Best E46 M3 Full Exhaust setup for the money?

[eXpensiveGears]

Anyone have/had this setup: Euro Headers, Borla Mids and RE Diablo Exhaust?

I remember watching a youtube video of it on the old forums, sounded really nice and throaty with a deep grumble.

[hemi6]

Best bang for buck is euro headers and section 1, stock section 2 and muffler.

Yep, the best and it fits with no problems.

[old///MFanatic]

Wait, for the money. just add an AR20 next to the stock resonator. A muffler shop can do this pretty quickly. Think it was under an hour and that included letting it cool down and getting it up and down off lift.

As for sound that's subjective. Everyone has their own opinion.

[R1pilot]

I have euro headers and cats coupled to a SuperSprint Performance (Gen 2) cat-back. Sounds great and no weird smells. Would do it again.

[Redline]

Stock headers
Status Gruppe rasp eliminator
stock H pipe
OG status gruppe muffler with burnt titanium csl tips

https://youtu.be/UNf85V3U88o

[poth2034]

there is nothing wrong with running Megan headers with stock section 1 and Megan muffler. you can add magnaflow cats in your stock section 1 and have them weld new bungs for the o2 sensors.

[WOLFN8TR]

Here is my SGT catted setup for comparison.

SGT Ceramic Coated Headers
SGT Sect 1 with 200 Cell Cats
OE Sect 2
SCZA Muffler
TTFS SMG and Engine Tune

[LukesM]

Right - one AR25 (or was it AR20?) and one stock resonator in the otherwise stock S1. To be fair, the El Diablo I had was very old - came on the car when I purchased it in 2013, and I'm sure it had been there for quite some time already. It's been through some revisions since (larger pipes) and according to a call I had with Rogue, they're quieter when new vs. a decade old.

It's a great muffler, but make sure you want race volume before buying a race muffler (SS Race, El Diablo, etc).

What did you end up settling on?

[ethan]

You had the AR25 welded in as well?

I have SGT headers and el Diablo sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. Dont want it to be crazy loud though. Also have Borla on the car which I’m assuming would be more tame.

Right - one AR25 (or was it AR20?) and one stock resonator in the otherwise stock S1. To be fair, the El Diablo I had was very old - came on the car when I purchased it in 2013, and I'm sure it had been there for quite some time already. It's been through some revisions since (larger pipes) and according to a call I had with Rogue, they're quieter when new vs. a decade old.

It's a great muffler, but make sure you want race volume before buying a race muffler (SS Race, El Diablo, etc).

[LukesM]

Had exactly this setup sub Megan for unknown, uncoated eBay headers. It's antisocially loud and has significant drone somewhere in the 3000s. If you have an airbox, this setup ruins it. If you have track noise limits, you'll be nervous. You'll be a Harley rider in that South Park episode. Having said that... it sounds better than any other exhaust I've heard on the car. Downshifts are absolutely savage.

You had the AR25 welded in as well?

I have SGT headers and el Diablo sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. Dont want it to be crazy loud though. Also have Borla on the car which I’m assuming would be more tame.

[ethan]

I’ve got the Megan Race Headers (had them ceramic coated), added an AR25 in my section 1 (to cut down the earth-shattering rasp I had), stock section 2 and RE El Diablo section 3...I have yet to hear a better exhaust set-up on the E46

Had exactly this setup sub Megan for unknown, uncoated eBay headers. It's antisocially loud and has significant drone somewhere in the 3000s. If you have an airbox, this setup ruins it. If you have track noise limits, you'll be nervous. You'll be a Harley rider in that South Park episode. Having said that... it sounds better than any other exhaust I've heard on the car. Downshifts are absolutely savage.

[Brandon]

I’ve got the Megan Race Headers (had them ceramic coated), added an AR25 in my section 1 (to cut down the earth-shattering rasp I had), stock section 2 and RE El Diablo section 3...I have yet to hear a better exhaust set-up on the E46

Got a sound clip?

That El Diablo sounds like a must have portion of the set up. This one sounds really good to me.

[M3mike]

I’ve got the Megan Race Headers (had them ceramic coated), added an AR25 in my section 1 (to cut down the earth-shattering rasp I had), stock section 2 and RE El Diablo section 3...I have yet to hear a better exhaust set-up on the E46

THIS WAS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! thank you!

[umichchris]

I’ve got the Megan Race Headers (had them ceramic coated), added an AR25 in my section 1 (to cut down the earth-shattering rasp I had), stock section 2 and RE El Diablo section 3...I have yet to hear a better exhaust set-up on the E46

[tvan]

Actually maybe the less vocal majority. If you just want to change the sound of the exhaust, yours is a pretty straightforward solution. Personally, I don't care about the sound and want to get the restriction out of the headers while still having high quality parts with good fitment. So in my case it's the opposite: swap the headers and S1 and leave the muffler and S2 alone.

Totally makes sense if getting more power is your motive. I see most exhaust mods on these cars as being an incredible amount of money spent on very little gain, especially if you aren't going to put it to use on the track.

I'm definitely not opposed to swapping any of the OE euro parts though. If you can find them in good shape there's really no downside to those.