New Breathless Exhaust Install (new template)

[cubefx]

Did you removed heatshield bolts (3)? It should give you enough space. Also you do not need special "star" wrench. Regular ratchet wrench will do. Try it with various elbow variations. I installed and removed exhaust on my smart 4 times. Last time it took me only 20 minutes.

[Brabus]

lol, thanks for the 20 minutes comment. That makes me feel special. haha

No, I didn't remove the heatshield. I read that it wasn't necessary and that it was a pain to put back together, but I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I did look for the other two screws on the heat shield yet I couldn't figure out where the other two bolts are for the heat shield. I'll give it another go tomorrow. If I can remove the heat shield then it's cake. I was trying to avoid that since someone recommended it, so I was spending a lot of time going to the store to find some new fancy tool to get in that narrow space.

Originally Posted by cubefx

Did you removed heatshield bolts (3)? It should give you enough space. Also you do not need special "star" wrench. Regular ratchet wrench will do. Try it with various elbow variations. I installed and removed exhaust on my smart 4 times. Last time it took me only 20 minutes.

[cubefx]

You can get to the screws from the top (engine). You will not be able to remove the heatshield completely, but it will give you couple more inches of clearance.

[mendo]

I use a 10mm box end wrench. just takes a minute to get each one, one inch at a time, be patient. I dont' take the heat shield off, or even the back panel anymore.

[cubefx]

Originally Posted by mendo

I use a 10mm box end wrench. just takes a minute to get each one, one inch at a time, be patient. I dont' take the heat shield off, or even the back panel anymore.

Agree, with the right tool it is fairly easy. Only the reason to loosen up the heatshield is that you will have little bit more clearance so you can move the wrench more then 10 degree at a time.

[Brabus]

Originally Posted by cubefx

You can get to the screws from the top (engine). You will not be able to remove the heatshield completely, but it will give you couple more inches of clearance.

Ah, okay. I'll try that today. Slapping myself for not trying that yesterday.

[Brabus]

I got the breathless exhaust put on the Smart. Removing the heat shield screws through the engine was key for the tools that I had available. Taking the shield off and putting the shield back on was difficult due to the lack of space to move your hands, but at least it made everything possible.

I'm very disappointed though with this exhaust. I bought tbone28's Brabus rear skirt which the exhaust is not only off center but it's very low. I also own a Brabus and was thinking it would look pretty much the same. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow and post what it looks like.

It's also much louder than I had anticipated. As loud as an old exhaust system with holes all in it. I suspect the version I have is the Sport (it's the newer 3rd version).

Does anybody know what they do to the touring exhaust to make it 25% quieter than the Sport?

I don't know much about exhausts. I know there are products like resonated tips, but I don't know whether they'd work in this system. I was looking at Stebro exhausts for my VW and I recall seeing these things. If I decide to keep the exhaust then I'll have to get a muffler shop bend the tail pipe to be in the same position as my Brabus and if anybody knows of some kind of insert I could have them put in that would help on the noise factor then I'd really appreciate the help. I can fix the position of the tips, but muffling the sound is what I'm really concerned about. It's just way too loud. The youtube clip that breathless exhaust is much quieter than what I have on my Smart.

http://www.stebro.net/html/Default.aspx?PageMenuID=1224

[cubefx]

Breathless, Doug Thorley, Genius, have they tips fairly low, so they can be used with the stock valnce with a minimum cutting. Brabus exhaust have tips the much higher and looks nice with Brabus rear skirt.

[geosynch]

Originally Posted by Brabus

Does anybody know what they do to the touring exhaust to make it 25% quieter than the Sport?

Ouch. Sorry it is too loud and doesn't fit your valence quite right.

This exhaust really doesn't have a "muffler" it has a resonator. The resonator is manufactured by Magna Flow. Your Brabus came with a true muffler. The muffler does have a higher back pressure (and hence somewhat better performance) but it is also quieter than a resonator.

The difference between the sport and the touring model is which resonator is installed. If you google Magna Flow, you will see they sell a zillion different types of exhaust products. Breathless purchases two off-the-shelf resonators from Magna Flow and uses one for the sport and the other for the touring. Magna Flow makes claims of how much quieter one is from the other, but as far as I have been able to determine, the claims is based on an Ouija board and not any kind of sound pressure meter.

The Breathless is a good looking exhaust, but it is louder than most people have liked. A few weeks ago I would have bought your Brabus exhaust off you, but I have since gone down the Borla route. Still don't have the Borla, though.... It also could be too loud for my taste (but I hope not).

Good luck,

geosynch

[Brabus]

I haven't touched my Brabus. This is off a Passion Smart.

It's difficult to see in the picture, but it's about half an inch off center. And of course it's very low due to it being designed for the stock valence. I could have the pipe adjusted (bent and rewelded) to be in the center, however it's the loudness that bothers me most. I'm doing some major custom work on a VW's exhaust system (rerouting a resonator the exhaust to the side so that I can lower the floor of the vehicle...yeh, don't ask...lol). So I've researched exhausts yet I have no clue what they sound like other than video clips on youtube which I have now learned are not very good at knowing how loud they really are in real life. And I don't know anyone who has an exhaust system on their vehicle other than stock as my circle of friends scratch their heads when I'm doing stuff like this...like why would you do that sort of thing. I didn't know this exhaust had a Magnaflow exhaust before it arrived. And even then I didn't think Magnaflow exhausts were that loud. Now I know Magnaflow is basically a resonator.

Yeh, I wish they would have decibal figures on their website, but I guess it's my fault for not asking people on this forum about how loud it is...I sorta took the youtube video at face value. Even at 25% quieter, it'd still be extremely loud.

Before I invest into looking for small resonators to have welded to the pipe...Does anybody know of an exhaust that is significantly quieter with center tips other than the 4 figure Brabus exhaust?

This is just going to attract unwanted attention from Stepford police. The fact that I drive late at night means I'll end up getting the special treatment.