I've had my 2002 M3 for just a few weeks. It is Laguna Seca Blue, Cinnamon interrior, 6sp manual, nav, HK, CSL 19's, H&R coilovers, and a Borla exhaust. I am very happy with the car with one exception, the sound. The exhaust sounds nice at idle. At higher rpms and throttle openings it is too tinny (raspy) for my taste, and even worse, the exhaust drones/booms when running between 2-3k rpm under load. I just drove it on a 3 hour road trip today and it got very tiring. Is this a standard probelm for the Borla? I've driven a friend's E46 M3 with stock exhaust and it does not do it. Any suggestions on mufflers with a better sound than stock, but that do not drone?

Thoughts and input appreciated.

Brooke

If you don't like the Borla you certainly aren't going to be happy with anything other than stock or maybe the Dinan.

It drones at about that rpm range for any aftermarket exhaust setup that you will probably install. I think this is something that is just accepted. The idea of putting an exhaust system on your car is for the 5000-7500 range.

Hmmm. So you are saying all aftermarket exhausts drone in that rpm range. That surprises me. I would think someone would be able to develope a system that flows better than stock, but without that dawback.

In reasearching this I went back through my records on the car and found it also has a Supresprint mid pipe without the resonator, which also explains why there is so much rasp in the exhaust note of my car. Too much for my taste. I'm going to add the Rasp Terminator section and see what that does to the overall sound.

I don't want to go back to stock exhaust, becuase it is too quite, but that booming drone is really annoing to me.

Thanks for the input.

rasp terminators make everything sound a little more throaty, personally I like a good rasp terminator/borla setup.

In reasearching this I went back through my records on the car and found it also has a Supresprint mid pipe without the resonator....
I'd bet that right there is your issue. There is nothing "boomy" about the Borla by itself that I've ever noticed.

I hope the rasp terminator will alter the wave form of the exhaust and get rid of that drone. If it doesn't, my next step is to replace the mid section with a stock one. If all else fails, I'll go back to stock.

Does anyone have a sound clip of a system with rasp terminator on it??????

Well, I installed the rasp terminator and it works as advertised. The raspy tone is completely eliminated. The exhaust now has a deeper note and a better overall sound. The drone is still there between 2 and 3k rpm, but it is now also deeper and is not as annoying. I will try it like this for a while and see if I can live with this altered drone.

borla is a bitch with drone but has a great overall sound, honestly the rasp terminator will help but u will have drone regardless. the only exhaust i know of and experienced that did not have nearly as much drone as any other exhaust (besides stock) was the rogue engineering el diablo. i had a great experience with that exhaust and when i pick up another E46 that will be the only exhaust to touch it

I have a dixis TI muffler and a borla midpipe w/out resonators and I have the same problem. The exhaust shop said they could weld resonators into the borla midpipe and it should help the drone and volume. W/out resonators the exhaust has a nice gurgle to it but it definitely is not worth the drone. 120 bucks i got quoted to add resonators so that shouldn't be too bad of a fix. Oh and btw, this Dixis muffler is loud as SH^T. Ill post some videos for you guys soon.

did not have nearly as much drone as any other exhaust (besides stock) was the rogue engineering el diablo.


Really? No drone with El Diablo, I was thinking about getting this and their rasp terminator and probably their X-pipe. But with everyone bitching about drone, I put the exhaust mod on the back burner.

Anyone else out there with El Diablo who can verify this?

Everyone's tolerance level for this sort of thing is different.

A perfect case in point is the Borla - as evidenced in this thread. I have the stock mid-pipe so maybe that makes a big difference, but during "normal" driving I can't even hear the exhaust inside the car unless the window is open.

the Borla w/o a midpipe that eliminates the resonator drones even louder. The rasp is always there it is the s54 engine. a set up that includes euro headers, ss race cats, midpipe w/o resonator and borla exhaust eliminates the drone.

Just thoght I'd post a further update on my setup. Afte living with the new combination for a number of weeks while it fully broke in, I really like it. The boom is still there netween 2k and 3k rpm, but it is deeper and the tone is not as annoying. More importantly, my annoyance with the boom/drone is outweighted by the pleasrure of how the overall system sounds now. Before I was almost embaressed by how raspy (and to my mind ricey) the car sounded without the rasp terminator. It sonded like a hopped up civic with a cheap coffee can muffler. Now it has a deep, mellow tone that sounds a little Ferrari-esque and very appropriate to the car. I find myself rolling down the windows, even on cold days, just to hear it better. Of course the new seat heaters I just installed help me stay comfortable when I do that now.

The problem may be simpler than you think. Go through the torque specs on the bolts for the exhaust system according to BMW. I think the specs are something like 14lbs/ft and watch the drone will reduce. Several guys had the same issue on M3forum.net and solved it by loosening the bolts up a bit.

I have my car 2006 M3 under full warranty for the next 3 years, so there somethig that can be done for better acceleration and power beside Dinan equipment ?

I have my car 2006 M3 under full warranty for the next 3 years, so there somethig that can be done for better acceleration and power beside Dinan equipment ?

Welcome to the forum, try not to threadjack or you find yourself needing a flame suit. Do a search, this topic is well covered. I you don't find what your looking for start your own thread.
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That said my Eisenman exhaust is nice. I get a drone at the same RPM as most aftermarket setups. ALL my friends cars with nonstock exhaust seen to have the same drone more or less. It looks sexy and sounds amazing.