Ninefourteener wrote

I've been seriously thinking about doing this since the very first post.

Seriously concerned about DRONE inside the cabin at highway speeds. Rather than going straight pipe or X-pipe.... I was actually thinking about doing an old-school H-pipe instead, and shooting for that "muscle car" sound. Same concerns though..... Drone.

soniczoom5 wrote

does this void the warranty?

soniczoom5 wrote

does this void the warranty?

888RRE wrote

I asked my dealer this and he said no, only Catalytic Converter back won't void.

Addbuyer wrote

From what I was told when researching exhaust work, I would get that in writing from your dealer but like that will happen.

Where exactly are the catalytic converters on the States spec X5’s because in Europe ‘catback’ has two meanings

Tim2189 wrote

for US spec cars the Catalytic Converter is also known as the downpipes
so its cats, then the resonator (front muffler) and then the rear muffler

Addbuyer wrote

I’ve learnt that we have Down pipes with cats, then OPF filter, then secondary cats followed by resonator and into the back box (muffler)
So as previously stated, cat back can be either from the downpipes or the middle cats.
No wonder our V8’s sound like a sick mosquito

Addbuyer wrote

So the secondary cats and resonator have been removed. The beast has awoken, so pleased i didn't go the downpipe replacement route first because the sound is just right and ive got pops and bangs to go with it.
Three hour job in total to drop the exhaust to weld the tops of straights.
As you can see, in the EU we have secondary cats just in front of the resonator. I stall have the OPF's and cats on the downpipe so i hope it wont fail emissions or locate a friendly tester

Addbuyer wrote

So the secondary cats and resonator have been removed. The beast has awoken, so pleased i didn't go the downpipe replacement route first because the sound is just right and ive got pops and bangs to go with it.
Three hour job in total to drop the exhaust to weld the tops of straights.
As you can see, in the EU we have secondary cats just in front of the resonator. I stall have the OPF's and cats on the downpipe so i hope it wont fail emissions or locate a friendly tester

rookee wrote

Cool, can you post a small sound clip? Interested, how this „combination“ sounds like, since you have the OPFs still onboard.

Tim2189 wrote

Welcome to the club

Ninefourteener wrote

Anyone have their resonator removed, that can take a quick length measurement for me please?

Addbuyer wrote

Mine measures 330mm. This allows approx 5mm either side of the factory join.

Can you not take it to an exhaust specialist and let them worry about the reinstatement H-Pipes?

Took Torquflow 3 hrs start to finish, they did 90% of the work with the system in place and dropped the exhaust down just enough for the weld around the top of the pipes

Ninefourteener wrote

So.... I've just watched a TON of videos.... and I think I'm ready to take the plunge on this. Honestly, I'm not crazy about the "pops and crackles" I'm hearing with straight pipes, and I'm not looking for the "raspiness" generally associated with X-pipes either..

With that said.... I'm going to go with an old-school H-pipe, and hopefully get more of a deeper "muscle car" sound, versus a modern European sound.

Nothing against anyone else's personal choices.... but I think an H-pipe is best for me.

I know the pipes are 3" ID..... but can anyone tell me about how LONG the resonator is? X pipes are so popular now, but H pipes are tougher to find, so I need to make sure I get one long enough to replace the resonator.

Anyone have their resonator removed, that can take a quick length measurement for me please?

Ninefourteener wrote

So.... I've just watched a TON of videos.... and I think I'm ready to take the plunge on this. Honestly, I'm not crazy about the "pops and crackles" I'm hearing with straight pipes, and I'm not looking for the "raspiness" generally associated with X-pipes either..

With that said.... I'm going to go with an old-school H-pipe, and hopefully get more of a deeper "muscle car" sound, versus a modern European sound.

Nothing against anyone else's personal choices.... but I think an H-pipe is best for me.

I know the pipes are 3" ID..... but can anyone tell me about how LONG the resonator is? X pipes are so popular now, but H pipes are tougher to find, so I need to make sure I get one long enough to replace the resonator.

Anyone have their resonator removed, that can take a quick length measurement for me please?

Ninefourteener wrote

Thanks again everyone...... I just ordered a total of 2 universal H-pipe kits, after speaking with a friend who is a welding/exhaust pro, who is incidentally, also going to help me with the fabrication.

We've already worked out the plan...... going to make a dual H-pipe setup, with 2 crossover pipes, exactly 12 inches apart from one another. That should be enough distance to disrupt the airflow without impeding it..... and then disrupt the airflow again 12 inches later.

This will add a bit of volume by eliminating the resonator.... but will also eliminate the raspiness of an x-pipe..... as well as the crackly/poppy-ness of a straight pipe setup.

The sound I'm going for...... is "1972 Chevelle". I watched a video of a guy with a twin turbo V8 Mustang... who switched from a triple x-pipe to a triple h-pipe.... and the "volume" was the same... but the tone of the H-pipe was much lower and blurblier. Fingers crossed.

More to follow when everything arrives.

How many unique words did I make up in this post? Lol