Let G be a group. A subset N of G is a set of pairwise noncommuting elements if xy⁄=yx for any two distinct elements x and y in N. If ∣N∣≥∣M∣ for any other set of pairwise noncommuting elements M in G, then N is said to be a maximal subset of pairwise noncommuting elements. In this paper we determine the cardinality of a maximal subset of pairwise noncommuting elements in a three-dimensional general linear group. Moreover, we show how to modify a given maximal subset of pairwise noncommuting elements into another maximal subset of pairwise noncommuting elements that contains a given ‘generating element’ from each maximal torus.