Best way to make an E39 530i Sport sound better.....?

[Emeye]

....when accelerating, but without wrecking the motorway cruising refinement?

I was thinking some kind of filter or induction kit - I don't want to spend a fortune, but is my only option an exhaust?

Cheer.

[Welshbeef]

Please dont.
Its not that kind of car & you'd look like a t&t IMHO.

Keep the car std, if you wanted loud engine noise buy an S2000 otherwise enjoy your 530i Sport as is, or just use higher revs - the whole noise of the I6 is really nice why spoil that for some cheap add on for induction noise?

[OllieBirmingham]

Stick a K&N 57i kit on it. Should cost about £70 but will be worth 10x that with the smiles it generates. Will make absolutely no difference to the noise the car makes unless you are really wellying it. Easy to put back to OEM when the time comes too....

[Emeye]

OllieBirmingham said:

Stick a K&N 57i kit on it. Should cost about £70 but will be worth 10x that with the smiles it generates. Will make absolutely no difference to the noise the car makes unless you are really wellying it. Easy to put back to OEM when the time comes too....

That's what I after.

WelshBeef, I don't want everyone to be looking at me! Not interested in getting attention, just a more exciting noise when going for it, a bit like my std 325ti Sport used to make! Then again, that thing sounded like it was going faster than it was - is that a good thing?

Cheers.

[sparkythecat]

Why not just site a microphone somewhere in the vicinity of your exhaust pipe.
Route it to your car stero - hey presto amplified car exhaust at any volume you want. If it's a decent stereo you can tune the output to get your exhaust to sound exactly as you want it to.

Problem solved and it's completely and simply reversible.

[jj.]

Welshbeef said:

Please dont.

I'm with him on that, it's not that sort of car. Although when I took mine on track (Mines an Auto Naturally!?! at Castle Combe, I only just passed inside the noise limit by 2 db...?
I was quite surprised by that...!
jj

[[TW]Fox]

I must admit I wish my 530i Sport sounded a bit more Sport and a bit less SE but its one of those things I've just 'learned to live with'. I'm paranoid about wrecking the cars astounding cruising ability by chavving it up.

[Emeye]

jj. said:

Welshbeef said:

Please dont.

I'm with him on that, it's not that sort of car. Although when I took mine on track (Mines an Auto Naturally!?! at Castle Combe, I only just passed inside the noise limit by 2 db...?
I was quite surprised by that...!
jj

I think the problem is that the car is so well sound insulated inside!

Bit OT, but What was it like on the track?

[8Tech]

An induction kit would do what you want but is not too good for the car. A nice aftermarket rear silencer would make it sound sporty without being too noisy or intrusive. You can also choose your tailpipe bdesign.

You could always record a TVR, burn it on a CD and drive round with the windows open, trouble is who wants to sound like a crappy old kit car but at least it wont fall to bits as you drive it like a TVR. he he.

[jj.]

Emeye said:

Bit OT, but What was it like on the track?

It coped very well actually. It was raining buckets and buckets, and most other stuff were cautious about going out. I was there as a viewing guest on a performance day, 911’s, Prancing Horse’s etc. As no-one was going out, I took advantage of the quiet time, and ended up doing about 40 laps..! over 3 sessions. Reaching just about 115mph before braking for Quarry, over Avon.

I think in the dry the brakes would have given up the ghost, but in the wet they stood up fine (I run EBC Greens). Left the traction control on, and just let the car do it’s thing coming out of the corners. OK so not to everyone’s taste, but after that day believe me traction control is a very good thing.
jj