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      11-16-2015, 12:38 PM   #1
marcus321
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Active Autowerke Exhaust Review/Thoughts

I just recently took delivery of my 2016 m4 and one thing I knew I wanted to do when I first/heard saw this car in early 2015 was to change out the exhaust system. Of my last 3 cars(GT-R, 335i, 350z), this car sounded by far the worst in stock form. I knew I would need to change the exhaust immediately and I listened to a lot of videos of all exhaust systems and heard a few different setups in person(AWE, Magnaflow, straightpipe and Eisenmann). Never having heard the AA in person, decided to give it a try because of its unique design and rave reviews by all owners and vendors; however AWE was a very second close choice.

First off, before I share my thoughts on the exhaust I want thank Golan@Autotalent for absolutely phenomenal service and experience when purchasing this Exhaust, he will continue to get my business as I purchase more mods for this platform.

I also want to thank the help of my friend @Fonchenta, a BMW master tech, whom helped me with the install while not having the luxury of a lift
Thoughts:

When unboxing this exhaust, I was impressed with the packaging and was happy to find a pair of instructions also printed out, not to mention a free AA shirt .

I opted for the 90mm tips as I think it fits the characteristics of this car better. I quickly began piecing the exhaust together. It was a little tricky at first do to the unique design but the overall install process took 3.5 hours from unboxing, removing the oem exhaust, piecing the new one together, fixing my mistakes and bolting it up. I personally only followed the instructions about half the time. I found it easier to put all the parts together for the exhaust except the midpipe together then bolt it up to the car. I did the install with the help of 1 other person and a pair of ramps, it wasn't bad at all.

Quality of the exhaust was top notch and fit together perfectly with no issues whatsoever. I would HIGHLY recommend this exhaust over any of the exhausts I have heard. It has absolutely no drone, no rasp, obnoxious cracking/popping sounds. The sound is extremely smooth and harmonic. Regardless of speed, when cruising it is as quiet as OEM with exhaust flaps closed but flooring it really opens it up and it sounds incredible.

Anyone in the Raleigh/Durham/RTP area or NC area in general is more then welcome to hear it anytime. You will be thoroughly impressed.

Here are some pictures and video. The video is not the best quality and it honestly sound 100x better in person.







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Last edited by marcus321; 12-03-2015 at 12:59 PM..
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      11-16-2015, 02:21 PM   #2
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Best system available. I'm running mine with OEM downpipes for now. Once 1200 mile service is done I will be going catless.
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      11-16-2015, 02:29 PM   #3
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Best sounding exhaust hands down. My only comment is the rear bracket system could have been designed better. It's kinda like an erector set
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      11-16-2015, 04:36 PM   #4
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I'm in the Raleigh area, I'd love to hear this in person. Do you miss having a toned down option with the lack of valves?
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      11-16-2015, 04:43 PM   #5
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Enjoy, its a great system!
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      11-16-2015, 05:30 PM   #6
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Looking good Marcus! How long did the install take you?
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      11-16-2015, 08:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AutoTalent View Post
Looking good Marcus! How long did the install take you?
Basic tools and ramps and I still managed it in 3.5 hours from start to finish with 2 people.
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      11-16-2015, 08:16 PM   #8
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I frequent raleigh often. Would love to hear it sometime!
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      11-16-2015, 08:18 PM   #9
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Active needs to make a valved system as well. This is the best sounding system on the market without a doubt but without a quiet mode it will turn a lot of people off. Great review, thanks for doing this!
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      11-16-2015, 08:38 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishace View Post
Active needs to make a valved system as well. This is the best sounding system on the market without a doubt but without a quiet mode it will turn a lot of people off. Great review, thanks for doing this!
Do you have this system on your car? There's no reason to have a valve on this system.

It's extremely tame and has a nice low rumble to in when cruising or at idle. No drone.

When you put your foot in it, it wakes up and puts a smile on your face.

If you build the system right, you don't need a valve.
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      11-16-2015, 08:58 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kr3st View Post
Do you have this system on your car? There's no reason to have a valve on this system.

It's extremely tame and has a nice low rumble to in when cruising or at idle. No drone.

When you put your foot in it, it wakes up and puts a smile on your face.

If you build the system right, you don't need a valve.
I couldn't agree more. It's only time it's loud is when you have a cold start. Other then that it's tame and doesn't need valves at all. Even then, the cold start is marginally louder then stock with disabled valves.
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      11-16-2015, 09:00 PM   #12
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I frequent raleigh often. Would love to hear it sometime!
You are more then welcome to hear it anytime you are here

What part of nc are you from?
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      11-17-2015, 10:57 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishace View Post
Active needs to make a valved system as well. This is the best sounding system on the market without a doubt but without a quiet mode it will turn a lot of people off. Great review, thanks for doing this!
Agreed. I'm holding out to see if enough requests will get one developed at some point. It's nice to have the option to make the car behave for going to lunch with colleagues or dinner out with the wife. People who want to hold a conversation in the car with you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by marcus321 View Post
You are more then welcome to hear it anytime you are here

What part of nc are you from?
I'd like to come along if possible.
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      11-17-2015, 12:02 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nothing View Post
Agreed. I'm holding out to see if enough requests will get one developed at some point. It's nice to have the option to make the car behave for going to lunch with colleagues or dinner out with the wife. People who want to hold a conversation in the car with you.
You won't see a valved system from Active. You should probably start looking elsewhere.

Again, please refer to my post above about the valves.
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      11-17-2015, 12:54 PM   #15
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I love my AA also. Finally an exhaust that doesn't rasp. I don't see the need for the valves. I never really used it when I had my Eisenmann. At the end of the day, you are driving an M4. It should be loud.
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      11-17-2015, 01:02 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nothing View Post
I'm in the Raleigh area, I'd love to hear this in person. Do you miss having a toned down option with the lack of valves?
PM me and we can arrange a time, I am always in town and enjoy meeting up with fellow enthusiasts.
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      11-17-2015, 01:03 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nothing View Post
Agreed. I'm holding out to see if enough requests will get one developed at some point. It's nice to have the option to make the car behave for going to lunch with colleagues or dinner out with the wife. People who want to hold a conversation in the car with you.



I'd like to come along if possible.
I think once you hear the system in person your opinion on valves will change completely. I almost guarantee you that.
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      11-17-2015, 06:40 PM   #18
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Glad you are happy with your choice, the AA is the best system available in my opinion
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      11-18-2015, 09:59 AM   #19
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Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy your Rasp free Sound
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      11-18-2015, 01:03 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew@ActiveAutowerke View Post
Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy your Rasp free Sound
It is music to my ears! Tell your R&D team that they did a fantastic job at engineering this exhaust with the proper exhaust note in mind.
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      11-18-2015, 01:47 PM   #21
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I'd be very interested in the AA exhaust, specially being a local guy, but dat price tho

maybe if they have a black-friday-special-price-for-old-local-customers-via-PM type of deal would make it more appealing
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      11-18-2015, 01:59 PM   #22
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Quote:
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I'd be very interested in the AA exhaust, specially being a local guy, but dat price tho

maybe if they have a black-friday-special-price-for-old-local-customers-via-PM type of deal would make it more appealing
Whats wrong with the price? Its on par with their E9x system and cheaper than many of the other options out there. Cheaper than MPE for a full system!
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