Powerflow Exhaust

[Sankekur]

You don't need cat foolers on South African non-M e46's


So what to powerflow do as a day job if they are not selling any exhausts?

So i have been looking at finding the best way to get a bit more exhaust tone and deeper sound on my E90 325i.

If sound is what you are after you can most certainly do better than the stock exhaust. A three box system really gives a nice and deep sound to an I6.

Sank, would 2 boxes be too loud?

It all depends on the size of the boxes really....it has just been found that I6's usually sound better with 3 box systems.
Too loud is also relative, it depends greatly on what you can live with. That said even a I6 can sound like a crap 4 pot with the wrong exhaust.



Just as an aside, South African e46 all have O2 sensors, it is just the layout of the sensor in the exhaust that allows the cats to be removed without giving warnings.
@Bavs: If yours are blanked off you might have to investigate further as the M54's should have 4 O2 sensors.

 

[Bavs108]

E46's in SA don't have O2 sensors, they're blanked out, so no need for cat foolers. I removed all 4 cats on my car without a problem. No eml lights or fault codes. The car adapts once the cats are removed.

I thought so. Was just checking if Iceman007 had a different model :fencelook:

Did you decat at the manifold and go for straight pipe? Toying with the idea of a full system (headers and exhaust) or decat and exhaust.. Looking for a nice deep tone.. Actually similar to the way it sounds stock but slightly louder. :inlove:

Here's my decat thread, there's some valuable info in there for you to read

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=55189

The exhaust tone has mellowed down a bit since the decat in the sense that its a little less raspy which I didn't like at first. It still has a nice deep drone and sounds awesome on cold start:inlove:

 

[KPM3_30]

E46's in SA don't have O2 sensors, they're blanked out, so no need for cat foolers. I removed all 4 cats on my car without a problem. No eml lights or fault codes. The car adapts once the cats are removed.

I thought so. Was just checking if Iceman007 had a different model :fencelook:

Did you decat at the manifold and go for straight pipe? Toying with the idea of a full system (headers and exhaust) or decat and exhaust.. Looking for a nice deep tone.. Actually similar to the way it sounds stock but slightly louder. :inlove:

Here's my decat thread, there's some valuable info in there for you to read

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=55189

The exhaust tone has mellowed down a bit since the decat in the sense that its a little less raspy which I didn't like at first. It still has a nice deep drone and sounds awesome on cold start:inlove:

Personally I cannot stand the raspy note. I know it is what makes the e46 M3 unique but for me, it's not my cup of tea.

 

[Bavs108]

@Bavs: If yours are blanked off you might have to investigate further as the M54's should have 4 O2 sensors.

I think I still have pre cat sensors, but post cat sensors are blanked off, hence no warning lights or fault codes.

 

[Sankekur]

@Bavs: If yours are blanked off you might have to investigate further as the M54's should have 4 O2 sensors.

I think I still have pre cat sensors, but post cat sensors are blanked off, hence no warning lights or fault codes.

That sounds fine.

I though it had no O2 sensors.....that would be really strange.

 

[Iceman007]

Yip I agree. Listen to them. I had my 2 cats removed on my e46 325i back in the days by them. They also gave me the pro's and Cons about the whole thing. they warned me it might sound a bit tiny but my reason for removing them is my kar was on 140 000km and Cats are not effective anymore and he agreed.

So I removed them and fitted straight pipe in thier place. The Cats in the headers I left because then you need software progrming or Cat foolers. I was lucky my car sounded perfect.

On the E90 325i it might be a bit complicated because the engine electronics are more involved.

Ok let me direct you to the correct people. Go to Combined Electronics in Plattekloof and speek to them. It will be about R3000 for software and then exhuast they will refer you where to go. You wont get much gains only a bit but you will have faster response and no flat spot when accellerating. For you that will be the best route. These guys are contracted to BMW and they know what they are doing :thumbs:

Quick question bud, do the e46's require cat foolers? My buddy did a complete viper system with headers and full exhaust, no cat foolers or programming was done. There were no issues with errors on the obc?

I am actually looking at the same system for myself.

I dont know about the Cats in the headers but the bottom 2 no foolers required

 

[moranor@axis]

I have had 3 setups on my car...

#1
Stock (sounds ok but very quiet)

#2
full mandrel bent system with 3 boxes and Viper Branch (nice deep sound with little drone)

#3
Stock rear boxes, mandrel bent mid pipe with Viper branch and a small resonator in the center (exhaust note is more of a wail with ever so slight rasp at 3000 a larger mid box should kill this completely)

in terms of power #3 would seem ever so slightly better

I also like the sound of #3 the best with the flap plugged in I can sneak around at low RPM and let it scream when I want... over all the exhaust note sounds more 'expensive' and refined than the full free flow

although the deep throaty sound of the free flow is also nice it does not allow you to sneak under the radar when you want...

#2 for deep 'muscle' car sound
#3 screams more like a 'super car' when you open it up

 

[Zound]

I was having a chat with a friend about vehicle modifications since he has an e46 330i track car. He had tried a lot of stuff, including high lift cams, CAI, full exhaust systems etc. In his opinion, the only thing that actually gave him an improvement was a K&N flat panel filter (not a silly cone CAI), everything else resulted in slower lap times. This really was enlightenment to me and testament to BMW engineering. So if you're thinking about modding your N/A BMW, think again, because BMW gets it right the first time.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Dick Bate, Powerflow Salt River has been involved in racing for many many years... his daughter, Andrea Bate is quite a hot shot driver in VW Polo cup.

I would listen to him

Having dealt with him a number of times in the past, I can attest to his knowledge and experience! I would listen to what he says, and the fact that the Bellville branch says pretty much the same thing, says something too! Plus, nice to see there are still people like this who are honest instead of just being there to take a person's money!