Stromung Exhaust full review (pic intensive)

whitejdm · 03-10-2011, 01:29 PM

HISTORY LESSON

So I have been wrestling with what exhaust to get since november when I picked up the coupe. On all of my previous cars (too many to mention), I have gone with the exhaust that gave the most gains regardless of price, looks, and sound. So the M coupe was a bit of challenge, on the one hand the obvious route was to do headers, however I have never run into a car who's stock exhaust sound was as dissapointing. With that in mind I began my search for a muffler solution first (knowing the gains would be minimal to non-existant).

THE PLAYERS

I disqualified Supersprint right off the hop because I have always believed (you can flame me for this) after some first hand experience that the quality of their exhaust just simply didnt match the price.
I also decided on a hard 1500 dollar limit. That meant saying buy buy to KKS, Arqray, and Eisenmann.
So that really left the Rogue Diablo, RPI GT, and Stromung

DECISION TIME

I gravitated right away to the amazing raw motorsport sound of the RPI. It also seemed to take the S54-ness out of the exhaust note and replace it with a more exotic tone. After talking with Eloy it became clear they knew their stuff, and the exhaust would be top notch. 2 things stopped me, a few videos showed a MUCH louder beast compared to the others. While I am no stranger to loud exhausts and drone I also am getting a bit older (27 is relative I suppose). Secondly, the pricing at 965 plus shipping is VERY fair for limited production cars such as ours but it left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. The more I looked at them the more they looked like the straight pipes I did on my 335i. And that's when I realized it would be too much money for an exhaust I would not enjoy for very long.

RE's Diablo has had nothing but stellar reviews and seemed a good compromise between the louder and quieter exhausts. Again two factors jumped to the top of my list. I'm not really a fan of the looks (again, flame on), the tips just look SOOOO aftermarket with the angle cut. Also, again I was afraid I would end up with all the drone and loudness..but without the intoxicating sound the RPI would have provided.

That left me with the Stromung, the more I watched the videos and looked at pictures the more I realized they would be the perfect choice. VERY stock looking which I liked. Also, I had a revelation in my sound preference. I decided I liked the stock notes tone, but it was lacking volume. The stomung seems to amplify everything without CHANGING the tone. The price point was also very good (a nice bonus).

PICTURES and Initial impressions on the way shortly.

whitejdm · 03-10-2011, 01:44 PM

FIRST SET OF PICS
Install will go down tomorrow morning (had to order exhaust gaskets)

IMPRESSIONS

The mufflers were well packaged, free of damage, and came with hardware minus the gaskets.
I am VERY impressed with the quality thus far. The tips look great and the welds look good too. YES, there IS some discoloring around the welds and the cans are not polished (only the tips are) but the over all feel is very good. Also, if you are wishing Dinan made an exhaust for our cars THIS is what they would have come up with. I compared it to an E90 M3 exhaust from Dinan we have in stock and they look VERY similar in construction.

onebluemcm · 03-10-2011, 01:49 PM

I like the two separate outlet pipes - very reminiscent of the few BMS systems that made in on to a handful of Z4Ms - I believe they used a Magnaflow can for theirs.

Eagerly awating more pics and please, some clips. Have always been curious about the Stromung systems..... Can you take some pics down the inlet tube and down the outlet tubes/tips? Might take some creativity with a flash light, etc., but I for one would like to know what the innerds are like.

alvinli217 · 03-10-2011, 03:02 PM

honest review!!! same to what i want to say

here are two video clips of the exhaust on my car

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499715

whitejdm · 03-10-2011, 03:30 PM

nice clips! I'll add some this weekend as well.

Also Alvin how did you black out the center diffuser on your car? did you use paint or vinyl? I was thinking of doing the exact same thing as mine got a little damaged over the winter and needs a refresh anyway.

alvinli217 · 03-10-2011, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitejdm

nice clips! I'll add some this weekend as well.

Also Alvin how did you black out the center diffuser on your car? did you use paint or vinyl? I was thinking of doing the exact same thing as mine got a little damaged over the winter and needs a refresh anyway.

thanks,

mine was painted with the front. was thinking of vinyl wrapping it with the front center but i got a minor hit and run on front bumper so i claim insurance for fixing and my buddy that owns a body shop hook it up for me free so what the heck and got them paint matte/flat black

it makes the car looks meaner and looks like it has a diffuser

dazed^ · 03-10-2011, 03:55 PM

Probably totally irrelevant, but how's the weight of this exhaust compared to the stock M exhaust?

Also, why is discoloring bad? Does it show poor workmanship in some way?

johanness · 03-10-2011, 04:39 PM

Hate to say it, but how's the drone if any? The sound should ripen nicely over time too

whitejdm · 03-10-2011, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazed^

Probably totally irrelevant, but how's the weight of this exhaust compared to the stock M exhaust?

