[Seba77W]

Originally Posted by TEST DRYVER

The diffuser and tips look really good on your 4! It matches the car nicely...
I'm going to guess the same. It might very well be Operator error. I've asked him to spend some more time lining it up. I drove the car today, and I enjoy the added sound. I think these cars are so insulated, it's hard to hear the sound of the car from inside the cabin. Now, you can definitely hear the sound from inside the cabin.
I put the rear seat back in its regular position for my drive today. The drone at 1500-2200 is still pretty bad. It simply makes me avoid 8th gear altogether. Remember though, I have other mods on this car. So I don't believe it's just the exhaust. I believe it's the combination I have. That being said, there was no noticeable drone before the exhaust was installed.
My wife just left to the gym with the car right now. First time since the install. On Monday or Tuesday I'm sure she'll end up driving the Beemer for a longer distance.
I'm not going to poke at the bear and say something in advance. Let's see if this bothers her after she takes it for an extended drive.

Thanks. And yes I agree about the drone it is certainly very noticeable up to about 2200 rpm. I have a Fabspeed cat installed as well but I don't think that's causing any extra drone. It sounded normal with stock muffler installed. But yea along with MHD burbles set to medium and about 1.3 sec. duration I'm not complaining. Especially at WOT! This thing screams!

[TEST DRYVER]

Originally Posted by Seba77W

Thanks. And yes I agree about the drone it is certainly very noticeable up to about 2200 rpm. I have a Fabspeed cat installed as well but I don't think that's causing any extra drone. It sounded normal with stock muffler installed. But yea along with MHD burbles set to medium and about 1.3 sec. duration I'm not complaining. Especially at WOT! This thing screams!

So I don't have a Fabspeed, but I do have an almost equally quality downpipe. I am running an AR design catted downpipe (200 cell). I've been getting more complaints from the wife than I care to admit. And I have to agree with her, the car can't be driven in Comfort mode on the freeway. You have to drive in Sport just to stay out of the dreaded 2k rpm drone. Had I not seen the resonator intact with my own eyes, I would be convinced that the tech accidentally cut off the resonator. I think we share a different experience. I'm willing to bet if you drove my wife's F30, you would agree that the noise is excessive. But there has to be more to it than just the exhaust, there's no way they would be selling as good as they are if everyone experienced what I am. I think for the way my car my car is setup, I need a different exhaust. One that keeps the flaps intact.
I will say this, with the exhaust being more free to breathe and it's noticeably lighter than OEM, the performance gains have been much more than what I expected for an F30. The BMW community doesn't seem to notice any real performance gains with an aftermarket exhaust on an F30, and I'm here to say that information is inaccurate. There is definitely a performance gain! I have already done the performance parts on this car, so the exhaust was just add some sound to the car, and the funny part is, I really like the performance gains, more so than the sound...

[Korvo]

Originally Posted by TEST DRYVER

So I don't have a Fabspeed, but I do have an almost equally quality downpipe. I am running an AR design catted downpipe (200 cell). I've been getting more complaints from the wife than I care to admit. And I have to agree with her, the car can't be driven in Comfort mode on the freeway. You have to drive in Sport just to stay out of the dreaded 2k rpm drone. Had I not seen the resonator intact with my own eyes, I would be convinced that the tech accidentally cut off the resonator. I think we share a different experience. I'm willing to bet if you drove my wife's F30, you would agree that the noise is excessive. But there has to be more to it than just the exhaust, there's no way they would be selling as good as they are if everyone experienced what I am. I think for the way my car my car is setup, I need a different exhaust. One that keeps the flaps intact.
I will say this, with the exhaust being more free to breathe and it's noticeably lighter than OEM, the performance gains have been much more than what I expected for an F30. The BMW community doesn't seem to notice any real performance gains with an aftermarket exhaust on an F30, and I'm here to say that information is inaccurate. There is definitely a performance gain! I have already done the performance parts on this car, so the exhaust was just add some sound to the car, and the funny part is, I really like the performance gains, more so than the sound...

I'd have to agree with the last part of your post. Adding a catback seemed to make the car more responsive. Like it can breathe now.

[BMW DIY Guy]

I will say after adjusting I haven't had any problems with alignment or fitment.

I was told a trick though I am happy to share: once you get everything hung and in place, with the two pipe clamps on but just a little loose. You use the pipe itself to help align the fixed exhaust pipe to get it level and straight, by twisting it slightly. I struggled with alignment initially badly, but then twisted that pipe (counterclockwise if I remember) just a little bit and BAM the tip was level and straight. I then aligned the adjustable side to match and looks perfect.

