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      01-30-2014, 01:31 PM   #21
Obioban
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Drives: M3, M3, M5, M5
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Location: West Chester, PA

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Thought I should post my review of my new muffler here:

Since I'm enthused about this muffler enough that I feel like people could see this as an ad, I'm going to start out by pointing out that I'm not selling this muffler. If you want to buy this, you need to talk to a different forum sponsor: Sean at Oakville Motorwerks: http://www.oakvillemotorwerks.com/

Or, directly to the muffler: http://www.oakvillemotorwerks.com/sh...1066&parent=84

I believe they're is selling it cheaper ($1500?) to members of M3forum, so if you're interested in getting one I would PM them directly. Their usernames are sean@om and dipal@om.

I know this thread needs a video. I'll add one this weekend!

As many of you know, I have long been a strong proponent of the stock muffler. This was never because the stock muffler sounded particularly good, no was it particularly light-- it was always because every aftermarket had issues I couldn't deal with. Some deal breakers for me included:
-DRONE (far and away the top reason I wouldn't get a muffler previously-- ruins the car, imho)
-fart can sound
-exhaust tips that don't function
subcategory a: tips that don't function on an entire side of the car
subcategory b: only one tip that functions on each side of the car
-exhaust tips that sit too low (this is actually a bit of an issue with stock)
-exhaust tips that sit to high, and rattle against or melt the diffuser
-exhaust tips that look sunken when you add a CSL diffuser
-large exhaust tips that, when you look down them, lead to a small pipe
-DTM and oval exhaust tips
-exhausts that decrease hp (they are out there)
-exhausts with negligible weight savings

Yes, I have lots of tip issues. They one of the most noticeable parts of the car, so I want them perfect. :roll:

I had pretty much given up on finding an exhaust that actually met my requirements, and at 105,000 miles had finally settled on stock with larger/longer tips. It was far from perfect, but it didn't drone and wasn't losing me power.

Happily Sean talked me into changing my mind. Last Friday I installed the Scorza muffler on my car. It is EVERYTHING I wanted in an e46 muffler. First off:

1) THIS EXHAUST DOES NOT DRONE AT ALL. At any speed, any level of load, any RPM-- no drone. Drone was the reason I sold my last muffler, so this was HUGELY important to me. I have no cats, which often makes drone more likely to occur... but still, zero drone. I drove 600 miles yesterday, so it got throughly tested for this

2) It sounds freaking amazing. As in, best exhaust sound I've ever heard an e46 muffler make. Between the airbox when I'm coming, and the muffler as I'm going, I couldn't be more pleased with how my car sounds. I've been having family and friends drive back and forth past me since I put it on, just so I can hear it go by

3) At cruise, I don't think cabin volume has gone up by even a single db. It literally is as quiet as stock when you're not on it. Even when you do get on it, the exhaust does not overwhelm the engine sound.

4) 25 lbs lighter than stock. Sure, exhausts are the worst place in the car to lose weight (all the way down and all the way back), but lighter is still better

5) tips: You can get them in black or stainless (I got black, as I don't wash my car as often as I should, and these look better dirty :roll, and in two tip lengths: CSL diffuser or stock. Meaning, they don't stick out stupidly if you don't have a CSL diffuser, and then don't get sunken looking if you do have a CSL diffuser.

6) build quality/fitment: Both excellent. Welds are excellent, hangers line up, tips are nicely placed, bolts easily up to the stock section 2, stainless steel should last well in salty winters.

7) Power: idk yet. Sean thinks it should be good for a 6 rwhp gain. He's confident enough that he's volunteered to pay for me to dyno. I haven't done it yet, but I'll post up results when I get them. I have a nice baseline dyno, as seen in the CSL airbox thread. It certainly doesn't feel like it has lost anything.


Overall, I'm just happy as a pig in shit with this muffler. It sounds better than I could have ever imagined an e46 M3 muffler sounding, and has none of the normal downsides that have caused me to avoid getting a muffler until now. One of my best friends (Surge709 on this forum) heard I was getting another muffler and tried really hard to stop me. On sunday I got a chance to give him a ride, and he changed his opinion in the first mile. It really is just... perfect

Side note on price: It seems like every time this muffler comes up, people say it's too expensive.... I don't see it. It's cheaper than the Dinan, SuperSprint, Eisenmann, etc. This is absolutely a top tier muffler, so it actually seems aggressively priced to me. Further, I've had some of the more expensive mufflers on my car, and ended up taking them off-- this one will be staying on.


Pics: Sadly I got too excited once it was mounted up and forgot to take on car pics on the lift. I'll add some to this thread next time I have the car up :roll:

Further disclaimers: You'll see in one of the pics that one of the tips got bent in shipping. Sean offered to send me a new one for free (the tips are replaceable), but I rerounded it myself once I had it on the car.

Also, car is dirty... been driving it a LOT the last week, haven't had a chance to wash it...




























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