Please Post Exhaust Upgrades
 

My Center Resonator just gave up yesterday on my 89 300CE and now I am wondering what I should do. Should I buy a new oem unit or do a cat-back stainless steel upgrade? I don't want a noisy system. A mild rumble is ok though. Can you guys suggest a nice setup?

Will you guys please share what exhaust upgrades you've done...specs and maybe pics if possible.
Thanks

Here is what my oem exhaust looks like:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/1...52130633qo.gif

Shop around and buy an OE replacement. Call Phil at Fastlane and see what he can do. Anza is probably the cheapest. Buy the gaskets and a new rubber hanger, too. If you have the OE one piece system the instructions in the muffler box should tell you where to hacksaw to splice in the new center section. You'll also need a suitable size clamp.

The OE exhaust system is very well engineered - quiet with low back pressure and the OE replacement components are DIY bolt in and good quality.

If you buy some kind of "sport" system or have a local muffler shop fabricate something from generic parts it will probably be noisy (exhaust noise, mounting rattles and resonances), and maybe even short lived.

Duke

Some people have disparaged Ansa, but I have been happy with mine on my 560sl, bolted right in perfectly without any banging, bending, swearing, etc. Minor complaints included (not Ansa's fault) that the UPS guy was apparently not able to lift it, dragging the tailpipe on the ground, requiring an exhaust expansion tool to straighten it out; another was that the (not exactly high quality) paint came off in a BIG SHEET on the back (nice, shiny, and unpaintable zinc plating underneath), and this area is quite visible on this car. I touched it up with low-gloss engine high-temp (like I used on the tailpipes after straightening).

I did away with the resonator and did it my self.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=124041

I went to several shops all day and saw some of the custom work they were making and honestly, I wasn't really impressed. Most of them never worked on a Mercedes and no one had a Mandrel bender for stainless steel. One shop had a beautiful fit and finish, but the price they wanted for regular pipe work was more expensive then stainless. The cost I was quoted to make me a new non-stainless center piece is very close to the price of a new oem one. At this point, I feel like buying the oem one and then buying a Remus or similar muffler when it fails and know that I have a system that is good quality and fits right, unless I see something that really catches my eye.

Update: Just found something else.
 

Has anyone tried the Timevalve "Y" pipe (center resonator replacement)?

Standard vs Stainless
 

Anyone recall what the difference in cost between SS and standard exhaust system is?