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Originally Posted by Jenner
I was hesitant to buy such an expensive exhaust but now I completely get the hype and feel it is worth every penny.
After experiencing Akrapovic in person for the first time I can say the price is completely justified and the sound is epic. It is very rare that things live up to my expectations and even more rare that they exceed them. This is one of those times they were exceeded!
Initially I thought the sound on my M8 would be acceptable since it is a convertible with access to much more sound with the top down than the coupe or GC. Driving with the top down there is little to no noise and it can't even compete with the wind noise. Perhaps my case is exaggerated coming from two M cars (X5 M and M4 Convertible) both modded with Dinan exhausts, intakes and tunes. Both had active sound disabled. I really enjoyed the sound of both and they never droned or were obnoxiously loud.
The lack of sound kept me from bonding with the M8 and between the soft suspension, large sidewalls and quiet exhaust it felt like a luxury car for old men not a proper M car. Keep in mind this is with exhaust flaps forced to be open 100% of the time and always in sport plus suspension. I fixed the soft suspension with 21" wheels and lowering springs but without the exhaust note I wasn't sure if I'd ever connect with this car.
The Akrapovic completely changed that....what a difference! The initial cold start to check my installation gave me goose bumps and then after the cats warmed up I blipped the throttle and I could hear the turbos deceleration spool after the RPM returned to idle. Now when driving top up or down it has great sounds throughout the entire RPM band with lots of little bonuses somehow both under boost (constant ssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh sound @ WOT) as well as new intake noises from the engine which I don't understand how an exhaust would do this but it sounds great and added character to the engine that was lacking. (My intakes are stock boxes with stock air filters but I removed the carbon filters)
I am SO pleased with both the volume/tone as well as the Akrapovic sound signature. It's loud at the right times and just enough to let you know it's there without being too loud or offensive at cruise. Also none of the videos on youtube replicate the full effect of the sound. You really need to hear it in person.
Why does BMW castrate the noise from the factory on their flagship M car? I assume it's to appeal to more buyers or the laws/regulations in all markets but it's just terrible. I can't imagine how bad it is with the European OPF filter in there as well.
As good as the Dinan stuff is the build quality from Akrapovic is the best I have ever seen in over 20 years of modding many Audis, BMWs and Porsches. The welds are all perfect(robots?) and the 28ft of Titanium 3" tubing looks glorious unpacked. I hate to put such a work of art under the car where no one can see it.
Speaking of unboxing, the packaging quality is incredible as well. Every part has 2 layers of bubble wrap followed by a cloth sack and the carbon fiber/Ti tips have all that PLUS come in their own box. The full color manual and every little accessory you need down to the zip ties is a nice touch too and feels very much like an Apple product in the sense that the packing has the same quality and attention to detail as the product and price point. No cutting corners @ Akrapovic.
I installed it myself in about 4 hours taking my time and making sure it was perfect as well as wiping it down with WD40 to ensure no glove or finger prints would burn into the exhaust during break in. It was a very easy installation (even with all the extra cross braces to remove on the convertible) and I'm glad I did as it allowed me to really appreciate the parts. My only complaint is the factory exhaust is a single unit that is 10.5-11ft in length which makes it really hard to store!
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Wellcome into Akra family..good job