TonyJ89117

Hey guys,

Why does the CLS55 sound so much more aggressive than our E55s? I was listening to my buddy's stock CLS as he was passing by and his car sounds sweet with a nice rumble and a hint of raspiness. We then switched cars and mine sounded much quieter.

Why?

Thanks
Tony

AMG_55

they are just 2 different types of cars marketed at 2 different types of people

spinsonic

Because CLS55 is way faster compared to the e55! i better hop outta here, before someone break out a flame thrower

anyways, yea... i notice that too. boss got e55 and mind does sound louder.

sack5000

If you don't like the sound of the E55 get an E63. CLS55 has issues 1) cost and 2)weight (excessive).

jangy

Cut the resonators out of the E55 and it will be the same. The E63/CLS63 have a much nicer sound (IMO). The high compression engine and stainless is just nice.

TonyJ89117

I like my E55 a lot and plan to start modifying for lots more power.

However, I want my car to sound as fast as it goes.

TonyJ89117

I was considering deleting the resonators, but I was told by a MB tuner that I would lose hp/trq if I delete the resonators after installing short tube headers.

Is this true?

Stainless?

Thanks
Tony

chiromikey

no, it's not true. the resonator is a straight through design and offers so little backpressure it you won't even feel the difference. but to be honest, i doubt you'll hear any appreciable difference either.

i'm running long tube headers with the primary cats removed, highflow cats in the secondary position, and no resonator all flowing into the oem mufflers and i still think the car is almost stock quiet. it's pretty simple...if you want better sound, you'll have to fit aftermarket mufflers.

intellilogic

Compensation for the CLS's lack of manliness and excess weight

TonyJ89117

Thanks for the feedback.

Are the mufflers the primary reason the CLS55 sounds so much burlier than the E55? Also, are there any negatives of installing free flow mufflers? I know that on a turbo car you want to reduce back pressure as much as possible to increase power, but are supercharged cars different? I am guessing yes, since SC cars are not exhaust gas driven.

I was also told that certain performance mufflers will actually reduce power compared to the OEM mufflers. Is this another myth?

jangy

The short story is that you can pick sound or performance. Unlike "muscle" cars, where sound and performane go hand in hand, the SC engines do NOT like the open exhaust setup.

The key on performance is to tune it. The key to sound is also tuning. You may be able to find that happy medium where your car runs strong AND it sounds strong, but nobody here has tried that yet. There are a few custome exhausts running around, and we will see the true gains once all of the 80mm TBs, etc are in place. In the end, getting air into and out of the SC unit is the bottleneck. If you open up the exhaust too much, it will sound LOUD, but it will not have optimal flow through the screw.

Prime example is an Eis race exhaust with cats cut and headers. You LOSE power over the same setup with the cats. It sounds WAAAY loud, but loses low end.

Last thing, when we speak of power loss, we are talking low end. If you don't care about that, then all bets are off.

chiromikey

that is true...if you're replacing the entire system or removing all backpressure. most of the backpressure from our exhaust comes from the primary and secondary cats, so if you're only replacing the mufflers you could go with any aftermarket muffler and not notice any difference in performance. keep in mind that our cars have so much low end tq that we can afford to trade a little for upper end hp...most cars don't have that option which is the reason many shops warn their customers about "losing power".

jangy

agreed 100%, but I like my low end