Evolve Etronic E92 M3 full exhaust review [With video!]

[Cal@Sonic MS]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I'm thinking that this sounds similar to an IPE F1???

Not at all. The IPE F1 is racecar loud. This at least retains some kind of civility even with the valves open.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by Cal@Sonic MS

Not at all. The IPE F1 is racecar loud. This at least retains some kind of civility even with the valves open.

I would assume that since the Evolve has the cats...I was talking more about the tone. I don't want the deep, basy, rumble crap can sound.

Right now, I have the Dinan with the OEM x-pipe. I love it but sometimes I want a little more noise.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I'm thinking that this sounds similar to an IPE F1???

It's pretty different. The Innotech is higher pitched and rasps more. I'm more of a fan of the raw but not raspy Evolve when open.

The Innotech is quieter when it's open, but it does neck down a decent amount in the quiet section.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I would assume that since the Evolve has the cats...I was talking more about the tone. I don't want the deep, basy, rumble crap can sound.

Right now, I have the Dinan with the OEM x-pipe. I love it but sometimes I want a little more noise.

The Evolve is deep and bassy, when closed, it's pretty close in volume to the Dinan w/ x-pipe. Louder at 2000 rpm, but similar elsewhere. Open, it's *waaaa* louder, but not over the top. The Innotech F1 is painful and just silly, the regular Innotech without cats is a little silly. The Evolve is the right volume for driving around like an asshole but not pulling in Boss Hogg all the way from Hazard county. Driving the Innotech F1 with the valve open on the street is likely to cause the Toyko police to write you a noise violation ticket.

[crispy tofu]

So it turns out kitw and I are about ½ mile from each other and he was nice enough to meet up and let me hear the Evolve in person.

First off, kitw is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. He’s way cool, super into cars (and M3’s) and just an all around great guy. We chatted quite a bit about exhaust and this guy has experienced it all and is willing to share his knowledge.

So on to the Evolve…here are my impressions after experiencing it live:
On-line videos do absolutely zero justice to exhaust systems – the fidelity simply cannot capture what it really sounds like. The Evolve sounds absolutely killer with the valves open – nice and meaty, loud. It’s not as loud as my car, which has tips only (read: no muffler), but mine also drones like you wouldn’t believe below 3k RPM. The Evolve does have drone, but it’s much more bearable.

Valves closed, it wasn’t as quiet as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong…it’s still quieter than valves open, but in my vision of a perfect exhaust I’d have stock loudness valves closed, then racecar loudness valves open. Would it be closer to stock loudness if it was just the muffler and wasn’t the x-pipe also? Dunno.

In terms of looks, it is over the top sweet. Looking at online pictures, I thought the tips appeared too large, but in person they actually look really cool, are a good size and have a really high-end, exotic look to them.

Thanks to kitw, we all have a great resource for all things M3 exhaust. Keep the great reviews and exhausts coming, kitw!!!

[flipm3]

I watched the video again for the millionth time, sounds so good!

OT kitw, my biggest annoyance with my 35L is the CA wide open...haha

Originally Posted by MRM55

So it turns out kitw and I are about ½ mile from each other and he was nice enough to meet up and let me hear the Evolve in person.

First off, kitw is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. He’s way cool, super into cars (and M3’s) and just an all around great guy. We chatted quite a bit about exhaust and this guy has experienced it all and is willing to share his knowledge.

So on to the Evolve…here are my impressions after experiencing it live:
On-line videos do absolutely zero justice to exhaust systems – the fidelity simply cannot capture what it really sounds like. The Evolve sounds absolutely killer with the valves open – nice and meaty, loud. It’s not as loud as my car, which has tips only (read: no muffler), but mine also drones like you wouldn’t believe below 3k RPM. The Evolve does have drone, but it’s much more bearable.

Valves closed, it wasn’t as quiet as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong…it’s still quieter than valves open, but in my vision of a perfect exhaust I’d have stock loudness valves closed, then racecar loudness valves open. Would it be closer to stock loudness if it was just the muffler and wasn’t the x-pipe also? Dunno.

In terms of looks, it is over the top sweet. Looking at online pictures, I thought the tips appeared too large, but in person they actually look really cool, are a good size and have a really high-end, exotic look to them.

Thanks to kitw, we all have a great resource for all things M3 exhaust. Keep the great reviews and exhausts coming, kitw!!!

Thanks for sharing! It's great to hear an outside perspective that really has no bias.

