Miss my MINI JCW Exhaust

Pathy01 · 03-31-2011, 06:34 PM

I miss the character of the exhaust sound my JCW MINI had. I went from stock on my 335i to Borla which sounds pretty good above 3000 rpm, but not very good below that with a lot of drone between 1700-2300. I've got a PW Performance Exhaust coming which sounded really good on the car I heard with it on. I hope I enjoy it as much over the long haul. I wish BMW could get the same sound engineers who tuned the factory R56 JCW exhaust to do one for the 335. I know it was a 4 cylinder vs a 6 but it seems like it should be possible to get a little more character to an N54 without getting rid of all the cats and while keeping it drone free and civilized when you're just cruising.

Here's a clip of the stock JCW for anyone interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vwaOiGfN98

bmwmthree · 03-31-2011, 08:48 PM

michaelthepsycho · 03-31-2011, 09:04 PM

Longer pipes / wider pipes = more drone. Just resonance.

Besides, the turbo has already "set" the sound characteristic up for the car; that's why all aftermarket systems sound somewhat similar. Can't change the engine

Pathy01 · 04-01-2011, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelthepsycho

Longer pipes / wider pipes = more drone. Just resonance.

Besides, the turbo has already "set" the sound characteristic up for the car; that's why all aftermarket systems sound somewhat similar. Can't change the engine

I'm not sure the length/diameter of the pipes alone determines drone. I had 3.5" pipe on a 6.0 V8 with straight through muffler that didn't drone like the Borla does. Sure it was loud, but you could hear the character of the engine at all engine speeds/load. This BMW turbo I6 just doesn't seem to have any character at low to moderate RPM, just that resonance of the pipes..

The MINI was a turbo but seemed to pass a lot more character through the turbo. The BMW performance exhaust seems to do a much better job than the other aftermarket exhausts I've heard of adding a more aggressive character without just opening it up creating resonance at low to moderate engine speed/load. Those who have it seem to love it, I'm really hoping I feel the same way once I've got mine on for a while. It's nice to be able to cruise in quiet comfort sometimes, and get a nice aggressive sound when you get on it a bit.

Hou*E92 · 05-15-2012, 03:53 PM

The BMW Performance Exhaust for the 3-series is made by JCW in the UK.

03-31-2011, 06:34 PM	#1
Pathy01 Second Lieutenant 51 Rep 218 Posts Drives: G42 M240i Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (4)	Miss my MINI JCW Exhaust I miss the character of the exhaust sound my JCW MINI had. I went from stock on my 335i to Borla which sounds pretty good above 3000 rpm, but not very good below that with a lot of drone between 1700-2300. I've got a PW Performance Exhaust coming which sounded really good on the car I heard with it on. I hope I enjoy it as much over the long haul. I wish BMW could get the same sound engineers who tuned the factory R56 JCW exhaust to do one for the 335. I know it was a 4 cylinder vs a 6 but it seems like it should be possible to get a little more character to an N54 without getting rid of all the cats and while keeping it drone free and civilized when you're just cruising. Here's a clip of the stock JCW for anyone interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vwaOiGfN98
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03-31-2011, 09:04 PM	#3
michaelthepsycho Lieutenant Colonel 82 Rep 1,644 Posts Drives: 11 Montego Blue E90 335i Step Join Date: May 2009 Location: CA iTrader: (4)	Longer pipes / wider pipes = more drone. Just resonance. Besides, the turbo has already "set" the sound characteristic up for the car; that's why all aftermarket systems sound somewhat similar. Can't change the engine __________________ Former car 2011 BMW 335i Step - Montego Blue / Chestnut Brown
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05-15-2012, 03:53 PM	#5
Hou*E92 Private 3 Rep 95 Posts Drives: E92 328i LCI Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (0)	The BMW Performance Exhaust for the 3-series is made by JCW in the UK.
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