The BMW M3 F80 is a sight for sore eyes. But its true beauty lies underneath the skin, where the BMW high-performance sports sedan packs a musical TwinPower Turbo inline-6-cylinder engine. It’s not the best performing in the M series (that crown goes to the new XM SUV), but it is more than enough to put a smile on your face as it roars to life.
Sometimes, a simper is not sufficient for a BMW owner. That’s why the German marque offers the BMW M Performance exhaust system. When fitted on an M3, it deepens the engine’s growl to ensure that your neighbors can hear all 425 horses.
But for those who are rolling with the stock exhaust, one TikToker revealed a trick to turn things up a notch (or a few decibels). More specifically, Shiftdriftdrive discovered a trick to keep the exhaust valves open.
Keeping The BMW M3 F80 Exhaust Valves Open
The BMW Exhaust Control Valve at the tail end of the muffler receives excessive amounts of love and hate. This exhaust flap effectively reduces noise levels when the engine is idle or operating near idle. By minimizing outlet noise, the car offers improved driver comfort, or so BMW thinks.
A true enthusiast doesn’t buy an M series BMW for comfort – they buy it for ear-splitting performance. Shiftdriftdrive helps M3 owners keep it that way in her TikTok video.
The first step Kim mentions in the video is to keep your foot off the gas before you turn on the ignition. Once the electrical system is up and running, she sets the sports sedan to the most aggressive setting ‘M2’. The BMW M3 F80 has two M modes: M1 and M2. The lower setting is tuned for everyday driving, while the more aggressive M2 is reserved for drag races and other track events.
Once Kim turns on M2 mode, she depresses the accelerator once and then holds down the brakes for the rest of the procedure. Now for the final step, the BMW M3 engine is ready to fire up. Kim engages the starter to demonstrate how the exhaust valves will remain open. The sports sedan now exudes pure, unmuffled BMW sound.
Is Exhaust Modification Legal In The US?
The method demonstrated in the video touches a gray area in the law since no modifications are made to the muffler. There are easier alternatives to increase the noise your BMW makes, but they are illegal in most states. An example of this would be buying a valve controller, which is considered a direct modification of the exhaust system to increase noise.
A handful of states, like California, use objective methods to measure exhaust notes, but the majority of the US states prohibit exhaust system mods that solely increase noise. In other words, you will only be able to make do with the original, factory-installed muffler. A much safer alternative will be to buy a car that sounds exotic without a need for mods, such as an Audi RS3.
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