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Pacific Northwest
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Old 10-31-2009, 12:48 AM   #1
Cliff.Claven
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Anyone in the Seattle area with the muffler taken out?

Just wondering if there is anyone in the Seattle Area that has an E46 that has removed their muffler? I'm curious to see if someone would want to meet up? I'm considering removing my muffler to get the sound it produces, but youtube videos is all I have for reference.

Youtube videos are not enough information for me to make my decision. Let me know if you're out there and willing to meet up. I live in the Wedgwood district so I'm pretty close to anywhere near Seattle. I work in Everett as well so up there works too.

Thanks,

Cliff
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:43 AM   #2
techracer
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this would be the most horrible sound there could be.... a BMW with the sound of a honda. seriously, I have had my M3 with headers and straight pipe all the way into a Gruppe M race muffler and it was frigging LOUD!!! I can't imagine this sounding better nor any quieter and what I had was really annoying.
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Old 11-02-2009, 11:31 PM   #3
Cliff.Claven
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Well it wouldn't sound anything like a Honda, but from videos on the internet it sounds ridiculously similar to the Rogue Engineering DMS exhaust system. Any aftermarket exhaust for an E46 is basically getting you sound unless you do headers and all that stuff.
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Old 11-03-2009, 01:56 PM   #4
kirklandBMW
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E46's actually sounds really good with a muffler delete. If you dont want throw down $600 for a new muffler def do a delete.
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Old 11-03-2009, 05:44 PM   #5
Cliff.Claven
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Right...but I want to hear it in person before I take the plunge. I'm afraid it'll be too loud for my taste and you can only get a fraction of the real sound from computer speakers and youtube.

So I want to meet up with another fanatic that's missing his/her muffler on an E46 non-M. Just the muffler though, I think with the resonators removed it's too loud.
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Old 11-07-2009, 04:10 AM   #6
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im in salem, i have e-bay headers and a muff delete, it isnt to loud, only when your opening it up, but if your light on the throttle then its really not much louder then stock
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Old 11-08-2009, 01:49 AM   #7
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another good idea is to remove the rear-most resonator andd the muffler, and replace the muffler with glass packs.
did it on my old 323i/M3 swap, sounded real good. I'm in puyallup and I'd offer to show you but I don't have it anymore lol. Still though, it sounds real good. I have a passionate hatred for anything even half-honda, and this was not honda-ish by any means lol. (: good luck with the decision making though!
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Old 11-08-2009, 10:38 PM   #8
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muffler delete

Hey, i have an e46 m3 race car and i exceed 103db with oem headers and straight pipe. This exceeded the allowable sound at the tracks. It sounds good with a helmet and ear plugs in for races, but you would likely get tired of it very quickly for street. if you really want a change, my suggestion is go with a race muffler and straight pipe. Not all that expensive to do and if you think it is too raspy, just bolt on the oem stuff again.
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Old 11-09-2009, 10:55 AM   #9
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An M3 is going to be a lot louder and a normal e46. An m3 sounds a lot worse than a non-m e46. It's loud and sounds like ****. And besides if you're driving an m3 i hope you could afford a new muffler.
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Old 11-10-2009, 08:31 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmcnw View Post
Hey, i have an e46 m3 race car and i exceed 103db with oem headers and straight pipe. This exceeded the allowable sound at the tracks. It sounds good with a helmet and ear plugs in for races, but you would likely get tired of it very quickly for street. if you really want a change, my suggestion is go with a race muffler and straight pipe. Not all that expensive to do and if you think it is too raspy, just bolt on the oem stuff again.
I hear what you're saying. An M3 that has no muffler does sound completely different than a non-M. And an M3 engine is quite a bit different than a non-M engine and works differently. I've heard M3's with straight pipes and I think it's horrible. Like I said before, I'd love a Rogue DMS system, but it sounds the exact same via youtube as an E46 without a muffler. I would probably be spending about 150 bucks to get my muffler replaced with a couple of attractive tips and some new tubing.

IF I go with the muffler delete, in the future I think I would replace the resonator with an after market resonator to flow a bit better and possibly add an X-pipe to equalize the pressure on both sides of the exhaust.

I still want to hear an E46 without a muffler in person before I take this plunge. I just might have to drive to Oregon to meet the one PNW fanatic that still has an E46 with no muffler. Anyone else out there?
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Old 11-11-2009, 10:37 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliff.Claven View Post
I hear what you're saying. An M3 that has no muffler does sound completely different than a non-M. And an M3 engine is quite a bit different than a non-M engine and works differently. I've heard M3's with straight pipes and I think it's horrible. Like I said before, I'd love a Rogue DMS system, but it sounds the exact same via youtube as an E46 without a muffler. I would probably be spending about 150 bucks to get my muffler replaced with a couple of attractive tips and some new tubing.

IF I go with the muffler delete, in the future I think I would replace the resonator with an after market resonator to flow a bit better and possibly add an X-pipe to equalize the pressure on both sides of the exhaust.

I still want to hear an E46 without a muffler in person before I take this plunge. I just might have to drive to Oregon to meet the one PNW fanatic that still has an E46 with no muffler. Anyone else out there?

You should post this question on bimmerforums.com The PNW forum is very active compared to this. Mainly e36 guys but still a lot more e46 than this forum.
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Old 11-11-2009, 01:18 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirklandBMW View Post
An M3 is going to be a lot louder and a normal e46. An m3 sounds a lot worse than a non-m e46. It's loud and sounds like ****. And besides if you're driving an m3 i hope you could afford a new muffler.
I have a RE dump pipe and it sounds amazing when open.
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Old 11-11-2009, 07:21 PM   #13
Cliff.Claven
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How did the topic of M3 exhaust ever get in here? I have a petty little 325i. No S54 powering my ride.

As far as bimmerforums goes I think they all have mufflers. I know some of them and my question is E46 specific. I'll just wait until someone on here with no muffler speaks up. I'm patient.
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Old 11-12-2009, 03:09 PM   #14
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Why don't you unbolt your muffler and find out? Pretty simple.
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Old 11-13-2009, 08:30 PM   #15
Cliff.Claven
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I don't think it would sound the same since it would dump out under the car.
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Old 11-19-2009, 05:26 PM   #16
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it would sound pretty similar. the extra foot and a half of welded pipes won't make much of a difference on the sound.
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