Borla Atak vs. ACM Mod

[95RogueM3]

I am ~3 weeks into my E90 M3 ownership and am continually disappointed by the exhaust note. I'm not looking for stupid loud and would only be replacing the rear cat-back; no test pipes or x-pipe replacement for me.

I've listened to plenty of videos of both the ACM mod and the Borla mod and am simply trying to get a feel for whether one is louder or more refined/better. I can scoop up a pretty excellent deal on a Borla muffler, or pay maybe $250 less for the ACM exhaust through Zury Fabrications in MD.

Has anyone had both exhaust and can speak to the differences and whether one is a clear winner?

FWIW, I thought about going the perforated pipe method, but fear that won't be quite loud enough....but I also don't want straight-pipe Mustang V8 loud.

Thanks!

[8k3]

ACM mod is rasp imo. Borla is a real sounding exhaust, little drone.

[rjd598]

do perforated method but with all 4 pipes. you can't argue with the price no matter how good of a deal you get on an aftermarket muffler. just my .02

[American Dave]

Borla Atak is an excellent product and does not drone badly either. Buy the Borla

[Ezio]

The borla will have a cleaner sound. Because it's designed to sound a certain way.

The OEM mod is going off more of the natural sound of the engine . Even more so when you get a catless x pipe. The s65 is a very good sounding motor. So it's going to be a good sound.

I would bet the OEM mod is louder but more aggressive.

The borla is cleaner. And look a lot better.

[Denk]

The Borla is a screamer and doesn't have any irritating drone. It doesn't sound american muscle on the M3. I was impressed with it but it was just a hair too much for me.

[American Dave]

this video is my car with Borla Atak plus M3 World X-pipe w/ 2 highflow cats + catless front pipes https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-t...&v=rj63aIOHNg4

[95RogueM3]

Thanks all!

Unfortunately there aren't alot of E90/E92 M3s nearby with exhaust setups, but I'd like to try and hear both the ACM and Borla in person before buying. No rush, I guess.

[Bomiz]

Originally Posted by 95RogueM3

Thanks all!

Unfortunately there aren't alot of E90/E92 M3s nearby with exhaust setups, but I'd like to try and hear both the ACM and Borla in person before buying. No rush, I guess.

You could always buy an OEM rear section for like <$100 off somebody and do the OEM mod and swap it out if you don't like it

[AP3X_FTW]

OEM bypass mod for sure. Here is my response to a similar thread:

I have stock everything except for the EAS Bypass exhaust mod and EAS 80mm exhaust tips. I have listened to almost every exhaust for this car in person, including some crazy high dollar Akra and IPE configurations, and this setup sounds the best (IMO). The best part is, it happens to be super cheap at around $400 and I still have my cats in place to pass smog in CA. Never have to worry about getting pulled over or anything like that.

I have always been a big exhaust guy, always removing cats on all of my cars and dumping a ton of money into the best possible setup. I know most will say, how good could the stock exhaust sound with just some mod done to it... Trust me I was looking for a reason to swap mine out. After hearing almost everything on the market in person, I have no reason to waste my money. The tone is controlled by the throttle, so it is loud at WOT and reasonable when cruising. You get a clean exotic tone with this setup, where most catless setup's sound loud and raspy. Mine is much more refined.

The downshifts with DCT are absolute intoxicating, and the 80mm tips give it that perfect aftermarket look as well.

[W///]

Originally Posted by 95RogueM3

Thanks all!

Unfortunately there aren't alot of E90/E92 M3s nearby with exhaust setups, but I'd like to try and hear both the ACM and Borla in person before buying. No rush, I guess.

If you are absolutely positive you won't be going test pipes/xpipes, go save your money and go with the ACM mod.

Still to this day one of my favorite setups. I got bored and decided to get test pipes and that's where it went down hill. Way too loud, way too raspy. But ACM by itself was absolutely to die for.

[AP3X_FTW]

Originally Posted by W///

If you are absolutely positive you won't be going test pipes/xpipes, go save your money and go with the ACM mod.

Still to this day one of my favorite setups. I got bored and decided to get test pipes and that's where it went down hill. Way too loud, way too raspy. But ACM by itself was absolutely to die for.

I agree completely. ACM / EAS bypass mod is the best sounding muffler for the money. If you go this route, you must commit to leaving the X pipe stock. It is known that if you mod the X pipe or swap it out for an aftermarket piece, the OEM exhaust mod will sound terrible. The muffler is already a "straight through" design, so when removing your primary cats or altering the stock X pipe in anyway, it changes the tone from refined and exotic to raspy and excessively loud.

If you're set on gaining some power through the use of test pipes or an aftermarket X pipe, then the best muffler for an exotic tone is the Meisterschaft GT. This muffler paired with the challenge sport x pipe (utilizes high flow cats) sounds amazing. Not only will you gain more power this way, but the aftermarket muffler will shed some weight off of the car. If I was going to spend a few thousand on the exhaust, this is the only set-up I would swap out my OEM exhaust mod for

We are comparing $400 to around $3,000 though.

[STooK]

I have the OEM mod (perforated method) and want something louder. Maybe I should have gotten the bypass method, but I feel that it's too bassy. The perforated OEM mod isn't too loud but certainly audible, and it sounds great. If you aren't looking for anything intrusive the perforated mod is the way to go. I am considering the borla now because I do want something a bit louder but I have no regrets doing the OEM mod because I can always get my money back and loved it so far.

Try the OEM mod first, if you don't like it you can get most of your money back and look for a different exhaust. If you love it you saved yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I'd say go for the OEM mod!

[M3Bimmer77]

Originally Posted by STooK

I have the OEM mod (perforated method) and want something louder. Maybe I should have gotten the bypass method, but I feel that it's too bassy. The perforated OEM mod isn't too loud but certainly audible, and it sounds great. If you aren't looking for anything intrusive the perforated mod is the way to go. I am considering the borla now because I do want something a bit louder but I have no regrets doing the OEM mod because I can always get my money back and loved it so far.

Try the OEM mod first, if you don't like it you can get most of your money back and look for a different exhaust. If you love it you saved yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I'd say go for the OEM mod!

What is the difference between the two methods, perforated and bypass?

[AP3X_FTW]

Originally Posted by M3Bimmer77

What is the difference between the two methods, perforated and bypass?

Exactly how it sounds.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954875

[M3Bimmer77]

I thought there was a third method. I always knew it at ACM and perforated. Actually, they should be called bypass and delete method or something like that. Thanks for the info.

[95RogueM3]

Originally Posted by AP3X_FTW

Exactly how it sounds.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954875

Nice. I don't think I'd actually seen the ACM method first-hand. Good to see!

Thanks.

[jbarber0020]

I am in Lynchburg and have the ATAK exhaust on my e90. Really close to pulling the trigger on the borla x pipe as well.

[X5-User]

Originally Posted by jbarber0020

I am in Lynchburg and have the ATAK exhaust on my e90. Really close to pulling the trigger on the borla x pipe as well.

Did you hear it before putting borla xpipe? It is going to be really loud plus you might have slight drone

[jbarber0020]

I had the mPerformance exhaust when I bought the car but I wanted something more aggressive. I think it sounds awesome as is now (just the borla atak catback system) but I have the mod bug and am curious about the power gains from removing the cats.

Originally Posted by Bimmer-M3

Did you hear it before putting borla xpipe? It is going to be really loud plus you might have slight drone

[E92Brembo]

I have the ATAK and there are a lot of ACM modded guys around here...there is absolutely no comparison and they all agree. Modding your OEM will sound better than stock but sound like a joke compared to the Borla.