france2112

Hi,
I have an SL600 but don't like the soft exhaust and really want a quad tips look. I was thinking about the Eisenmenn exhaust but >$3000.00 seems a little steep to me. I got a quote from Renntech for about half this price to install SL65 mufflers on my car and modify the rear bumper so they will fit.

I would appreciate if anyone with an SL65 would tell me what you think of the exhaust sound. I really wanted the quad exhaust look and I can probably just change out my tips for very little money but if the exhaust sound will increase due to the new mufflers then I'm willing to spend the money. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

mjr24

I was told the SL65 is not that loud because MB did a good job of quieting the charger (which is the point). The Eisenmann's are loud and sound nice.....better than a SL65/SL55 by far. That being said....Eisenmann does 2 types of quad-tips. The first one has the tips being the same size as the AMG ones....meaning you would have to change your rear bumper to the SL55 one that can accomodate those quads. Eisenmann also offers a quad one that will fit with the normal SL500/SL600 sports package bumper. The tips are obviously alot smaller. Someone here has pics of that posted already. I was thinking about getting the Eisenmann until I found out you need to change the bumper for the SL55 tips.....I wonder if an exhaust shop could weld my stock pipes onto the Eisenmann.

You may want to ask Renntech what the difference is, although they are a competitor of Eisenmann and you may not get a neutral answer. Remember, the Eisenmann is also supposed to give a pretty good HP/Torque increase....I am not sure if the SL55/65 would give any.

WoodHeBe

I have an 2006 SL600. I went to a custom muffler shop and simply had the mufflers removed. You can then fit any tips that you like. I stayed with the stock ones. The sound is wonderful. You can have the muffler shop disconnect the mufflers and then run the car on the rack so you can listen to the sound. I did this on a S600, as well, removing all four mufflers and it sounds great.

france2112

With the mufflers removed won't it be too loud?? How is the sound inside the car for daily driving. This sounds like a great idea because with no muffler then I'm sure you would get some extra horsepower but I don't want the sound to be too obnoxius. Please comment. Thanks.

mjr24

This might be a dumb question....but if they remove the mufflers do they just connect the pipes with the tips on them to the pipes in front of the muffler? Also...do you think not having mufflers will have any bad effects on the car? Or is a muffler technically sound only? You never know on these cars...

france2112

Not a dumb question at all!!

I think the mufflers are for sound and emissions. Emissions are not checked in Florida where I am living.

mjr24

Unfortunately we do have that here. I did a Google on removing the muffler and most all of it was negative....alot with the noise being way too loud. I'd love to hear a sound clip from Wood.

rdk

Renntech will have an SL600 exhaust available within 30 days. Estimated cost is 3k.

DoctorV8

Mufflers have no effect on emissions,france 2112. That's what the catalytic convertors are for.

Removing the mufflers in a car with twin turbos and the cats in place should not make the car obnoxiously loud. I'm considering trying this out on my CL65, though it is already louder than an SL600 at idle.

WoodHeBe

I've actually removed the mufflers from two turbo 12 cyl. MBs, a 2004 S600 and the SL600. The mufflers have no effect on emissions. The S car has a nice growl at idle and up to 2500 rpm, then is gets quiet. The SL has a shorter exhaust system so it is a little louder. I love the sound, even with the top down. There is that wonderful Ferrari sound all across the rev range. Best of all, it cost a whopping $80. The muffler man makes two short straight pipes which replace the mufflers. If you want square tips just run the pipes to them. This is the cheapest and best mod that I know of for these cars.

france2112

You are right about the emissions and the catalytic converters. I don't know what I was thinking when I posted.

Anyway, thank you both (DoctorV8 & WoodHeBe) for the advice. I think I may try the straight pipe option or replace the mufflers with a good high flow aftermarket set (magnaflow, Borla, etc...) at the recommendation of a custom muffler shop. I'll post my results whatever I do.

DoctorV8

france 2112,

I am probably going to be right behind you in doing the same thing. It may be a bit louder on a CL65 vs a 600 car....

WoodHeBe,

Did you remove the mufflers and resonators all at once on the S600? Or did you try just 2 first? Thanks for sharing your experiences.

WoodHeBe

I actually removed the resonators first and drove the car that way for a while. My 91 year old Mom listened to it and said, "you need to make it louder!" so back to the shop to remove the mufflers. The muffler guy was amazed that the car was so quiet with straight pipes from the converters back until I showed him the turbos. They must really soak up a lot of sound. I suppose every type of car is unique. A Porsche twin turbo without a muffler will make you deaf! I can't imagine driving one of those on a straight pipe. I hope you enjoy your new sound!

france2112

I will do the straight pipe when I can find the right fitting and quality tips. I may call Eisenmenn and see if they will sell me the tips as I know they have a system to fit my car. They may not sell me just the tips so I need to find an alternate source. Anyone out there have a good source for quad tips for the 2005 SL600 with AMG sport rear bumper???

medici78

Could anyone post a soundclip of the muffler-less system?

