[Panchoa]

Hi all

Anyone got any experience of PCW exhausts? He seems to get raving reviews but so far i havent been able to get hold him by phone, text or email (im not on facebook or instagram!).

Even his phone numbers says he doesnt really take or make calls

[SuperHamz]

Originally Posted by Panchoa

Hi all

Anyone got any experience of PCW exhausts? He seems to get raving reviews but so far i havent been able to get hold him by phone, text or email (im not on facebook or instagram!).

Even his phone numbers says he doesnt really take or make calls

Not used him mainly because doesn't do the mod for the 328i, he didn't respond to my email but was pretty quick to respond via text. I'm sure he'll get back to you soon.

[Panchoa]

Originally Posted by SuperHamz

Not used him mainly because doesn't do the mod for the 328i, he didn't respond to my email but was pretty quick to respond via text. I'm sure he'll get back to you soon.

Sent him a text and no response. Had an email response from him and it was a very short response not answering any of my questions. Clearly doesnt need the business!!!

[SuperHamz]

Originally Posted by Panchoa

Sent him a text and no response. Had an email response from him and it was a very short response not answering any of my questions. Clearly doesnt need the business!!!

I did question why he couldn't work on the 328i, I would imagine the principle would be the same to do the mod. Like you said, he probably doesn't need the business.

[KTE]

Been mentioned a few times on the forum, dug a little deeper and seems to be well reviewed.

[Wills2]

IIRC he started out on the e9* M3 which really did respond well to the exhaust mod, it was a thunderous engine with the right exhaust on it but with 8 cylinders, 8 ITBs and a 8300rpm rev limit it really was born to sing, not so sure you get the same from today's engines especially the non M ones.

[Panchoa]

Originally Posted by Wills2

IIRC he started out on the e9* M3 which really did respond well to the exhaust mod, it was a thunderous engine with the right exhaust on it but with 8 cylinders, 8 ITBs and a 8300rpm rev limit it really was born to sing, not so sure you get the same from today's engines especially the non M ones.

Its a 540i mate so not M but close as i’ll ever get

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by Panchoa

Its a 540i mate so not M but close as i’ll ever get

You could have an M3 for all the money you keep on spending trying make yours sound loud.

I just think you're on a road to nowhere it's a modern turbo 6 it's never going to sound like you want it to, lovely car I'd just accept that it is what it is sound wise.

[Tengocity]

I had Paul do my M4. Best option is message, but I've heard he's already booked up well in to August. He's a good bloke and does good work.

I've just sold the exhaust he did for me as I've now fitted a full Remus system.

It sounded much better on a blast in sport mode and the burbles and crackles were louder and clearer.

Only downside for me was that in efficient mode with valves closed there was a bit more noise, so not quite so good for longer motorway journeys. That's on an M4 though, so could be different on other systems.

[Panchoa]

Originally Posted by Wills2

You could have an M3 for all the money you keep on spending trying make yours sound loud.

I just think you're on a road to nowhere it's a modern turbo 6 it's never going to sound like you want it to, lovely car I'd just accept that it is what it is sound wise.

Yeah prob right but already got a 330d so the m3 would way to similar interior wise atleast. Did consider it but wanted something a little more comfortable

£200 - £300 to get a little more sound out of it isnt a much really in the grand scheme of things if i can ever get hold of him

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by Panchoa

Yeah prob right but already got a 330d so the m3 would way to similar interior wise atleast. Did consider it but wanted something a little more comfortable

£200 - £300 to get a little more sound out of it isnt a much really in the grand scheme of things if i can ever get hold of him

Plus the other exhausts you've bought whilst on this quest...IIRC.

Go drive an M3 it's no 330d....

[Panchoa]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Plus the other exhausts you've bought whilst on this quest...IIRC.

Go drive an M3 it's no 330d....

Fully aware a 330d isnt a m3!!!!! Just wanted something different and the f30
Is end of cycle now so didnt feel like a good proposition!

Anyway, 540i is an awesome car and perfect in everyway for my needs but just a little quiet......hence the m performance exhaust on it, which many people fit to their cars, so not sure why my ‘quest’ is any different to others????

[KTE]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

It sounded much better on a blast in sport mode and the burbles and crackles were louder and clearer.

Only downside for me was that in efficient mode with valves closed there was a bit more noise, so not quite so good for longer motorway journeys. That's on an M4 though, so could be different on other systems.

+1 to both, you can still get the crackles in eco/comfort if not careful. Otherwise you’re being very slow and annoying everyone behind you trying to travel with up to 30% throttle to avoid the pops.

Pops and blasts were definitely unpronounced, and running through gears is now giving much more of a feedback I was hoping for.

Word of caution, if you are sharing the car or have a spouse who doesn’t like exhaust noises don’t bother with this.

Pops in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.. you get the jist! Letting off the throttle as you do in day to day traffic triggers it with varying degrees so just a heads up! I did however get the middle pipe adjusted too, but Paul said that was around an extra 10% contribution to the exhaust note.

Here’s a short vid on getting back into my car after a long while away (I know imagine having the exhaust done then you’re on holiday for ages!!)

https://streamable.com/3v8pk

Cold start sports+. You can make it sound quieter by slightly hovering on the pedal, accidentally found that out while stretching during the first 30-60 seconds on startup! Useful if you travel out during unsociable hours.

