Review: Akrapovic slip-on exhaust

gthal · 03-07-2011, 07:14 PM

Although there are a TON of reviews for the various exhausts on the forum, I thought I would post my thoughts on my new Akrapovic slip-on for those in the market.

Background

I have owned 4 after market exhausts over the past 3 years. 3 were for my previous car (an Infiniti G37S coupe) and 1 for the M3 (the Akra). Each time I bought an exhaust, my main motivation was to get a slightly deeper, throatier sound but only a slight increase in volume. Also... NO DRONE

Let me say that of the 3 for the Infiniti all 3 were sold. Too much drone, too loud or bad tone.

I have found that many people will say there is no drone when, in fact, there is... well, at least to me. People have a wide range of sensitivity to drone in exhausts and I am on the more sensitive side.

I spent a LOT of time deciding between the Eisenmann Sport and the Akra. In the end, based on MANY discussions with owners and IND, I decided that the Eisenmann would be a little louder in-cabin than the Akra and that worried me. I do believe the Eisenmann has a slightly better tone but, to me, I wanted something that was less intrusive in-cabin. Havign said that, the Akra has a GREAT tone too!!

The IND experience

Lately a lot of threads have been popping up exclaiming the virtues of IND. Well, all I can say is that IND (I dealt with Nate) is by far the very best vendor I have EVER dealt with for any car I have owned.

I also recently bought a set of gloss black front grilles and side gills from them... same great service as I experienced with the Akra. These guys don't seem to care whether you are spending $200 or $2,000... they give you the same attention. They are fast, professional, responsive, knowledgable, patient... just awesome. I really can't say enough to recommend them. For me, the service they offer is so good that I would likely pay a premium to deal with them (Nate, pretend I didn't actually say that

).

First impressions

Enough has been said about this that I won't spend much time on it... packaging, quality, welds... perfect. What you would expect when you spend $3K on an exhaust.

What struct both me and the guys installing it was how MUCH lighter the exhaust was than OEM. I mean WAY lighter. The OEM exhaust took two guys to safely remove and lower from the car. The Akra could have been lifted by my 3 year old. Quite remarkable actually.

Looks are amazing... tips and fitment are perfect... makes the car MUCH nicer outside. Because the tips are adjustable and have a large range of travel, you can have them completely tucked or pushed way out. I really like this flexibility and went pushed out about the same as OEM.

Sound

Here is my honest impression of the sound...

Deep and bassy... MUCH more so than OEM.
A little louder than OEM (+10% to 15%) BUT... because it has much, much more bass, it seems quite a bit louder than OEM from 1,000 to 4,000 RPM. After that, about the same as OEM but a little deeper sounding.
Sounds like a V8 should sound to me. Much more "appropriate" than OEM.
Drone? No more than OEM which I found droned a little. The Akra is no more than that and I am VERY happy about it. This is the very first after market exhaust that I have found that does not drone.
Very comfortable on the highway with great sound.
From 1,000 to 4,000 RPM, I can actually feel the exhaust in the cabin. You can ever so slightly feel the bass... this is not a negative comment really but something I didn't expect.
Very, very bassy and loud on cold start up. If you start the car in your garage it will vibrate stuff

For those who say the Akra slip-on is only slightly louder than OEM... in my opinion you are smoking some really nice stuff

Well, as I said, it isn't really much louder but seems louder due to the bassy sound. However, for someone like me that is sensitive to an exhaust that drones or is too loud, this exhaust is still good for DD but with a much nicer, fuller, deeper, bassy tone. It sounds amazing outside of the car and has a deep, bassy sound inside from 1,000 to 4,000 RPM and then a slightly more bassy sound over that compared to OEM. I have heard the full EVO system and the slip-on, IMO, is only a little quieter.

