new666uk

hmm - not sure. I would try something like penetrating oil or similar to allow it to free up. Carefully clean up whatever you spray in. If it is bent now you could probably just remove it. My car just went through it's MoT with this in place for the 3rd time so doesn't affect emissions or economy in my case.

Look underneath the tail pipes and around the top there should be a flexible hose connected to the back box. This is the vacuum line that actuates the butterfly valve on the second pipe. if you look down the pipes you should see one is closed with the valve. Sometimes these can seize closed so try and move it manually to check it's free. Get a golf tee, pull the pipe free from the back box (gently - it's been there for years) and plug the flexible pipe with the tee. Tuck the hose somewhere out of harms way and then enjoy a more bass sound from the exhaust, especially around the 2k rpm mark.

True, the engines are pretty strong. A common issue is that for some reason certain ones will consume oil like Oliver Reid consumed alcohol. I burn off about 1lt every 300 - 350 miles which is way outside the quoted spec of 1lt per 1000 miles but there is no power loss or exhaust issues. I have a 330ci M-Sport manual and was getting 29 - 31mpg (manually calculated as the OBC records a little more). I changed jobs and my commute was mainly dual carriage way and fast A roads. Now on a more twist and turn (read slip and slide) commute, I've dropped down to 28 - 29. I don't hang around but do drive as far as I can see so don't race up to a red light or slow traffic (I had some advanced tuition a while back). As for tips, I used the golf tee trick to permenantly open both exhaus pipes as I prefer the more bass roar around 2 - 3000rpm. Enjoy it!

I was getting a shade over 30mpg until around Christmas and I'm now getting around 27. This is a mix of A road and dual carriage ways and I measure it be calculating the fuel taken to brim the tank against the mileage that covered. Car is a 2004 330ci and replaces my temporary Lexus is200. Funnily enough getting the same mileage despite having 50% larger capacity, 50% more power and 100% more enjoyment. cheers new666uk