ex-a8drifter

I purchased a stainless steel universal muffler for my exhaust for the sound. I realize its not the best performance upgrade, but frankly I can hardly tell the difference in the sound! Would I lose a lot of back pressure and torque if I were to bypass the muffler all together?

PaulW

one in the middle and one in the back, if you already cut the back off, why not just take it off and try it without it? If it works and sounds good, just put some pipes on it.

greenie

CELs on some cars are based on reading such things as back pressure so if a muffler is removed in that case, the light would glow. I have no idea what would happen in a D2.

ryoung

I've seen a few posts in the other forums from those who tried this. They said the muffler under the middle of the car does 80% of the noise reduction, so I think your suggestion to remove only the rear muffler sounds reasonable. Because some of my S8's exhaust piping is severely rusted, a new exhaust system is on my to-do list, and I was going to give this a try.

BTW: Why would Audi make most, but not all, of the S8's exhaust system out of stainless steel :-(

Sven_S8

I think you'll be fine. The cats take care of most - if not all - necessary backpressure, and also a huge chunk of the sound level.

I have tried cat replacements, but that was no succes. It became too loud, and the car didn't perform as well. With the cats back on the sound is perfect, and the performance is much better. I have to note the crossover was made at the same time tho. (and I had a coinciding MAF issue, just for additional clarity) :-/

But basically my (cat back) exhaust consists of open pipes, with straight through mufflers to filter out the nasty high tones.

ex-a8drifter

I think I'm gonna give it a go then.

Pearl 8

Sounds great, but not for the faint of heart. Replaced rear muffler with 2 1/2" stainless. them polished tips. Lost 37 lbs in the process!!!! This is a good bang for about $ 150.00 to remove stock muffler then weld on straight 2 1/2", my two cents, go for it!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't disgard muffler, future owners might not like exhaust tone, but you will, john

ryoung

I'll definitely give it a try. What does it sound like from the driver's seat with the windows closed at a steady 70 mph?

dimitristx

Deep, melodious sound; not harsh or high-pitch shrieking, just a deep gurgle.. Amazing!

Now the question is how do I get that!

Sven_S8

an'd handling isn't all that either. I've owned and driven many performance cars, but never found a Merc that felt very confidence inspiring at high speed.

But okay, you asked about the sound. Simple, get another exhaust!

For good looks, thrilling sound - as well as improved performance, I can recommend my stainless Quads. A cat-back, open system with dampers around the pipes (no chambers) to filter high notes. They are not intrusive whilst driving, but be prepared to get some more attention (all positive though, I've found). The character of the car does shift from luxury cruiser towards performance car. Not for the faint hearted perhaps, but I love it. You finally hear it's a powerful V8.