Also, why is discoloring bad? Does it show poor workmanship in some way?

Yeah most companies clean and polish their welds up, very common with Japanese exhausts. Dinan never has though, doesn't seem to affect strength. I was going to comment on the weight when I install them tomorrow so I can compare them to stock. They SEEM very light though

alvinli217 · 03-10-2011, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazed^

Probably totally irrelevant, but how's the weight of this exhaust compared to the stock M exhaust?

Also, why is discoloring bad? Does it show poor workmanship in some way?

it feels like about 15lbs, iirc stock is like 25lbs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johanness

Hate to say it, but how's the drone if any? The sound should ripen nicely over time too

no drone at all...lovin it!
it's still not run in yet so i assume it will be even deeper later on

dorifto88 · 03-16-2011, 11:59 PM

Bump. any updates ?

johanness · 03-17-2011, 12:32 AM

Shoot man. I'm so tempted to grab a set. Come on Diokaef! Hurry up already

whitejdm · 03-17-2011, 09:56 AM

Exhaust is on!! AND...it's snowing again.
Sorry guys the videos and full review will have to wait a little while longer. Here are some quick impressions thought.

Fitment is perfect and it's a dead easy installation. Also I fired up and drove the car with NO mufflers on (you just have to haha) and the drone was so intense I felt it in my teeth. If the RPI mufflers were even half as bad I wouldn't have been able to stand it.

Sound wise the mufflers give the car a DEEP tone at idle that you can feel in your back slightly, but as the car warms up they settle in nicely. Cruising at 70kph in 4th gear leaves NO DRONE at all and it has a VERY nice waill at high rpms. Also an unexpected side-effect, if you're one gear lower than normal at any given speed with a touch of throttle the mufflers give off a sort of hollow tone very much like a stock E6x M5 or M6. Not too loud but very indicative of the more modern cars that seem to be getting louder and louder oem exhausts. I got tons of looks and compliments from strangers.

In short they are not the most aggressive mufflers by any stretch, but they just make the car sound like it SHOULD. It may be too subtle for everyone but for me they are PERFECT. And at that price point it's a no brainer.

Quickid · 03-17-2011, 10:49 AM

Thanks for the review!!! How much is the Stromung exhaust and where did you buy them from?

whitejdm · 03-17-2011, 11:43 AM

www.stromungexhaust.com

895usd plus shipping

BookerM3 · 04-08-2011, 09:28 PM

I figured I would add to whitejdm review since I purchased his set.
(He was a lucky guy, I sent the paypal hours before the GB was official)

I would lilke to add a few things about the Stromung exhaust after Installing them and driving around with them the last few days.

- Overall 20- 30 % louder than stock with a lower overall pitch.
- While installing them I noticed one side stuck out further than the other after adjusting things for a while I decided to measure
the system to see if anthing was off. I found the the tubing going into the Drivers side muffler was apprx. 5mm longer than the
passenger side
- From a muffler design they are a hybrid Straight through / baffled design
(the baffled area is likely the reason they have little or no Drone)
- Tubing going into the muffers is expanded at the flange to 60mm then decreases to 57mm (2 1/4") into the muffler.
This likely takes little away from the performance givien how the Factory X pipe is pinched / flatened near the Diff.

Overall I am happy with the system, however; knowing one side sits further out than the other is going to bug me

Mike

tekmoe · 04-08-2011, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookerM3

Overall I am happy with the system, however; knowing one side sits further out than the other is going to bug me

Take it to a good muffler shop and they might be able to correct that.

RobMCoupe · 04-09-2011, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookerM3

Overall I am happy with the system, however; knowing one side sits further out than the other is going to bug me

Mike

I looked at a few Z4M Coupes and see the exhasut do extend out a bit with factory exhaust. It seem like it was a desgin problem.

vicj · 05-05-2011, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitejdm

www.stromungexhaust.com

895usd plus shipping

Link is dead. Can't figure out a way to contact them

johanness · 05-05-2011, 01:29 PM

^^^Vicj, message 45ACP. He put the GB together and has Scott's info. Easy guy to get a hold of and knows his stuff

vicj · 05-05-2011, 01:38 PM

Yeah, he gave me a number that says is disconnected.

it's 2:30 here in Hong Kong. I'm going to bed.

