We had a booking for a BMW 520D. The vehicles owner had requested for his vehicle to sound louder. An important note to keep in mind is, due to the combustion characteristics although diesel engines may be louder, the sound produced through the exhaust system is much quieter and not as straight forward to increase.
When we are requested for a diesel engine’s exhaust to sound louder, we like to start with the cheaper option first, which is to replace the exhaust box (s) with straight through pipe work. By doing this we are removing the sound absorbing materials that are used within the boxes and promote a straight through gas flow which not only enhances the performance but also provides a grunt to the exhaust.
The big difference with this BMW 520D compared to standard setup 520D exhausts, was that the customer had modified his vehicle before bringing it in to us. Not only did the owner want the exhaust to sound sportier but also to change the look at the rear. He wanted a dual rear exhaust conversion.
Let’s talk more about this type of conversion! Sometimes an exhaust has a ‘single exit’ exhaust as standard, which means the exhaust at the rear comes out at only one side of the vehicle and providing that there is enough room, car enthusiasts like to convert the exhaust so that the exhaust exits from both sides of the vehicle. We, at MIJ, have carried dual exit exhaust conversion numerous times providing it is safe to do so. It is very important to have this kind of conversion carried out by specialists as it can cause major problems.
A 530D exhaust has the battery box at the rear which makes it impossible to get this type of conversion done. However, the owner had this removed and placed elsewhere on the vehicle to achieve this! Not forgetting to mention that a rear valance is also needed on this BMW to have this type of modification.
We completed a stainless steel ‘flexi-pipe back’ straight through exhaust system on the vehicle with a dual exit exhaust conversion and finished off the look with twin tail pipes.
