Survey of Cat-Back exhaust for 325

[Stan]

Currently I have an Ansa, it is not too loud, does not drone and I do like it. I am wondering what everyone has, does it drone, is it loud and do you like it.
I was thinking of going with a stainless steel cat-back system but heard some might be too loud or make a drone at low speeds.
Thanks for the input.

[DrJosh]

I have scorpion. It's not that much louder than stock and does not really drone. It's like OEM + in its sound. The rest of the exhaust is stock. The only thing I wish I had done differently was get the dual tip version and not the single oval tip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSU5HQ5qSQE

[mtech325]

Recently I installed a Supersprint catback on my m20 car to replace the rusted stock rear muffler. The build quality and fitment of the Supersprint is very nice, but so far it sounds just as quiet as a stock exhaust. I knew it wasn't going to be loud, but was hoping it'd have a little more volume upon full throttle. I really liked the sound of my friend's Supersprint catback, but his was the older mild steel version. I have the newer stainless steel version, and it's pretty underwhelming. Maybe it'll break in (currently have around 250 miles on it), but not sure I'd purchase it again.

[Stan]

I have a Stromung, brand new in the box. I hesitate as my friend has one on his car and it is a bit loud and it drones at lower speed.

[onesecond]

On my 318is I have found that the Stromung drones around 3k and above. Below that it seems to be fine. Unfortunately due to the high gearing of the 318is it drones on the highway, I'm looking to get a 3.93 LSD to hopefully mitigate some of that.

[NC325iC]

In the past I have had:

Stock m20, kn filter, stock heads and cat, IE stainless catback 3.0l m20 with the same in/exh setup
3.0l m20 with long tube miller intake, stock heads/cat, and stromung catback

Hands down, the best sounding catback behind an inline 6 is the stromung. That being said that miller long tube intake made a bigger difference in sound, donno if they still sell it.

Edit: they do still sell it and it's cheaper than the stromung catback. Plus it will actually gain some power.

[Stan]

Hands down, the best sounding catback behind an inline 6 is the stromung. That being said that miller long tube intake made a bigger difference in sound, donno if they still sell it.

Edit: they do still sell it and it's cheaper than the stromung catback. Plus it will actually gain some power. [/QUOTE]

NC325iC Do you have a link for that miller intake?

[IceyVert]

IE Catback with the rest being stock. No drone but I do wish it was a bit louder. OEM+ is a good descriptor.

[TC Baur MD]

I have both the Remus and Stromung. Stromung is a little louder and has more drone. My preference is Remus.

[Stan]

I have both the Remus and Stromung. Stromung is a little louder and has more drone. My preference is Remus.

Is Remus louder than stock? I had a Remus on an E36 318 and really liked it.

[mjweimer]

Exhaust is so subjective but I'll share my $.02.

I did not experience any nasty drone on my past E30 M3, E30 325iS or my E36 M3 with a Stromung cat-back. In all cases I was running stock manifolds and stock center sections with intact/functioning cats. On my current 24V swap E30 I have a custom 2.5" single inlet E30 325iS Stromung with a Magnaflow single 2.5" cat and a 2 into 1 merge pipe from the stock M52 manifolds. It is a bit louder than the same "factory" M20 set-up with a Stromung but still zero drone at any speed....unless I lug the car down in the wrong gear which is the case for any louder exhaust set-up.

I have also heard a Remus cat-back on a 325is and it was definitely a deeper tone but not quite as open sounding as a Stromung. On an otherwise stock set-up, I'd say a Remus is a happy medium between Supersprint and Stromung.

Curious where you end up and get some of your feedback.

[Stan]

One thought I had was to swap out my Ansa for the Stromung and make a subjective comparison to determine which I prefer.

[325e '87]

I have the ANSA and I really love it. The only real difference in sound is at idle, otherwise it seems stock to me while driving.

[AWDBOB]

I have tried several of the available options. Hands down best (to me) for OEM+ sound was the Magnaflow 16535 catback.

Sounded stock most of the time, with just a liiiitle extra deep grunt, and it opened up nicely, no drone.

It is one of the only catbacks I regularly recommend to people.

the old eBay catback that’s no longer available (same as IE catback) was quieter all around, but still good. Magnaflow wins for me in every category, though.

I had a custom exhaust built for my stroker m20 and used a Magnaflow muffler very similar to that of the 16535 catback, and it too sounds glorious.

[mjweimer]

One thought I had was to swap out my Ansa for the Stromung and make a subjective comparison to determine which I prefer.

I think that is the best option...a bit of work...but in the end you'll be happy knowing what really pleases your ear.