Now that many of you folks may have splurged on an aftermarket exhaust for your m3 sedan or coupes, just would love to hear your experiences with various products out there. I'm interested in some performance gains of course but without completely making the sound level obnoxious. A more aggressive exhaust tone would be good but nothing over-the-top loud. Thanks for your input. Nick
you really don't gain much in HP by just swapping out cans. You certainly will save weight. If you want to see some Hp gains...drop-in filters and HFC's will give you most bang for the buck...but the sound will increase... otherwise here are some reputable manufacturers: Eisenmann Akropov Gintani Supersprint G/L
First, if you're really looking for more power, it's time to widen your perspective Before you go faulting your factory exhaust for robbing power, I should point out that the stock system already enables your engine to produce a very respectable 414hp. There are lots of ways to optimize an M3. Exhaust system improvements are only part of the story. You can also port match your heads to match your exhaust manifold openings, since this can sometimes optimize the flow of exhaust gases if done properly. Cam swaps and upgrades can also improve power. So can chip upgrades and improvements to your intake. Last but not least, don't leave Dinan out of consideration for your upgrades. They've been among the premier sources for BMW power upgrades for decades. Korman also makes some pretty compelling products.
It annoys me to no end when people with 400+ horsepower are saying they want more power! Instead of worrying about more power, go to a track event. If you've never been to a track event, I'm willing to bet that someone in a stock E9x M3 and knows what they're doing will outrun anyone with a supercharged/turbocharged one that hasn't been to a track. Improve the driver and you won't need "more power". An exhaust won't get you anything noticeable, other than some noise. You want more power? Get a super/turbocharger. Otherwise, spend big $$ on engine internals. You already have a race-tuned engine; there isn't much you can do for it without spending some serious bux. If you're only in it for the sound, then I have to admit, the Eisenmann exhausts sound great on an E92 M3. A friend of mine has one (Eisenmann Race) and it sounds great, but is way too loud in my opinion. Perhaps the one-step-down version will better suit your needs...
Please stop hanging around the "ricer" crowd for performance tips These are the same fools trying to tell you that noise = power, and that an R-badge on your trunklid will add 15 hp all by itself. Hey, maybe they will even talk you into gutting your interior and putting on a "big mouth" bodykit to shave a whole 0.1 second off your quarter-mile time! Seriously, best tip of all -- do what az3579 suggested and invest in YOUR driving skills. Not necessarily to race it, but to better be able to master the capabilities of this car. Are you even sure of what 414 hp can really do? It's not just numbers on the spec sheet. This is a factory engineered race engine adapted for street use, and no doubt tested and developed by racing professionals. If you're asking for more hp on top of 414, just for the sake of adding power, you truly don't understand an e9x M3. Most importantly, please don't street race. Learn what this car can do on a closed track -- even if you never intend to race it.
you mean all the stickers DON'T add Hp???....I was taken!!!...LOL... all kidding aside HPDE's are the best place to learn yourself & cars abilities....as it has been said before... take the $2-$3k an exhaust system will cost you and go to Skip Barber....PDA...Hooked on Driving or anyone of the other accredited driving schools and you will enjoy the car even more.... as far as sound goes though...my E39 sounded better than my E92...stock for stock...LOL Regards S
+1 on that I love my E32 also. And to further rub it in on you guys with NEWER machinery, I love BOTH of my dipsticks, I love my COPPER wiring in my electrical system, I love my LACK OF BATTERY REGISTRATION, and I love my FULL SIZED NONRUNFLAT SPARE TIRE and JACK.