Given that this is considered one of the quietest exhausts for the M3, I simply cannot understand how you guys with "loud" exhausts can handle driving your cars!! In my parking garage at the office, the Akra reverberates like crazy but is still OK. I can only imagine how insane a Gintani or the like must be. I don't think I could handle it... but that's the great thing about all of this... we can each buy something we like and what suits our own tastes.

The system was installed by fellow M3Forum member Mark (M3Nova) at his new, high end auto dealership. Best part of this was being able to spend the install time with a group of guys who loved cars too and me getting to be part of the install. After, he took the car for a drive so I could hear it from the outside (how nice of him

).

So, I'm happy with the added sound and changed tone. My wife was NOT happy that I was buying an exhaust. I had it installed today "in stealth mode"

. I plan to see if she notices... if she does and hates it, well, it may go up for sale

I suspect she won't notice or, if she does, won't find it too bad

I hate to let her have that kind of influence but, for those of us with spouses, an unhappy wife is never a good thing

Summary

Build quality: A+
Looks: A+
Tone and sound quality: A+
Drone: A+
Perceived loudness (i.e. is it too loud): B+
Cold startup (i.e. is it too loud): C
DD liveability: B+ (verging on an A-)
IND: A+++
WAF: T.B.D.

Some pics... ignore the dirty car... it was raining today.

J08M3 · 03-07-2011, 07:21 PM

Nice review. I agree with you that Akra is quite a bit louder than OEM. It does sound nice.

scottEdog1 · 03-07-2011, 07:39 PM

Wow - what a review
I really appreciate this kind of review. To me droning is also that super loud bass that comes into the car as well.

Hereis a question: when it comes into the car can you still hear light music or light talking going on by friends or kids in the back?

I will be honest my wife hated that I went through 9 exhausts on my e46 m3 previous to this model. I really do not want nor can afford to play like that again. esp with kids now. This type of review and like others has been helpful.

Many thanks for your time on your post.
also let me know....

J08M3 · 03-07-2011, 07:41 PM

^--- You will be fine with Akra, kids and wife wont' mind the sound

gthal · 03-07-2011, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottEdog1

Wow - what a review
I really appreciate this kind of review. To me droning is also that super loud bass that comes into the car as well.

Hereis a question: when it comes into the car can you still hear light music or light talking going on by friends or kids in the back?

I will be honest my wife hated that I went through 9 exhausts on my e46 m3 previous to this model. I really do not want nor can afford to play like that again. esp with kids now. This type of review and like others has been helpful.

Many thanks for your time on your post.
also let me know....

The Akra is definitely bassy. I know what you mean equating bass with drone. For me, if the bass is clean and sounds like it should be there, it isn't drone but rather just a clean bassy exhaust. That is the Akra.

Having said that, the bass is much more pronounced in the car. It is also, however, not so loud that you would have any trouble with a conversation or listening to the radio... not at all. But, it makes the OEM exhaust sound truly sissy

I am really sensitive to too much sound and the Akra is the first after market exhaust I think I can live with day-to-day. I'm not sure what my wife will think yet but I really do think she will be OK with it.

A lot of guys were suggesting the Eisenmann Sport to me based on sound quality. However, most also said that they thought it was a fuller, more bass rich sound. This set off warning bells for me personally as too bassy is a problem. Nate at IND was suggesting the Eisenmann to me but after I really explained what I wanted, he checked with the guys there and they all agreed the Akra would have less cabin volume due to slightly less bass. I can say that any more bass than the Akra would be too much for me and I would end up selling it.

The only thing I don't love about it is how LOUD it is on cold startup. When I'm in my garage, you can hear the vibration in the kitchen. I tried this when my wife wasn't home... it will be interesting to see what she says tomorrow morning when she hears me leave for work

DaveHutchinson · 03-07-2011, 07:51 PM

I'm about to pull the trigger on this very same exhaust so thanks for the very informative review!

If for some reason the WAF fails then please do PM me

however I'm sure it'll all be fine.

