My new favorite exhaust setup.

[kitw]

Just picked up my 6th E9x M3, replacing my F80 M3. (which I just sold)

I've owned:
2011 E90 M3 DCT
2011.5 E93 M3 DCT
2012 E92 M3 6sp
2013 E92 M3 DCT
2011 E90 M3 6sp
2011 E92 M3 DCT (the most recent)

The F80 platform is a fantastic car. It's lighter, much nicer inside (I got the full leather interior) as long as you like the iPad stuck on the dash look, the electronics are better, the chassis is stiffer, the seats are cooler looking and more adjustable, the driving position is superior, the steering wheel is better, etc.

But, damn. It just didn't light a fire underneath me like the s65. It is wheezy and while BMW has done an amazing job tuning out turbo lag, it still is there. You still feel like there is an orange between the throttle pedal and your foot, because you just aren't quite precisely connected to it. I even tried running a couple ECU tuners and the ESS linear tune was my favorite, made the car pull very hard up high without feeling like it fell on it's face at 6000 rpm. But, it's not an NA engine, it never will be and it's faster and much more efficient as a result (I've seen as high as 37mpg driving slowly back from the airport late at night)

Great car, but just not for me. After a series of Porsches, and Audi R8 and some other cars, I've come back to the E92 M3 and I'm pretty pleased with it. I wish the seat was 1" lower, I wish the steering wheel telescoped out a bit more, but the motor is fantastic, it is quiet and comfy on the freeway and feels very special in that it has a very exotic feeling motor. I love the feeling of power building higher and higher the higher you rev the motor, how it urges you into blasting past people at 8000 rpm just because you can. The F80 had much greater midrange squirt, and was faster overall, especially with the tune (mine put down 505whp on a Dynjet) but never pushed my buttons like the S65 did. My R8 was a v8 and reminded me of how much I loved the S65 (although the R8's V8 is much punchier in the midrange, and sounds very different from an S65)

Anyhow, I have a bit of a problem - when I'm not changing cars 6-7 times a year, I end up buying a lot of parts. I've had over 30 different exhaust combinations on my E9x M3s. I keep coming back to the Corsa as a love hate relationship. I love how it keeps the drone out and the interesting exhaust note it gives, it has a very harmonic warble as you rev the motor at light throttle, and a beautiful tenor roar at higher rpms.

But, Corsa put on horrible looking tips, that are cut too angled and tuck underneath the bumper. This wouldn't be the end of the world, but they also saddled the stupid exhaust with these huge cans that hang down worse than stock or the BMW Performance exhaust, like hippo testicles strapped onto a squirrel. They look terrible.

To their credit, they use high quality mandrel bends, include heat shields near the diff, and are pretty easy to install. Corsa makes them out of a quality steel that should last forever, none of this polished crap steel out of overseas manufacturers, you get large fat sturdy gas purged mig welds from a budweiser drinking MURICAN. They are very nicely built if you know what to look for in an exhaust from a longevity point of view.

And flow. Corsa uses a completely straight through muffler, with helmholtz resonators before the muffler (similar to our stock design although the stock chambers are part of the main huge canister) and reflective tuning to cancel drone. It works really well. The exhaust is quiet when you want it to be, with none of the low RPM boominess you get in other exhausts, and still makes a great noise outside. My big complaint about it was that it simply wasn't loud enough when you were really caning the car - sounded great from outside but inside, induction noise drowned out the exhaust (which is fairly typical, the Akrapovic and Eisenmann Sport suffer from the same fate... and most other exhausts are louder.)

I had corresponded with Roman from ESS about their X pipe - I knew that moving the X forward was good but there are a few things I didn't like about their X pipe - number one, they put the cats in the stock position, which I have always thought was not ideal for power. But, they also move the X further forward and have two large resonators, and the sound their full exhaust system made was very nice. I decided to go for it, and ordered the X pipe as well. I ran it with another rear system (AFE) and was amazed at how nice it sounded, you don't get the tinny 3000 rpm resonance in the Akrapovic, and it made for a very exotic sounding exhaust note without the unrefined crackle and rasp that you get out of a resonator-less exhaust. The high flow cats work, when they are hot, you don't get nearly as much smell out of the rear of the car as you do catless, and the power feels pretty good. It dynoed similarly to the Akrapovic at a dyno day, so I was feeling pretty good about it.

