Right foot control.

Right foot control.

"In this Special Series, I document the backstory, unboxing and driving impressions of the S65 OE+ Carbon Plenum and the bespoke painted carbon variant

In this entry, I document my driving impressions in short form, and long form - along with a video clip."
- Matt

Short answer: yes.  

Long answer;

The S65 is a masterpiece: it is the heart, soul, and backbone of the E92 M3. Without the V8, it may as well be another 335i with M bits - no disrespect to 1M owners. 

Yet, for all the glory written about the S65 V8, Germans subdued the experience with sound deadening as it aimed at building a GT car first. As 15 years are now gone, we value the E92 M3 for its rawness hidden right below its insulated coat. 

The Carbon Plenum exposes the flattering charms, fierceness of the S65's character, and it does it with class. 

My first drive impressions.

When I completed the installation, I went for a 250km drive down to Quebec City from Montreal. 

My fingers were trigger happy, pulling the paddles at every occasion to discover new acoustics of the S65 across its entire rev range.

The entire driving experience is augmented. 7-6-5-4-3, 3-4-5, 5-4, 4-5-6 - I couldn't stop shifting gears.

The induction sound volume is drastically increased, and the sound characteristics are changed from the OE plenum.

The CarboProject Plenum in Export Variant offers a deep, bassy tone from the S65 and lets in higher frequencies, slight vibrations - not to be confused with rattles. 

You control the madness with your right foot. 

Unlike an exhaust system: a Carbon Fiber Plenum has no drone, no booming. If you thought downshifts sounded good, you haven't heard anything yet. I recorded interior sound clips with the shotgun mic on the camera - not the engine bay.

This modification is first and foremost about the driving experience. It is forever grin inducing.

 

 

If smile per miles was a true metric, this would top the charts.

Fortunately, there are still things we can't measure in this world.

You can source the OE+ carbon plenum year long here.

Up next: we experience failure, and pay homage to the GTS.


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