Who has had their engine pipes off a big six?

[genphreak]

mate i wish i had SS studs on the m50 manifolds
one bloody bastard nut got stuck and stripped a stud so i had to pull the manifold off. PS after 14 years my studs looked like shite, just goes to show they didn't make the m50s etc. like the m30 (idol of bmw engine engineering)

Nah... M30 was just made for so long they had heaps of time to iron out the little things like this the right way. I was amazed to see studs that came off the car so easily. But to be fair exhaust shops wreck them too. They don't bother using new nuts or using anti-seize or anything like that- whack it off and if it fits back, whack it back on again. I regret the day I went to see those guys at HiTech mufflers, a little while ago Kriss and I were changing the centre bearing and I was glad to have the opportunity to pull it clean off and refit it properly. However I found that it was impossible to refit properly. They had bent the rear pipes incorrectly in the first palce and mangled the supports to give it more clearance. No wonder I had taken it back twice already and it still banged something underneath the car. I felt like going back and hassling them real bad but I can't risk them touching my baby again... Nick

[rob101]

I felt like going back and hassling them real bad but I can't risk them touching my baby again... Nick

bummer mate, yeah when it comes to owning bmw's it pays to know a good specialist
everyone else is a hamfisted idiot when it comes to these cars, by default. still i'll say it once i'll say it again the majority of automotive mechanics in the cities in australia are the bottom of the food chain as far as mechanics and tradies go. there is a specialist euro mechanic down at nerang on the gold coast, been recommended to me by a government Occupational workplace health and safety dude who looks after audits of crane rego's and inspections. who also happens to be a BMW enthusiast and has owned the both the same models as I currently have which is always an interesting conversation. my friend used him as well, honest bloke and honest prices. which is why he is constantly busy he is very much in demand. always has work on. not some dick that has no work on and tries to rort people in order to make up for the fact he has no work most of the time.

[genphreak]

...not some dick that has no work on and tries to rort people in order to make up for the fact he has no work most of the time.

That is the best way I have every heard anyone describe it. 10/10 Rob, with honours...

The worst trouble I find is that most tradies think BMW=OK to overcharge and the customer knows nothing but is a painful bastard who will expect the job done right when in reality (as far as their brains will go) no BM-troubleeeuw is fixable due to a myriad of unforseen complications, so charging is a must do so they can afford to look at it again when the customer comes back saying nothing has changed (as nothing was really done) or the rest of the car is toast due to that small fix (which blew the some electronic modules out of their mountings!)- but only as it was done with almost no understanding in the first place.

Nick

[John 535is (Sydney)]

I drive past that place every day. I have rubbed the bottom off one of the mufflers as it scrapes over speed humps, and was thinking of dropping in to that shop. Any ideas of a good muffler shop in Sydney?

John 535is (probably a bit too low)

[genphreak]

I drive past that place every day. I have rubbed the bottom off one of the mufflers as it scrapes over speed humps, and was thinking of dropping in to that shop. Any ideas of a good muffler shop in Sydney? John 535is (probably a bit too low)

Hi John, yes I've seen your car at a CCA meet, its low enough I guess ;D What suspension does it have out of interest?

I'd say just your resonator is shot from the humps the rear muffler may never touched them. But they rust round the input pipes incase you need a new one of those too. btw, jic if you don't know the e34 has stainless exhaust up unto the resonator only.

As you would know the problem we face is in Australia is that the solution most offer is to replace with a non-oe part, or overcharge for the OE one. I thought custom would be good from a stainless specialist and if they had done it right perhaps it could have been. But it is hard to do as the OE setup is so good and is bent around under the car like a banana making the parts hard to fit and easy to knock chassis parts or the floorpan, which will drive you and your occupants completely mad.

The experience hasn't tainted me, but the cost is not small for tailored stainless setups either. The stock resonator is the only one to use (and lasts a long time to boot) unless you go for a majorly expensive SuperSprint setup (their importer is in SA, prolly about $1200AU), who have designed their own more basic looking (but stainless version) in the US to some acclaim. As they allow more noise than the factory did, this is perhaps no wonder. However e34 M5 has the same exhaust as stock (as does Alpina bi turbo I believe) so its not something to mess with, without good reason.

Therefore a good option for you perhaps is to buy a new ANSA (or such) resonator (OE part, $170 odd USD) and freight it in, or goto ASV (new parts dept) and also South Yarra Auto Parts in Alexandria to get a price on this beforehand. Let us know how much it costs btw. This is what Gayle has and she loves it, search for her thread, the pics are good and her descriptions of the outcome are as excellent as ever a contribution.

If time to do the rear muffler too, stock is great, about $230 US I believe. If keen for compelte stainless and more noise the only way is the complete SuperSprint setup or an Eisenmann muffler and stock resonator as above.

Remus also make them and many vendors claim they are all stainless systems too, but I don't believe it looking at their e34 product- perhaps you can check this? They are distributed in QLD, that's all I know about them, apart form the tips looking nice

[rob101]

Therefore a good option for you perhaps is to buy a new ANSA (or such) resonator (OE part, $170 odd USD) and freight it in, or goto ASV (new parts dept) and also South Yarra Auto Parts in Alexandria to get a price on this beforehand. Let us know how much it costs btw. This is what Gayle has and she loves it, search for her thread, the pics are good and her descriptions of the outcome are as excellent as ever a contribution.

If time to do the rear muffler too, stock is great, about $230 US I believe. If keen for compelte stainless and more noise the only way is the complete SuperSprint setup or an Eisenmann muffler and stock resonator as above.

Remus also make them and many vendors claim they are all stainless systems too, but I don't believe it looking at their e34 product- perhaps you can check this? They are distributed in QLD, that's all I know about them, apart form the tips looking nice

hmmmmm might look into remus myself,
my exhaust is leaking somewhere so i'll probably have to replace it soon anyway