18 ZCP secondary cat delete/swap w. Magnaflow 14156

[jpsimon]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

Will post a video next week! I'll have access to some legit camera and recording equipment so it'll be pretty high fidelity.

ntgarage44 did you ever happen to record a video? I'm pretty sure this is the direction I'm going to go as well but would like to hear some decent clips to be sure.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

ntgarage44 did you ever happen to record a video? I'm pretty sure this is the direction I'm going to go as well but would like to hear some decent clips to be sure.

Ugh, no. Coordinating with the person who has the equipment hasn't worked out yet. I would use my phone but I honestly don't think it's worthwhile. I'll see if I can find a GoPro to use and just do some cruising clips.

I haven't forgotten!

[ntg44]

Update: I finally got fed up with coordinating with the person with the equipment, and bought an external mic for my phone. It should arrive next week. I will have a video up by next weekend (weather permitting) of the exhaust. Sorry for taking so long, I didn't think to do this earlier - A/V equipment is a little foreign to me.

[jpsimon]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

Update: I finally got fed up with coordinating with the person with the equipment, and bought an external mic for my phone. It should arrive next week. I will have a video up by next weekend (weather permitting) of the exhaust. Sorry for taking so long, I didn't think to do this earlier - A/V equipment is a little foreign to me.

awesome, can't wait to hear it!

[ntg44]

Ok, so I finally got all the microphone gear set up and did some pulls! The bad news is that I have an issue with my microphone. It’s a Rode videomicro compact with the windscreen, but I tried mounting it on the diffuser between the exhaust tips, as well as on the rear window above the trunk, and neither position is working. The audio keeps clipping so it sounds all distorted and crappy.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a mounting location, or a cheap microphone that won’t clip so much? I’m willing to fork out some money for a better mic, but I’m really just not that familiar with this stuff.

If someone can help me fix this, I’ll have the sound clips online ASAP.

thanks!

[jpsimon]

bump... any chance you eventually got a recording, at least standing still just revving?

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

bump... any chance you eventually got a recording, at least standing still just revving?

I can do that, but the problem is you won't notice much difference vs. stock since the engine isn't under load. The rasp on stock exhaust really presents itself during a wide open throttle run, and my mic just clips the audio in the car. I also don't really have a place near me where I can plant the camera/mic and do some pulls. I live in a very sheltered suburb with way too many police employed with far too little to do...so coming back to the site after doing some loud pulls to pick up my gear is a little risky for me. But, since there's enough of a demand, I'll try harder to find a spot this weekend that won't get any heat on me and report back.

[Datazz]

^ I'm local to Chicago PM me bro maybe we can help up and I can help you record a clip. Curious to hear what this sounds like as well.

[ntg44]

So I met up with Datazz today for a quick recording of a few pulls with the resonators installed. Only exhaust modifications are the resonators and valves unplugged and fully open.

Here's a YouTube video I uploaded. Thanks again to Datazz for meeting up, recording, and editing the video! I think the audio turned out pretty good, even with the traffic.

[rborane]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

So I met up with Datazz today for a quick recording of a few pulls with the resonators installed. Only exhaust modifications are the resonators and valves unplugged and fully open.

Here's a YouTube video I uploaded. Thanks again to Datazz for meeting up, recording, and editing the video! I think the audio turned out pretty good, even with the traffic.

That sounds really good! What resonator and part number did you use, and it goes in place of where the secondary cats are correct?

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by rborane

That sounds really good! What resonator and part number did you use, and it goes in place of where the secondary cats are correct?

Same part # and install location as the first post and title of the thread. I believe there just wasn't a sound clip of this until now.

I'm really happy with how the audio turned out. Very accurate representation of what this mod sounds like. At least from those pulls, I can't even hear any rasp in the video. In reality, in my experience with all different rpms and throttle positions, I'd say it gets rid of about 90% of rasp. But still, for about $350 installed, you can't beat this. Unless you're looking for crazy volume out of an exhaust, these resonators with open valves is the best that it gets, and just happens to be cheaper than any other solution out there haha.

[Alan l.]

Good job on the video and it does sound good for this platform.

I eventually swapped the rear section for the Akra system for alittle more volume and mostly for looks. The only time i hear rasp is when I go full throttle in the higher end of the rev range. 90% of the time there is no rasp and i've come to like how this car sounds if you know how to drive it. I tend to ride out the gear shifting late to let the exhaust sing while going atleast 30-40mph so you don't get the stupid annoying pop corn pops....

[TrueNorthM5]

ntgarage44 that sounds pretty good. Refined, not overly mean though. Wonder how it would sound with catless downpipes.

[jpsimon]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

Same part # and install location as the first post and title of the thread. I believe there just wasn't a sound clip of this until now.

I'm really happy with how the audio turned out. Very accurate representation of what this mod sounds like. At least from those pulls, I can't even hear any rasp in the video. In reality, in my experience with all different rpms and throttle positions, I'd say it gets rid of about 90% of rasp. But still, for about $350 installed, you can't beat this. Unless you're looking for crazy volume out of an exhaust, these resonators with open valves is the best that it gets, and just happens to be cheaper than any other solution out there haha.

