M3 E46 Owners - aftermarket backbox

[maserati3200gt]

Has any of you guys changed the back box on your cars for an aftermarket system ?

if so what did you go for and was it worth the cost etc ?


Cheers

[brady]

had an eisenmann back box on my e46 m3, huge aural improvement over standard!
picked it up on ebay for £400, slight performance gain

all the back boxes are mega money new and theres plenty of decent ones around second hand, would be worth a look!

[DoctorD]

Bear in mind that the back box on an E46 M3 is very well designed (by Arvin Meritor) to minimise losses and maximise the elimination of resonance and bad noises. I've yet to listen to any back box that improves the sound without bringing back some of these noises. Most drone in some way and all of them sound more aftermarket than OEM. Best way to improve the exhaust is to replace the cats and simplify the main straight through pipe. There's a few threads on BM3W where we collected together various sound and video clips so you can choose for yourself, but there were at least 13 different exhaust options out there, so it might take you some time.

Most people seem to choose either of the Supersprint models or something from Milltek. For the Milltek approach give John Thorne at Thorney Motorsport a call. www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/

[maserati3200gt]

Gone for HaywardandScott.co.uk
Will post an audio clip shortly.

[Zod]

DoctorD said:

Bear in mind that the back box on an E46 M3 is very well designed (by Arvin Meritor) to minimise losses and maximise the elimination of resonance and bad noises. I've yet to listen to any back box that improves the sound without bringing back some of these noises. Most drone in some way and all of them sound more aftermarket than OEM. Best way to improve the exhaust is to replace the cats and simplify the main straight through pipe. There's a few threads on BM3W where we collected together various sound and video clips so you can choose for yourself, but there were at least 13 different exhaust options out there, so it might take you some time. Most people seem to choose either of the Supersprint models or something from Milltek. For the Milltek approach give John Thorne at Thorney Motorsport a call. www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/

I've heard some good ones and some appalling ones. The bad ones sound like a fat man farting in a dustbin.

[MattOz]

There's a Larini for sale in the classifieds IIRC. I've thought about it myself but haven't pulleed the trigger. My best mate has a Larini exhaust on his 550M and it's very well made and sounds fantastic. If the quality of build and sound is the same on the M3 version you'd be chuffed.

Cheers
Matt

[DoctorD]

The M3 is a very challenging system to improve upon. From what I've heard, just because someone makes a good system for a Ferrari or Porsche (e.g. Tubi) doesn't mean their M3 system will be remotely comparable. I ended up listening to all the options and deciding to leave the rear box standard.

[maserati3200gt]

DoctorD said:

The M3 is a very challenging system to improve upon. From what I've heard, just because someone makes a good system for a Ferrari or Porsche (e.g. Tubi) doesn't mean their M3 system will be remotely comparable. I ended up listening to all the options and deciding to leave the rear box standard.

Thats a fair point.
I had a larini on my maserati and to be honest the quality was excellent , yes the sound level was better (IMO) but still didnt give the car the extra grunt that Tubi does.

The Box on my m3 is a little more hardcore now with the extra sound at low revs but quieter on the motor. Takes a little getting used to I must admit !