So I finally got to drive Ryan's R56 and he drove mine and here's my opinion on the two. His system, a complete, custom made 3" turbo back sounds GREAT!, very throaty and pulls harder the higher the rpms go. IMO its not THAT obnoxious, but is louder than mine, no doubt about it. His system is really for those guys who are looking to get BIG gains down the road and are willing to deal with the added sound, especially on the freeway but who cares about that, just turn up your favorite CD and "forgetaboutit" My system on the other hand is for those looking to add some sound and performance and really plan on keeping the stock turbo/injectors/FMIC. After the stock DP/cat/flex my system is 2.5" and goes into a polished SS Magnaflow (similar muffler that Ryan has) As Ryan said to me on Saturday, "its mellow" and for some, like me, that's what I was looking for and I like I told him, I could've probably stood for a bit more sound, maybe somewhere between my system and his. Just to be even more clear on this though, his car has an aftermarket cat near his custom 3" DP, NO back cat/resonater whereas mine has the stock DP/cat/flex and NO back cat/resonater. His piping is also 3" compared to my 2.5", both are mandrel bend and use a quality Magnaflow muffler. In closing I will say that some might find my system too loud and if that's the case, keep and/or add a resonater to the mix then. Hope this helps those on the fence about exhaust system for the R56.

BTW when I said "my system" I'm talking about what I thought would be best for my car, I didn't make my own system like Ryan did, I just knew what I wanted and told the guy what to do

 

Hi Roger! I'm glad we got a chance to swap key pucks and drive each others R56's. Your car looks really classy with the new wheels, and yup your exhaust is nice-n-mellow, not obtrusive but still more noticable versus stock. The DIY air filter is pretty cool, you certainly hear the turbo spooling and the diverter valve now, but it's not so loud as to be called ricey.

I thought it was funny when you went to get out of my car, you said "Oh wow the ground is right there!" in reference to the lowering springs. They're definitely the ticket with no real downsides. I still plan on getting coilovers once I've found a set that I like, and will lower the car another 1/2" for maximum slam

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Can I have the springs out of your car then

 

Sure! As soon as I find good coilovers [and swing the budget], you can consider yourself having dibs on the springs!