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Z4 non-M Superprint Race Exhaust and Y-pipe Full Review

4K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  pokeybritches 
#1 · (Edited)
Cliffs Notes ***8211; Good fit and finish. Cutting required; no welding. Minimal drone. Really opens up in the high rpm. Probably the best-engineered non-M exhaust system on the market. This should have been the very first modification done to the car.

Background ***8211; The early M54 Z4's stock exhaust is two pieces, consisting of the catted manifold and then everything else. On the M there are headers, section 1 "S-pipe", section 2 "X-pipe", and the mufflers. For clarity, I'll use the M's exhaust layout as a standard when discussing the non-M ***8211; headers, section 1 "S-pipe", section 2 "resonated connecting pipe", and mufflers in this case.

The OEM exhaust has catalytic converters in the manifold with unequal-length piping (bad). The OEM S-pipe has a resonator, and I don't know what goes on inside that resonator. I don't know if there is a crossover (good), or it is simply a large case with no real crossover (something similar to this). I suspect the latter.

The Supersprint system includes a muffler (sport or race, single or dual-tipped), and a Y-pipe. Both are required. The muffler cannot be installed without the Y-pipe, and vice versa. The Y-pipe (Section 2 X-pipe on the M) replaces dual piping and a small resonator. The muffler has a single inlet and single outlet.

Theory ***8211; This is the only system I can see gaining a good bit of power over the stock system. Assuming there is no crossover in the OEM Section 1 resonator, horsepower gains will come from equalizing the exhaust pulses. To take full advantage of this, you'll need aftermarket equal-length headers.

The idea is that each time a cylinder fires, an exhaust pulse is generated. There is a high pressure "head", body, and low-pressure "tail". The low-pressure tail helps pull, or scavenge, the head of the next exhaust pulse. In order for this to work, the exhaust pulses need to be timed to reach the same point at the same time (thus the need for equal-length tubing in the headers).

Without a crossover in the exhaust system, three cylinders will be scavenging each other. With a crossover, all six cylinders are collaborating to scavenge and pull air through the engine. In theory, the Supersprint Y-pipe design should add a few horsepower and make the car a little more efficient, should it be paired with equal-length headers. I don't know of any other exhaust system that does this. Others are just mufflers.

Purchase ***8211; I bought the race muffler for an excellent price, secondhand but supposedly never installed. It looked new when I received it.

I was torn between the sport and race version. The goal of the car was to make a milder, tamer, street-friendly version of my modified Z4M that I could drive every day. I did not want the car to be too loud or obnoxious, especially considering I'll be installing catless headers shortly. I was unsure about the single-tip design, and truly preferred twin tips. A race muffler popped up in the classifieds of another forum, and I decided the price was too good to pass up. It had been for sale for a couple of years, and I had somehow missed it since it was on a forum I didn't frequent. I decided that I could resell it on Zpost for close to what I paid should it turn out superfluous, and took a chance.

The Y-pipe was purchased from Mod.bargains, because they had the best pricing I could find. Turner now has them on sale for $389.95.

Initial inspection ***8211; The product looked identical to the pictures; very high quality, but I expected nothing less. I would definitely buy a Supersprint product again based on the top-notch attention to detail.

Installation ***8211; It took a local exhaust shop just under an hour to install it. No welding was required; only cutting. When I first showed them the system, they warned me that they didn't know how long it would take to install.

"Every time someone gives us one of these *$#@% kits, they swear it will fit. It never does, and they get upset with the shop when it doesn't."

Needless to say, it fit pretty well. Minimal adjustment was required, and I was in and out in under an hour.

Pictures ***8211; I still need to adjust the tip slightly, but overall it looks almost OEM. I was very surprised that it doesn't scream aftermarket like I feared. Most wouldn't even know that it's not stock, unless compared side by side with another Z4.



Sound ***8211; From what I've seen, Supersprint is usually one of the first to spend the money to R&D a quality exhaust system for new car models***8230;. a bunch of people then copy it, and everyone complains that Supersprint charges four times as much for a system simply for the brand name or its Italian origin.

