[teapain]

Got mine from Mike @ X-PH. Quick shipping. Great communication.

Installation was a total pain since the AA pipe mouth was not big enough to go over the old pipe so had to widen it by bending back slightly the mouth. The bracket that was welded on the AA pipe to remount the OEM sensor didn't fit right so had to mess around with it to make the two bolts go in without bending. Then at the end, found out there were two bolts that were missing from the package. Ugh. Contacted Mike, who forwarded my message to AA. But i went ahead and contacted AA via phone and got through one of the tech guys who told me the size of the missing bolts (8mm). Went to Lowes. Fixed.

Tips: Careful with the two mounting brackets making sure they go on the correct side...No instruction so I made the mistake of putting them on the wrong sides (of course) and had to remount them.

Resulting sound from OUTSIDE is AMAZINGGG. It's a like a deeper, slightly louder version of stock 335i which is perfect for me.

HOWEVER, cabin drone and vibration is a real problem at low rpms going up and down the hills of Seattle. No drone while cruising, however. Only when you apply gas in the same gear while cruising at low rpms. I've literally gotten headaches from the exhaust drone driving in city traffic. So now, I'm thinking of going back to stock.

Performance gain wise...I guess there's some? Not really sure on just the exhaust alone because I have Injen intake and JB4 on map2. With this combo, the car is quite a leap from the stock set-up.

Overall, meh...Sounds great from outside but drone can be a huge drawback.

[BeachsideF30]

Sounds like im going to pass on this one, seems like people have nothing but problems with the install of this.

[MSport28]

I did not encounter the sizing problem where the AA pipe meets the stock one, but I will mirror teapain's comments regarding the sound and drone. The drone and vibration gets old when cruising at surface street speeds especially (40-50mph in AZ) and if anyone is sitting in the back seat while on the freeway they are sure to complain.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Hi,
Op about the gas smell,this is not normal.
You might have a leak somewhere,or you maybe something went wrong when installing the exhaust.
Please double check this issue asap,feel free to contact me or Andrew at Active Autowerke for help.
As for the drone, exhaust has been out for a long and it is by far the most popular one for these cars.
Never had anyone complaining about drone before

[Dippydo]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Hi,
Op about the gas smell,this is not normal.
You might have a leak somewhere,or you maybe something went wrong when installing the exhaust.
Please double check this issue asap,feel free to contact me or Andrew at Active Autowerke for help.
As for the drone, exhaust has been out for a long and it is by far the most popular one for these cars.
Never had anyone complaining about drone before

That was the first thing I thought too since he said he had trouble getting it on. A drone can come from a leak as well.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Dippydo

That was the first thing I thought too since he said he had trouble getting it on. A drone can come from a leak as well.

+1

[rustyminded]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Hi,
Op about the gas smell,this is not normal.
You might have a leak somewhere,or you maybe something went wrong when installing the exhaust.
Please double check this issue asap,feel free to contact me or Andrew at Active Autowerke for help.
As for the drone, exhaust has been out for a long and it is by far the most popular one for these cars.
Never had anyone complaining about drone before

I smell gas also but I have catless dp as well maybe that's the reason? as for drone. since installing the exhaust I have nothing but drone

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by rustyminded

I smell gas also but I have catless dp as well maybe that's the reason? as for drone. since installing the exhaust I have nothing but drone

If you smell gas outside the car when car is on idle,that is normal with catless DP.
If you smell gas inside the cabin, it means you have a leak.
As for the drone,i can tell you we have sold lots of these exhausts never heard any complaint about drone.

[rustyminded]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

If you smell gas outside the car when car is on idle,that is normal with catless DP.
If you smell gas inside the cabin, it means you have a leak.
As for the drone,i can tell you we have sold lots of these exhausts never heard any complaint about drone.

No, just outside not on idle when I am about to stop when driving spirited driving but it doesn't bother me as the drone, idk if it's from the dp or the muffler, it's much much less now but occasionally it's back maybe weather has to do with it

[teapain]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Hi,
Op about the gas smell,this is not normal.
You might have a leak somewhere,or you maybe something went wrong when installing the exhaust.
Please double check this issue asap,feel free to contact me or Andrew at Active Autowerke for help.
As for the drone, exhaust has been out for a long and it is by far the most popular one for these cars.
Never had anyone complaining about drone before

WAIT. WHAT? Did I say anything about "gas smell" in my original post? Please reread. I don't have any problem with gas smell.

And Please. This exhaust DRONES. Let's not beat around the bush and try to deflect the fact that it drones to any installation problem. People will still flock to buy the AA exhaust; nobody is going to go out of business. I'm just contributing to our forum with an honest review so all the members here can benefit.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by teapain

WAIT. WHAT? Did I say anything about "gas smell" in my original post? Please reread. I don't have any problem with gas smell.