Combine that with the Corsa and you have what I'd consider the perfect e9x exhaust. First of all, the Corsa cancels all the bass. If you want a rumbly MURICAN or AMG sounding V8, this is not the setup for you. I want my exhaust higher pitched, and as exotic sounding as possible and this meets that goal. Compared to the last rear section, it took all the bass out, and my family likes being in the car a lot more now. It is decently loud when you stomp on it, but shuts up to a very slight hum at cruise. And, the X pipe gives the exhaust enough additional volume to be heard at higher rpms.

I couldn't be happier with the exhaust from a performance and sound perspective but I did have to modify it somewhat to meet my aesthetic desires. The cans I simply sanded and painted with high temp coating. It's very robust and matte black, so it makes them much less obvious, especially at night where the shiny Corsa cans could easily be seen. I also replaced the exhaust tips, I picked up some 3.5" dual exhaust tips, with a 2.5" inlet. These are a very nice rolled exhaust tip and I think they look great - they fill up the outlets nicely and fit well. I had an exhaust shop hack off the tips and weld them on, and he did a great job. (The new tips look like they face outward in a few of the attached pics but it's only because I was standing very close to the car)

Anyway, I'm very happy with this setup! Pics are of the original tips, a comparison between the new ones and the Corsa tips and then the finished product before and after painting the cans. (hopefully you can ignore my filthy car in the 5th pic)

EDIT: Video!

Inside the car later.

[redpriest]

You weren't kidding about it looking like hippo testicles. You didn't raise them in the last picture? Maybe it's just an optical illusion of the matte paint you put on them but it looks much better.

Sounds like a 4.6L stroker is in your future.

[aussiem3]

Sounds like a very interesting setup. Any chance of posting a video clip as a teaser?

[loveskiing]

Yo bro, if you aren't a Car and Driver, Motor Trend etc writer or similar you should be...Your post was like reading something out of European Car...great verbiage, precise analysis, and an equal presentation of the pros and cons... Something that is often times lacking when somebody is writing a piece and wants to convince the reader that their presentation or argument is the right course of action.
I have to admit that after reading your article and many others like it about the Corsa exhaust I too was convinced that this was the right move for me. Not just for the price point, rather because many who've either owned one, heard one, or driven in a car with one, all say the same thing; that the exhaust notes are spot on. As you've already alluded to the biggest complaint deals with the aesthetics, and I for one feel much as you do, that aesthetics can be modified to suit ones taste.
Kudos on your exquisite detail and writing style...Count me as a fan

[X5-User]

Great write up man.. I love reading your posts and reviews. Keep them comin

[JuzMe]

Very good write up and insights

[BrewRifle]

Very intriguing read and congrats on the coming back to E9X M3 generation (it's the better one). Post up a video of that sexy combo.

[Sered]

Nice writeup, in for the vids from a good mic.

[Hujan]

Welcome home, dude.

The first part of your post is a very unbiased review of the F8x and contrasts sharply with all the BS reviews I've read. I'm referring to the ones where the reviewer has nothing negative to say about the F8x and even goes so far as to say they like the S55 sound/drama more than the S65.

Anyway, nicely done on the Corsa. It really is a great exhaust for those who can dress it up a little, which you did very well. The fitment of those tips is just perfect, IMO. They are not too tucked, don't stick out too far, are not obnoxiously big, slash cut, double wall. You nailed it.

[HighTech]

Glad that you're back! Great write-up. I had a F80 M3 on order and cancelled it as I had to have a taste of the S65 myself.

I read through all of your exhaust threads prior to purchasing a setup, thanks for those. Originally I planned on a custom Corsa setup as well, but ended up purchasing a used Akra Evo setup. Liking it so far, but I do find myself manipulating the throttle/gears a lot while the wife & kids are in the car to avoid the boom-iness that you mentioned.

I may pick up a Corsa soon as well and just swap out the Akra slip on part to see how it sounds. I've seen guys run a Corsa mated to the Challenge X-pipe and now the ESS X-pipe, but not with the Akra yet. You've had a ton of setups, ever mated the Akra X-pipe to a Corsa?

[projekt-]

As always, great to read your experiences/reviews Kit!

You got PM.

[Dave07997S]

Welcome back, again..

I concur with all your statements regarding the F8X cars. I don't hate on them, they just don't push the same buttons that the E9X cars do. However, I thought the E9X cars materials felt a tad better. Something thin and tinny regarding the feel of the controls while the E9X cars just seemed more substantial when it came to the materials of the interior. Other than that though I agree, the F8X cars interior is definitely more upscale in looks than the E9X cars.

