Free Exhaust Mod.
 

Here is a free exhaust mod for those that wish their X3 had a sportier sound. I think this only works for 04-05 models. If you look at your exhaust, the right pipe has a butterfly valve that closes at low rpms. There is a rubber hose that controls that. At low rpm that hose acts like a vacuum which closes the valve. You can remove the hose which will allow the right pipe to stay open all the time giving your exhaust more of a sportier sound at low rpms. If you don't like the way it sound, you can just hook the hose back up. I'm planning on sticking a golf tee in the hose so it won't suck up and dust but you can plug it up w/ whatever you want. O yeah, there was no loss of power in the low rpms and no lights came up when I un-did the hose. Have fun!

I wonder, does anyone know if there are any adverse effects to this?

This little mod works very well for the 3 series...actually makes the car sound as if it had an aftermarket exhaust. Poeple call it the "Golf Tee Mod" because people usually seal the vacuum hose with a golf tee and some tape.

Scroll down to post #45. The "hose."

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...light=golf+tee

What the heck, I have some time before the Super Bowl.

I went ahead and did the "golf tee" mod.

http://xoutpost.com/gallery/files/2/9/4/6/golftee2.jpg

http://xoutpost.com/gallery/files/2/9/4/6/golftee1.jpg


Started it up. No CEL light or anything. It does "seem" to have a bit more growl but only when standing next to the exhaust. Couldn't tell the difference while sitting in the driver's seat.

Didn't get a chance to drive around because of this…

http://xoutpost.com/gallery/files/2/9/4/6/nailintire.jpg

It's been in there since Sat. around noon (PST). A new tire will be in on Monday. BTW, if anyone gets new tires MAKE SURE YOU PAY FOR THE ROAD HAZZARD WARRANTY. I was dumb enough to not get it and instead of paying an additional $20 per tire when I had them mounted, I'm paying $200 for a new tire. I've only had the tires for two weeks. This would have been covered under the warranty. Dumb, just plain dumb on my part...

Doing this when I get home, thanks for the tip and the link :D
818, can't you plug it?

No because it's on the side of the tire. The plug will "wear down" over time and probably cause a blow out (flexing of sidewall). It hasn't lost any pressure since yesterday but I'm not taking any chances. If it were to blow out, I run the risk of damaging the wheel as well.

BTW, I had to use bottle nose pliers to remove the hose. It's tight as a mofo. I didn't want to cut the hose (like in the link) in case I need to go back to the dealership anytime soon. I'll just put it back in place.

I was able to just wiggle the hose off with my hands and I just taped up the hose with some electrical tape. Took the car around for a spin and I can hear a big difference under 2k rpm.

Cool, it's 2pm here, time to go home. Gonna bust out the needle nose pliers!