[supersebbo]

Hi folks!! Joining the X3 M40i club with Jan 9th delivery, very excited.

It was a bit of an impulse buy so I've been reading some reviews and watching lots of youtube videos since signing.

One thing that's cropped up is that a few people have mentioned that the MY19 M40i has been given a more muted exhaust sound profile than the MY18 (supposedly due to emissions requirements). They claim all the gnarly pops, crackles and bangs have been eliminated, even in Sport+ mode.

Does anyone in the UK have an MY19 M40i? Please tell me that it is not true!

[JayPichardo]

That would suck

[verysideways]

Definitely more muted.
I'm almost 3k miles in on my UK MY19 X3 M40i and it crackles and pops a bit in sport or sport+ either when very cold or very hot - but nothing like as much as the '18 equivalent.

Due to WLTP, they had to put a petrol particulate filter in the exhaust and change the tune to suit. Annoying, but still a fantastic car.

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by verysideways

Definitely more muted.
I'm almost 3k miles in on my UK MY19 X3 M40i and it crackles and pops a bit in sport or sport+ either when very cold or very hot - but nothing like as much as the '18 equivalent.

Due to WLTP, they had to put a petrol particulate filter in the exhaust and change the tune to suit. Annoying, but still a fantastic car.

That’s a real shame!! The demonstrator I drove was a MY18, I feel cheated! Is there anything positive about the MY19 over the MY18?!

[nogren]

Originally Posted by supersebbo

That’s a real shame!! The demonstrator I drove was a MY18, I feel cheated! Is there anything positive about the MY19 over the MY18?!

Higher probability of no first model year issues?

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by nogren

Higher probability of no first model year issues?

Sensible me is happy about this. However the me who just impulse bought an M40i would prefer the barky exhaust!

[MechX3M40i]

I don't have the particulate filter in my US M40i but I find it easier to generate those pops by revving the engine high in Sport mode (especially with gear shifter also set to Sport mode) and then ease up on the gas to slow down the rpm quickly, forcing the engine to dump un-burnt fuel. It won't help your mpg but sure makes it fun.

[MarkyM]

Originally Posted by supersebbo

That’s a real shame!! The demonstrator I drove was a MY18, I feel cheated! Is there anything positive about the MY19 over the MY18?!

They increased price of 2019 cars by around £2k because of fitting the M Sport Diff as standard other than that the only difference I can see was if ordering the extended storage pack you don't get the gas strut to hold up boot floor and HP was reduced to 354 from 360 but performance stayed the same

I'm sure that exhaust note will still sound great though

[verysideways]

Yup, the diff is better and will be more useful to me - and ultimately I'm sure you could get a map and/or exhaust which will sound even better than an MY18 car 😁

[m235hou]

the M40 doesn't pop as much as I'm used to with the M235i (it was manual so much easier to create the pop). However, I am being careful not to rev too high at least until 1200 miles so looking forward to high revving and making those pops

[RocketRomeo]

I have an M40i MY2018 (collected in May) ... loud, lots of pops and bangs... love it.

This week it was in for some maintenance and my sales guy gave me the X3 M40i demo they currently have which is a MY2019...

What a difference!

The MY19 is quiet.... so so quiet.

If I changed my car to an MY19 I'd be gutted.

Just personal opinion from a hooligan who likes
The noise, but thought I'd share.

Dealer also discussed that it's been fed back from many prospective buyers that it's a little too "refined"

[MechX3M40i]

Originally Posted by supersebbo

Hi folks!! Joining the X3 M40i club with Jan 9th delivery, very excited.

It was a bit of an impulse buy so I've been reading some reviews and watching lots of youtube videos since signing.

One thing that's cropped up is that a few people have mentioned that the MY19 M40i has been given a more muted exhaust sound profile than the MY18 (supposedly due to emissions requirements). They claim all the gnarly pops, crackles and bangs have been eliminated, even in Sport+ mode.

Does anyone in the UK have an MY19 M40i? Please tell me that it is not true!

There is another thread with OP reported pops and bangs getting louder over time after exhaust 'broken in'... Hope yours behave the same

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1558154

[supersebbo]

Interesting. So is the PPF a physical device that is causing the change in sound? Or have they remapped the engine? Or both?!

