ANSA Exhaust Review (S52 MZ3)

[Adrian G.]

Looks good, sounds good, fits good and the price is right!

Much better sound then the Magnaflow exhaust I had on the car in the past. Noticeably louder then stock without being too loud. Also much lighter then the stock exhaust.

pics

[boncovi]

Any clips?

Have you heard any Stromung before?

I have Stromung but I want to go a tad louder, but not too much. I wonder if this would be the right direction.

[Adrian G.]

Any clips?

Have you heard any Stromung before?

I have Stromung but I want to go a tad louder, but not too much. I wonder if this would be the right direction.

I can't comment on how it compares to the Stromung as I have never heard it in person. Forgot to mention earlier, the ANSA exhaust clears Randy's dual ear kit...

Sound clip...

Car wasn't quite warmed up, but this is more or less what it sounds like. No noticeable drone or rasp on the S52.



http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...w/IMG_0230.mp4

[boncovi]

Thanks a lot Adrian! That sounds very good!

[JWin]

Looks good, sounds good, fits good and the price is right!

Much better sound then the Magnaflow exhaust I had on the car in the past. Noticeably louder then stock without being too loud. Also much lighter then the stock exhaust.

pics

Did you buy the one kojohns was selling?

[Adrian G.]

Did you buy the one kojohns was selling?

yes, so this is your old exhaust

[JWin]

That's funny. That's one well traveled exhaust.

[kojohns]

Yeh - Adrian was the only forum member to ask to buy it... pulled from eBay when he offered. Back to it's Texas stomping grounds and installed within 2-days ;-)

[Adrian G.]

Yeh - Adrian was the only forum member to ask to buy it... pulled from eBay when he offered. Back to it's Texas stomping grounds and installed within 2-days ;-)

Thanks again for the quick shipping and awesome packaging.

After seeing the exhaust in person, and hearing it, I'm honestly not sure why it has not been more popular...

[JWin]

Thanks again for the quick shipping and awesome packaging.

After seeing the exhaust in person, and hearing it, I'm honestly not sure why it has not been more popular...

My frustration was alignment. It took a great deal of sweat equity to get it as good as it was.

The other thing, the exhaust was really $800 new and there were better options for only a little bit more money. We got lucky when a distributor was liquidating inventory and snatched them up cheap.

Edit - but yeah, the sound is nearly perfect.

[Adrian G.]

My frustration was alignment. It took a great deal of sweat equity to get it as good as it was.

The other thing, the exhaust was really $800 new and there were better options for only a little bit more money. We got lucky when a distributor was liquidating inventory and snatched them up cheap.

Edit - but yeah, the sound is nearly perfect.

I did notice that some of the hangers on the mufflers were a bit out of position...but after a few minutes of adjusting, I had them where they needed to be to make the tips looks "symmetrical."

[kojohns]

I think to get them to hang perfectly straight, you need to have a muffler shop support the cans with a stand, cut the outboard mount off at the muffler can, adjust the stand to straighten the can, then re-weld the mount/strap maybe a 1/4-1/2" lower on the can. That should straighten right up for cheap since it's not stainless. A little rattle-can black and done.

[Adrian G.]

I think to get them to hang perfectly straight, you need to have a muffler shop support the cans with a stand, cut the outboard mount off at the muffler can, adjust the stand to straighten the can, then re-weld the mount/strap maybe a 1/4-1/2" lower on the can. That should straighten right up for cheap since it's not stainless. A little rattle-can black and done.

I believe they are designed to look like that... with the outside exhaust tip being about 4-5mm lower. This would be very easy to change/adjust if one was so inclined. (and no, the exhaust itself would not need to be modified in any way)

[brm]

Congrats. I was lurking on eBay, hoping no one else had noticed.

[Itsablurr]

I believe they are designed to look like that... with the outside exhaust tip being about 4-5mm lower. This would be very easy to change/adjust if one was so inclined. (and no, the exhaust itself would not need to be modified in any way)

I think they just got their jig wrong. I don't believe ANSA made very many of the MZ3 exhausts. When I had one, ran into the same outer tip droop. I took some sheetmetal and fabricated a set of rear mounts (replacing the stock rubber) with vertical slotting to allow some tilt adjustment on each side. Between that and bending the mount arms on the cans a bit, it fit pretty damn even across the back end.

Is this the one that originally came from me as the orig owner?

[JWin]

Is this the one that originally came from me as the orig owner?

No, I purchased this one new.

How was it with metal exhaust hangars? I feel like there must be a reason BMW made them rubber...

[Adrian G.]

I think they just got their jig wrong. I don't believe ANSA made very many of the MZ3 exhausts. When I had one, ran into the same outer tip droop. I took some sheetmetal and fabricated a set of rear mounts (replacing the stock rubber) with vertical slotting to allow some tilt adjustment on each side. Between that and bending the mount arms on the cans a bit, it fit pretty damn even across the back end.

Is this the one that originally came from me as the orig owner?

They look better in person then in my photos and I actually kind of like them in this position... If I'm bored next weekend, I might adjust them so they are even...

[Itsablurr]

No, I purchased this one new.

How was it with metal exhaust hangars? I feel like there must be a reason BMW made them rubber...

It was fine with the metal hangars. I have poly subframe bushings, so that may have masked over any minor noise transmission from the hangers under the trunk.

[kojohns]

No, I purchased this one new.

How was it with metal exhaust hangars? I feel like there must be a reason BMW made them rubber...

What's more interesting to me is why BMW used the elaborate/expensive rubber isolators ($20+/each) with through bolts rather than cheap ones like the non-M use with traditional bent metal hangers and cheap rubber isolators that can be found on the shelf at any parts store for $4/ea.

[Adrian G.]

Since i was under the car last night swapping diff's, I spent a bit of time adjusting the exhaust.




(the spacing is even and within 1mm in any measurable direction

[JWin]

Very nice.

[MudHut]

Looks good. I'd like to hear it from curbside as it rolls by on throttle.

Jay

[hexagone]

The mufflers are mounted backwards. Left should be on right, and right should be on left.

You can tell because the outer pipe is longer than the inside one, which leads me to believe they should be swapped to match the contour of the bumper.

[Adrian G.]

The mufflers are mounted backwards. Left should be on right, and right should be on left.

You can tell because the outer pipe is longer than the inside one, which leads me to believe they should be swapped to match the contour of the bumper.

The exhaust is installed correctly, as there is only one way to install it. It wouldn't fit any other way.

As far as the tips they look exactly the same as my magnaflows did. Some tips are staggered and some are not.

[SloanZ]

I've always wondered how these sounded. Thanks for posting! Anyone have any comments as to how the ANSA sounds in comparison to a Remus?