Eloise550i

Wanted something that would make my 550i sound more like a V8, and would sound like the beast that she is.
I looked around at a few different exhausts and decided that RPI was the one for me. Last night hubby ordered one and I'm looking forward to making some noise around suburbia!

Any hints or tips about installation, or did those of you that put them on your car find it pretty straightforward?

TIA

pjinca

From knowing RPI I would say it is pretty straight forward. If the shop you go to has any questions they can call and talk to RPI before they start cutting, Eloy and the team are always glad to help and it may save you some misery and time if they make sure - like they say "measure twice, cut once"

dbae1978

^^ +1 it might be best to give the boys over at RPi a call. Hopefully they have a dealer located near you. congrats on your new exhaust. enjoy and please be sure to post some sound clips!!!!


Here is a link you can look at in the meantime to give you a general idea of what to expect.

http://raceprecision.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7

redEYEjedi

Ask for David when you call RPi. lol

jk. Eloy of RPi should definitely be able to help you out if any and all questions. Congrats on the new purchase.

dbae1978

hahah i'm wearing my RPi shirt today too.

melimel

i have 3 i wear to kickboxing, lol..

and cograds on the rpi, i had the same on my 550, youll simply adore it every time you start your car up (no joke).. As for installation, I had to have them adjust it a second time because the tips were sticking out too far the first time. On adjustment the 2nd time they cut a little more off the stock pipe and actually pushed it foward and then it was fine. You may need different hangers then the ones your car will have on it now. They are available in pep boys or possibly other stores. You can either search the site here or even call Eloy and ask him for the part number, there cheap if I remember correctly. Give us a sound clip or some pics after you put it on.

p.s its nice to see another girl on here as interested in cars as much as me...(hub sounds like a nice guy)

Eloise550i

Nice to meet you, Mel!
Yes, my hubby is the greatest ~ spoils me rotten!!! But I think he has a good deal too - a wife that never complains about anything spent on cars!


We intend to install the exhaust ourselves. My hubby has installed quite a few in his time. We've had a few Cobra's over the years and he has always done the x-pipes and catbacks himself. He worked on my old E39 too, so this should be a breeze. Also, our son is a tech at Mercedes Benz (I know, the audacity!) and he'll be around to give his .02c worth.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm SUPER excited and will definitely post pics and vids once it's installed. Oh, I also bought myself black glossy kidneys, and intend to install those pretty soon too.

I'm like a kid in a candy store.........

PilotAce

I can hardly wait to see/hear it, Eloise... trying to decide if it's worthwhile to put this on my '05 545i with 57K miles... $900 + install costs for a car I'll drive for another 5 years, perhaps? Or $900 towards something else...

Eloise550i

Do it!

Pagemaster

You'll love it! I have a new (to me) 2008 550i, and actually have the RPI exhaust Mel used to have on her 550i (Thanks Mel!)! It truly makes the car sound like a real V8! Did the install myself and found it to be very straightforward, especially if you or your hubby typically works on cars yourself.

Two things: 1) If you happen to look at the DIY on the RPI site for the 550i, I would suggest not following their instructions on where to cut the stock pipe. It took an extra step, but I took the RPI exhaust and held it in place under the stock exhaust and made a mark where the cut should be. The place I ended up cutting was way off from what was on the RPI site (their DIY maybe was for a 545..?). 2) After I did the initial install with the stock hangers, the enhaust sat a little lower in the bumper cutout than I wanted, so I went to Nappa and got 2 hangers that were about 1/2" shorter (from the center of the holes) than the stock hangers. They are a bit of a bear to change but WD-40 will help. The exhaust tips now sit perfectly in the 550i bumper opening. It would have saved me time to do this the first time around, so you may want to give it a shot from the start. As others have said, RPI may have a recommendation as well. I called them briefly and they couldn't have been nicer.

I haven't had a good weekend day to get the car nice and clean and take some pics/video, but will post as soon as I can. You're goona love the exhaust!

-jp