E46 BMW Custom exhaust and headers Sound review in car!
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TechTranscript
00:00If you followed along on my Road to Time Attack series, you would know that I swapped the engine in my BMW track car and added headers at the same time.
00:08As a result, everything went together very quickly, and the exhaust system wasn't ideal.
00:12There were no catalytic converters, and I wasn't a huge fan of the sound.
00:15Now that I have a chance, I headed to a local shop to get something proper installed.
00:18I had some parts laying around, so I was hoping they could put something together for me.
00:22Here is a quick vlog and a review of the setup.
00:25Alright, we are over at True Center Automotive in Guelph.
00:28I'm just getting some exhaust work done, actually. These guys have hooked me up.
00:31I've got a track day on Sunday, and I want some catalytic converters in, because environment.
00:35I'm going to get those installed right now.
00:37What we're doing is we're going right from the downpipes into two high-flow Magnaflow catalytic converters.
00:44Then from there, there's an X-pipe. Don't know how that's going to sound. I'm excited to hear that.
00:48Then into the second resonator, and then into a Magnaflow muffler.
00:52I'm pretty excited to actually get this whole thing in.
00:55A guy had a BMW Z4, but it doesn't quite fit, so they had to do a lot of custom work.
01:00Let's go take a look and see what they're doing.
01:11Yep, things looking good. It's all going in. That's very exciting.
01:15I can't wait to see what it looks like in the end.
01:19Cool. I'm pumped to hear how it sounds.
01:22It was already super, super loud with the headers.
01:28The cats will decrease the sound a little bit.
01:31Honestly, it was a little bit ridiculous.
01:33It was excessively loud, and it bellowed.
01:36I think I had an exhaust leak right at the flange.
01:39This will hopefully maybe quiet it down a little bit and maybe smooth out the tone.
01:45The X-pipe should get rid of some of the rasp.
01:49Who knows? This could be a very, very good sound.
01:51Hopefully, it's still kind of loud because, honestly, it was very cool,
01:55especially on the track when it bounces off the walls and the trees.
01:59It just kind of bellowed, and it sounded really, really good inside the cabin.
02:02All right. Just picking my car up from True Center Automotive.
02:06Got the new exhaust installed.
02:09What we did was, from the headers back,
02:14it goes two high-flow Magnaflow catalytic converters.
02:20An X-pipe, the secondary resonator is in, and a Magnaflow muffler.
02:25It should sound good and loud.
02:33You know what? It's still a BMW, so it's actually not that loud in here.
02:36He started it for me outside.
02:38It was loud, really, really loud.
02:44You know what? It's better in here now, if I'm honest.
02:47Open the window for you.
02:55It sounds good.
03:07Be on your way, Audi. Get out of my way.
03:18Oh, that's good.
03:22The sound is rather heavy down low, but above 5,000 RPM,
03:25it opens up into a nice inline-six wheel.
03:28All right. So, for you that drive your car mostly on the road and a little bit on the track,
03:33this is not the exhaust for you.
03:35Actually, you know what? It might be. It depends on who you are.
03:39Oh, the downshifts.
03:42Listen to this. Down in a second.
03:48Oh.
03:50That's good.
03:53All right. So, we've got the windows up now.
03:55I've got my air conditioning turned on because we're not full race car yet.
03:58Let's see what it's like drone-wise.
04:03I can feel it vibrating.
04:07Oh, dear.
04:09Remember, I have the rear interior removed,
04:11so it'll be a little bit louder in here than it would for someone else.
04:17All right. You know what? I'm at 2,500 RPM in fourth gear.
04:24There is drone, but it's tolerable.
04:26I'm having a conversation with you right now.
04:28I'm not yelling. I'm not shouting.
04:30And if I let off a little bit, so we're at just 2,600 right now,
04:35there's not that much noise.
04:39My new downshift wakes up.
04:43Cool. I'm okay with that.
04:45So, True Center Automotive, they hooked me up.
04:47That was quick, and that was painless.
04:50And he took care of me there.
04:52He's like, buddy, I like race cars. You like race cars.
04:55We're going to make this work for you.
04:56So, I gave him literally a smattering of parts,
04:58and him and his guys put it together in what they thought was the best
05:02and most efficient and most high-flowing way possible.
05:05And it sounds good.
05:07Really? How can you complain about that?
05:09Good price, too.
05:13I got no beef.
05:14It's loud enough now, without a doubt, that I'm not going to be worried about
05:18not hearing what my engine is doing on the track.
05:21That's very, very important.
05:23Even with the windows open, it's loud enough that I can hear,
05:26at the higher rev range, that I can hear what the engine is doing.
05:30Right? That's one of the reasons why, recently, I was in the rain at Mosport,
05:35and I caught a slide that I had started,
05:38because I heard the engine go really, really loudly.
05:42It was actually just a little bit quieter than this is now,
05:46with that particular setup.
05:47That was like an emergency setup. Long story.
05:50Anyway, that allowed me to back off the throttle and go to a balanced throttle
05:55and just deal with a little bit of a fishtail as opposed to spinning the car.
05:59It just backfires.
06:09It's pretty good. I like it.
06:13Satisfied.
06:29Just a little bit of a hit.
06:31Edit that out. Edit that out.
06:42Take two.
06:52So, your best is a 128.8.
06:55That's terrible.
06:56Thomas, you are very good on camera.