Terrific write up. I never got the patience to do something as well documented myself), thanks a lot. Congrats again on the M3, it is really going to be bad@ss!!!
Let us know your feedback in a few days... as well as any input from the Chrysler 200 drivers of your area (I go back to quiet mode when I am getting very close to my cul-de-sac but can not resist running the exhaust in loud mode in the rest of the neighborhood and basically 95% of the time).

 

Great writeup! I'm glad to see that the Slip-Path is finally installed. I'm sure you'll have tons of fun as the sound, IMO, is fabulous.

 

Looking forward to you getting your M3! Great write up on the AWE system!!!

 

Wow excellent write up cant wait to see the video.

 

Update Video

Sorry for the lackluster commentary. I'm no Nick Murray.

 

Sounds good! A lot deeper/throatier than the factory from what I hear. Nice job! Looking forward to your 'proper' exhaust video!

 

I got inspired after my crappy in-garage video to go out and make a video of the car moving. I'm about to lose my exhaust video making spot. There were people driving around the community staring at me, so I had to make it quick before some called the police. I didn't get as many passes as usual.

I probably have about 50 miles on the car since installing the exhaust. As I mentioned in my other video, I actually lost one of the tips on my second trip out. On this third trip, all stayed put. I sanded and scuffed the inside of the tip and the exit pipe to help make sure I had a clean connection before tightening the clamp. I'll keep you posted on it. Zach from AWE already got back to me on his holiday weekend to let me know it won't be a problem getting another tip.

So what are my thoughts after such short seat time? I really like it. I've seen Serge's videos, TAG's, and AWE's. I'm usually not very worried about taking a leap on an exhaust as you could always sell and only lose a few hundred bucks. That being said, I think this one will be a keeper.

I didn't dislike the factory PSE, but I wanted something a bit more aggressive. Well, watching the videos of others doesn't prepare you as much as you might think. This is much, much more aggressive than PSE. I was assuming it would be a minor change, but it is a very drastic difference. If you aren't to keen on loud, I would caution you that you will be in quiet mode most of the time. For me, I'm a valves open not matter what guy, so I like it. Again, it's actually much louder than I expected, but I like it.

The exhaust is also lower pitched than I thought it would be, which is a very good thing. I tend to dislike Akrapovic and other titanium exhausts because of their higher pitched sound reproduction. At wide-open-throttle the AWE screams much more Ferrari like, but is deeper/bassier under normal driving RPMs from 1,000-5,000.

One negative is that it vibrates my dash when you initially get on the throttle hard from about 1,500 to 2,500. Once above that it seems to settle into the normal wake the neighbors violence with a bit more smoothness. Under light load, I didn't have the resonance.

Another interesting note is, despite being much louder under load, there is considerably less drone than OEM PSE. I haven't been on the highway yet, but I think it is going to be less annoying with the valves open than PSE.

I don't care much about valves closed, so I don't have much to say about it. It sounds similar to stock.

Would I recommend it? YES. I'm a sucker for high-quality engineering. This is well designed and is rather easy to install. I will say to a more reserved gentlemen, you may want to consider getting a ride or hearing in person as it may be too aggressive for more civilized individuals. Luckily, I'm still a kid at heart, and this isn't my daily driver.

OEM PSE


AWE SwitchPath

 

The AWE sounds great. Definitely louder than the PSE.

 

Great video comparrision! Sounds like a pack of fire *******s going off on decel! LOVING it!
(don't know why it **** out cr@ckers)

 

Nice footage, Matt! Gotta love the overrun on the SwitchPath. It's intoxicating!

I can sympathize on the loss of a favorite video spot, it stings. Hunting for a new spot is tough, too, with all the suburbanization going on.

 

Yeah I was trying to find a good spot to try my launch control and a video spot is just as hard to find. Sounds good bro, kinda Jaggy with the snap, crackle, pop but way better than stock/standard exhaust.

 

I'm so sad about my spot being compromised. It was so perfect. The were two natural spots to turn around. The straight is long enough to do as much as a third gear pull. There was no highway noise nearby.

My makeshift clamp/shim isn't holding. I want to get this thing out on the road asap. I should just take the tip off, but I'd be thinking my weight distribution would be off the whole time I was driving.

Zack already contacted me and is sending a new tip, shim, and clamp! Their customer service is pretty awesome! Buy with confidence.

 

Awesome write-up! The attention to detail is sick... sure we're not related? Oh yeah - I forgot.... I am much more messy!


I will probably be doing a similar install in the next year, so looking forward to your reference being handy!

 

I hope you know than when a car starts to be modiffied, it will never end xD

you start with the exhaust, what's next?

 

Funny, my service guy said the same thing to me last week when I got a Alu Kruez put on my RS5. Unfortunately, I'm running out of mods.