OK, I have searched previous threads and have not found a solid answer to my question. I have an '04 545i with custom Borla exhaust. Just a pipe back from the 3rd resonator with a Borla Muffler. Sounds Deep and Throaty, very nice but would like a little louder without being "harley" obnoxious. I know I have 2 canister resonators up near the front of the car, and I have a flat/wide resonator close to the muffler. I want the sound to be louder and nastier but not obnoxious. I don't have a video camera so I don't have a video of my exhaust but here is the closest representation with all resonators intact.

 

Here's what my exhaust sounded like with all 3 resonators removed.


I would not suggest removing all three. At the very least, remove the
center (last, square) resonator. I had all 3 removed for a week, and I
had to go back and had an aftermarket 3" in/out resonator put in place.

And here's an interior clip with the aftermarket (single) resonator installed,

 

Frank, Thanks for the reply. your ride is nasty. I skipped magnaflow cause I was sure the wife would leave me. I am happy with the Borla, just want it a little louder, you think the center delete will do the trick?

 

I would start with that and try it out for a week. See how the sound changes.
It's much easier to remove it one-by-one vs. trying to put it all back.

If you're still not satisfied, you can always remove the 2 cylindrical resonators,
but I would highly advise against it.

 

Thanks Frank, That was definitely a compliment. Your car sounds sick! Do you think that removal of the front cannisters is more subtle than removing the center resonator? I am trying to decide which is the more subtle move? To be honest I want to make the more aggressive move.... either the center, or the 2 front canisters... which do you think is more aggressive? Based on my research, I think the center removal is more aggressive than the 2 front cannisters. Let me know what you think.

 

I believe the more aggressive move would be to remove the 2
resonators in the front, only because there are 2 of these, piped
from each side.

Center (square/rectangular) resonator will yield a more subtle result.

But hey, I could be wrong here. I'll let the other exhaust experts chime in.

 

Frank, the reason I question this is because I was lead to believe that the 2 front cannisters are more "free flowing" and the center "square resonator' was more "restrictive and sound cancelling". You think you could get some of your friends to chime in on this? By the way... I have been dying to know if that girl in your sig is your girl, or someone you pulled off the web?

 

your car sounds nice frank do you know which magnaflow mufler you used?

 

Thanks. I ended up using 12619 Magnaflow (cylindrical, round) muffler,
and a single after-market resonator. Both the muffler and resonator have a
3" inlet/outlet.

My first set-up consisted of a bolt-on Magnaflow (2.25 inlet) 14862.
I felt it was too restricted and affected the power of the V8.

For I6 cars, I think the bolt-ons will be fine (14862 or 14816).

 

Ooops, DP.