2002 Steel Grey 6spd coupe Daily/Restoration project

[DJAM3]

Nice find on the Fabspeed headers and sec 1. I've been running those headers since the black friday sale a long time ago. Now you have me thinking about swapping my euro sec 1 just to go to 2.5" . Great journal BTW

[loudspeaker69]

Carbon Black is such a nice color in the sun, looks like multiple different colors based on the angle you look it from. Spacers do make a great difference, recently I installed 20mm front and 15mm rear and they completely changed the stance of the car.

Agreed!

Carbon Black almost looks black in the shade and dark blue in the sun.

That’s the midnight blue effect !

After a polish, it can even appear purple, which looks even more amazing !

[loudspeaker69]

1. The x pipes' (SS/SGT/RE) shape/routing will kill rasp. It also changes the sound, mostly in a good way. Used to be referred to as a "tuner" sound. One of the greatest WOT videos for this car is long tube headers (SS, in this case), stock sect 1 (small diameter retains loud pitch), SS X pipe (can't remember res or not) then SS race exhaust. Absolutely brutal. Too much for daily though. The H pipe in stock sect 2 seems to create the rasp or at least make it stronger.

2. The way sect 2 mates up with sect 1 means that you can run any brand/size you want. Def don't need 2.5" sect 2 in order to use 2.5" sect 1. The biggest gains in going from 2" diameter to 2.5" happens at the headers, then sect 1, then 2, then 3. Much more important to get a 2.5" sect 1 than sect 2.

That’s a wealth of info!

[PipeUy]

Carbon Black is such a nice color in the sun, looks like multiple different colors based on the angle you look it from. Spacers do make a great difference, recently I installed 20mm front and 15mm rear and they completely changed the stance of the car.

[Tbonem3]

Took a break from the steel grey to help my friend clean up his recently acquired 2005 Carbon Black. ImolaM3 already has a 2004 slicktop like me, but I guess me getting another E46 M3 made him jealous 😆

Went and picked up 2005 CB smg with 90k for a stupid low price back in April. The paint wasn't in great condition, though. Don't have lots of pics, so not posting this in the detail section. Just sharing here in this thread as steelgrey makes an appearance. Wash, clay, first step was Griott's correcting cream on an LC CSS orange 5.5" pad, then Turtle wax hybrid solutions polish/sio2 sealant on a lc css green pad. The TW stufff is cheap, but it's pretty damn nice. No great longevity, though.




Doubled its value in one day 🤣

There's silvergrey! You can see the difference spacers make.



Carbon black in the sun is magic

My next entry in this thread will be very intensive paint work on the steelgrey which will hopefully satiate your paint correction hungers created by this bereft post.

[Tbonem3]

1. The x pipes' (SS/SGT/RE) shape/routing will kill rasp. It also changes the sound, mostly in a good way. Used to be referred to as a "tuner" sound. One of the greatest WOT videos for this car is long tube headers (SS, in this case), stock sect 1 (small diameter retains loud pitch), SS X pipe (can't remember res or not) then SS race exhaust. Absolutely brutal. Too much for daily though. The H pipe in stock sect 2 seems to create the rasp or at least make it stronger.

2. The way sect 2 mates up with sect 1 means that you can run any brand/size you want. Def don't need 2.5" sect 2 in order to use 2.5" sect 1. The biggest gains in going from 2" diameter to 2.5" happens at the headers, then sect 1, then 2, then 3. Much more important to get a 2.5" sect 1 than sect 2.

[loudspeaker69]

The Section 2 RE X pipe isn’t resonated, but it kills rasp?

Interesting that the SS Section 2 (2.5”) will kill any soul for the exhaust.

I don’t think anyone wants drone, but killing the fun in the party ain’t great either!

Nevertheless, since your Section 1 is 2.5,” I presume it forces you to go 2.5” for your section 2, if you go that route?

[Tbonem3]

I see. Correct, our sect 2 does seem to be a pretty big contributor to rasp. Other S54 engines in other cars, where the midpipes are different, don't seem to make the same rasp.

The best sect 2 to nix rasp, IMO, is the SS (or RE/SGT) x pipe. My friends say the sgt unres sounds the best, but I think SS res (not unres) is good too. I don't know why it's opposite as far as resonators, but that seems to be the way it goes. I have never tried one and kind of want to, we'll see.

The other sect 2 that will kill rasp, is the SS dual pipe 2.5", but it will also kill any soul the exhaust note has left, in my experience. It makes good power, but I'd only use one on a high hp build where you want a quiet exh note, and mostly induction noise up front.

You don't *need* an aftermarket sect 2 to control rasp, however. It can be done with dual resonators or dual cats or both in sect 1. Increasing pipe diameter also kills rasp somewhat, but increases some drone if not accompanied with cats/res.

[loudspeaker69]

Yes, your right.

I was wondering if you were looking for a different section 2 ?

Does an aftermarket section 2 do a better job of nixing the rasp?

if that’s what your looking for…

[Tbonem3]

Stock sect 2 is resonated. Then there are resonated or unresonated versions of the X pipe and the newer dual 2.5" pipe sect 2s.

I actually really like the stock exh, esp with more aggressive headers/sect 1. SS street is nice, but it's not really much different in weight/volume/sound. Looks nice, ofc. Maybe slightly deeper tone.

[loudspeaker69]

Curious if your going to use a resonated section 2 ?

I wanted to run a very similar set up (with a resonated section 2), hence I ask.

In my world, I’ll either use the stock exhaust / Section 3 or just the next quietest: Supersprint Street.

[Tbonem3]

Any drone once driving with this set up?

Granted the M3 has some very mild drone from the factory (also in the E36, don’t know about the other generations), but just wondering if you noticed any increase with this set up.

No, barely any and what tiny bit there is, is more a characteristic of the sound in general with 2.5" in my experience, more hollow. No rpm specific drone like cruising at 2.3k for ex.

[jet_dogg]

Damn that's crazy how it's just as fast. My boy had a factory freak that was faster than any other m3, of course it was stock though because it was 2002.

[loudspeaker69]

Any drone once driving with this set up?

Granted the M3 has some very mild drone from the factory (also in the E36, don’t know about the other generations), but just wondering if you noticed any increase with this set up.

[Tbonem3]

T thank you fit posting all this! Just reading your journal is like almost everything a new owner needs to learn the car, priceless!
Btw Instagram randomly showed me your car and I never looked you up, but was like “wait a minute I know that one”

Thanks K! Send me a DM on IG and I'll follow back. I don't know who's who on there that much.