Chowster · 03-07-2011, 08:00 PM

Nice review. Send it over to the left coast if your wife doesn't approve! I'm sure you won't have a problem unloading this beauty. Thanks for the great commentary.

gthal · 03-07-2011, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chowster

Nice review. Send it over to the left coast if your wife doesn't approve! I'm sure you won't have a problem unloading this beauty. Thanks for the great commentary.

I'm pretty sure she will be fine with it... well, I'm really hoping she will be fine with it because I

it.

Hollywood Hogan · 03-07-2011, 08:36 PM

thanks for the review...I'm install the RPi GTM axle back tomorrow and hope it isnt TOO loud

GOLFFRR · 03-07-2011, 09:04 PM

thanks for the write up i am also considering this but the full system the only reason i have not pull the trigger is im scarred it will be to loud for my community in the mornings when i goto work at 6am

Sean@PYSpeed.com · 03-07-2011, 09:05 PM

Nice review... definitely one of the more thorough reviews in the forum. The only other thing you may need is more pictures + video... Haha

BTW, may I ask, does ur house have proper insulation? It shouldn't be vibrating ur whole house

gthal · 03-07-2011, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean@PYSpeed.com

BTW, may I ask, does ur house have proper insulation? It shouldn't be vibrating ur whole house

Well, vibrating may be a little exagerated

... but you can hear the exhaust in the kitchen.

scottEdog1 · 03-07-2011, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthal

Well, vibrating may be a little exagerated

... but you can hear the exhaust in the kitchen.

Thanks again for getting back to me on this. I appreciate your time and insight so that I my be able to make a healthy decision.

BMRLVR · 03-07-2011, 10:10 PM

Congratulations on a the Akra Heath!!! I am glad you are pleased with it. If you feel you need a little more sound in the future the Akra Mid-pipe/HFC's make a nice little increase in sound without adding hardly any drone.

P.S. What is the name of Mark's new dealership? Is he going to be renting high-end cars like he mentioned he was interested in doing in a previous post? if he is I may be interested in getting one when I come to Halifax in August.

Gearhead999s · 03-07-2011, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthal

Well, vibrating may be a little exagerated

... but you can hear the exhaust in the kitchen.

Hmmm.My wife gets upset also when she hears me exhaust in the kitchen

Draff1 · 03-07-2011, 11:51 PM

Great review!

ES_TRADER · 03-07-2011, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthal

The only thing I don't love about it is how LOUD it is on cold startup. When I'm in my garage, you can hear the vibration in the kitchen. I tried this when my wife wasn't home... it will be interesting to see what she says tomorrow morning when she hears me leave for work

This feature is what I love most about this slip. I sonetimes wish it was like this 100% of the time. But ur review is definitely spot on. Above 4k rpm u can't hear it anymore and the engine growl takes over. To me, standing outside while someone drove the car, it actually sounded quite exotic and slightly high pitched closer to 3.5k rpm. With windows up and music on, u can barely hear it almost have to listen for it. With windows down and music up about 50% loud, u would also have to listen for it too. It does sound sweet and classy tho. Especially the downshift rev matching.

01'325rip · 03-08-2011, 12:05 AM

god this makes me want Akra. Seems like its the only route to go.

In addition it seems like this is also the best looking exhaust those tips look great.!

Cal@Sonic MS · 03-08-2011, 12:30 AM

Nice review. Can't go wrong with Akrapovic

Rshane · 03-08-2011, 01:25 AM

Great revıew..thanks for takıng the tıme. The more I hear about the Akrapovıc exhaust, the happıer I get that I wıll be placıng my order for the full system when I get back from my current deployment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead999s

Hmmm.My wife gets upset also when she hears me exhaust in the kitchen

Gas-X should help wıth that

Maseroche · 03-08-2011, 01:36 AM

Excellent review!

jonasaurus · 03-08-2011, 01:58 AM

Thanks for the great insightful review, made alot of relative statements that makes it much easier to "relate" to. Think this is a big point of discussion, Eisenmann sport or Akra slip for many E9X owners.

