Active Autowerke Signature Exhaust - E92 M3 - Review with Pictures

[powertrip]

+1 for another fan of AA....my car gets a TON of looks wherever I go .

[dhoggm3]

Try it with the top completely down instead of just the windows open. It's freakin awesome. Cold top-down starts are really booming, though. I put it in gear and pull away as quickly as possible so I don't have to sit and suffer with that boomy idle. BUT, once warmed up (a minute or two) it settles down and turns heads wherever it goes. Don't know why I wasted money on the audio upgrade - why would I want to listen to THAT!?

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

Try it with the top completely down instead of just the windows open. It's freakin awesome. Cold top-down starts are really booming, though. I put it in gear and pull away as quickly as possible so I don't have to sit and suffer with that boomy idle. BUT, once warmed up (a minute or two) it settles down and turns heads wherever it goes. Don't know why I wasted money on the audio upgrade - why would I want to listen to THAT!?

hahahhehe.....+1

I'd love to hear the exhaust while in a convertible!

[rAdzM]

what is the conjoined little can on the side for?

[Trier Germany]

Originally Posted by radz182

what is the conjoined little can on the side for?

NCC=Noise cancellation chamber for drone. I have AA on my car and if you have M-DCT and drive in drive this exhausts sounds mean with a very deeo drone that turns hads where ever i go. I think the RPI exhaust looks kind of ricer. RPI Just doesn't look good in my opinion. If you want top quality exhaust get AA or AKRAPOVIC. Just my 2 cents.

[frankzlin79]

Give me about 30 min and I'll upload another video of just my AA.

[frankzlin79]

[J08M3]

great comparison. although it's hard to tell from video. They sound very similar under hard acceleration, but much different at idle.

[Lemans_Blue_M]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

Give me about 30 min and I'll upload another video of just my AA.

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

I like the head-to-head comparison. The AA seems louder at WOT than the Dinan which is no surprise. But they both sound the same at idle.

Good work.

[TLud]

Originally Posted by J08M3

great comparison. although it's hard to tell from video. They sound very similar under hard acceleration, but much different at idle.

You're exactly right. The AA is slightly louder at WOT, but not much. At WOT, the AA also has a slightly more "full bodied" sound.

At idle and low rpms, the AA is significantly louder than and has a deeper tone than the Dinan, both in and out of the car. The AA also has a "smoother" sound when revved, if that makes sense.

With the Dinan, you can barely tell that you have an aftermarket exhaust from inside the car with the windows closed at any rpm unless you're accelerating hard, but outside it's much louder than stock. From inside the car with the AA, you know you've got something special back there at low rpms and under acceleration, but at cruising speed it's not noticeably different from stock from inside the cabin.

[Captain Slow]

how about the difference in amount of drone?

[frankzlin79]

AA is a droning monster at low speeds under gentle acceleration. But then suddenly, the drone can disappear. It's hard to explain, but you can actually reduce the drone by speeding up or slowing down. It can sound very "boomy" at times. At freeway / highway speeds, there is no drone. On a decelleration, it sounds very nice as the drone blips very quickly through each gear.

And don't listen to people saying, "the AA exhaust is one of the quietest exhausts on the market." I think the quietest exhaust on the market is actually Dinan!

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

AA is a droning monster at low speeds under gentle acceleration. But then suddenly, the drone can disappear. It's hard to explain, but you can actually reduce the drone by speeding up or slowing down. It can sound very "boomy" at times. At freeway / highway speeds, there is no drone. On a decelleration, it sounds very nice as the drone blips very quickly through each gear.

And don't listen to people saying, "the AA exhaust is one of the quietest exhausts on the market." I think the quietest exhaust on the market is actually Dinan!

It's definitely not the quietest. But I have AA with Fabspeed xpipe and HFC's and I notice no drone at all. Yes, you hear it from inside the car, but it's not the annoying drone sound that resonates in your head and is annoying. At certain throttle positions and RPM, it can be fairly loud inside but it's a nice tone. Just because you hear an exhaust doesn't mean it drones. At about 3k cruising on the highway it is almost silent inside which is nice. But if you drive by a concrete barrier or under an overpass you hear that from outside it screams

[frankzlin79]

Yes, driving underneath an overpass or through a tunnel is awesome!

[powertrip]

Originally Posted by J08M3

It's definitely not the quietest. But I have AA with Fabspeed xpipe and HFC's and I notice no drone at all. Yes, you hear it from inside the car, but it's not the annoying drone sound that resonates in your head and is annoying. At certain throttle positions and RPM, it can be fairly loud inside but it's a nice tone. Just because you hear an exhaust doesn't mean it drones. At about 3k cruising on the highway it is almost silent inside which is nice. But if you drive by a concrete barrier or under an overpass you hear that from outside it screams

+1...my Fabspeed/AA set-up didn't drone at once the mufflers had a couple hundred miles on them .

[frankzlin79]

My AA has never changed in volume levels (up or down) since I've installed it. I think I've driven daily with it for about 2 months with it.

[NKYM5]

Ordered my AA Signature for the E90 on Monday, arrived via UPS today. Decided on the AA because of the tip adjustability for the sedan, bolt-on installation and reviews of this system versus others such as Riss. Just took less than 2 hours to install by myself and using only a set of 8" ramps. Very easy installation and only minor adjusting needed to get the positioning just right. The fit and finish of this system is top notch. Sure, it's a little pricey compared to some others, but worth every penny so far. Sounds great revving in the garage - getting cleaned up now to take it out for a first drive. Thanks Omar and AA - you guys make a quality product.

[frankzlin79]

NKYM3: post pics of your install. I'd like to see how low your tips hang compared to mine.

[NKYM5]

Sorry for the pic quality - I'm not much of a photographer. I have all 4 tips adjusted back as far as they go which I guess duplicates the staggered offset of the OE exhaust. I didn't measure beforehand, but the AA tips seem to stick out maybe just a hair more than the originals. Standing up, with your eyes perpendicular to the bumper edge, you can see no part of the tips. There seems to be more pipe and tip showing from the side versus OE, but I think that has more to do with the design and tip O.D. As far as positioning, I'm still not 100% on where the left inside tip is ending up. I'd like to get it rotated up just a bit to exactly match the right (which looks ideal to me), but I've been too stoked with the new sound to care enough to mess with re-adjusting. My neighbors love me now - especially when leaving the house for a 7:00 AM tee time on Sunday!

[JCtx]

Great pics man. I thought AA had double-walled tips, but it's obvious now they're not. They also hang down more than they should IMO; wonder if you can adjust/modify the hangers to accomplish that. The higher, the better it looks, especially with those 'tumors' on the side. I should hear this system Thursday, when a local guy is going to take me for a quick ride to test the interior volume. Can't wait to hear it in person. Enjoy your exhaust .

[frankzlin79]

NKYM3: AA tips hang very low on my installation, and this is even after my shop did the maximum adjustment on the hanger. I also noticed that the driver side NCC is also higher up than the passenger side, which is also the case on my install and on pics of other installs I've seen. Lastly, on my E92, I have another good 1" of adjustability in and probably 2" coming out. I was surprised to see that your tips are as far in as they will go, yet your tips still stick out further than mine.

[frankzlin79]

Further, for some reason, maybe my ears are getting more sensitive, but my AA seems to be getting unusually loud. My passengers even comment that it seems annoying loud just recently. I hope I can handle it.