[TEST DRYVER]

Originally Posted by BMW DIY Guy

I will say after adjusting I haven't had any problems with alignment or fitment.

I was told a trick though I am happy to share: once you get everything hung and in place, with the two pipe clamps on but just a little loose. You use the pipe itself to help align the fixed exhaust pipe to get it level and straight, by twisting it slightly. I struggled with alignment initially badly, but then twisted that pipe (counterclockwise if I remember) just a little bit and BAM the tip was level and straight. I then aligned the adjustable side to match and looks perfect.

Hey There DIY Guy! I appreciate the tip... I'll screenshot and relay to the tech that did the install. He hasn't had time to mess with my exhaust. My CEL is on (within a day of the install), the drone is unbearable at 1,500-2,200 RPM in 7th or 8th gear, and now after the engine is warmed up, I get a vibration in the car when I'm at a standstill, and of course the fitment is cockeyed and really messing with my OCD
I'm not the complaining type, and we all know when you mod you take risks, but an exhaust is not usually a big risk. You guys have given me some good tips! I called Mike at Extreme Power and he said it's the install, which is pretty much what most of you are saying as well. He guessed that some part of the piping or muffler is touching the body of the car, when it's not supposed to, causing the horrible NVH.
I'm going to pay and take the time to get it resolved, but here's the thing: it should not be this difficult to install or line up tips on an exhaust that was made specifically for your car. You expect this when you buy "universal" items. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I haven't read a single post about a Remus or AWE not lining up or causing fitment issues that result in negative NVH.
Ok, enough with my bitching, now it's time to get it resolved or swap out to a different exhaust. I'm going to try the resolution first, since I really enjoy the tonality of the exhaust when it's not causing poor NVH. I'll agree with you guys that it's user error at this point and the install didn't go in my favor.
Question: about the CEL, is it possible to have have a CEL from the exhaust if the install was off kilter? I'm guessing yes, because it's setting off an improper mixture. I do have a catted downpipe and a BM3 tune that has yet to set off the CEL when the tune is active. When I've disabled the tune in the past (gone back to stock setting for a dealership visit), I would get a CEL. That makes sense, as maybe the AR design catted downpipe isn't as good as a Fabspeed for setting off the CEL. But how am I getting a CEL when my tune is fully enabled?

[BMW DIY Guy]

great question and I honestly don't know about the CEL error though I struggle to see how an exhaust change would do that. Any chance something got bumped or dislodged during the install?

[Seba77W]

Originally Posted by TEST DRYVER

Question: about the CEL, is it possible to have have a CEL from the exhaust if the install was off kilter? I'm guessing yes, because it's setting off an improper mixture. I do have a catted downpipe and a BM3 tune that has yet to set off the CEL when the tune is active. When I've disabled the tune in the past (gone back to stock setting for a dealership visit), I would get a CEL. That makes sense, as maybe the AR design catted downpipe isn't as good as a Fabspeed for setting off the CEL. But how am I getting a CEL when my tune is fully enabled?

Sorry for the issues you are having and I'd be pissed too if I wasn't completely happy. I mean you still spent hundreds of dollars on a mod that's supposed to be an exact fit for your car alone, like you said it's not universal. As far as the CEL I'm really not sure what that could be. I have a 435i and have had this exhaust on for well over a year along with the Fabspeed catted dp and MHD Stage 2+ tune, I also have a CTS intake installed and have never once experienced a single CEL. Good luck.

[TEST DRYVER]

I appreciate the support, guys. Let's see where this all lands. I do have an oil leak, but I recently had the oil and spark plugs changed (I went with NGK 1 step colder), so at first I thought whatever's causing the leak is what's causing the CEL. But Oil was changed a few weeks ago with no problems, but car has been leaking for 2 weeks. The tech believes when swapping out the oil filter, the seal might of needed to be replaced, but wasn't. So I bought a seal, let's see if that fixes the oil leak. I only related the CEL to the exhaust because the install was obviously not spot on, and the CEL turned on within 24 hours of the install. It's just speculation till I get to the bottom of it...
I am truly glad and inspired that Seba and DIY Guy have had great results with the same exhaust, and maybe even a similar build. The thing that both of you have in common is the both of you have 4's and not 3's. I'm not saying that's the problem, but it could be the fitment is better suited to a 4..? If I'm not mistaken, a few other exhaust brands have slightly different fitment and exhausts for 3's vs 4's, whereas the AA is the same unit for both. I could be wrong of course...