550isport

I have an 07' non LCI 550i sport with an M sport body kit that was installed at the VPC. I had a new LCI sport muffler installed by my dealer and here is the problem:


[attachment=54438:IMG_0062.JPG]

The tips stick out too far! By a significant margin vs. an OEM 08' 550:

[attachment=54439:123.jpg]

I looked at the tips and they seem to be fully seated so either the dealer installed the muffler too far back? Or the bumper is a little different on the LCI? I'm thinking it's the dealer's fault, but how much variation could there be with a muffler in a relatively tight location that uses stock hangers?? BTW: The sport muffler appeared identical in size to my original muffler.

Does anyone have a guess/theory as to how this could happen so I can have it corrected?

Happy Holidays,
DRP

nicke60gre

Yes they are the same bumpers

Most probably they installed a non Msport LCI exhaust. Exhaust tips and/or silencer is different on LCI Msport cars (different parts - look here)

edit: If you think that they look identical, then I'm pretty sure that they installed the same part number exhaust again. Pre-LCI 550i and non Msport LCI 550i silencer are the same part#. Check again with your dealer!

andy545

Nick is right and further more:

the LCI m sport muffler does NOT have the exhaust valve on the right pipe (looking at the pipes from behind, you can also see it in the parts link Nick attached) --> have a look if it is present or not.

Why didn't you go with an aftermarket exhaust ?

550isport

I had a Dinan Exhaust. Nice sound at full throttle, not so nice droning around town and at a constant speed below 80 on the highway. I spent $1,8000 on the Dinan and bought the LCI sport myself from Newport and gave it to my dealer to install. Its identical to the non-LCI silencer except that it has no vacuum valve. The muffler sounds great I am totally pleased with it except for the length.??

DRP

s4iscool

how much did that cost? is there a sound improvement?
most lci tips do stick out a bit more than the pre lci 550i tips, you can always have the hangers bent in and down so the tips are retracted.

550isport

The LCI muffler was $700, tips $65 and 1.5 hours labor. I paid $1,800.00 for the dinan installed and wasn't happy with it. The car sounded like a Lexus at start-up when I bought it, and you could feel the two stage exhaust valve open. So I went with Dinan just to get a better sound at start up really. It sounded very deep and pretty loud at start up but the droning around town was very un-bmw like. The performance gain was negligible (it felt fast because it was loud). It did seemingly move peak torque up the rev range a bit. Now it sounds 25% as mean at start up as the Dinan, 25% as loud as the Dinan in general, 90% quieter than the Dinan when cruising and 50% as good at full throttle. Meets my needs perfectly. Now if I can only get the tips in a bit...

DRP

andy545

I see, Dinan mufflers aren't on the subtle side of noise, in fact one of the loudest from the aftermarket mufflers on the market.
Droning is a big no-no in my books as well so i understand your reasoning.

I've got that muffler valve stuck open on mine for a deeper sound, but still looking for a bit more "music" - just ordered a Superspint myself, from the research I've done, I don't think droning will be an issue.

s4iscool

andy, i red in your other exhaust post that you think the lci exhaust is actually the same as the pre LCI but without the exhaust valve? So if we basically disable the exhaust valvue in pre lci cars, the sound should be the same as the LCI?

andy545

This is what I believe. The part no's are different - however the only visible difference is the ommision of the valve. You have nothing to lose to try it !
According to the BMW TIS:

s4iscool

i did the valve mod, and im quite happy with the increased sound. I also have the two front resonators removed, so I might be getting a tad more noise than others.