by "Danny Korecki" (dannykorecki)
Published 04/28/2017 at 21:50
by "Danny Korecki" (dannykorecki)
Published 04/28/2017 at 21:50
Tags: bmw
; e92 m3
; m3
; bmw m3
; borla
; borla exhaust
; borla m3
; rightfootdown
; bmw borla
STARS: 7
Many cars are a victim of the time period in which they are born. It’s best described as an in-between period where new technologies are just starting to become standard and manufacturers have to decide if this new car model will get the new tech or stick with the old tech.
I bought a BMW E92 M3 a little over a year ago. I detailed my decision making process to purchasing the car and a rather large issue I had with the car . I believe my E92 M3 is one of the “in-betweeners”. Here’s why.
Read on Right Foot Down or continue below
First update to current gen – Angel Eyes LED lights
It is sad that at the time my M3 was new, all of the American muscle car offerings came with white/blue LED halo ring lights in their grills, but the benchmark for all performance coupe and sedans did not.
My M3 came stock with yellow bulbs which are not the most visibly appealing version of BMW’s “angel eyes”. I decided to update the bulbs to LUX H8 160 7000k Angel Eyes.
The big update to current gen – Borla ATAK Exhaust
You didn’t think I was just going to write an article about light bulbs did you?
Most stock exhausts even for performance cars attempt to silence the sounds as best as they can for the consumer market as a whole, sadly it’s not just about us enthusiasts. The new technology that has come out features electronically controlled exhaust notes. In recent years, I would point to the Jaguar F-Type as the first (or maybe best) car where manufacturers began controlling exhaust notes through the computer to produce a desired exhaust note and allowing the customer to choose MILD to WILD through dashboard options.
If you do not know the science of it, basically, an engineer sits in the car with his laptop (and Microsoft Excel or something) and tells the car to spit extra fuel to burn off in the exhaust. This produces the crackles/pops/bangs a car like the Jaguar F-Type produces.
I do not know of any way to cost effective aftermarket way produce this manufacturer technology of telling the computer to do X action to produce Y sound, the only option is an aftermarket exhaust which is manufactured to product the wanted sound based on throttle modulation vs. fuel burn off.
Many aftermarket exhausts provide the desired cruising exhaust note with the more raucous exhaust noise when you get on it. In my opinion, the best bang for your buck option is a Borla exhaust, particularly their ATAK series of exhausts.
This was not my first foray into Borla, my ’13 Camaro SS I owned before the M3 had a Borla ATAK, but it was only axle back. That required me to cut my mufflers off. The exhaust for my M3 is a full Cat-back set up.
Read on Right Foot Down or continue below
How I did it
Borla provides everything you need in the box with the exception of your tools. You get two mufflers (a left and a right), two clamps, and two flared nipples.
The tools you need are 3/8 drive ratchet, a 3/8 drive extension, 15mm socket, 13mm socket, and a bottle of spray lubricant to lube up all of the rubber hangers.
I will tell you, if you have not dealt with rubber exhaust hangers before you will invent a bunch of new curse words. I recommend locating a tool pictured below, I am not sure what to call it, “Rubber Hanger Remover”.
My friend Bryan let me borrow it and without it I am not sure how the exhaust hangers would have released the metal exhaust pieces without lighting it on fire which would have stunk and ruined the hangers. This rubber hanger pain is a frustration on any car with exhaust rubber hangers and no fault of Borla.
I recommend backing your car up on Race Ramps to get at least 6-8 inches of clearance, but I am sure ol’ Wal-Mart special ramps or DIY wood ramps can do the trick as well as long as they are tall enough. The reason I recommend ramps versus jacking the back up on jackstands is to decrease the risk that all the hanger pulling could knock the car off the jackstands. Looking back, it would have definitely happened for a few of the rubber hangers.
Fighting all the rubber hangers I was able to rest my arms and take notice of all the hidden ///M and ///M3 badges.
Do you see the hidden badge in this one?
I am not going to go step by step on how to install the exhaust, Borla does an amazing job already providing detailed directions. I just wanted to provide you some of my tips/tricks on how I made my life easier.
Many DIY installs will mention getting jackstands to hold the exhaust up, but I recommend getting a storage tote (or a Waste Management recycling bin) to hold up the muffler portion and using jackstands just for the piping. If you attempt to jackstand the piping and the muffler you may be playing a balancing game while you are upside down, under a car. Skip that frustration and get something wider with some ability to flex.
Read on Right Foot Down or continue below
The important part you were waiting for
I am a car enthusiast like you, these are just words about an exhaust and my hard work to install it.
It all means nothing, until you hear the before and after of the exhaust.
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Final thoughts
You cannot go wrong with a Borla exhaust for your car, especially an E9X M3. Some exhausts are $4,000+ and cannot produce this drone free exotic sound.
Since installing the exhaust, I have gotten so many thumbs up and nods on the road from the exponentially increased tone of the downshifts. One guy honked to get me to wind down my window so he could tell me my exhaust was “tuned perfectly”, I soaked up the moment and did not tell him it was 100% the exhaust. No tuning on my part.
Your “in-betweener” ride might not need new bulbs or an exhaust upgrade, but it probably needs something to add more smiles per gallon. I recommend updating a car to current gen standards in lieu of jumping straight into the next generation. You will appreciate your car even more because of the simple modification work into it.
“Buster became a gearhead.”
