC94

You could even get a muffler shop to remove the Mufflers... and leave the emissions unchanged...


it actually makes the car sound like an SL65... really throaty in WOT, but otherwise pretty quiet.

those cats really quiet down the car..

Might be a dumb question, but if we need to get emissions done, will they be able (I assume) to weld the cats back in?

I've heard that would sound way too loud, thats why I opted to remove the secondary cats. I really doubt it would be quiet even at idle, mufflers on the SL500 do quite a bit of muffling considering there are no resonators...

That said, i'd still love to hear one :D

Mj, yeah, they can be welded back on easy.

I upgraded to the 55 mufflers, and that changed the sound ALOT!

I still have the cats in, but the car sounds mean. People keep asking
about my car now, because it sounds dangerous.

I was about to do that, do you have any audio/video clips? I'd love to hear it!

I dont, but everyone who has heard it says it is much deeper
than my friends CLK 55 (MY '05). Supposedly friends can tell
when I punch it to pass them in traffic, because they hear it
get more aggressive.

I have a 2003 Mercedes sl500, in basically brand new shape, I wish it sounded nicer though, to install an exhaust system it's going to cost you $6000 so I am thinking about cutting the two real catalytic converters, is it worth it, will it sound nicer? Make bad smells? Or cause any damage to the car or lower yes mileage? Someone plz give me some advice I just want my car to sound nicer. Thanks

03 SL500 Resonator/catalytic converter removal
 

I have a 2003 Mercedes sl500, in basically brand new shape, it's way too quite and I wish it sounded nicer, to instal an exhaust system it's going to cost you $6000 so I am thinking about cutting the two real catalytic converters, will it sound nicer? Make bad smells? Reduce gas mileage Or cause any damage to the car? Someone plz give me some advice. Thanks

I have a 2007 SL550 with resonators deleted and Top Speed Pro 1 Perfomance exhaust that fit without cutting the bumper (hard to find).

Here's how it sounds:


Here's a link to but the exhaust:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Ben...-/391430679134

I'm not sure if it will fit an 03 but you might want to check it out.

My advice:
1. Initially, I just removed the rear mufflers and installed straight pipes. It sounded like a Mustang. Lost low RPM power but reckon more power on higher RPM range. Cabin noise was unbearable. During cruising speed, the sound of the drone prevents you from chatting with your passenger. It does indeed sound nice from the outside but too loud for my liking.

2. Installed the mufflers back on and removed the secondary cats. Perfect! There was more power (or maybe it was just the sound). Cabin noise was the same as stock. The sound from the outside was amazing. There was a slight growl and it sounded like a performance exhaust. The sound was way more refined than my initial mod. After the ECU got use to the new exhaust, it was even more enjoyable.

3. I would want to try the Top Speed Pro 1 Perfomance exhaust with my secondary cats back on. @brentsl550 needs to stop tempting me with his videos!!

2003 SL 500 R230 - By the way, my mechanic told me that the 2003 models do not come with resonators. So basically we have primary cats, secondary cats and then the mufflers.

Cost: $300 CDN for labour and non-rust pipes for muffler. $150 CDN for labour and non-rust pipes for secondary cats.

Resonator Removal
 

I had my resonators gutted, so similar to removing them. I don't like the sound, but unfortunately, not so easy to "undo" the mod.

This is on my 2009 SL600, with Renntech mods.