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Headers are always a good modification for the Cooper non S versions.
There won't be a big gain in hp, but you will have a good torque increase.
There are several brands out there: Supersprint, Milltek, Megan, ... or you can have someone make you a custom one.
For our engines, any gain in torque is a good mod.
In combination with software, this is a very good mod.
I agree with Der Abt. If you want a cheap alternative....OBX is the best bang for the buck @ $200 or so plus shipping from ebay. All the others will run you $600-1000. I am thinking of getting rid of my brand new OBX header since I am going the whhaaaapssssssh route...
I have the Megan Racing header with a high-flow cat... aside for increased noise and drone in the cabin, I'm not sure if I witnessed a noticeable gain in performance. Perhaps I gained a little at the top-end, but I don't think it's anything worth mentioning. The only reason I even have it on my car is because I bought the header/cat combo for hella cheap and I'm not one to purchase a mod and not use it.
I have the Megan Racing header with a high-flow cat... aside for increased noise and drone in the cabin, I'm not sure if I witnessed a noticeable gain in performance. Perhaps I gained a little at the top-end, but I don't think it's anything worth mentioning. The only reason I even have it on my car is because I bought the header/cat combo for hella cheap and I'm not one to purchase a mod and not use it.
GotMINI
In normal conditions, the header should give you an increase in torque and the cat. in hp.
It all depends whether you also got software ?
You see, I've seen several Mini's with just a cat. dyno about 3-5hp higher, but with a software update (to work together with the cat.) the increase became 6-7hp.
My advice would be, if you change your header and/or cat. also update your software.
Even if you have already done a software upgrade before, work on it again to make sure you benefit the most from the new parts.
For a cat-back exhaust, a software update isn't necessary.
But it is when you change your header, cat., cams, head.
Well, it's not a must, but if you want to get the most out of those parts, a software update is the answer.
Funny that you mention tune as I'm currently using the MTH tuner file... I intended to get a new update from MTH after I did the header upgrade, but after consulting with DMH, he mentioned a tune would not give me any increased performance due to the particular header I purchased. I sorta just shrugged it off and I'm now in the process of waiting to get a tune from RMW... so I guess I'll see what happens.
