Exhaust too quiet? Here’s how we hit the right exhaust note.

While the exhaust system on our Southern car was in perfect condition, I hated it. It was just too quiet. Why drive a BMW if it’s as silent as a Camry?

Cutting out mufflers or resonators costs nothing–but I wanted something a bit more sophisticated. While some extra sportiness would be nice, this E90-chassis 328i cannot be ruined. It’s still a daily driver.

I asked my longtime buddy James Clay, owner of BimmerWorld, what he recommended. He pointed us toward a replacement muffler from Rogue Engineering for $549.99. It promises a “nice, deep tone…without the drone.”

And when we say replacement muffler, that is exactly what we mean. To install this stainless steel replacement muffler, you will need to cut off the old one.

The new Rogue Engineering muffler (left) compared to our BMW 328i's OEM muffler (right).

The two mounts use the original rubber hangers. Mine were like new, so I reused them. If your mounts are old and cracked, you can easily and inexpensively replace them. BimmerWorld sells them, as does almost any parts store or BMW dealer.

We hung the new muffler in place, and the tips exited in the correct location. The inlet pipe butted up perfectly with the cut we made to remove the old pipe. Thankfully, when I cut that pipe, I was right at the muffler. My thinking was that if I needed to take a second cut, we could.

While the Rogue Engineering muffler came with mounting clamps, I just butt-welded the muffler in place to save some weight and frustration–the stock exhaust system curves just before it meets the muffler, so welding seemed like an easy answer to prevent any future leaks, rattles or future issues.

You could argue that installing the system this way makes no sense from a serviceability standpoint, and I would argue back that this is the way the original system was built.

The tips also clamp on. I welded those on, too. Initially I was going to use the supplied clamps, but then I realized that we couldn’t get them tight enough to secure the tips the way wanted them to fit. I threw the clamps in my parts bin and just tack-welded the tips in place.

Without using the clamps, this muffler is 4.8 pounds lighter than the stock system. It produces a lovely, rorty tone at idle that builds to a pretty cool wail while accelerating. At cruising speeds, this muffler does not have uncomfortable sound levels.

So, for an hour’s worth of work, and about $550, I had an exhaust system that looked cool, saved us a few pounds, and gave us the sound we wanted.

More Like This

Comments

carguyrory New Reader
11/6/25 2:08 p.m.

This couldn’t be more timely. Yesterday I took my new to me E46 325 to the track (shout out to Track Night in America).

As predicted by the previous owner, on more than one occasion I rode the rev limiter because I couldn’t hear the engine 😅

While the car is set up for, and will primarily be a track car, I want it to be comfortable for around town and transits to the track (that’s why it still has heat/AC after all) when necessary (and maybe Targa😎)

Thanks for all the great content. Especially of the technical variety.

David S. Wallens Editorial Director
11/6/25 2:49 p.m.

In reply to carguyrory :

I might have had that happen to me as well.....

Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/6/25 3:05 p.m.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I mean, you paid for the whole tachometer, so you might as well use all of it, right?

Chris Tropea GRM+ Memberand Associate Editor
11/6/25 3:10 p.m.

I got to drive the 328i to the track a few days ago and can confirm the new muffler adds just enough noise to make it sound good without being annoying.

buzzboy UberDork
11/6/25 3:19 p.m.

I did enjoy hearing that VANOS crossover

VolvoHeretic GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
11/6/25 3:25 p.m.

I replaced my wore-out dual exhaust Thrush straight through mufflers with tiny cheap Turbo mufflers which were just too danged quiet. My car is so low that I just ran the two exhaust pipes under the solid axle and held everything up with a single hanger strap bolted into the trunk. I should have double nutted the hanger because while driving down the highway one day, the nut unwound and both mufflers dragged on the highway for several hundred feet until I pulled over to a stop and wired them back up. The rear rolled bead of each muffler wore off but the new sound was just perfect. The cost was free.

Youtube.com: VolvoHeretic Modified Volvo 1800 Exhaust Video

Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/6/25 3:28 p.m.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

I'd take that as a sign that the universe thought your car was too quiet.

VolvoHeretic GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
11/6/25 3:31 p.m.

In reply to Colin Wood :

I've always said that "If you can't make it faster, make it louder."

David S. Wallens Editorial Director
11/6/25 3:44 p.m.

Colin Wood said:
In reply to David S. Wallens :

I mean, you paid for the whole tachometer, so you might as well use all of it, right?

So, on my B16A-powered CRX HF, I ran the stock tach. The ECU was tuned. That meant I could spin the needle allllllllll the way past the numbers before shifting. It was fun. :)