Don’t have anything to record whilst driving, but a start up video is better than nothing.

[Kaisah]

Anyone have a review from a 340? Considering it for mine but worried about excessive drone etc.

Can barely hear my stock exhaust in the cabin with all the insulation. Especially with the radio on!

[Oreocookies]

Booked my 435i in for next month, i found he is pretty responsive on Instagram and uploads videos of most of the cars he has modified on there. Video and real life are probably very different and always hard to gauge what it sounds like in the cabin.

[AlwynMike]

Originally Posted by Kaisah

Anyone have a review from a 340? Considering it for mine but worried about excessive drone etc.

Can barely hear my stock exhaust in the cabin with all the insulation. Especially with the radio on!

Don't expect too much in the cabin.
My 440 is straight through front pipe and MPE silencer.
It's significantly louder outside, much less so inside with the window up.
At a 70mph cruise, it's almost indistinguishable from standard. Hit a slight incline at 60-70, it does drone a little as the engine works harder at a light throttle opening and low revs.
To get an idea of this, disconnect your exhaust valve actuator and wire the flap open - you will hear the difference in drone even with a stock exhaust.
Yes, more pops and crackles, farts on upchanges etc but not loud inside.

[The0pportunist]

I'm in contact with him to mod my exhaust too. No deletes though so it all looks original from underneath.

Only thing holding me back is potential warranty issues. A part of me thinks I should wait for the turbos to inevitably let go before canceling the warranty and mod the exhaust. Performance wise, i'm very happy with my stock 335i

[Kaisah]

Post vids once done

[Kaisah]

Anyone got any in-car footage of the mod? All the videos I can find are stationary revving. Cheers

[Oreocookies]

Visited PCW on the 27th to have some work done on my 435i N55

Really nice chap who got on with the job pretty quickly and efficiently. It took approximately 1.5 hours. My requirements where maximum noise without drone which he said was easily achieved with his most aggressive mod as he hadn't had anyone complain about drone within the cabin so we opted for this option.

This involved modifying the backbox as well as the center Silencer to bring out the noise. Having now done over 120 miles i can report that i am really happy with it.

Sport + and Sports Mode now give nice burbles/ pops if you lift off between 2k and 3k revs as is the case if you shift up towards the red line. The gunshot/whoosh sound that you would occasionally get when shifting up is now a lot more prominent and distinct and a lot less muffled.

In comfort mode the car can produces burbles but its doesnt happen as often and it tends to be a louder exhaust overall.

In Eco mode when idling along at 1.5K revs it can produce more cabin drone but its what i would consider slight and is easily ignored as it blends in to the road noise and muffled by the sound of the radio.

Trying to describe the sound is quite difficult and i had managed to find a video of a F32 N55 and i can say that videos dont really capture the sound that well. I have recorded a few in cabin and outside videos but they dont really give an accurate representation of the sound but i am happy to upload if someone can let me know how i do this.

I havent heard the MPPSK exhaust so cant provide a comparison, but i will say this its brought out a deeper tone in the exhaust the pops/burbles that you could hear but where extremley muffled are much much more prominent and overall it gives the car a much more aggressive/deeper sound in comparison to what it came with from factory.

Cold starts are pretty brutal and it certainly had the neighbours curtains twitching the first few times easily remedied by holding the accelerator pedal gently for a short period. In cabin you can hear the exhaust but its still relatively tame in comparison to having the windows down (ideal for me as when i want to chug along its not annoying but when i want to step on it crack the windows down a little and hear the engine sing), i think the F3X are pretty well insulated which causes this.

Im based in the Romford area so if anyone is considering doing the mod and wants to hear it happy to pop round, PCW did upload a video that car had been sat for about 1.5 hours but this was after a 60 mile run on the motorway so i wouldn't consider the engine cold (needle was at the 90 ish mark) worthwhile checking it out on his instagram if you want to get an idea of sound.

[Oreocookies]

Originally Posted by B58_f32

Whats his welding like. Does he use adaptors and welds to join the exhaust back to the pipes again. Also is it mot safe. Ie pass an mot

Welding was nice and clean no splatter and all straight. Not an expert but comparing the welds to another garage that does custom body kits and exhausts local to me his welds looked a lot lot better.

He didn't cut my exhaust pipe but unbolted from the Down pipe/cat and removed the entire exhaust in one piece. He then cuts an opening in the top of the back box and the top of the resonator and does his magic. Once welded back together as the cuts are at the top you cant see them as the cut side sits against the underside of the car.

Given nothing was messed with from an emissions perspective i dont envisage any issues maybe an advisory for a loud exhaust ... but then that would be the case with MPE/ MPPSK or any other custom exhaust.

[Oreocookies]

Originally Posted by B58_f32

This is good, as it means BMW will not know unless they thoroughly investigate. unlikely they will look at a back box atthe top for a small engine issue on warranty claims. also to them the resonator is still there just gutted, so mot friendly. im booking in

Look forward to hearing what the B58 sounds like vs the N55 and whether there is a noticeable difference. Worthwhile posting how you get on once its done!