In the never ending quest to find more power and otherwise tinker with my car, I decided to put a new Supersprint catalyst-back (cat-back) exhaust on my beloved BMW Z3. I have a '97 model with the M52 2.8 liter engine.

The upgrade had three desired goals/expectations

1. I was looking to improve the sound of the exhaust. The stock exhaust didn't sound "bad", it was just too quiet for my taste. I had previously heard other 2.8 liter Z3s with the Supersprint exhaust so I was quite confident that I would be pleased with the sound.

2. I was hoping to improve performance of the Z3 as well. This goal was questionable, several had speculated that there wouldn't be an improvement in performance. However there were even more saying there would be. In order to satisfy my own curiosity I decided to do before and after dynamometer (dyno) runs on the car to measure before and after rear wheel horsepower and torque.
   

   

3. The final expectation was purely cosmetic. I had already added chrome tips to the stock 2.8 exhaust (picture above) but after seeing the larger turned up DTM tips available on the Supersprint exhaust I decided I liked the looks of them much better (right picture).

With these goals in mind I enlisted the help of Robert Leidy, who had already found a reputable dyno shop when he measured the power output from his M roadster. Since Robert and the dyno shop (Alamo Autosports) were both located in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) area, and I was located in Houston, there was a bit of a logistical problem. Answer: Roadtrip!

To ensure a proper installation, Larry Nissen from Moritz BMW in Arlington was invited. To ensure accurate dyno tests the following "recommended" process was used. We first backed the car onto Alamo's dyno rack to get a baseline HP for the car. We then used the very same dyno lift to install the supersprint exhaust. Once the exhaust was installed the car was then re-dynoed to measure the change.

Installation