David6886

Hi,

sorry for reviving this old thread but I'm looking for a nice catback exhaust for my E61 550i and found the Magnaflow 16559 system. Unfortunately the sound clips from users gcvt and Ducmaniak have been deleted. Could somebody else upload a soundfile of this system please? All the videos I found on youtube are in trash quality. I know sound is a pretty subjective thing, but could you tell me if the magnaflow results in a nice V8 rumble? Thank you very much in advance!

Regards

David

GForza

Magnaflow cat-back system is gonna sound similar on 550/650, as much of the components are the same and the motors are the same:

Here is a sound clip of my 650 with the Magnaflow cat-back system. IMHO the BMWs sporting a V8 have a great euro-tuned V8 sound.The Magnaflow cat-back system helps bring that out by making it a little louder on my 650

David6886

Sounds good - thanks for the video!
But I wonder if the sound between these 2 magnaflow catback systems is really comparable. The exhaust system of the 650i looks pretty different from the 550i.

650i / Magnaflow 16560:


550i / Magnaflow 16559:


As you see the 550i system is only a single line while the 650i exhaust is completely dual with an x-pipe. I wonder if this little bit strange setup for the 550i will result in a nice V8 sound.

David6886

I just installed the Magnaflow 16559 system on my 550i. I think it is very loud compared to the original exhaust system. Further I have a horrible drone between 1000-2000rpm at lower and mid pedal position. Even the interior starts vibrating. Do you also have the drone problem with the magnaflow system? I think I will remove and go back to the original system. It's not the typical drone free V8 sound I expected to get for my money...

David6886

Here a short sound video at moderate acceleration:


It's just loud and drones - no nice V8 Sound as expected... So I think this one was a fail. Seems like I have to build my own system. I think the only correct way to build a good sounding and OEM-style looking exhaust system is to copy the Alpina B5 system -> see attached picture. It's has 2 seperate exhaust lines and an H-pipe. Seems like anything else is trash.