Jchip

Hey guys, I am new to this site and thank everyone for sharing your experiences. You have all truly helped me along the way! I have a 545 and wanted to change the mufflers. I put the Mag Flows on and took them off the next day. The drone was unbearable for me. I then spent days researching exhausts for the 545 specifically by reading posts and calling the manufacturer technicians personally. I came to the understanding that only two mufflers will not drone out the 545-550 cab, Billy Boat and Remus. (Unless ofcourse you want to go dual and then Corsa is the only one to go with). I hear a lot about B&B's new resonator cone technology and how it is supposed to take the cabin drone away. I talked to Michael Boat personally and he told me it is still there a bit but that everyone looks at drone differently. I was wondering if Flying Puck and others who now have B&B on with the new cones could give detailed comments on the cabin drone after putting on the resonator cones?

Also, I am thinking that if this application will not guarantee the elimination of drone, then I will buy the Remus Exhaust. The issue with Remus is I feel it will be just a bit louder than stock and not as good as B&B, but for sure the drone will not be there, which to me is more important. Wonder if anyone has this one and could comment as well on the sound quality outside the car?


Thanks!

Gibby550

John@Motorcepts

I have the B&B and I love it. The sound is great on the outside and I really cant hear it on the inside. I have absolutely no idea about any power losses. I am sure B&B can't have any power losses. It looks like it's nicely engineered and sounds great.

Jchip

Hi brabusw209amg, thanks for the reply. So you hear no drone or resonance at all when the rpm's fall between 1000 and 2000 during normal driving conditions? Most only hear the drone of other mufflers between 1000 and 2000 when the car gears level off after an acceleration. Also, do you have the resonance cones installed on the muffler or is it just the B&B without the cones? Thanks!

cleung

I don't have the cones and yes there is drone at about 2000rpm, its not nearly as bad as people say although it may make a difference due to my manual tranny. With the manual I can just choose not to cruise at 2000rpm. I am currently contemplating removing my resonator because I want to get more volume out of the exhaust. I'm glad I got this exhaust because from the sounds of things most say this is too loud and go with something else and I'm complaining its not loud enough, so I would have been very disappointed with the other exhausts I think in terms of sound. This car is my daily driver and the exhaust sound definitely is not over bearing, its alot quieter then the rogue engineering dms exhaust I had on my e46, I used to get lots of complements on the dms exhaust guys would pull up besind me and tell me my exhaust sounds great, now with the B&B that doesn't happen because it is quite sutle in comparison.

bespoke1

You should really check out some sound clips of the RPI exhaust on the 545. That's the one I'm after.

B

Jchip

Hey bespoke1, thanks for the reply. I have done some intensive research on this topic for the past few weeks and I have come up with the conclusion that the 5 series body style is infamous for attracting in-cabin muffler drone from almost every exhaust. It will not be an issue if you are 16 and immortal, but for me the drone or resonance in the car is not comfortable in the least and over time it does create headaches and you will notice it. I had the MagnaFlow on for 2 days and could not handle it. The funny thing was I had this exact same muffler on my 2004 Lincoln Sport V8 and there was absolutely no drone. In the 545, not only was the drone loud between 1000 and 2000 RPM, (where your engine constantly returns to after a gear shift), but the out side sound for me was also a bit too intrusive and loud.

Instead of being proud of the sound, I was constantly worrying if it was too loud and obnoxious. Before I bought another system I wanted to make 100% sure I got no drone and still got good sound that did not sound like a car a punk would drive. From all the forums and by talking to actual technicians and sales guys who sell the systems I found out that RPI has drone and so does B&B (not sure about the drone with the new cone technology which Mike Boat told me was the fix, but could not guarantee it would not drone). Eisenmann has drone and so does Borla, Hannman, Flow Master etc.

The only two systems that guarantee no drone are Remus, who make the OEM exhausts for BMW and also use a "free Flow" system, and Corsa. The Remus you can buy the muffler alone which will change the sound for around $699 U.S. It is also known to be less loud than the rest of the systems but still a nice sound and they will guarantee no drone. It is also 100% stainless steel but they paint it to prevent rust from the soldering of the welds when attaching to the car. The Corsa only makes the system in a dual exhaust and you have to buy the whole system for approx $1400+U.S. It also has no drone and sounds really nice.

Those who are willing to tinker with the other systems and either remove resonators, add resonators, re adjust the piping etc can sometimes "lessen" the drone, but they cannot get rid of it completely and spend time and money trying to get it right because they are forced to after buying a system they are not happy with.

You know, when I was young sound in my car wouldnt matter, but now that I am 40+ I want comfort with a splash of muscle car from my youth. This is the reason why I bought the 545 to begin with, so to compromise that now in the pursuit of showing off is not my goal. The key is to get the best of both worlds and that is why I took the time to research this stuff.

Saying this I just ordered the Remus. They are on back order till August, but if anyone is interested i can direct you to a few places that have them in stock right now. I should have mine installed in a few weeks and will update to let you all know how it sounds.

To anyone looking to change the exhaust I would seriously consider what your goals and preferences are and take into consideration that sometimes the price to show off your sound does not match the price you will pay if you, or your passengers are not comfortable driving in your car.