what about that piece from Hartge?
what is the resonator for?
THNX

Not sure what Hartge put together, but the resonator is like a muffler that sits in the middle of the car right after the cats and before the mufflers at the back. I can't really elaborate on their exact function, all I know it that it robs the great sound from your big X engine. Remove it, add an Xpipe and you'lll love the sound.. and when you press on the gas, you'll smile every time! Atleast I do, I have some remus muffler out the back, so its a bit throatier than if I had stock. I'm sure Hartge has a great system whatever it is, can you post an image or link?

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...uce-forum.html

Its in the 5th post... looks more plug n play... but more money...

K Check out the diagram, it should help explain a few things... You can get more details from this wesbsite.. (RealOEM.com Diagram Selection)

I personally love the X-pipe on my car, the resonator (center silencer) really does a good job at reducing the X5's deep raspy tone, which I personally like to hear. So you remove the resonator and add an X-pipe, you'll get a nice aggressive sound and some better flow. (Im sure others here can elaborate on how, I saw a good post by Weasel on a different thread explaining the X-pipe thing in more detail, check out post # 8 here http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-question.html)

Hope my info helps, Hartge makes great product, they're a good "brand" so if they're putting their name on and x-pipe system, I'm sure its a put together well.

thanks for all the info. Today I had a friend weld up an X-pipe on mine and it sounds nice. Not too loud or raspy , just right. Nice little rumble on start up and still refined. Do drone in the cabin at all.

Glad I could help, glad you like it!

hey rpx5 you're from boston? what shop would you recommend for wielding? ive been wanting to but my dad cant do it for me. btw you talked about getting straight pipes..arent those illegal?

No, unless you remove the cat converters which I would never recommend. All that you will remove is the center silencer (resonator) which doesn't affect emissions, just dulls the sound. My original question for this thread was in regards to replacing the center silencer with strait pipes or an x-pipe. After reading up on the subject here on xoupost, i learned a lot of do's don'ts through other members postings and chose to go with an x-pipe.

For a good exhaust specialist in the Boston area, check out Lou's Custom Exhaust (Lou's Custom Exhaust & Mufflers). They have a bunch of locations but they are all owned and operated separately. I can only recommend the one I went to in Peabody, since I only know thier quality of work through my own experience. The guys did a great job and the price was very fair. So venture up rt. 1 north to Lou's Custom Exhaust in Peabody. I paid $140 for the custom X-pipe they fabricated and installed special for my car, check out the pictures.

Lou's Custom Exhaust Peabody
258A Newbury Street (Rte 1 South)
Peabody, MA 01960
1-978-536-9300
Hours: M-F 8-5 Sat. 8-1