03-07-2011, 07:14 PM	#1
gthal Major General 1904 Rep 5,678 Posts Drives: 2018 340i xDrive Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Canada iTrader: (2)	Review: Akrapovic slip-on exhaust Although there are a TON of reviews for the various exhausts on the forum, I thought I would post my thoughts on my new Akrapovic slip-on for those in the market. Background I have owned 4 after market exhausts over the past 3 years. 3 were for my previous car (an Infiniti G37S coupe) and 1 for the M3 (the Akra). Each time I bought an exhaust, my main motivation was to get a slightly deeper, throatier sound but only a slight increase in volume. Also... NO DRONE Let me say that of the 3 for the Infiniti all 3 were sold. Too much drone, too loud or bad tone. I have found that many people will say there is no drone when, in fact, there is... well, at least to me. People have a wide range of sensitivity to drone in exhausts and I am on the more sensitive side. I spent a LOT of time deciding between the Eisenmann Sport and the Akra. In the end, based on MANY discussions with owners and IND, I decided that the Eisenmann would be a little louder in-cabin than the Akra and that worried me. I do believe the Eisenmann has a slightly better tone but, to me, I wanted something that was less intrusive in-cabin. Havign said that, the Akra has a GREAT tone too!! The IND experience Lately a lot of threads have been popping up exclaiming the virtues of IND. Well, all I can say is that IND (I dealt with Nate) is by far the very best vendor I have EVER dealt with for any car I have owned. I also recently bought a set of gloss black front grilles and side gills from them... same great service as I experienced with the Akra. These guys don't seem to care whether you are spending $200 or $2,000... they give you the same attention. They are fast, professional, responsive, knowledgable, patient... just awesome. I really can't say enough to recommend them. For me, the service they offer is so good that I would likely pay a premium to deal with them (Nate, pretend I didn't actually say that ). First impressions Enough has been said about this that I won't spend much time on it... packaging, quality, welds... perfect. What you would expect when you spend $3K on an exhaust. What struct both me and the guys installing it was how MUCH lighter the exhaust was than OEM. I mean WAY lighter. The OEM exhaust took two guys to safely remove and lower from the car. The Akra could have been lifted by my 3 year old. Quite remarkable actually. Looks are amazing... tips and fitment are perfect... makes the car MUCH nicer outside. Because the tips are adjustable and have a large range of travel, you can have them completely tucked or pushed way out. I really like this flexibility and went pushed out about the same as OEM. Sound Here is my honest impression of the sound... Deep and bassy... MUCH more so than OEM. A little louder than OEM (+10% to 15%) BUT... because it has much, much more bass, it seems quite a bit louder than OEM from 1,000 to 4,000 RPM. After that, about the same as OEM but a little deeper sounding. Sounds like a V8 should sound to me. Much more "appropriate" than OEM. Drone? No more than OEM which I found droned a little. The Akra is no more than that and I am VERY happy about it. This is the very first after market exhaust that I have found that does not drone. Very comfortable on the highway with great sound. From 1,000 to 4,000 RPM, I can actually feel the exhaust in the cabin. You can ever so slightly feel the bass... this is not a negative comment really but something I didn't expect. Very, very bassy and loud on cold start up. If you start the car in your garage it will vibrate stuff For those who say the Akra slip-on is only slightly louder than OEM... in my opinion you are smoking some really nice stuff Well, as I said, it isn't really much louder but seems louder due to the bassy sound. However, for someone like me that is sensitive to an exhaust that drones or is too loud, this exhaust is still good for DD but with a much nicer, fuller, deeper, bassy tone. It sounds amazing outside of the car and has a deep, bassy sound inside from 1,000 to 4,000 RPM and then a slightly more bassy sound over that compared to OEM. I have heard the full EVO system and the slip-on, IMO, is only a little quieter. Given that this is considered