This is the first "tuned" exhaust system I have ever purchased. Where my Rogue Diablos on my M are loud and ballsy everywhere, the Supersprint are tame until you get on it. There is a deep tone at low rpm, but no real drone at part throttle. At highway cruising rpm, wind and road noise overpower the sound from the exhaust. At full throttle and high rpm, you WILL turn heads. The exhaust is much milder than the typical sport bike or loud cruiser. It's definitely more mature, refined, and subdued than a catless Honda fart-pipe. There are similarities between the M and non-M, where it's easy to classify the tone as much more than a four cylinder. The extra two cylinders harmonize in a slightly exotic fashion that sets it apart from other cars on the road. It is distinctly a straight six. Previously, I think this special tone was missing in the jumble of frequencies the stock exhaust emits or cancels.

To put it in terms of speakers, the stock exhaust is like a couple of 4 ½" component speakers with tweeters running 200 watts. The Supersprint system is a set of 6 ½" component speakers with tweeters pushing 400 watts, and a 12" sub running 800 watts. An obnoxious Honda is cheap 4 ½" coaxial speakers running 1000 watts beyond its 100 watts RMS rating.

It doesn't make the car sound like a Ferrari, and it doesn't resonate like a ricer either. The ONLY way to describe it is that it sounds like a tuned BMW. It's like saying, on a scale of chocolate to vanilla, where does butter pecan fall?

That being said, the M54 is no S54. It never will be. The gurgle/growl/roar of the S54 is totally absent in the M54, even with an open K&N from my VF Engineering supercharger system and race exhaust. The M54 is mild and uber smooth. That's not to say it doesn't sound like it's full of performance, but it's not in the same league as the S54. It sounds GOOD, just not as exciting. However, I think a stock M sounds detuned compared a non-M with a Supersprint race exhaust.

The supercharger overwhelms the basic engine tone as boost builds to redline. The sucking sound propagated out the tailpipe is much louder than the hiss coming from the engine. The car whooshes like a jet at high rpm, especially in tunnels. A forced induction car sounds absolutely intoxicating with this setup.

Other than the fact that the exhaust was labeled "race", there was one additional thing that initially made me hesitant to spring for the Supersprint exhaust ***8211; the elimination of the resonator. Well, with an otherwise OEM system, I'm glad I took the plunge. Where my Diablo-equipped M burbles occasionally when I let off the throttle, the Supersprint non-M burbles nearly every time. The burbling is subtle and very desirable. Even in stock form the car would burble a little bit. Now, it does it a lot more often. There is no spitting or popping, and absolutely no rasp.

***Updated May 4, 2013***


Summary ***8211; This exhaust system is worth every penny I paid for it. Whether or not it's right for you depends entirely on your goals for the car. If you want maximum performance and a highly-tuned sound with no compromises, the extra few hundred dollars will seem like a bargain. If you just want to let the natural engine note of the car shine through as cheaply as possible, and can't see paying over $1k for "a muffler" :sigh:***8230;. there are other systems that offer less performance and tonal quality for a lower entry fee.

Bottom line, I wish I had done this sooner!
 
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#2 ·
I just checked Supersprint's NA website, and their prices have gone way down in the last week.

Y-pipe (p/n 022 788 113) $380.74
Race Muffler (p/n 022 044 125) $679.47

So $1060.71 for this setup, plus shipping and install.

FYI:
Headers (p/n 022 787 401) $1486.34
Street Muffler w/ Twin Tips (p/n 022 788 106) $1001.68
Street Muffler w/ Oval Tip (p/n 022 788 125) $988.45
 
#3 ·
Thanks a ton for this!

I am currently in the market to replace the exhaust on my non-m.

I would hate to know how many videos I have watched looking (ok, maybe listening) for the right sound.... this one seems like it hits the spot. Excellent description as well, convinced me =)
 
#4 ·
That was exactly my dilemma when I was exhaust shopping. While my video is by no means professionally done- it was my first hasty attempt at a video made with the basic Windows software- I was frustrated with the poor youtube selection. Cameras were placed right up in the exhaust pipe and distorted like crazy, the engine wasn't revved through the range, there was no OEM comparison, etc. They were a waste of time. It's hard to get an idea of what it's like to live with an exhaust without a few different perspectives.

I was eyeing the Eisenmann and Arqray offerings before springing for the Supersprint. The thing my videos didn't capture accurately is the element of harmony inherent in a straight six, which was absent with the OEM setup. I don't know if this is because of the Y-pipe or something else, but I do know I wish I had done this sooner!
 
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