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The Idiots Guide To Exhaust Extensions�..

I thought the only thing that didn�t say sport about the 740 Sport was that the exhaust exited below the car. I was inspired by some of the guys on the E38 board. Thanks to Mike D. and John Carey for posting all of the instructions.
John and Mike had both cut notches in the bottom of the bumper for their exhausts. I was concerned that something like that would weaken the structural integrity of the bumper. I wanted to leave the lowest portion on the panel intact so I elected to cut holes further up on the panel. This would also allow the pipes to come straight out of the muffler instead of taking a 45-degree bend down. I did not change the exhaust system. If there�s any performance improvement it�s probably imaginary on my part.
If you�re handy you can do the bodywork yourself. I am the poster boy for why Jews shouldn�t own power tools so I had a local body shop do the cutting. It cost me $200. The material is actually pretty soft and can be cut with a saw and filed smooth by hand.
Here are the dimensions:
OPENING WIDTH 7 7/8 in.
OPENING HEIGHT 3 3/8 in.
PIPE WIDTH 6 � in.
PIPE HEIGHT 3 in.
TOP OF OPENING 7 3/8 in. From the bottom of the seam between the bumper strip and the top of valence panel measured along the contour of the panel.
BOTTOM OF OPENING 1 � in. From the bottom of the valence panel measured along the contour of the panel.
INSIDE EDGE OF OPENING 17 3/8 in. From the centerline of the car. 34 � from the inside edge other opening.
Here are some things you should consider. When the exhaust system gets hot it expands outboard and down. You will need more clearance on the bottom and the outside of the pipes. The openings on my car are curved on the outside sort of like this ( ). Where the hot pipes contact the body they will melt a little of the fiberglass. Don�t be concerned. The melted pieces will just break off and you can sand down the edge.
You will be very limited in your choice of tips. The mufflers are placed very far back in the car. The muffler shop will have to cut the old pipe off leaving between � and one inch to weld the new tips on. The trick is to make sure they don�t stick out further than the edge of the bumper. Most tips are 9 inches long. You will be limited to 6 to 7 inches and even they will have to be cut down. It really is a job for a professional. I went to the muffler shop first, measured and selected the tips. Brought the tips down to the body shop to cut the panel and then brought everything back up to the muffler shop for the welding.
The tips cost $180 installed. Good Luck. If you have it done please send me pictures.
Eric

First coat of Zaino's
Still trying to figure out the camera

I love explaining this license plate. In 1996 I went out and leased a Mercedes Benz S 500 coupe. For about a year it was a great car. Then it started to act up. The problem was the car wouldn�t start after it had been driven and shut off. The next twelve months it was flat bedded into the shop six times for the same problem and each time they claimed the had finally fixed it. I got MB of North America involved and they said that the car was fixed and there was nothing they were willing to do. I explained to them that their $96,000 piece of shit was totally unreliable and I had even missed a flight because I stopped for gas on the way to the airport.
I begged them to trade me into another car. I wrote letter to the president (Mike Jackson who is now president of Autonation) all of which went unanswered. I finally told them if it happened again that I was going to sue them under the lemon law and if I won I was going to be as nice to them as they were to me. I sued. They spent so much on lawyers to defend themselves that even if they won it would have been cheaper for them to just give me another car.
I won. The day I got their check (it was a lot more than I expected) I cashed it went to local BMW dealer and paid cash for a new M Roadster. Hence the Plate THNX MBZ,
Thanks Mercedes Benz