Presumably it would be fairly trivial to apply the 2018 map to the 2019 models, but if there is an extra device in the exhaust system then that could cause some damage.

[HampshireUK]

I moved from a 2016 M235i and the lack of pops and bangs don’t bother me, maybe as I get closer to 50 I prefer more refinement.

What does slightly bother me is the muted exhaust noise but compared to the not very well insulated M235i this maybe due to the better build and acoustic windscreen and front windows. That said the piped in engine noise seems to be set to zero on my M40i

I do hope things get a bit less refined in Sport or Sport + when it has more mileage, currently only on 850 miles

[m235hou]

Originally Posted by HampshireUK

I moved from a 2016 M235i and the lack of pops and bangs don't bother me, maybe as I get closer to 50 I prefer more refinement.

What does slightly bother me is the muted exhaust noise but compared to the not very well insulated M235i this maybe due to the better build and acoustic windscreen and front windows. That said the piped in engine noise seems to be set to zero on my M40i

I do hope things get a bit less refined in Sport or Sport + when it has more mileage, currently only on 850 miles

Same here. From '16 M235 manual convertible to '19 X3 M40. Exhaust pop was def fun on the 235!

[Driving for Charity UK]

Originally Posted by supersebbo

Interesting. So is the PPF a physical device that is causing the change in sound? Or have they remapped the engine? Or both?!

Presumably it would be fairly trivial to apply the 2018 map to the 2019 models, but if there is an extra device in the exhaust system then that could cause some damage.

Originally Posted by supersebbo

Interesting. So is the PPF a physical device that is causing the change in sound? Or have they remapped the engine? Or both?!

Presumably it would be fairly trivial to apply the 2018 map to the 2019 models, but if there is an extra device in the exhaust system then that could cause some damage.

This is definitely something I would like to know. I recently picked up my X3 M40i and although I think it's a great bit of kit. it annoys me that they have muted the sound and I was told the power has been dropped to 340bhp!

I am now contemplating bootmod3 stage 1 but I don't want to do this if the particle filter or worse is going to be damaged.

[MarkyM]

Originally Posted by Ultimike

This is definitely something I would like to know. I recently picked up my X3 M40i and although I think it's a great bit of kit. it annoys me that they have muted the sound and I was told the power has been dropped to 340bhp!

I am now contemplating bootmod3 stage 1 but I don't want to do this if the particle filter or worse is going to be damaged.

It's splitting hairs but power dropped to 349bhp not 340bhp, that 9 makes all the difference, enjoy the car, apparently the sound gets better once run in

[Driving for Charity UK]

Originally Posted by MarkyM

It's splitting hairs but power dropped to 349bhp not 340bhp, that 9 makes all the difference, enjoy the car, apparently the sound gets better once run in

I'll hold fire then as mine only has a couple hundred miles on it atm. Still keen to understand if a remap has any detrimental effect on cars fitted with a PPF

[theskipper]

Is it possible to remove the particulate filter or can it cause engine damage?

[supersebbo]

Originally Posted by theskipper

Is it possible to remove the particulate filter or can it cause engine damage?

According to the tech docs the PPF is a passive component so the I can't imagine it would cause any real damage. However the rest of the system will have been tuned/adjusted to operate with the PPF. I suspect due to changes in pressures, temperatures and gas ratios, it will probably trigger faults unless the pre-PPF map was also coded.

[london_v]

I sometimes rev the engine up to 1.5k/2k when stationary for the burbles (as you do). It's quite muted from the inside of the cabin even with the windows down. The other day I was waiting for my fiancee to come out of the house and she came out and mentioned she could hear the car from the back of the house and questioned why I kept revving it. My point being, from the outside these cars seem quite loud, and BMW have done a good job insulating the cabin.

[Slashers 28th/61st]

Originally Posted by london_v

I sometimes rev the engine up to 1.5k/2k when stationary for the burbles (as you do). It's quite muted from the inside of the cabin even with the windows down. The other day I was waiting for my fiancee to come out of the house and she came out and mentioned she could hear the car from the back of the house and questioned why I kept revving it. My point being, from the outside these cars seem quite loud, and BMW have done a good job insulating the cabin.

Ref last line ......just wondering is your engine compartment insulated as on my19 3.0d there is no insulating in my engine compartment bonnet compared with a lot of VAG cars I've had ??