ETA exhaust loudness without muffler?

**thinair** · 01-02-2006, 04:41 PM

Hey, quick question for you m20 guys. Does anyone run car straight pipe, or with just the cat then a pipe??

How loud/bearable is it?

I'm assuming it'll sound like ass without the cat.

I've driven it for the last 3 weeks or so with only the headers and cat, but nothing else, I figure it's about time I add the extra 4' of pipe, but will it make it much quieter?

Also, what is the stock diameter of the pipe, and is it normal to be 2 pipes into 1 out the back?

Axxe · 01-02-2006, 05:36 PM

Won't be much quieter. Get a generic ractive single in dual out and call it a day.

Straight pipes will be coold for about a month, then you will be sick of it.

**thinair** · 01-02-2006, 05:43 PM

I'm only keeping the car till april, which is why i'm trying to be cheap.

Ant118 · 01-02-2006, 06:12 PM

I have straight on my car and its really loud im surprised that i havent got pulled over for it

Axxe · 01-02-2006, 07:39 PM

For cheap, straight pipe out the back, or go to scrap yard and see if they have any universal mufflers lying around.

**thinair** · 01-02-2006, 07:44 PM

Ok, so back to one of my original questions, normally is there two pipes coming all the way back? And what are their diameters?

paul christians · 01-02-2006, 07:55 PM

There is only ONE pipe....

e24_635csi · 01-02-2006, 08:02 PM

When i picked up my 88' 528e parts car the cat was completely plugged... almost to the point of starting a fire, so we just cut the sucker off. It sounded like a cheesy monster truck. But very loud.
Matt

**thinair** · 01-02-2006, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul christians

There is only ONE pipe....

K, i was wondering why I have a dual inlet and outlet cat, but then a Y to one pipe

Jordan · 01-02-2006, 10:13 PM

I'm full straight pipes on my 328iS. I suspect a eta would sound just about the same. It sounds great, but it is LOUD. Way loud. Definately going to get pulled over sooner or later.

I'm just real careful where and when I go WOT. At part to mid throttle the noise is loud, but still within reason. At WOT though.... shit gets wrecked *evil*

Here is my exhaust setup:

The muffler is a Brullen (loud) box. Its completely free flowing straight through design. It quites it only a tiny bit, honestly its mostly for looks.

Chris de la Cruz · 01-02-2006, 10:40 PM

Jordan I'm in love with your headers.

paul christians · 01-02-2006, 10:49 PM

Jordan, wow it does not sound loud in the video, but hay it look good man,and did you make o2 wiring longer??I thought all eta's had a "Y" into one..cheers..

Axxe · 01-02-2006, 11:11 PM

Exhaust clamps, that's half-assed

Jordan · 01-02-2006, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul christians

Jordan, wow it does not sound loud in the video, but hay it look good man,and did you make o2 wiring longer??I thought all eta's had a "Y" into one..cheers..

Yeah, the video doesn't convey how stupid loud it is at all. Yes I had to double the length of the O2 sensor wiring to reach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axxe

Exhaust clamps, that's half-assed

The clamps are not neseccary persay. The pipes are a VERY tight fit, I needed to hammer them on with a 4lb deadblow hammer. The midpipes are specially expanded at the end to slip over the header collector. This was a tight fit before, and now the headers/midpipes are ceramic coated inside and out. The clamps just ensure the pipes don't come loose with vibrations, they have little to nothing to do with sealing.

The setup at the clamps is the best possible for flow. It also allows me to do things like remove the headers/engine whatever from the car if I ever needed to. If I welded the midpipes to the headers (or if they came as one unit) it would be impossible to get on and off the car. Again, there is nothing wrong with clamps when used properly. Using them to crush down a overside pipe onto a smaller one slipped into it is halfass. Or using them to clamp a aftermarket muffler onto the stock pipes...

Axxe · 01-03-2006, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jordan

Yeah, the video doesn't convey how stupid loud it is at all. Yes I had to double the length of the O2 sensor wiring to reach.

The clamps are not neseccary persay. The pipes are a VERY tight fit, I needed to hammer them on with a 4lb deadblow hammer. The midpipes are specially expanded at the end to slip over the header collector. This was a tight fit before, and now the headers/midpipes are ceramic coated inside and out. The clamps just ensure the pipes don't come loose with vibrations, they have little to nothing to do with sealing.

The setup at the clamps is the best possible for flow. It also allows me to do things like remove the headers/engine whatever from the car if I ever needed to. If I welded the midpipes to the headers (or if they came as one unit) it would be impossible to get on and off the car. Again, there is nothing wrong with clamps when used properly. Using them to crush down a overside pipe onto a smaller one slipped into it is halfass. Or using them to clamp a aftermarket muffler onto the stock pipes...

Yeah, I know proper use of clamps is fine, that's all we do with trucks (18-wheelers). Crushed tubing is not cool, however dual 8" stacks without mufflers look and sound cool

In other words, nice setup. One of the few M20 E30's that actually needs headers.