And Please. This exhaust DRONES. Let's not beat around the bush and try to deflect the fact that it drones to any installation problem. People will still flock to buy the AA exhaust; nobody is going to go out of business. I'm just contributing to our forum with an honest review so all the members here can benefit.

Not trying to beat around the bushes, just trying to help .
No product will please everyone, that's just the nature of our business.
I was genuinely trying to help you because this is the first time we get a complaint about this exhaust (we sold a lot of these).
If the exhaust is supposed to drone as bad as you are mentioning, we would have had lots of complaints, hence why im saying it has to be installation.
I'll just stay out of this, sorry you did not like the exhaust and good luck with your future purchases.

[SflBimmer8484]

Do you have downpipes on the car?

[teapain]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Not trying to beat around the bushes, just trying to help .
No product will please everyone, that's just the nature of our business.
I was genuinely trying to help you because this is the first time we get a complaint about this exhaust (we sold a lot of these).
If the exhaust is supposed to drone as bad as you are mentioning, we would have had lots of complaints, hence why im saying it has to be installation.
I'll just stay out of this, sorry you did not like the exhaust and good luck with your future purchases.

Got it.

However, I'm not the only one saying AA exhausts drone. Obviously, there are other members who would agreed with my assessment (look above). Perhaps, it's driving style and circumstances...But I feel a little disappointed when AA advertised "NO DRONE".

Here's another thread on M3 forum about AA drone:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=875265

And yes, to each his own...this one is just not for me.

[SflBimmer8484]

1. For the solenoid you were supposed to use the bolts from your original exhaust. We do not provide any bolts.

2.We have not had any issues where the exhaust slips over. Your issue may be due to the pipe cutter you are using. We suggest a saw.

3. Installation instructions can be found on the product page below. http://store.activeautowerke.com/pro...-328i#328iDyno

4. Please be sure there are no leaks or loose brackets which can cause vibrations inside the cabin.

[teapain]

Originally Posted by Andrew@ActiveAutowerke

1. For the solenoid you were supposed to use the bolts from your original exhaust. We do not provide any bolts.

2.We have not had any issues where the exhaust slips over. Your issue may be due to the pipe cutter you are using. We suggest a saw.

3. Installation instructions can be found on the product page below. http://store.activeautowerke.com/pro...-328i#328iDyno

4. Please be sure there are no leaks or loose brackets which can cause vibrations inside the cabin.

Does anyone ever read anymore before posting?

1. Of course, I had to reuse the factory bolts, how else was I supposed to put it back? Solenoid bolts and different size than the 8mm exhaust pipe mounting bracket.

2. I used an exhaust pipe cutter loaner tool from Autozone (you can see the tool in the picture). Using a hacksaw would bend, dent, and warp the mouth of the cut pipe. You may have never had any issues you knew about. But as above, someone else mentioned that he/she has heard of others having problems with installation.

3. Ah. Very nice. Wish that was in the box. I used a DIY from one of the members: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=910482

4. I'm pretty sure there is ZERO leaks. I've accepted that this is just the nature of inexpensive exhausts.

[MyFragileHalogen]

Can you describe how is the drone like? Does the whole thing inside car rattle? Does it give an annoying noise? I've had no such experience in my car.

It just sounds boring from inside, while it sounds great from outside.

[teapain]

Droning is not super consistent and to some, it may not be that bad. However, this is my first aftermarket exhaust so I was unaware of this side-effects.

It just has this low bass hum accompanied with this high frequency vibration — like if you placed your phone on vibrate behind your back?— around 2-3k rpm, but once you’re outside of those rpm range, you’re cleared.

It’s just especially bad when is car is under load when i have passengers going up hill. Idk…it may go away after a while or i might get used to it…but it has been a couple of weeks and it gets on my nerve still from time to time.

From the outside, it sounds effin fantastic, though.

[Alexc360]

I had this exhaust installed at Active almost a year ago now on my 328 M-Sport and I've never had an issue.

[MyFragileHalogen]

Originally Posted by teapain

It just has this low bass hum accompanied with this high frequency vibration — like if you placed your phone on vibrate behind your back?— around 2-3k rpm, but once you’re outside of those rpm range, you’re cleared.

I have not experienced such vibration. Perhaps it's just your car, or the particular exhaust?

[slmdgee]

I have drone but i like it! Exhaust sounds great.

[MyFragileHalogen]

Originally Posted by slmdgee

I have drone but i like it! Exhaust sounds great.

Isn't your setup a 335 exhaust with a catless dp?

[rustyminded]

Originally Posted by MyFragileHalogen

Isn't your setup a 335 exhaust with a catless dp?

+1