Help waking up an E39 540i?

"Collin" (coliin)
12/08/2013 at 17:01 • Filed to: BMW, Exhaust, Muffler, E39

I firmly believe that the E39 540i is one of the greatest daily drivers ever crafted by the hands of mortal man, but after owning mine for a while, I'm finding myself feeling like it's missing one thing: sound.

The exhaust on my car is restricted, muffled, baffled, stuffed, and drowned to the point that all I really hear is the engine. The obvious solution is to completely redo the entire exhaust system, but at this point, I don't have the cash to do so.

I've been thinking pretty seriously about replacing the muffler though, which can be done much more affordably. Does anybody have experience putting just a new muffler on a BMW? I'm not necessarily trying to increase performance, and I don't want to set off car alarms at start up, but I'd like to at least hear my exhaust.

The Magnaflow 14834 looks fairly affordable, but I'm just not familiar enough with aftermarket parts to know what's the best option here.

Can Oppo help me out?

DISCUSSION (29)

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:03

http://www.dinancars.com/shop/D660-3940…

Get a full exhaust, not just some fartcan action.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:04

Collin > vdub_nut: scooter snob
12/08/2013 at 17:11

That's what I'd prefer to do, but like I said, I don't have the money to put in a full exhaust. I'm looking for a temporary solution that won't break the bank until I can afford to put in a full exhaust like I'd prefer.

twinturbobmw > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:13

How about a Remus system?

http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:14

Try taking out one of the resonators and welding in a test pipe/ piece of tubing. That's probably cheaper than the single muffler, even.

davedave1111 > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:17

If all you want to do is make it louder, just drill a small hole before the silencer. When I've had rust do the same thing, it made a hell of a racket.

Collin > vdub_nut: scooter snob
12/08/2013 at 17:25

That might not be the most elegant solution, but I'm sure the Y-resonator probably does more than its fair share of silencing everything.

shpuker > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:27

Save up and get a decent system. You'll be happy you did.

drunkenup2 > Collin
12/08/2013 at 17:46

I gotta say, muffler delete alone does a lot for a 540i

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/08/2013 at 18:17

Can we see a pic of your beauty?

Just4GP > vdub_nut: scooter snob
12/08/2013 at 18:26

I did this on my CL55 and it is amazing. Only cost me $80 for both sides.

Parth985 > Collin
12/08/2013 at 20:23

Hi I own a e39 m5 and I got the manga flow tips and did a muffler delete and a resonator delete sounds great best mod I have every done so much crackling on decel it's sounds great and wieght savings of over 20 to 50 lbs depending on model of e39 and it cost me under 200 bucks at meneke

Turk > drunkenup2
12/08/2013 at 20:28

Cutouts are the answer. Muffler delete will sometime or another get old, and ideally electric cutouts will make it a very simple fix.

Straight piped V8's = awesome... MOST of the time. There are very tired drives home from the office that make me wish my stock exhaust still fit, and towing motorcycles to the track at 4:30 AM can be, well, less than great. True story.

Oh throw in an x-pipe while you're at it.

Collin > Manuél Ferrari
12/08/2013 at 22:17

Sure thing. I have a couple of them here: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/1999-bmw-540i-…

Collin > Parth985
12/08/2013 at 22:18

Was that $200 plus the cost of the Magnaflow?

Collin > shpuker
12/08/2013 at 22:19

That's stage 2 of this plan. I doubt I'll have the money to do so for a while though, so if I can find a temporary solution to last 6 months or so that at least makes it sound better, I'd like to find go ahead and do that.

shpuker > Collin
12/08/2013 at 22:31

Eh fair enough. A muffler now would still run around 300 or so installed though wouldn't it?

Collin > shpuker
12/08/2013 at 23:07

It mainly depends on how much I pay for the muffler and the favors that I can call in from friends. With a little luck, I'll be able to do it for the cost of parts.

shpuker > Collin
12/09/2013 at 00:22

Fair enough. I figure a full exhaust would run around $1,000 for a decent system. Couple months of saving would do it.

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/09/2013 at 00:37

Damn Kinja! It won't show the pics. Ughhh

Collin > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 00:42

Kinja is like a hydra. Whenever they repair one feature, it ends up breaking two more.

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/09/2013 at 00:48

They probably use unpaid interns to make the coding changes!

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/09/2013 at 00:53

911e46z06 > Collin
12/09/2013 at 04:15

Magna is a good call. I had an e39 528 that I put a Magna on and it was perfect. It's a BMW, not a bitchin' Camaro, so you don't want to grumble and pop down the street, but you want a nice deep note that excites under pressure and soothes while cruising. The Magna nailed it.

Parth985 > Collin
12/09/2013 at 10:54

No I found some tips the forum and got for 25 bucks each but I think new they are around 30 to 50 bucks and since it's a 540 u just need one and it cost about 150 in labor at meneke

Collin > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 22:27

Looks like the pictures are fixed...for now.

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/09/2013 at 22:57

It still won't let me see your car. I tried two browsers.

I got it - Kinja hates me most!

Collin > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 23:16

Well, in that case, I will describe it for you. It's a navy blue E39 540i with a 6MT and the M-sport package. It has a gray leather interior and wood accents. The exterior has a number of minor dings that didn't break the paint and a couple bumper scuffs, but you can't expect perfection out of a 15 year old car that was owned by a man with a family. I'm just glad that the had daughters and not sons.

Manuél Ferrari > Collin
12/09/2013 at 23:39

Haha girls are better than boys at not damaging cars.

How awesome your car has the M-Sport package. And it's the same color combo my former 94 325is was. I loved that combo!

I'm glad you're enjoying your ride!