C280 Exhaust Diagrams

[mayagman]

Hey, I dont know much about exhausts, but I would like to know what to ask for at the local shop I plan on going to to have mine done.
I drew these from memory, so please fill me in if I forgot any critical stuff.
On the left is what it looks like now, on the right is what I *think* will be good. From the top down, all I want is one cat per pipe, merging into a nice muffler. Simple. Right now it looks like a nuclear power plant under there. Is this possible? What does a typical setup include to get a freer flow, and a deeper/louder sound? I'm thinking 2 magnaflow cats and a Remus/Eisenmann/magnaflow muff.

http://zyme.jeph.net/exhaust.JPG

[benzaddict]

You forgot to include the resonator in your drawings. If you are looking for more sound and better flow, remove the resonator and replace it with straight pipe. MB cats have great flow stock and from your list of upgrades, you wouldn't benefit much from high flow cats. You have to realize there is a science to exhaust harmonics/pulsations/balance and MB spends a lot of time getting it right the first time. Just replacing them with generic components can often do more harm than good. Unless you have a problem with your stock cats I would not replace them. You can remove your resonator for cheap and can reinstall it for cheap if need-be, or if you have a little money to spend, buy a pre-made system from Renntech, Kleeman, etc...

[mayagman]

So youre suggesting -as the name sais- sort of a 'cat back' system.. I am just going by what the other users on this board have said, and that is that the stock cats are extremely restrictive, and the system could benefit from a reduction in backpressure. From what I have heard... either from speedybenz or cklasse... one of the 'experienced' people here, I forget... was that the exhaust piping up to the cats was designed to create enough backpressure for the engine. But if the cats are free enough, I suppose I won't mess with a good thing. Does anyone else have an opinion to offer? Feel free to butcher/recreate my diagrams to your liking.
Anything that will bring a nice, powerful sound, while avoiding that high frequency ressonance that we hear in cheapie riceboy exhausts. And obviously without saying a decrease in restriction.

[jnenad16]

here is what I have on my 95 C280.
Dynatech Powercats
moroso spiral flow muffler in place of the resonator
Cheap ebay muffler in the rear(I got it cuz it was $25 and I liked the tips, plus it works good.)

this setup is quite resonant inside the car, so if the interior noise is annoying to you, I would recommend that you keep the stock resonator, but replace cats and rear muffler. keeping the resontator will also help you keep most of your low-end torque, cuz when I installed my new exhaust, I lost a lot of my low-end torque.

nenad