Well finally got around to installing the new exhaust Friday afternoon. Originally I was supposed to have access to a lift but ended up just having to borrow a friend's garage instead, but the job went pretty smoothly so it wasn't too bad.
The night before I packed everything in my car so I could transport everything to where I was going to be doing the install. For some reason I don't think a ski pass was designed for an aftermarket midpipe...
So Friday I headed to my friend's place and then unpacked everything once I arrived, this exhaust is very aesthetically appealing, really in mint condition.
A final look of the rear of the car with the OEM system installed, still not too shabby.
The OEM valved muffler
My workstation all set up; huge toolbox filled with Channel Lock tools, Macbook Pro with saved joeycuccaro DIY's to help guide me along the way, and my trusty D80.
First I sat in on uninstalling the OEM catback. Took literally 15 minutes, the easiest removal of any exhaust system install i've ever been a part of; a very good design.
The OEM catback removed and a final view of the muffler off the car. This thing was way heavier than its stainless steel counterpart I had waiting to be put on.
Next up were the downpipes. Removal took about an hour. Hardest part was getting to the top bolt on each side, the axle shields weren't exactly fun to remove either. Not the best experience i've ever had but at least it was a lot easier than installing headers in my previous E46, that was awful. Finally got them out of the car though and o2 sensors marked and unplugged.
With a drill, a long bit, and a high pressure water hose I made quick work of the power robbing catalytic converters. I ended up gutting all 4; both pre-cats, and both main cats. Originally planned on using the spark plug defouler trick to avoid throwing a code, but after buying the 4 defoulers and drilling out 2 to allow fitment of the o2 sensors once I got under the car I ran into a few problems. First off I couldn't get the the o2 sensors to screw into the defoulers tight, they just wouldn't tighten down and eventually began to shed the aluminum threading of the defoulers. Also found out that even if I had been able to get them screwed in that the two o2 sensors would have hit each other and prevented the other from screwed back in. Not sure how i'm going to approach this problem, maybe just get software, or try and angled defouler to see if that keeps the light off.
After that I finally just put back the o2 sensors without the defoulers. The center resonator portion bolted up to the freshly gutted downpipes with ease, and the APR mufflers mated right up to the APR resonated midpipe.
A first look at the new rear end, still need to do some aligning of the tips to get them perfect. I could stand for them maybe hanging a bit higher but the cans look really nicely fit in the valence.
Plan on aligning the tips perfectly in the next few days and then grabbing some video for you guys. As for the sound, its simply perfect for me. In all honesty, it'd probably be way too tame for most people but its just what im looking for. Its deep and burbly at idle, and from 1000-2400 rpm. Then from about 2500-4000 rpm its nearly silent, but after that it comes alive again. I've always been really partial to refined exhausts that just allow for a bit more volume and a clean sound. This is perfect for that. The gutted pipes give it a very aggressive tone and the APR catback really deepen everything. There is absolutely NO drone and its virtually silent at highway cruising speeds (65-90mph). Anybody not looking for something overbearing this is certainly a nice option. I'm really loving it so far. As I said before, stay tuned for video and a photoshoot once it stops raining, warms up a bit, I have some free time, and get the tips perfect.
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