HLG600

For larger motors, mufflers are there to create needed back pressure. Maybe resonator delete and a high flow muffler would be a better choice. I doubt one would be dissapointed with the V12 sound coming through a Flowmaster 50 Series muffler.

DoctorV8

Not true for turbocharged motors. In fact, most turbocharged engines will make maximum power with an open exhaust system. Flowmaster chambered mufflers in particular are a no-no with turbo engines. I picked up a whopping 30 rwhp on my twin turbocharged 1991 Mustang with nothing more than switching from flowmasters to a straight through Dynomax muffler, and my experience was not uncommon.

The massive low end torque of the Mercedes turbocharged V12s falls off above 4500 rpm...while there are probably many factors involved in this, including sizing of the turbos and tuning to minimize the risk of transmission damage, I wonder how much of a factor the restrictive exhaust system is.

france2112

I went to two custom muffler shops today to have my mufflers removed and replaced with straight pipes. Both places were pot luck from the yellow pages. I just got the feeling that they were going to experiment on my car. Both places have never worked on an SL before and I just had a gut feeling not to pursue it. I really would like to hear what an SL600 would sound like from an idle, acceleration, and crusing speed with straight pipes before I make the modification. I know an exhaust is probably not rocket science but I just hate to mess with a perfectly good car unless I'm 100% sure of the results and that I feel confident of the person / place doing the work.

I called Renntech and they quoted me $1500 to do the job. Talk about overpriced!!!! I actually couldn't believe it but I kept calm and said thank you but no thank you. Unfortunately they probably would do a good job, but come on $1500 for straight pipes!

Trimmer2

I thought the turbos on the 600's and 65's are what dampen the engine noise/growl out the exhaust. I definately think my RennTech 600's exaust note has increased as I've put miles on her. After about 24k miles there's definately a noticable growl that wasn't there when she was pulled out of the dealer day one.

I'll be interested in hearing the RennTech exhaust when it becomes available...and while she's on the rack, I'll probably get the toe links replaced too...

france2112

First of all how am I suppose to concentrate with the ***** jiggling up and down

How would you like to meet some day so we can run the cars side by side and see if a well broken in SL600 Renntech is faster. I'm curious plus I just love to street race when possible (in a safe place obviously).

thebigsicilion

Just wanted to throw this out there as a reference, maybe it will help someone out but it might not be for everyone. I wanted a nice exhaust note but didnt want to wait on the parts to get here. I kind of like to have things yesterday if you know what I mean...

So I cut off the stock tips, mufflers and resonators. I then ran a nice 3 inch mandral set of pipes from where the resonators were all the way to the back and reinstalled the factory tips and hangers. Total time 1.5 hours labor, very simple and clean. I would guess any other shop would charge about $200-$250 for this.

The best part is the sound. It has a quiet idle with a nice rumble, barely audible inside the car but then when you step on it you get a perfect deep throaty note. Not to loud not to quiet, just right. It will growl at you if u stab the throttle. I have never heard another car with this note either. Its different but really nice. Sounds alittle like an inboard Cigeratte boat from 100 yards out maybe, almost like a tone under water, I am hooked on it now! No resonance in the cabin either. When cruising at 70 or higher you can barely hear the note, its there but you have to listen.

So you get the best of both worlds, loud when you want it and quiet when on the highway. Perfect!

thebigsicilion

The other thing to keep in mind is that mufflers are mufflers. Any shop can do this that deals with mufflers, its not rocket science!! Cut away, you wont be sorry.

france2112

Is your car an SL600? Is there any way you could post a sound clip?

I appreciate your advice and I would love to make my car sound as you described. I also would like to get a set of dual tips for each side but the problem is the bumper angles. Unless I can get angled tips, one of the two will look like is sticks out and not be flush with the bumper. Anyone out there know of a set of tips that will work?

thebigsicilion

My car is an S600, same differance though. Not sure how to capture the sound. I will look into it.

france2112

I just read an old post about T/C engines and back pressure. Does anyone know if the car will loose horsepower with straight pipes instead of mufflers? I would think there would be a gain but the issue of back pressure and the physics of it seems to confuse me a bit. Any explanation would be helpful. Thanks.