Back box or not?

[ChrisBrand]

Last year december i went to Powerflow to do my exhaust. My initial idea was to split the pipes so they came out on either side of the back bumper. A mechanic told me that this was not possible seeing that there is a black box on the right side (where i wanted to install the new pipe) that contained things like central lockin and so forth and that the tubes where plastic so it can't be moved...First question: Is this true? I have seen other e46 328i that have done this.
The other thing is when i went to Powerflow they advised me not to install a new back box and rather op for a freeflow and a replacement of the middle box. The reason for this is that the drone of the back box is too loud and several clients have asked him to remove the box again. As much as i admire the fact that they would rather see me happy than make money out of me i still wonder how it would sound with a new back box. Ive looked at activ autowerke back box and it looks reasonable and doesnt sound too bad. I dont know. Whats your guys take on this?

 

[Scouse]

I had a full wildcat on my E46 330i and i absolutely love that car and the sound it made, gave me a woody :drool::thumbsup:

 

[Gizmo]

Yeah, got the same setup on my 330i. I swapped the headers for TNT e36 328i headers, they are equal length and remove the cats in the headers too. From there its a dual 57mm freeflow system. sounds wicked and runs awesome, there is no better setup for the 330i as far as sound and performance.

Stock next to custom.

TNT headers vs E36 328i headers vs e46 330i cat headers.

 

[applehero]

You know, what you could always do is do what Toyota did with the UK version of one of the RunX hatches (their version of it)... Put in a fake exhaust outlet on the opposite side of the bumper that makes it look sporty. :rofl:

 

[ChrisBrand]

Hehe @ applehero. I love it when people do that, When its nice and cold early mornings you just check the warm air coming out of the right hand exhaust and nothing on the left. Then you know...

Gizmo, is it possible to move that black box on the other side or is it better to leave it untouched?

 

[speeddemon]

Hi Gizmo..
So it's possible to put e36 238 headers onto a e46 330i..
also is that the best option or is it better to just put tnt headers on the 330i

 

[Gizmo]

The tnt headers are a better design being equal length and will give you the most Kw, they cost R1200 new. The e36 328i headers can be found for R600 at the scrapyard, they work well too as to eliminate the E46 cat headers which are the biggest performance restriction of the whole stock exhaust system.

Don't try the 4 exhaust tip mod as it adds weight, never fits correctly and makes routing very difficult for the exhaust plumbing to make both sides work. There are breather tanks under the battery well for the fuel tank and emissions control that can get in the way of the piping.