03-10-2011, 01:29 PM	#1
whitejdm Private First Class 7 Rep 120 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada iTrader: (1)	Stromung Exhaust full review (pic intensive) HISTORY LESSON So I have been wrestling with what exhaust to get since november when I picked up the coupe. On all of my previous cars (too many to mention), I have gone with the exhaust that gave the most gains regardless of price, looks, and sound. So the M coupe was a bit of challenge, on the one hand the obvious route was to do headers, however I have never run into a car who's stock exhaust sound was as dissapointing. With that in mind I began my search for a muffler solution first (knowing the gains would be minimal to non-existant). THE PLAYERS I disqualified Supersprint right off the hop because I have always believed (you can flame me for this) after some first hand experience that the quality of their exhaust just simply didnt match the price. I also decided on a hard 1500 dollar limit. That meant saying buy buy to KKS, Arqray, and Eisenmann. So that really left the Rogue Diablo, RPI GT, and Stromung DECISION TIME I gravitated right away to the amazing raw motorsport sound of the RPI. It also seemed to take the S54-ness out of the exhaust note and replace it with a more exotic tone. After talking with Eloy it became clear they knew their stuff, and the exhaust would be top notch. 2 things stopped me, a few videos showed a MUCH louder beast compared to the others. While I am no stranger to loud exhausts and drone I also am getting a bit older (27 is relative I suppose). Secondly, the pricing at 965 plus shipping is VERY fair for limited production cars such as ours but it left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. The more I looked at them the more they looked like the straight pipes I did on my 335i. And that's when I realized it would be too much money for an exhaust I would not enjoy for very long. RE's Diablo has had nothing but stellar reviews and seemed a good compromise between the louder and quieter exhausts. Again two factors jumped to the top of my list. I'm not really a fan of the looks (again, flame on), the tips just look SOOOO aftermarket with the angle cut. Also, again I was afraid I would end up with all the drone and loudness..but without the intoxicating sound the RPI would have provided. That left me with the Stromung, the more I watched the videos and looked at pictures the more I realized they would be the perfect choice. VERY stock looking which I liked. Also, I had a revelation in my sound preference. I decided I liked the stock notes tone, but it was lacking volume. The stomung seems to amplify everything without CHANGING the tone. The price point was also very good (a nice bonus). PICTURES and Initial impressions on the way shortly.
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03-10-2011, 01:44 PM	#2
whitejdm Private First Class 7 Rep 120 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada iTrader: (1)	FIRST SET OF PICS Install will go down tomorrow morning (had to order exhaust gaskets) IMPRESSIONS The mufflers were well packaged, free of damage, and came with hardware minus the gaskets. I am VERY impressed with the quality thus far. The tips look great and the welds look good too. YES, there IS some discoloring around the welds and the cans are not polished (only the tips are) but the over all feel is very good. Also, if you are wishing Dinan made an exhaust for our cars THIS is what they would have come up with. I compared it to an E90 M3 exhaust from Dinan we have in stock and they look VERY similar in construction. Attached Images
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03-10-2011, 01:49 PM	#3
onebluemcm Captain 42 Rep 632 Posts Drives: '07 Z4MC Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Richmond, VA iTrader: (0)	I like the two separate outlet pipes - very reminiscent of the few BMS systems that made in on to a handful of Z4Ms - I believe they used a Magnaflow can for theirs. Eagerly awating more pics and please, some clips. Have always been curious about the Stromung systems..... Can you take some pics down the inlet tube and down the outlet tubes/tips? Might take some creativity with a flash light, etc., but I for one would like to know what the innerds are like. __________________ \|=.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-.=\| Silbergrau A08 / Sepang Brown LSD6 / Carbon Leather 4MY (1 of 3, this combo) RAC RG63 \| Conti EC-DW \| GC/Koni-Dinan \| Rogue RSM \| Arqray \| Autosolutions \| BMW brace \| Pinnacle tint
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03-10-2011, 03:02 PM	#4
alvinli217 Captain 47 Rep 715 Posts Drives: Imola RED dIrTy Z4MR - SOLD Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver, B.C iTrader: (2)	honest review!!! same to what i want to say here are two video clips of the exhaust on my car http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499715 __________________ RPI scoop\|BMC drop in filter\|EAS V1 aluminum mount\|ZHP shiftknob\|RHO plate holder\|matte black grill\|LED interior & license plate light\|RE SSK\|RE tranny mount\|UUC engine mount\|Bavarian CDV\|clutch stop\|18" Forgestar CF5 GOLD\|RPI exhaust\|H&R coilovers\| RE RSM\| coming soon: aFe intake\|tune\|secondary cat delete\|
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03-10-2011, 03:30 PM	#5
whitejdm Private First Class 7 Rep 120 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada iTrader: (1)	nice clips! I'll add some this weekend as well. Also Alvin how did you black out the center diffuser on your car? did you use paint or vinyl? I was thinking of doing the exact same thing as mine got a little damaged over the winter and needs a refresh anyway.
