So after reading multiple posts and weighing the pro's and con's, I decided to take out the center resonator. My local shop did the work and welded in the new 2" piping. They lined up the mufflers exactly where they sat originally on their hangers. There is adifference in sound. There is a very slight drone between 1200 rpm and 3000 rpm cruising at 30-40 miles an hour on and off the gas slightly. You can barely hear it but it's there. For all you guy's worrying about the bee's nest effect -- DONT! At WOT there is again a slight difference. It sounds a bit beefier inside te cabin. At idle, you can't hear a thing. It is not an abnoxiuos MOD at all. I did notice that the car runs a bit cooler (oil) and the MPG is a difference of 1-2 with freeway driving. At 60mph dropping in 3rd (tip) and punching it, you can feel the engine pull a little harder.Its breathing better so it makes sense. I kept the resonator in case I wanted to put it back on, but I think that it is a good step in letting your engine breath. Next would be mufflers and tips.I thought about the mufflers butI cant find anything that looks as nice as the OEM's in the way they tuck underneath the car...Any Ideas guys? So, I am shopping for a nice set of double walled 3" tips. For $60 bucks, it was fun to experiment a little bit.

 

The same was done to our 2000 A6 2.8 Quattro. The center muffler was removed by the garage that we bought it from. It had a hole in it and cost R5000 ($720) from the agents. They also fitted two smaller pipes which is called "boosters" here in South Africa. I was upset at first because the car now had a definite beat to it. When driving at 120km/h (75mph) there is an irretating drone. So now we just cruise at 140km/h (88mph) on the open road where the drone is much less noticeable. I am now actually enjoying the sound when my foot goes flat! Doesn't seem to affect performance or economy, so I'll live with it.