Best E46 M3 Full Exhaust setup for the money?

[tnord]

I’m not suggesting that you can’t make it sound good, though I’m not sure I’ve heard any setup that sounds as good as a swapped car.

I have OE headers, CPI rasp terminator, resonated SS single/x-pipe sect2, and SS sport that I think sounds pretty good.

I think the key to our car is to make sure there are the same number of resonators/mufflers on each pipe. And the more resonators the better.

But you can seemingly throw anything you want on a swapped car and it sounds great.

[DJAM3]

why does every car with an S54 swap sound great, but on our cars that came with it stock it's extremely difficult to make it bearable?

Most swapped cars run a single exhaust.

[tnord]

from the few examples I’ve seen, they may be single exit, but I think they’re still dual pipes back to the muffler? the exception being the bimmerworld setup.

I’m a little curious what the total sizing is between their setup and ours? If we have dual 2.5” and they have dual 2” or something.

edit; based on my searching. it seems like aftermarket exhausts for e36 chassis run 54mm (2.1”) to 2.25”. I think most of our options are 2.5. Not saying that is the cause of the sound issues, it’s just a difference between them.

[DJAM3]

I would think that a different section 2 and a straight through single exit muffler also plays a role.

Oh and that S54 mid engine E92 sounds fantastic

[Slideways]

from the few examples I’ve seen, they may be single exit, but I think they’re still dual pipes back to the muffler? the exception being the bimmerworld setup.

I’m a little curious what the total sizing is between their setup and ours? If we have dual 2.5” and they have dual 2” or something?

I imagine that the E36 and E46 S54 powered cars lapping the Nurburgring are running some combo of euro header, dual resonated (or non-resonated - more rasp) section 1, unresonated section 2 (less weight than resonated) and an aftermarket muffler. The main difference would be the single exit versus dual exit. The base sound is identical, but the single exit muffler is canceling out some of the harshness that the E46 has, making the E36 a bit more throaty.

The euro exhaust with a SS resonated x-pipe (single pipe helps cancel some rasp) and sport muffler will make the E46 sound more like a Euro E36:

[SQ13]

why does every car with an S54 swap sound great, but on our cars that came with it stock it's extremely difficult to make it bearable?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxSOR6KrM7Y&t=210s

My car with single exit exhaust

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aQp9WQXwrT0

Sounded similar to this, with the main difference being the volume.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZCLfkSoXED8

Unlike most people I actually like the rasp, so my opinions aren’t valid lol.

[Stilt]

while I would guess that there might not be a single part in that motor that's unmodified from a stock S54, I still think it supports my premise?

Stroked, likely vanos delete, rear engine completely diff exhaust, but one can dream.

https://youtu.be/S9h8US9KSiA?si=GuHUlcx7pTxqOlC6

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tnord]

I imagine that the E36 and E46 S54 powered cars lapping the Nurburgring are running some combo of euro header, dual resonated (or non-resonated - more rasp) section 1, unresonated section 2 (less weight than resonated) and an aftermarket muffler. The main difference would be the single exit versus dual exit. The base sound is identical, but the single exit muffler is canceling out some of the harshness that the E46 has, making the E36 a bit more throaty.


The euro exhaust with a SS resonated x-pipe (single pipe helps cancel some rasp) and sport muffler will make the E46 sound more like a Euro E36:

I can't say I've seen any videos of S54 swapped cars where they sound raspy. Is it really down to the single exit exhaust? I wouldn't have thought that would make such a difference, but I'm certainly not an expert. I've always thought that the BW race exhaust sounded good, so maybe that really is it. I could never handle that volume on a street car though.

My car sounds pretty similar to the second video, or at least I think it does since I've never heard it from the outside. Seems like that's a SS sport exhaust rather than a race? That sounds pretty good to me and I don't really hear much of what I would consider rasp.

[Hans_VanLoch]

I wasted money on 2 exhaust sets until I finally just dropped on SS to the rear. Believe me, it IS the cheapest if you want your car to actually sound good.

[Slideways]

I can't say I've seen any videos of S54 swapped cars where they sound raspy. Is it really down to the single exit exhaust? I wouldn't have thought that would make such a difference, but I'm certainly not an expert. I've always thought that the BW race exhaust sounded good, so maybe that really is it. I could never handle that volume on a street car though.

My car sounds pretty similar to the second video, or at least I think it does since I've never heard it from the outside. Seems like that's a SS sport exhaust rather than a race? That sounds pretty good to me and I don't really hear much of what I would consider rasp.

Yes, that is the SS Sport. In Europe and the UK, they call the Sport the "Race" or "Non-lightweight Race" and the Race the "Lightweight Race".

It also helps to get a sound clip when the engine and exhaust are fully warmed up. This is how raspy that exhaust setup can sound during cold start:

[Bent_Remy]

Just listen to this:
https://youtu.be/AD8XcQ1znrw?si=qMZ-ugxYoK80nDEW

That 💩 sounds absolutely insane! Just move the engine to the back seat of an E92….