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03-10-2011, 03:55 PM	#7
dazed^ Private First Class 4 Rep 174 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 M Roadster Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Netherlands iTrader: (0)	Probably totally irrelevant, but how's the weight of this exhaust compared to the stock M exhaust? Also, why is discoloring bad? Does it show poor workmanship in some way?
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03-10-2011, 04:39 PM	#8
johanness Banned 56 Rep 1,739 Posts Drives: 2008 Z4MC Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle, Vancouver iTrader: (3) Garage List 2008 BMW Z4M COUPE [7.00] 2012 BMW X1 xDrive 28i [9.00]	Hate to say it, but how's the drone if any? The sound should ripen nicely over time too
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03-16-2011, 11:59 PM	#11
dorifto88 Major 48 Rep 1,135 Posts Drives: 88 Nissan Pathfinder Join Date: May 2010 Location: cowtown iTrader: (4)	Bump. any updates ?
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03-17-2011, 12:32 AM	#12
johanness Banned 56 Rep 1,739 Posts Drives: 2008 Z4MC Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle, Vancouver iTrader: (3) Garage List 2008 BMW Z4M COUPE [7.00] 2012 BMW X1 xDrive 28i [9.00]	Shoot man. I'm so tempted to grab a set. Come on Diokaef! Hurry up already
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03-17-2011, 09:56 AM	#13
whitejdm Private First Class 7 Rep 120 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada iTrader: (1)	Exhaust is on!! AND...it's snowing again. Sorry guys the videos and full review will have to wait a little while longer. Here are some quick impressions thought. Fitment is perfect and it's a dead easy installation. Also I fired up and drove the car with NO mufflers on (you just have to haha) and the drone was so intense I felt it in my teeth. If the RPI mufflers were even half as bad I wouldn't have been able to stand it. Sound wise the mufflers give the car a DEEP tone at idle that you can feel in your back slightly, but as the car warms up they settle in nicely. Cruising at 70kph in 4th gear leaves NO DRONE at all and it has a VERY nice waill at high rpms. Also an unexpected side-effect, if you're one gear lower than normal at any given speed with a touch of throttle the mufflers give off a sort of hollow tone very much like a stock E6x M5 or M6. Not too loud but very indicative of the more modern cars that seem to be getting louder and louder oem exhausts. I got tons of looks and compliments from strangers. In short they are not the most aggressive mufflers by any stretch, but they just make the car sound like it SHOULD. It may be too subtle for everyone but for me they are PERFECT. And at that price point it's a no brainer.
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03-17-2011, 10:49 AM	#14
Quickid First Lieutenant 11 Rep 331 Posts Drives: 08 Z4MC, 06 X5 4.4i, 99 323i Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada iTrader: (4)	Thanks for the review!!! How much is the Stromung exhaust and where did you buy them from? __________________
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03-17-2011, 11:43 AM	#15
whitejdm Private First Class 7 Rep 120 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada iTrader: (1)	www.stromungexhaust.com 895usd plus shipping
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04-08-2011, 09:28 PM	#16
BookerM3 Private First Class 72 Rep 170 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada iTrader: (3)	I figured I would add to whitejdm review since I purchased his set. (He was a lucky guy, I sent the paypal hours before the GB was official) I would lilke to add a few things about the Stromung exhaust after Installing them and driving around with them the last few days. - Overall 20- 30 % louder than stock with a lower overall pitch. - While installing them I noticed one side stuck out further than the other after adjusting things for a while I decided to measure the system to see if anthing was off. I found the the tubing going into the Drivers side muffler was apprx. 5mm longer than the passenger side - From a muffler design they are a hybrid Straight through / baffled design (the baffled area is likely the reason they have little or no Drone) - Tubing going into the muffers is expanded at the flange to 60mm then decreases to 57mm (2 1/4") into the muffler. This likely takes little away from the performance givien how the Factory X pipe is pinched / flatened near the Diff. Overall I am happy with the system, however; knowing one side sits further out than the other is going to bug me Mike
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05-05-2011, 01:29 PM	#20
johanness Banned 56 Rep 1,739 Posts Drives: 2008 Z4MC Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle, Vancouver iTrader: (3) Garage List 2008 BMW Z4M COUPE [7.00] 2012 BMW X1 xDrive 28i [9.00]	^^^Vicj, message 45ACP. He put the GB together and has Scott's info. Easy guy to get a hold of and knows his stuff
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05-05-2011, 01:38 PM	#21
vicj First Lieutenant 9 Rep 316 Posts Drives: '06 M Roadster; 2010 Mini Join Date: May 2008 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	Yeah, he gave me a number that says is disconnected. it's 2:30 here in Hong Kong. I'm going to bed.
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