[Fragger]

Hi Guys,

I hope everyone is doing well. I am a big fan of the 335 Sedans, especially post LCI. The coupe never quite appealed to me, the way the Sedans have, but gotta admit, sometimes, they just look PURE badass! LOL!

Anyway, yesterday, I found myself in an amazing dilemma. I went to test drive an 09 Sedan xDrive 33K miles on it, when the dealer showed me the most amazing thing on the lot:

A space gray 07 Coupe 335i, with ONLY, and yes, this is NOT a typo... 1000 MILES ON IT... I was like... !!!

As if my amazement was not high enough, the guy started the car, and this is the FIRST STOCK Coupe, I have EVER heard stating in real life, and MAN! The exhaust note that came out, almost made me tip over!

Never heard that note from a STOCK 335! So I have two questions for you guys:

1. Are the STOCK exhaust notes different on the Coupe and Sedans? The coupes being louder, growlier, the Sedans are always so quiet! Cause I HIGHLY doubt this coupe was modded. If so, why is that and what can I do to make the Sedan like that too, or at least a bit louder?

2. If you were offered the examples above, that is, the Sedan 09 xDrive I mentioned, with Nav, Sport, Premium Package, 18" wheels, OR the 07 Coupe with 1000K Miles ON IT! No Nav, no xDrive, and no warranty... What would you buy if LOOKS were not a factor, and the prices were EXACTLY the same?


Thanks for your help guys!

[CarForHire]

Well do you want AWD or RWD?

[gary88]

Coupes have no resonator so the exhaust is indeed louder. Gets even better with the golf tee mod

[mofbb]

The exhaust should be the same. What you heard from the coupé was probably a cold start. A cold start is always A LOT louder than usual. Correct me if I am wrong. I would go for the coupé with 1000 miles if it's a true mileage. Since it's just basically a new car and don't worry about the HPFP, you got 10 years warranty.

[roberts5831]

damn thats a 5 year old car with on 1k miles on it!! wow just wow. but the problem is that is bone stock!! :-/ the miles is the only thing that sounds good about the whole deeal lol. i would go with the 09 sedan with all the creature comforts.. not to mention that it still has a warranty you will thank me later.
i learned my leason last year by spending $12K in repairs during the course of 12 months!!
good luck in what ever you decide

[Fragger]

Thanks for the responses guys!

CarForHire - That's a question I often ponder, myself, but the answer, with all the advice from people always comes back with AWD, because I live in the North East, with bad snow sometimes... your thoughts?

gary88 - Hmm, sorry for the ignorance, but what's the "golf tee mod" or should I hit the Search button? Can it be done to the Sedan?

moffbb - Indeed, that's what I thought, it was a cold start, but even with that, I don't think the difference would be that loud, especially with what I heard? I have tried many sedans... but this coupe woke me up, almost as nice a exhaust note as a G35 Coupe (I know, I know... but gotta love their stock sound :P!)

HPFP, is not the only issue here, right? I mean, I intend to put a JB4 in there, AND it is a first year production model, without the Nav and maybe even comfort access... I would need more than HPFP protection, right?

[blacknbean]

im not even sure id want an 07 with no warranty. theres alot that needs to be replaced. turbos, injectors, hpfp all have had revisions. with 1k miles they havent had a chance to fail and be replaced under warranty. id be weary.

[mashimarho]

e92 335i > e90 335i > e92 335xi > e90 335xi > e9x 328i (xDrive)

xDrive has additional secondary cat delete.

[gary88]

Originally Posted by Fragger

gary88 - Hmm, sorry for the ignorance, but what's the "golf tee mod" or should I hit the Search button? Can it be done to the Sedan?

There's a flap inside the left exhaust pipe on both the coupe and sedan which stays closed on cold starts to keep the exhaust quieter. You can unhook the vacuum line that goes to the actuator that controls it and stick a golf tee in there (where the name came from) to keep the flap open all the time, or you can take the much easier route and just unplug the actuator on the left side of the trunk by the tail light.

[Fragger]

Thanks for the responses guys! I should clarify that I was leaning towards the Sedan too, with exactly the reasons that blacknbean pointed out.

Still wondering about the difference in the exhaust note though... any more input fellas ?

[Fragger]

Originally Posted by gary88

There's a flap inside the left exhaust pipe on both the coupe and sedan which stays closed on cold starts to keep the exhaust quieter. You can unhook the vacuum line that goes to the actuator that controls it and stick a golf tee in there (where the name came from) to keep the flap open all the time, or you can take the much easier route and just unplug the actuator on the left side of the trunk by the tail light.

LOL! How creative are you guys :P!? Blows my mind !

Mashimarho - Just to be clear, are you saying the e90 xDrive trumps ALL 335 ? With the exception of maybe the 335is?

[805beemer]

the sedans do have an added resonater that the coupes do not have which is why the coupe is louder

[Fragger]

Originally Posted by 805beemer

the sedans do have an added resonater that the coupes do not have which is why the coupe is louder

Ah, I see what you're saying. So does the golf tee mod work at all on the Sedans?

Also, have people made mods to the Sedans to take the resonator out of the equation (if possible)? Sorry guys, I am a noob and extremely limited with my mechanical knowledge ...

[805beemer]

yes, the golf t mod can be done on all models.

yes, companies sell resonater delete pipes for the sedan.

[Fragger]

Originally Posted by 805beemer

yes, the golf t mod can be done on all models.

yes, companies sell resonater delete pipes for the sedan.

Thank you for the information, Sir !

[NiVeDh]

All N54 cars have secondary cats. In addition, the coupes have an X-pipe while the sedans have a resonator instead.

All N55 cars lack secondary cats. Coupes generally have an X-pipe and the sedans have a resonator. However, all xDrive cars (coupe or sedan) have a resonator, as far as I know.

[Fragger]

Originally Posted by NiVeDh

All N54 cars have secondary cats. In addition, the coupes have an X-pipe while the sedans have a resonator instead.

All N55 cars lack secondary cats. Coupes generally have an X-pipe and the sedans have a resonator. However, all xDrive cars (coupe or sedan) have a resonator, as far as I know.

So aside from doing the golf tee mod, is there anything I can do to the added resonator in the Sedan, to make the exhaust sound more aggressive, louder, and growlier?

Forgive my noobish ways, if that made no sense ...

Thank you Sir!

[oel]

Originally Posted by Fragger

So aside from doing the golf tee mod, is there anything I can do to the added resonator in the Sedan, to make the exhaust sound more aggressive, louder, and growlier?

Forgive my noobish ways, if that made no sense ...

Thank you Sir!

replace the resonator with an x-pipe

[NiVeDh]

Originally Posted by Fragger

So aside from doing the golf tee mod, is there anything I can do to the added resonator in the Sedan, to make the exhaust sound more aggressive, louder, and growlier?

Forgive my noobish ways, if that made no sense ...

Thank you Sir!

You can replace the resonator with straight pipes or an X-pipe. My recommendation would be a secondary cat delete instead. If you do both, it will be raspy.

Another option is to get catless downpipes and do the resonator delete. You could also do catless downpipes and secondary cat delete but the smell might bother you (it bothered me).

I used to run this setup: catless DPs with Rennart resonated headpipes, Rennart X-pipe, and Eisenhaus mufflers. It sounded pretty good but the "fully catless smell" was a bit much for me.

Some videos:

Currently, I have catless DPs and AE exhaust with high-flow cats. Not as aggressive as the Rennart/Eisenhaus set up but my lungs are happy.

[CarForHire]

Regarding AWD, I think you should be fine if you got winter tires on the coupe.