jg 368 48

ok...so which of these is what i want? (all this came from magnaflows website
these are from the "street series"

1
2
or should i just stick to something like this?
and here are some from the "race series"
1
2
3


i really want the dual tips on one side, but i also want to move closer to the x5 sound!

what's to do? are there better ones for what i want? i tried to find some in the shapes you were talking about (if i remember correctly)

jg 368 48

lexmex...did u have to modify the intake itself to get it into the bumper? where would it normally get the air from? the grill? i tried to look at your cardomain but i dont really know what im looking at with the intake!

bloo1987

the stock intake box takes air coming from the tube that it is connected to. so if your looking straigh at your intake, it would be the tube on the right corner of the box. so if you take off the box and add a aftermarket intake the air would be coming from that tube, BUT if you take the box off you are kind of not getting cold air, because the heat coming from the engine would also be sucked into the intake. so thats why i am about to add a heat shield to block it off.

maybe lexmex could explain it better since i dont think i did.

Lexmex

You got it right, it is this tube that goes underneath part of the fusebox and takes air from behind the driver's side headlight.

That black tube connecting to it and going down is part of my lower air intake and this used to connect to an air resonator.

Lexmex

Yep. Originally this was a TunedRX300 idea to remove the air resonator in front of the front driver's side wheel well and extend a pipe down. My idea is roughly the same with some adaptations.

This the resonator that exist behind the driver's side bumper hole. (picture borrowed from TunedRX300 as my air resonator is in some junkyard in a galaxy far, far away in some Mexico City neighborhood whose name I can't pronounce to save my life). Removing this piece alone should give a little power and also a little more roar out of the engine.

Lexmex

Where most of the air enters the vehicle's engine is actually anyway through the driver's side bumper hole. The circle in blue equates to location of the black plastic piece picture above the photo of the air resonator. If you got leaves or stuff in your airbox, chances are it came in this way.

Lexmex

None of them fit the bill.

They are all too flat on the top and need a more oval shape in order to get the deep growl. When they are flat like that, they get a growl, but it is a little higher pitched than it is with a true oval.

OH, BTW I did snap some photos early this morning underneath the X5. Let's take a look at those.

Lexmex

First photo, those ugly pillow mufflers.

Very tall mufflers, square, obviously this is intended to seriously muffle the sound. Piping looks to be about 2.5 inch or so. Notice how the piping has a y, but it comes off the passenger side of the vehicle (we will get to that).

On an RX300, doing this double will muffle the sound even more.

Lexmex

Both of these pipes appear to go through one giant and very long resonator. The size alone was something to behold and I couldn't get an exact shot from the side. This thing REALLY must be putting serious power down to necessitate something that large and still need pillow mufflers at the back.

Now, back in early 2005, before I did a y-pipe I had nothing but that APC oval muffler on my RX300. I then ditched my resonator and replaced it with my APC muffler....hmmm....and then out the back just straight pipe, no muffler, just a simple exhaust tip. That was LESS loud than my current setup, which you can see on page 3 of my car domain page.

Now, supposing you added a small resonator, zombie did this and so did I, you still with a double muffler system would have a higher, not lower (and growl), exhaust sound.

Key again here is that you have to put enough power out of the engine to be able to get a deep enough growl.

Lexmex

Longer view.

jg 368 48

o ok i think im understand a little better now. so none of those work? can you just send me the exact one i should buy and ill just get it?! i feel like im going kind of crazy with! at the moment im just going with a muffler on the right side instead of going true dual like the x5. should i go dual or solo for the right side? just send me whatever u think is the absolute best one for me to get the sound im looking for, because this is really the first time i've been exposed to aftermarket mufflers and such and i have no idea what im doing!!

--thanks for all the help!!!

Lexmex

And we are almost done.

Now out of the front of the resonator one pipe shoots around to the driver's side and another one goes straight. Obviously these will shoot off to the two manifolds of the engine. But this is one hell of a restriction for the pipe going to the driver's side, and you have double cats.

Again, the X5 4.8 puts out a lot of power, something we don't have, and as such with the right combination of piping it can get its growl. I hate to say this with due respect to our vehicles, kind of like trying to get the roar of a lion out of a puss.cat.

Thus, you can start to approach the sound of the X5 with some modification to the muffler and intake, but an RX300 in the end, is still going to sound like an RX300.

Lexmex

Even if I told you which one, it still ain't going to do the job. The only thing I can say is, should be more oval in shape than flat on top, that is a must. Problem is that when I choose a muffler for my RX, I have to see it inside and out. I take Magnaflow's work, and sometimes they show the inner workings of it, that they are all direct flow, not like some Flowmasters that have different kind of design, though still excellent in nature.

I am going to admit this, but there is a good chance...if I can get a brake fluid change, machining my rotors, alignment and rotation done on Saturday morning, that I am ...eek... myself going to be putting on a new muffler. I ain't saying much right now as I don't know if I will have enough time, but if not, then will be doing it next Saturday. That muffler, will probably be kind of like the one I have been describing to you.

Reason, is that although I like my current, tiny Arvin muffler, I'd also like to deepen my growl a little bit.

jg 368 48

ok. thanks for all the help! can u post sometimes when it's done on friday or saturday? audio/video? love to see how it turns out! and if you post a new thread and u dont see me write something would you mind PMing me? i might forget!

--thanks

Lexmex

no audio/video (robs too much power). It is a big if for Saturday, as I need to go muffler shopping, too.