V8 Exhaust Suggestions

[Kees 594]

So last week I was lucky enough to come across an E34 540i that had JUST gone into the pick-a-part yard so I pillaged a bunch of parts off of it (including a factory 2.93 LSD which I'm stoked about). 

Anyway, amongst the pile of bits I got was a full exhaust from behind the resonators (mid muffler and rear muffler). I am mildly OCD so had made a pledge with myself that the only time I would do the exhaust on my 540i is when I have another stock system that I can hack up and muck around with, whilst maintaining my original system un cut in the garage (just in case I want to back to stock). 

So anyway, with the new exhaust I now need exhaust suggestions! 

 

I don't want to do the obligatory "muffler delete" as I find the M60 can make some unpleasant noises this way, and I am also not much of a fan of rasp. 

Am looking for a more refined noise, similar to an Eisenmann muffler (but without spending $3K+ on a muffler HAHA) that can capture the M60 howl. 

Here are some examples:

This is my favourite one

 

I have basically never done anything exhaust in my life so need some suggestions on what you guys think would be best. X Pipe to replace the mid muffler and then smaller stainless rear muffler?

 

 

P.S: if any of you have a stainless rear muffler that would fit the E34 let me know! 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Kees

[Driftit 2078]

I am also pretty picky when it comes to exhaust notes.  That is strange considering I have owned many SR20DET's in my time and they sound like sh*t at the best of times.  But I did my best to make them not sound like 90% of the ones out there on our roads at the moment.
With my old E39 540i we tried removing the rear bypass muffler only.  So at idle it was quiet.  But under load it opened up.  No raspy notes or drone.  Does the E34 have a similar setup or is it a more traditional straight exhaust with no bypass?

We did a convoy with Ollie and Andy (Bimmersport Founders) many years back travelling to an E30 race series round.  1 x E34 540i and 2 x E39 540i's.  I was at the back and I could hear Ollies E34 the entire way from Auckland to Manfield.  Lots of drone.  Avoid that.  Maybe E39 exhaust parts could help?

[Kees 594]

3 hours ago, Driftit said:

I am also pretty picky when it comes to exhaust notes.  That is strange considering I have owned many SR20DET's in my time and they sound like sh*t at the best of times.  But I did my best to make them not sound like 90% of the ones out there on our roads at the moment.
With my old E39 540i we tried removing the rear bypass muffler only.  So at idle it was quiet.  But under load it opened up.  No raspy notes or drone.  Does the E34 have a similar setup or is it a more traditional straight exhaust with no bypass?

We did a convoy with Ollie and Andy (Bimmersport Founders) many years back travelling to an E30 race series round.  1 x E34 540i and 2 x E39 540i's.  I was at the back and I could hear Ollies E34 the entire way from Auckland to Manfield.  Lots of drone.  Avoid that.  Maybe E39 exhaust parts could help?

The few people I have spoken to all seem to think an E34 540i exhaust is a bit more challenging to perfect than an E39. I think its largely because of the weird shape the E34 exhaust takes, particularly the rear muffler - it's quite tall and thin. 

I'm an exhaust noob so I have attached some photos of my original factory system next to my cut up factory system which is missing the rear muffler. Have put a WD40 can next to the rear muffler to put into perspective just how big and tall the rear muffler is - weighs a tonne too! 

I believe the setup on an E34 is first a set of resonators (these are cats on non NZ New cars), then there is a flange to the rest of the exhaust (the big system pictured). It then has some form of mid muffler (I think there might be resonators in there) and then the big rear muffler. 

I drove @Simca 's E39 540i when he was in Auckland, that car sounded superb with its ACS rear muffler. I just think the ACS muffler won't fit in the limited space width wise the E34 has which is pretty annoying. 

Attached is also a YouTube video of my car with no muffler. Rasp on decel sounds terrible, and its significantly lacking classy refinement. 

 

 

 

 

[Driftit 2078]

Ah yeah it is quite a bit different.  The E39 rear has two mufflers, one being just a bypass of some kind.  You can cut one out and get a nice tone under load which is what I did.

A mate of mine owns the Pitstop in Albany.  He is on holiday at the moment and probably at least until the end of the month.  But he has done some magic with BMW's.  Understands how raspy they can get.
Pop in and chat to him if you get stuck.  His name is AJ, just say Dan sent you.

[Cement 871]

I have no specific knowledge in bimmer land but if you end up needing to tweak things with some new / aftermarket items I'd highly recommend AdrenalinR (https://adrenalinr.com/). Used two of their mufflers on my car and was impressed with the product, plus its kiwi made !!

[Kees 594]

1 hour ago, Driftit said:

A mate of mine owns the Pitstop in Albany.  He is on holiday at the moment and probably at least until the end of the month.  But he has done some magic with BMW's.  Understands how raspy they can get.
Pop in and chat to him if you get stuck.  His name is AJ, just say Dan sent you.

Awesome, will do, thanks for the help! 

[Kees 594]

28 minutes ago, Cement said:

I have no specific knowledge in bimmer land but if you end up needing to tweak things with some new / aftermarket items I'd highly recommend AdrenalinR (https://adrenalinr.com/). Used two of their mufflers on my car and was impressed with the product, plus its kiwi made !!

You’re the second person in 24 hours who have recommended their stuff. Will have to do shopping! 

[GorGasm 563]

It's not an easy thing to get right.  Hence a lot of muffler deletes, you get most of the way there without spending money on mufflers which can often sound the same or worse.

If you're worried about overall volume or drone then I would suggest a non straight through muffler.