Thanks so much for doing this! Parts have been ordered. I'll film some before/after revs and flybys as well.

[DanMpower]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

Good job on the video and it does sound good for this platform.

I eventually swapped the rear section for the Akra system for alittle more volume and mostly for looks. The only time i hear rasp is when I go full throttle in the higher end of the rev range. 90% of the time there is no rasp and i've come to like how this car sounds if you know how to drive it. I tend to ride out the gear shifting late to let the exhaust sing while going atleast 30-40mph so you don't get the stupid annoying pop corn pops....

YES!!

Let the car fully warm up, drive the car in Sport, manual mode if you're DCT, let the motor sing to 4-5k before shifting and she sounds glorious.

Most people drive it in Sport Plus plus shifting early, which introduces a lot of farts and and weird noises.

[knightarmor]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

So I met up with Datazz today for a quick recording of a few pulls with the resonators installed. Only exhaust modifications are the resonators and valves unplugged and fully open.

Here's a YouTube video I uploaded. Thanks again to Datazz for meeting up, recording, and editing the video! I think the audio turned out pretty good, even with the traffic.

Sounds great! I finally got the CS muffler installed on mine, also have secondary cat delete minus any aftermarket resonators. I'll try to get some audio at some point!

[theweebabySeamus]

And you guys aren't noticing any extra exhaust smell?

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by theweebabySeamus

And you guys aren't noticing any extra exhaust smell?

Zero. As long as primary cats are in place they're taking the bulk of the load. You won't notice a thing.

[theweebabySeamus]

Eesh, coming from a B8 S4 the idea of cats in the downpipes makes me nervous. Lol

Whats the purpose of the secondaries if they're not taking much load off the primaries or easy flash ones off the turbos for startup emissions?

Sorry OP, not trying to thread-jack.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by theweebabySeamus

Eesh, coming from a B8 S4 the idea of cats in the downpipes makes me nervous. Lol

Whats the purpose of the secondaries if they're not taking much load off the primaries or easy flash ones off the turbos for startup emissions?

Sorry OP, not trying to thread-jack.

All I was referring to is the smell. The secondary cat cell count is much less than the primary. That's really all I know about it. Smells much worse if primary is removed vs secondary.

[Alan l.]

Nobody that has sat in my car has ever noticed any smell by doing this mod.

[Ed_rx7]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

First off Ive always thought the F80 was the perfect BMW but the one thing that bothered me was how it sounded. I've literally listened to every damn possible exhaust combination online in search for something that actually sounds better than stock and came up disappointed every single time. Louder doesn't mean better imo despite what most here seem to think...

I came to the conclusion that the stock ZCP exhaust tone is probably the deepest sounding one out there which is what I preferred so I started looking into people who modified their stock exhaust threads. The Magnaflow 14156 is the most popular choice, same 2.5" diameter size and its cheap so I ordered it.

$95 each shipped from amazon ($190 total)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I opted to just remove/swap the secondary cats and left the stock resonator in place so can do this in steps and see exactly how each section would affect sound. If the cats weren't enough then the next move would be to replace the stock resonator etc...

Took my car to a place called King Muffler in Corona Queens that had tons of good reviews on google and yelp figuring this is a simple job but I wanted a legit exhaust shop to do the work incase they run into any issues. Its a hole in a wall type place but it was clean, organized and inexpensive. Got to the shop at 8am and I was out of there by 8:45 for $145. I wouldn't hesitate to go back to them for any future exhaust related work.

Work about to begin with my 3yo standing guard


The stock secondary cats


One out..


what's inside


all done.


Sound (I have ASD turned OFF and OEM downpipes)

At first start up I noticed the difference immediately. Not a massive difference but noticeable. Driving home you can tell there is maybe 15-20% more volume and the tone is deeper. There is also less rasp and I can only hear a hint of it now at close to redline where as before I heard it earlier in the power band. I think having essentially dual resonator setup (magna flow and OEM) it helped with the rasp and made the tone deeper which I prefer. With the valves closed you can't really tell anything has changed. If I didn't tell my wife she wouldn't have noticed. Once the valves are open you can hear the difference. Again not drastic but its there.

On the highway it sounds like stock while cruising and you only hear it when you romp on the throttle. Zero drone

The most important part for me was to gain some volume, lose the nasty rasp and deepen the exhaust tone which this mod accomplished. For a total of $335 spent you can't go wrong to give this a shot. I have no issues spending money on a aftermarket setup but if i'm not happy with the sound then what's the point...

All in all I highly recommend this setup for those that want a deeper but slightly louder exhaust tone. Absolutely zero downside that I could see and I don't notice anymore exhaust smell by losing the two secondary cats. Getting rid of some nasty rasp was a big plus for me and that alone was worth it.

Alan

Here's a after shot

Is the system an MPE?
Or is it an OPF car?