So after selling my previous exhaust to pay down a cc balance, I decided to buy something cheap to keep me at bay for the time being. I tried doing the OEM mod, but it was simply not the sound I wanted. I've had the Megan exhaust before, but it has gone up nearly $200 since I last had it. So alas, I decided to give the CNT exhaust a try. The exhaust design does not seem all that different than the RPi (straight through style muffler; goes from one 2.5" pipe into two 2.5" perforated sections).
My review:
Packaging was very good and everything arrived undamaged. No quarrels here.
The exhaust is very good looking, almost beautiful actually. The tips are a bit bigger than stock and the welds on everything are very clean. The exhaust is on the lighter side by comparison.
General pic from the eBay ad:
Installation was one of the easiest I have ever done. On the floor, alone, with jack stands, 55 minutes to remove the old and put on the new exhaust. Fit is spot on, with one minor issue being the driver's side muffler hanging a little low and a little left. That will be corrected tonight with just the slightest bit of a bend.
Sound... well what can I say? I have a catless quad-resonated x-pipe that matches up to this exhaust and all I can keep saying is that this does not sound like an M3. It sounds so much meaner, and I mean that in the best of ways. The exhaust is very throaty, very much in your face. I have gotten compliments all last night and on my way to work this morning and I cannot speak highly enough of the sound this exhaust makes. There is drone, there is no fooling that, but it is alright with me. Sound down low will rumble everything around you, up top it still sings like an M3 should :-)
All in all, I feel that this exhaust is a nice competitor for the Gintani and the RPi systems, all for 1/3 of the cost.
More pics and videos to come in the next couple of days!
Update: OEM x-pipe was put back on, the drone is pretty evident with the catless x-pipe I had on there originally. Still retained 100% of the sound, but cut the drone down by about 75%. Now it's a badass exhaust! Videos and more pics coming this weekend.
Update 2: Exhaust was not able to be bent to correct the improper angle. I had to take the car to a local exhaust shop to have a little modification done. As you can see in the pic below, the driver's side muffler is hanging a little low and at an angle.
This was corrected by cutting the arm that extends (support bracket I suppose) and re-welding it about a half an inch up. Pics of the work:
Here is the finished result, $25 and 30 minutes later:
Some more pics of the exhaust...