I recommend you follow my build on my Instagram which is 50% my M3, 25% my dog Loki and 25% of my car culture experiences.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
04/28/2017 at 22:40, STARS: 0
Cool write-up. Reminds me of some mods I want to do to my FIAT 126 when I finally get to importing one. I think it’s good to update any older cars if you wish to give them better performance and safety.
I want to upgrade my 126 with LED lighting (minus the headlights, of course) for the sake of helping the already tiny alternator on the little 652cc Inline-2 24hp engine. LED tailights also means a free few extra split seconds more of reaction time for whoever could potentially hit me considering the car is not very safe and those extra split seconds could make all the difference in an emergency.
Hoping to do a brake disc conversion as well, at least on the front wheels - better stopping = good! Might see what can be done for basic performance upgrades as well (exhaust, lightened parts - relatively easy swappable stuff)....I don’t want to give it +1000hp, but in something that small and light, even an additional 1hp would be a 4% hp gain.
Sometimes it’s nice to update some classics. :)
"Danny Korecki" (dannykorecki)
04/28/2017 at 22:42, STARS: 1
Yeah man do it! Imagine a cars & coffee if every car was a brand new car. Boringggggg.
"jimz" (jimz)
04/28/2017 at 22:48, STARS: 3
If you do not know the science of it, basically, an engineer sits in the car with his laptop (and Microsoft Excel or something) and tells the car to spit extra fuel to burn off in the exhaust. This produces the crackles/pops/bangs a car like the Jaguar F-Type produces.
This is... not correct. Jaguar’s active exhaust simply has a couple of valves placed to allow the exhaust to bypass most of the mufflers’ silencing chambers:
Dumping extra fuel into the exhaust is a good way to fail emissions certification, if not burn up the catalysts.
"Danny Korecki" (dannykorecki)
04/28/2017 at 22:56, STARS: 1
I agree that has a part to do with it, but there is fuel burning off. Here is an article with a F-Type Engineer, Dr. Garry Dunne, JLR’s Senior Technical Specialist of Vehicle NVH and Sound Quality: http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheelsnews/1232882-jaguar-f-type-exotic-exhaust-notes-explained (found with a 10 sec Google search, I am sure I can find more)
Some where in the middle: “Dr. Denne: This is delivered through a combination of the exhaust internal tuning, and fueling calibration.”
Fuel calibration can imply anything, but it basically is a lean condition which is forcing a fuel burn with is all the crackles and pops and gargling you hear from an F-Type, I am sure whatever it does it is in the emissions threshold, but probably at the max end.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/28/2017 at 23:10, STARS: 1
BMW has a “burble” function in some of their ECU tunes that has nothing to do with any muffler flapping. My BMW 335xi has an MHD ECU tune which allows you to adjust the burble duration and I unplugged the connector that closes the flap in the driver’s side muffler, because the flapper valve was going bad and making a big pitch whine when closed, so I’d rather have the noise of both mufflers open all the time which still isn’t drone-y than that damn whining. Let off the throttle at low speeds and it burbles like crazy. It’s fun when going under a bridge and completely pointless.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
04/29/2017 at 00:10, STARS: 0
Why minus the headlights?
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
04/29/2017 at 04:04, STARS: 0
LED headlights in a communist era 1970s design subcompact? Unless a proper aftermarket manufacturer steps up and develops dedicated led headlights for that car you’d be blinding everyone on the road.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
04/29/2017 at 07:49, STARS: 0
Yup, what Duurtlang said....LED bulbs in non-LED headlight casings usually have a VERY noticeable ‘dazzling’ effect compared to regular bulbs as ALL of the light comes from such small, specific points on the bulb (where normal halogen bulbs have the light being emitted from the bulb in a far more uniform manner).
They may be brighter than stock, which is good, but even when the casings are aimed properly, you don’t want to be blinding people.
A downside I’ve heard, though, is that when using LED headlight bulbs in non-projector housings, there is a very distinct cutoff in the light pattern compared to halogens, so the LEDs don’t have as FAR a reach.
"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
04/29/2017 at 10:34, STARS: 0
I don’t know about for the M3, but there are tuners available with the crackles, pops, and bangs option. Source: Have one.
"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
04/29/2017 at 10:35, STARS: 0
The Audi RS5 also used to have this.
"Axial" (axial)
04/30/2017 at 01:31, STARS: 0
You think this car is an in-betweener? Bruh, I’ll tell you hwut, here’s what I’ve got:
Active suspension, that uses a screw at the top and simple gas law to actuate it rather than fancy ferro-fluids
A CD player without anti-skip...which is why it’s broken..also a cassette player
Variable intake instead of variable timing, actuated by vacuum lines instead of computer-controlled electronics and requiring two injectors per cylinder...all for emissions!
An aluminum block that weighs more than an iron block
A digital dash that can’t keep up with what the car is doing, I can go from 0~60-30 and not get a reliable reading until the end
An airbag that is referred to as the “Supplemental Impact Restraint System” in all the documentation, and it’s only on the driver’s side
An OBD I connector
ABS, but no other traction control of any sort
A cigarette lighter with a stainless steel grip
Steel seat-belt buckles with “GM” logos and not the Fisher-Price red button, but they still communicate with the car to tell it when you aren’t buckled so it can turn the airbag SIRS off
Quad exhaust where only the outboard pipes are actually open; this ragged on part literally fell off my car and has been mercifully replaced with a Billy Boat system
A reverse lockout ring! Do they still do these or are most manuals using crash-through instead?
A polarized windshield, that delaminates over time due to UV exposure and limitations of the time
Sealed-beam headlights