one of the quietest exhausts for the M3, I simply cannot understand how you guys with "loud" exhausts can handle driving your cars!! In my parking garage at the office, the Akra reverberates like crazy but is still OK. I can only imagine how insane a Gintani or the like must be. I don't think I could handle it... but that's the great thing about all of this... we can each buy something we like and what suits our own tastes. The system was installed by fellow M3Forum member Mark (M3Nova) at his new, high end auto dealership. Best part of this was being able to spend the install time with a group of guys who loved cars too and me getting to be part of the install. After, he took the car for a drive so I could hear it from the outside (how nice of him ). So, I'm happy with the added sound and changed tone. My wife was NOT happy that I was buying an exhaust. I had it installed today "in stealth mode" . I plan to see if she notices... if she does and hates it, well, it may go up for sale I suspect she won't notice or, if she does, won't find it too bad I hate to let her have that kind of influence but, for those of us with spouses, an unhappy wife is never a good thing Summary Build quality: A+ Looks: A+ Tone and sound quality: A+ Drone: A+ Perceived loudness (i.e. is it too loud): B+ Cold startup (i.e. is it too loud): C DD liveability: B+ (verging on an A-) IND: A+++ WAF: T.B.D. Some pics... ignore the dirty car... it was raining today. __________________ 2020 X3 M40i \| Black \| Current DD 2020 C8 Corvette \| Z51 \| Torch Red ... built and waiting for delivery 2016 M2 \| Long Beach Blue \| 6MT 2015 M4 \| Austin Yellow \| DCT 2012 MB C63AMG \| 2011 E92 M3 \| 2010 E92 M3 Last edited by gthal; 03-07-2011 at 08:06 PM..
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03-07-2011, 07:21 PM	#2
J08M3 Major General 286 Rep 6,007 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 COUPE Join Date: May 2008 Location: NEW YORK iTrader: (8)	Nice review. I agree with you that Akra is quite a bit louder than OEM. It does sound nice. __________________
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03-07-2011, 07:39 PM	#3
scottEdog1 Private First Class 10 Rep 128 Posts Drives: e90 m3 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: california iTrader: (3)	Wow - what a review I really appreciate this kind of review. To me droning is also that super loud bass that comes into the car as well. Hereis a question: when it comes into the car can you still hear light music or light talking going on by friends or kids in the back? I will be honest my wife hated that I went through 9 exhausts on my e46 m3 previous to this model. I really do not want nor can afford to play like that again. esp with kids now. This type of review and like others has been helpful. Many thanks for your time on your post. also let me know.... __________________ Jerez e90m3 with some mods
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03-07-2011, 07:41 PM	#4
J08M3 Major General 286 Rep 6,007 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 COUPE Join Date: May 2008 Location: NEW YORK iTrader: (8)	^--- You will be fine with Akra, kids and wife wont' mind the sound __________________
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03-07-2011, 07:51 PM	#6
DaveHutchinson Private 37 Rep 73 Posts Drives: 2016 Cayman GT4 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Orlando iTrader: (2)	I'm about to pull the trigger on this very same exhaust so thanks for the very informative review! If for some reason the WAF fails then please do PM me however I'm sure it'll all be fine. __________________ 2016 Cayman GT4 - Racing Yellow, 2018 Golf R DCT Past - Shelby GT350, Aston Martin GT, 991 Carrera S, Ferrari F430, Mclaren MP4-12C, Jaguar F-Type V8S, Nissan GT-R, BMW E92 M3....
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03-07-2011, 08:00 PM	#7
Chowster E60_to_E90 36 Rep 1,201 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 M3 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada iTrader: (2)	Nice review. Send it over to the left coast if your wife doesn't approve! I'm sure you won't have a problem unloading this beauty. Thanks for the great commentary. __________________ 2011.5 E90 Dinan M3, SS II, M-DCT, EDC, M Drive. 20" MORR VS8.2 wheels Performance Mods: Dinan St.1 suspension, exhaust, intake; TTPs; BPM St.II, DCT, servo tunes Cosmetic Mods: OEM CF splitters, mirrors, center console, spoiler; Arkym CF diffuser; LUX; tint
