Hi,

I recently removed the muffler on my OM 616 turbo which comes with the 617 turbo muffler and put a straight through pipe instead. I noticed an immediate increase in the throttle response and the engine pulled much better at higher revs than before, anyone else tried out this mod? If so would love to hear about your experience. Also if there is a chance of any kind of damage, please put forward your theory as it is quite important to know the cons of doing this.

The noise level didnt go up that much, only some rumble but still within limits and quite tolerable as most exhaust impulses are taken up by the turbo itself.

I've run VW turbo diesel with strait pipe for a lot of miles and years, no problems. Better throttle response, very little extra noise, I don't see any cons personaly. YMMV. I'd like to try it on the 300D one day, but I have an almost new OEM muffler on the rear and the original center is still clean(Oklahoma car ), so it'll be awhile..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

I had a straight pipe on the TDI for about a year... similar results to your OM616 experience. I plan on doing the same to the SDL when the stock exhaust system rusts out.

Given the already over-large size of the pipe on my 617 turbo, I'm surprised that it made that big of a difference. Very , though...I think I'll leave my stock exhaust alone until it breaks, then straight-pipe her

I would think that the improved scavenging of a straight through pipe would result in long term benefits of extended turbo life as well as exhaust valve life along with the gain in performance.

How'z it going Gurkha,

email me when u get a chance. coachgeo@hotmail.com

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"Know other lessons I need to learn? TELL me. Tired of learning'em the hard way".

Glow Plug Wait: [i} Time of silence in homage Rudolph Diesel. Longer you own a diesel. more honor you give". [/i]

Life; SNAFU Situation Normal All Fouled Up, & FUBAR: Fouled Up Beyond All Repair

-Now: Snafued Jeep TJ w/OM617 2Be daily driver & building SS M1079 w/Ambo boxed /live in Adv. Truck, Diesel KLR conversion
-Sold 62 UNIMOG Camper w/617 Turbo, 85 300SD

With the Turbo in there you don't have scavenging. However any reduced backpressure beyond the turbo is a good thing. Easier on the seals, decreased spoolup time. And a turbocharged engine is quieter than a non turbo engine with straight pipes.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Actualy, to take that one step further, a turbocharged engine without a muffler is sometimes quieter than a naturally aspirated engine with a muffler.

And, of course, the less backpressure a diesel engine has, the better.

Has anyone tried using only the stock transmission exhaust support and creating a mid-exit exhuast?

Side question: Will the stock exhaust come apart midway or do I need to cut it? I REALLY want to go straight pipe again but I have no place to store the stock exhaust if I ever need it for some reason. I just got it from an '85 300D and I really don't want to waste it.

The stock exhaust needs to be cut. However I have now devised a clamp on systems like in motorcycles, that way I can go back to the muffler without any problems.

Haven't tried it, but I can imagine the mess it would make, with the soot going all over the car behind the exit...

This isn't the best idea. I had a mid-exit exhaust in the Beetle for about 2 months... after a week, the back third of the entire car was completely covered in soot. A pain in the arse to wash.

The echo of the exhaust from under the car was pretty impressive though, the sound of the turbo spooling down during gear shifts was really cool... better than a blow-off valve.