you know, I love my 414hp too. The post was in regards to exhaust systems. I'd like a little more sound, but nothing crazy. I haven't researched HP gains but I am aware they are minimal since the engine is fairly tapped out the way it is. If I was really interested in forced induction, chips, cam's, dinan, or any other irrelevant opinion about driving schools, I would have posted a thread relating to that topic. How about this, when I want to attend a track day, I'll do so. If and when I want to attend a driving school, I'll do so. If I want to hear needless babble about opinions about almost anything other than what I want to originally posted, I'll post on this website again. Lord, give me a break and get over yourselves. If I wanted a ton more HP/better power to weight ratio, I would have just bought a different car. Thanks for the advice on topics I didn't care to hear about. ntr
Let me apologize for 'The Usual Suspects' peanut gallery. Clearly, they misunderstood your first post. We're working on the remedial reading program here, but they keep getting distracted by shiny objects. I see what you're asking and I understand your annoyance. The problem is, you rambled and used too many multisyllable words when you tried to say: "I would like my car to sound better. I know I will not get more power if I do this. Do you know which systems might work?" See? Only three two-syllable words. <Jungle bird sounds>Now, let's sit back and see what happens as they cautiously come down from the trees ... </Jungle bird sounds>
Are you ready to Rumble Has the dust settled yet? SO.... NTR, you want a little rumble? Here's some food for thought. Several years back, my old "FE02"tii relieved itself of it's rear exhaust. Being short on cash at the time I opted for the local muffler shop that does custom work. I explained that I wanted a little more aggressive sound. He recommended and installed a stainless steel MagnaFlow muffler and stainless tail pipe, plus chrome tip. Cost less than $200. Sound level in car wasn't significantly louder. (there's so much other noise in an 02 that it really doesn't matter) My just 30 niece commented, "It's not obnoxious, but the little car has attitude." About a year later my old Chevy PU needed and got the same treatment. Same results. No notable loss in performance. Just a little more rumble without the big hole in my pocket that the boutique systems can make. Come to think about it, I used a 3 1/2" MagnaFlow on my 1502 widebody. There's my 02 cents worth.
Euro version of 02. Originally a low compression 1600 econobox. Can you say lightweight? Widebody refers to the 3" fender flairs & 9 1/2" slicks.
If you are looking for a better sound and want to stay well within the limits of a civilized exhaust i HIGHLY recommend the Dinan exhaust. It is about a +6 hp bump and very close to stock in sound with very little drone at 3k rpm which is nice for those long highway drives. Last but not least it comes with the best after market parts warranty and will not upset your local BMW dealer when you take it in for service in fact most BMW dealerships have Dinan reps in them. Cheers! -Mike
Would I be considered a fool? I am not a "modder", as evidenced by the stock E36 M3 my daughter and I drive today. I take to heart all the comments made by SBraseco, bcweir, az3579, CRKrieger, Superdave2002 and golgothar in this thread and other "mod's" threads.. To paraphrase: the best performance modification you can make is the the one behind the wheel. And I intend to take full advantage of the CCA and BMW Performance School classes to do just that. With that said, BMW offers a performance exhaust for the E90 M3, which I can have installed at the VPC before I take delivery at the Performance Center in March. I will not modify my new M3 once I have it. So I ask y'all: Would you pay $2500 for the BMW Performance Exhaust pre-installed on a new M3? p.s. bcweir: I <3 my dipstick too.
How much of a performance increase is it? As long as BMW is prepared to warranty it, sure. With regard to the dipstick, I knew the E36 had one, but I didn't know the E9x M3 did too. What fascinates me the most about the E9x M3 is this: Not only is it remarkable that it makes more than 100 hp per liter of displacement (414 hp out of 4.0 liters!!), but that engine doesn't use throttle bodies! Instead, if I understand this right, it adjusts the valve timing. Perhaps someone can help me with the more technical explanation, but the gist of it is that it has no throttle bodies! That just boggles my mind. The other remarkable thing is that it makes so much horsepower with no turbocharging or supercharging! Enjoy it while you can: I hear the next M3 not only returns to six cylinder power, but it's going to have twin turbos. To me, that's just more mechanical complexity. I hope they get the fuel pump issue sorted out.
$2500 For Sport Exhaust!!!!!!!! When you read my post I'm sure you deduced that I'm a tight .........wad. The only way I would pay $2500 for a sport exhaust system is if it had a turbocharger attached to the front of it. Throw in about half the peripherals to make it all work correctly, then I might take a hammer to my piggy. Let's use racer mentality......if I did the math right, that's ten barrels of blue fuel...or six sets of GOOD used 13x9 slicks............or, that would freshen up my old m10 at least twice. But then, my M3 is 20+ years old. What do I know?