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03-07-2011, 08:36 PM	#9
Hollywood Hogan Captain 98 Rep 908 Posts Drives: Sold: '13 RS5 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (6)	thanks for the review...I'm install the RPi GTM axle back tomorrow and hope it isnt TOO loud
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03-07-2011, 09:04 PM	#10
GOLFFRR 10816 Rep 27,599 Posts Drives: GOLFFRR cart Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: we sell BMWs to "ALL" US states iTrader: (4)	thanks for the write up i am also considering this but the full system the only reason i have not pull the trigger is im scarred it will be to loud for my community in the mornings when i goto work at 6am __________________ BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR NEXT BMW, EMAIL OUR GUY KOTE FIRST! Kote M Sales:Kotem@bmwofcamarillo.com Cell:805-368-9101 vipfinance@bmwofcamarillo.com for warranties!
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03-07-2011, 09:05 PM	#11
Sean@PYSpeed.com Major General 306 Rep 8,952 Posts Drives: 2009 AW E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (22)	Nice review... definitely one of the more thorough reviews in the forum. The only other thing you may need is more pictures + video... Haha BTW, may I ask, does ur house have proper insulation? It shouldn't be vibrating ur whole house
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03-07-2011, 10:10 PM	#14
BMRLVR Grease Monkey 295 Rep 2,646 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 M3,1994 Euro E36 M3/4 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada iTrader: (3)	Congratulations on a the Akra Heath!!! I am glad you are pleased with it. If you feel you need a little more sound in the future the Akra Mid-pipe/HFC's make a nice little increase in sound without adding hardly any drone. P.S. What is the name of Mark's new dealership? Is he going to be renting high-end cars like he mentioned he was interested in doing in a previous post? if he is I may be interested in getting one when I come to Halifax in August. __________________ 2011 E90 M3 ZCP - Individual Moonstone/Individual Amarone Extended/Individual Piano Black With Inlay:LINK!!! 1994 Euro E36 M3 Sedan - Daytona Violet/Mulberry:LINK!!!
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03-07-2011, 11:51 PM	#16
Draff1 Private First Class 13 Rep 195 Posts Drives: 2009 Silverstone M3 Coupe Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: San Diego, CA iTrader: (0)	Great review! __________________ 2009 Silverstone II E92 M3 Coupe - DCT Dinan Exhaust, RPi scoops, Dinan Tune, Dinan Pulley, BMC filter, LCI Taillights, MS 15mm spacers, Huper Optik tint.
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03-08-2011, 12:05 AM	#18
01'325rip Captain 85 Rep 774 Posts Drives: 08' E93 M3 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: the sky iTrader: (0)	god this makes me want Akra. Seems like its the only route to go. In addition it seems like this is also the best looking exhaust those tips look great.!
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03-08-2011, 12:30 AM	#19
Cal@Sonic MS 430 Rep 4,650 Posts Drives: bmw Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: earth iTrader: (2)	Nice review. Can't go wrong with Akrapovic
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03-08-2011, 01:36 AM	#21
Maseroche Major 55 Rep 1,447 Posts Drives: '12 BMW M3 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bahrain iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 BMW M3 [0.00]	Excellent review! __________________ Khalid '12 BMW E92 M3 '03 BMW E46 M3 '14 Mercedes-Benz S400 '18 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
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03-08-2011, 01:58 AM	#22
jonasaurus Brigadier General 76 Rep 3,178 Posts Drives: E90 M3 [Sold] Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the great insightful review, made alot of relative statements that makes it much easier to "relate" to. Think this is a big point of discussion, Eisenmann sport or Akra slip for many E9X owners. __________________ ///M3 \| E90 LCI \| Space Grey \| Fox Red with CF Structure \| 6MT \| 260M \| My build
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