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which way should I go for muffler?
Hi everyone, I have a bmw e46 with an M54 engine, and I have been on the fence about what should I do with my muffler, so what better of a place than to see what ya'll have done to yall's cars. I've been looking around and have been split by 2 choices, borla or a straight pipe coming from where the muffler was. What would be the best choice for minimal drone? My exhaust setup is currently headers, front smaller muffler, resonator (essentially all stock midpipe) and a stock muffler. The exhaust is a dual exhaust system. Any help would be appreciated!
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Good question, and solid job laying out your current setup that helps a lot.
On an M54, a straight pipe where the rear muffler was will almost always introduce drone, especially cruising in the 2–3k RPM range. Even with a resonator up front, that motor tends to get boomy once you remove the rear muffler entirely, particularly on a dual setup.
If your goal is minimal drone, the Borla (or any quality straight-through muffler) is the safer move. You’ll still get a deeper, more aggressive tone over stock, but it stays controlled on the highway and won’t wear you out on longer drives. The M54 sounds best when it’s smooth and refined, not raw and raspy.