Anyone deleted their resonators on the stock exhaust? Couldn't find anything on Youtube so i'm wondering how does it sound?

Here is a vid of an M35 (Im guessing 2009 or later) with resonator delete. I would have expected to hear a deeper sound, but this sounds like a tin can rattling. Of course, who knows if this guy deleted the resonators properly.
https://youtu.be/h001xwnN9SU
Perosnally, I'd recommend exhaust changes. The most economical way would be either a Megan or Tanabe axle-back system. Cheaper than a cat-back system, but not all that cheap. I think I paid about $500 for my Tanabe Medalion axle-backs. Here is a sound clip on a Q59 (same engine as the M37)
https://youtu.be/1xc0glIYHRU
Deep throaty sound, but no loud drone inside the cabin and just as quiet as stock set-up at hwy speeds.

Tanabe doesnt make an axleback for the M37. not sure about the M35. your best bet is to buy some Magnaflow mufflers with tips and have them welded up or just buy the $700 stillen axleback.

I went the cheaper route and just welded up some magnaflow mufflers in place of the stock ones. slightly louder than stock but kind of what i was going for with this car.

In my M56x, I deleted the resonators and the Y-pipe. The resonators choke down to 1-3/4". I had the muffler shop cut that whole section out in one piece, and replaced it with a 2" X-pipe and 2" straight pipes. I kept the post cats, flex pipes and stock mufflers. I think the stock mufflers sound just as good as any aftermarket style, IMHO. Normal driving conditions yield a very subtle noise increase in the cabin with no drone; when you step on the gas is where the sound comes alive. I'm contemplating going further and either replace the post cats with hi-flow cats, or test pipes. If I go that route, I imagine that I will need to modify the intake in order to take advantage of the extra air flow. I thought about drilling some holes in the air filter box to help draw more air...wonder if anyone else has tried this?

Do you have a picture of your current setup ArmyBrat? Plan to do something similar...

Resonator and Y-pipe/heat shields removed; post cats and flex pipe still in place:


Should've taken pics when the car was up in the air...took these laying on the ground in my garage. Not the best shots but you can see what I have. They bent two 2" 45's and spliced them together to form an X-pipe. The splice is longer than it looks, so that the transition is gradual:


The X-pipe ends at the cross member, and the resonators were replaced with two 2" straight runs:


Kept the stock mufflers...damn things are about $500 a piece, plus they sound too good to get rid of them.

Shop charged me $250 to do the work. I kept the old parts just in case. I could probably reinstall the 45 degree heat shields if I wanted to, to somewhat maintain a factory appearance.

I'll have to look at my car next time I change the oil...having a hard time picturing the flange locations in the front and where yours were actually cut.

Here's a better shot that shows where the X-pipe starts:

Ahh okay, that makes a lot more sense now. And your next plan is to get rid of the stuff in front with possibly HFC's, etc. Correct?

I believe the flex fittings are integral to maintaining sound quality inside the cabin. If I can, I will have the shop simply fabricate two test pipes with flanges on both ends, and matching flanges to the flex connections. This way, I can swap them out if need be. I'm leary of welding them in, in case I run into any emissions issues. I've heard that removing the post cats won't trigger any CEL's., as the 1st set of cats takes care of that. Anyway, for now, I'm just thinking about it. If you decide to remove the resonators and Y-pipe, you won't be disappointed.

Armybrat, you got a soundclip?

mig0s wrote:Armybrat, you got a soundclip?

I made one, but it was windy outside so the quality was pretty bad. I'll try to get one up soon.

Ilya wrote:Ahh okay, that makes a lot more sense now. And your next plan is to get rid of the stuff in front with possibly HFC's, etc. Correct?

Well after a little more research and talking to the muffler shop guys about possible emissions issues, I decided to go for it and delete the post cats:


No wonder the engine can't breathe LOL:


The shop mentioned that installing flanges would run the risk of possibly not sealing properly, so they suggested just welding the 2" test pipes in:


They said that they would weld the cats back in if I needed them to, but I don't anticipate that happening, as there is no CEL since last Friday morning. Since I now have a much better flowing exhaust, I looked at the intake shroud to see if I can get more air flow there. I've read mixed reviews about removing this thing altogether, so I decided to leave it alone, and instead, I drilled four 1/2" holes in each air filter boxe; three in the front and one in the side, to create a venturi effect:


It definitely sounds more aggressive without the post cats, and with the flex pipes still intact, no cabin drone. I also seemed to pick up an extra mile or two per gallon:


I gassed up and reset the mileage indicators and trip odometers, and drove about 42 miles, some around town and some on I-40. Not bad I guess. Most I was getting before was about 18.5 - 19.5 mpg. Curious to see how the mileage does on a full interstate road trip.