[crabman]

Originally Posted by MRM55

Valves closed, it wasn’t as quiet as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong…it’s still quieter than valves open, but in my vision of a perfect exhaust I’d have stock loudness valves closed, then racecar loudness valves open. Would it be closer to stock loudness if it was just the muffler and wasn’t the x-pipe also? Dunno.

Got to be quieter with the extra elements in there, the question is how much and what it does to attenuate the drone or otherwise reduce it if any. And of course how it changes the overall sound of the system. I would assume that more slip-ons alone will be sold although thats just my gut, I could be wrong. Makes me surprised that they didn't ask kitw to run it both ways.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by flipm3

I watched the video again for the millionth time, sounds so good!

OT kitw, my biggest annoyance with my 35L is the CA wide open...haha

haha yeah. I actually shoot with a D700, those pics weren't taken by me. But yeah, rest assured, no purple exhaust tips, here.

[Sales@Evolve]

Remember one thing.
Once the valves are closed you will to allow a small time for the quiet section to fully warm and start absorbing noise fully. Test the system while driving under real world conditions and there is a distinct difference in both exhaust note and volume level.


Thanks for the reviews!
Right now this exhaust is sports and race.

We can make a simple modification to make it quieter on the valves closed but you will definately experience some loss in power at high rpm.

[Gardus]

Great work!
If I can suggest something, if you have an external mic plug on the Gopro (as we do on the Hero 2 HD), buy a lavalier mic (like the Olympus ME-15) and a small wind cutter, you'll get much better sound, no more vibrations or ticking.

[crispy tofu]

Originally Posted by Gardus

Great work!
If I can suggest something, if you have an external mic plug on the Gopro (as we do on the Hero 2 HD), buy a lavalier mic (like the Olympus ME-15) and a small wind cutter, you'll get much better sound, no more vibrations or ticking.

I realize this is directed to those who have posted video, but I wanted to comment here. No matter what anyone does, the sound quality will never replicate what you experience in person. Even if you use a $8,000 microphone with $5,000 preamp and 24-bit recording system, then on the listening side you have a high-end tube amp, kick ass D/A converter and audiophile monitors...well then again maybe it would

[ObviousMan]

How did you get power to the valves and are you using a remote to switch them, or did you wire a switch somewhere?

[kwike92]

fantastic write up!!!, your car sounds epic!!!

on a side note, how much is that camera your using?

[kitw]

Originally Posted by ObviousMan

How did you get power to the valves and are you using a remote to switch them, or did you wire a switch somewhere?

Couple of options. The easiest is to mount the remote unit somewhere near the fusebox, and then run longer wires down to the valves. (included in the kit)

Unfortunately, it's a little hard to find switched power in the trunk. But, it's way easier than running vacuum lines.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by kwike92

fantastic write up!!!, your car sounds epic!!!

on a side note, how much is that camera your using?

GoPro Hero 2 HD

[BreakPoint]

Where are the valves located in rerference to the muffler?

[kitw]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Where are the valves located in rerference to the muffler?

Prior to. See Sal's original thread.

[Gardus]

Originally Posted by MRM55

I realize this is directed to those who have posted video, but I wanted to comment here. No matter what anyone does, the sound quality will never replicate what you experience in person. Even if you use a $8,000 microphone with $5,000 preamp and 24-bit recording system, then on the listening side you have a high-end tube amp, kick ass D/A converter and audiophile monitors...well then again maybe it would

It's a long way from the shi**y microphone of the Gopro, that is also covered by the case and gets disturbed by all the vibration on the bracket, by the wind and has a very poor sensibility, to a setup like the one you describe!

As the Olympus iI suggested costs 30$, and it's just a matter of drilling a hole in the case to plug it in, while the sound quality is way better and you can also place it wherever you want easily, I think is a no brainer if you have a Gopro2 HD.

[EliteM3]

Kitw,

I too am in the bay area ( south bay ). would you be up for a ride so that i may hear the audio nirvana you speak of?

let me know, thanks!

[dustman]

Price for this system? PM me if desired, thank you.

M3's for life.

[EliteM3]

Kit, do you know if the pricing that Sal posted back in 2011 still stands for this exhaust? I don't see it for sale or even pre-order at vsmotorsport.com, so do we just reach out to Sal directly for purchasing?

[Denk]

I love the concept of this exhaust. I'm curious to know the drone levels of closed/open. Can you give a ballpark comparison to some other Sport/Race exhausts? Thanks.