Dave

[dreamspeed]

What I want to know is how one goes about switching between so many cars. I never understood how it worked when some days I've owned like 40 cars before.

Are you flipping cars so you basically just drive the car for the period of time it takes to sell it? Or are you just buying the car and then getting tired of it and selling it at a loss ?

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by dreamspeed

What I want to know is how one goes about switching between so many cars. I never understood how it worked when some days I've owned like 40 cars before.

Are you flipping cars so you basically just drive the car for the period of time it takes to sell it? Or are you just buying the car and then getting tired of it and selling it at a loss ?

Sells it when the ashtray gets full..

[marksae]

Kit, great writeup! From a sound standpoint, the corsa seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. But I'm having a hard time getting over how it looks and would prefer not to have to change the tips and paint it black if there's a similar option out there.

I'm just wondering have you ever tried the recently release Active Autowerke Sport Exhaust? It's supposedly a quieter version of the Signature exhaust.

http://store.activeautowerke.com/col...t-rear-exhaust

[chillp]

I have the full ESS system (HFCs, resonators, and rear section). I love the sound of this system. The additional power is noticeable and no CEL is a big plus too. Have you ever compared your set up to this? I'm always open to something that may be better.
I thought about getting bigger tips for my ESS rear section too. They are somewhat conservative (about the same size as the stock tips), but don't look as bad as the Corsa tips because the cans are smaller and less visible on the ESS. Anyway, it seems like a muffler shop might be able to easily modify the tips for me.

[Ezio]

the F80 sounds terrible. i dont understand how people can pay 80k for a car that sounds like a honda. no matter how fast it is.

S65 and the S85 are the most thrilling and best sounding BMW engines made in recent history.

[MFL]

Welcome to the club. I'm running a catless Mastermind X-Pipe that I had an additional set of resonators installed on.

[Sered]

Originally Posted by Ezio

the F80 sounds terrible. i dont understand how people can pay 80k for a car that sounds like a honda. no matter how fast it is.

S65 and the S85 are the most thrilling and best sounding BMW engines made in recent history.

They don't sound bad with an exhaust. Better than a E46 at least. And I'm not sure who's paying 80k for them; maybe with every option? I can't understand why anyone would spend $4k+ on an Akra for the E9X either.

The S65 and S85 don't sound all that great stock. Even modded I've heard some pretty ugly ones. The OEM exhaust mod with test pipes sounds like ass to me.

[Tracyis300]

That S65, just has more soul?! Even though the F8x is a better over all car.
That was a great write-up and i will definitely take notes from it.

About a exotic exhaust sound? Have you ever consider the IPE F1 exhaust?(even though a custom setup is better)
I have it myself, and i feel its the most exotic sounding for the S65.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by marksae

Kit, great writeup! From a sound standpoint, the corsa seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. But I'm having a hard time getting over how it looks and would prefer not to have to change the tips and paint it black if there's a similar option out there.

I'm just wondering have you ever tried the recently release Active Autowerke Sport Exhaust? It's supposedly a quieter version of the Signature exhaust.

http://store.activeautowerke.com/col...t-rear-exhaust

I have not. I'm having trouble understanding how it could be quieter if it eliminates the resonator chambers. The AA is nice but it is very bassy down low. Maybe they necked it down?

I had an original AA on one of my cars and found it to be loud at cold start and really bassy at low rpms. Sounded nice once you got on it. This is a very very different tone.

[kitw]

Originally Posted by Sered

They don't sound bad with an exhaust. Better than a E46 at least. And I'm not sure who's paying 80k for them; maybe with every option? I can't understand why anyone would spend $4k+ on an Akra for the E9X either.

The S65 and S85 don't sound all that great stock. Even modded I've heard some pretty ugly ones. The OEM exhaust mod with test pipes sounds like ass to me.

Mine was $79700. Could have been $90k with everything.

I thought that at least from the inside, aside from the rasp, the E46 M3 sounded better. And, truth be told, once you get on the f80, the synthetic engine note doesn't sound terrible... it's the moving away from a stop, especially when cold that sounds positively awful. I had a few coworkers text or call me wondering if my new car was broken - that was how busted ass it sounds when the whole exhaust is cold

the S65 and S85 sound faaaaar better stock. My E60 M5 sounded fantastic, just a bit quiet.