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This install shows the Milltek header, but the steps would be the same for any other header on the market.
Special thanks to DiD for once again providing great photography.
Tools required:
13mm socket
10mm socket
8 mm socket
15 or 17mm socket for cat (depends on if you have the stock or aftermarket exhaust)
22mm wrench
Jack and stands or Rhino ramps
Time required:
1.5 hours
1. Jack up the car and put it on stands. You will only need to put the front of the car up. Open the bonnet.
2. Using a 13mm socket, remove the heat shield that is above the exhaust manifold. It is held in place with two 13mm bolts. The Cooper does not have this shield. Once it is off the head, it can remain in that area - you don't have to take it out of the car.
3. Remove the bolts from the cat to the rear of the exhaust system. These are either studs (factory) or a bolt and nut, in which case you will need a wrench and socket.
4. Remove the O2 sensors with the 22mm wrench. There is one after the cat, and one before the pre-cat. Both are best accessed from underneath the car.
5. Remove the exhaust manifold bolts with a 10mm socket.
The manifold will then drop down.
6. In order to remove the manifold, you will need to remove one of the heat shield panels on the driver side. It is held in place with two 10mm spinners and two 8mm bolts. This will give you enough room to clear the front swaybar when you try to pull the exhaust out.
Here are some comparison shots:
Look at the vast difference in the collector!
Looking into the cat:
7. Fish the new header in the same way the old one came out. Install the 10mm bolts (make sure you have the gasket in place) into the head.
8. Reinstall the heat shield underneath the car on the driver side.
9. Connect the header to the exhaust system.
10. Reconnect the two O2 sensors.
11. Reattach the heat shield over the header.
12. Start the car and check for any exhaust leaks (you will hear them as a tapping sound).
Enjoy your new header!
The heat shield is not in place for this shot so you can see the beautiful header in place.
There really wasn't a noticeable increase in volume. The midrange and high end were better, and the low end doesn't seem to lose anything. I was very happy with the fit and finish of the system - everything bolted right into place. I was also very happy that the check engine light does not come on, even with the increased flow past the cat. The dyno numbers show increases of up to 9 horsepower when used with a high flow cat-back system.
Supersprint looks to be 4-1 and Mini Mania systems say 4-2-1, but they look like a 4-1 also. The Supersprint system can be used with a race cat, while the Mini Mania system has no cat.
Randy- If you are short on web space with all these multimedia clips I could lend you some space for that sound clip and any others people are intersted in. Just shoot me an email.
Randy - both the minimania and supersprint look 4-2-1 too me...am I looking at this incorrect - it appears on the supersprint that the middle two pipes come together as well as the outher two pipes come together...then shortly after that those two come together.
>>Randy - both the minimania and supersprint look 4-2-1 too me...am I looking at this incorrect - it appears on the supersprint that the middle two pipes come together as well as the outher two pipes come together...then shortly after that those two come together.
Casey,
Look again at the Supersprint - the Mini Mania is too small a picture to tell, but it is similar. On a true 4-2-1, there are three collectors; one on each "pair" of primaries, and another one at the downpipe. Neither of these headers appears to be that set-up. To me, and I don't have either one in my hand, it looks like the primaries come together at the downpipe collector. There's nothing wrong with that design, that's just what it looks like instead of a 4-2-1.
I'd like to get a few detailed pictures or better yet hold a system in my hand. Hopefully soon. I'd like to be able to offer different systems based on what you are doing with the car, so more evalutations will come - this was just the first system to get here.
Hope that answers your question. Let me know if that didn't clarify.
today I installed the supersprint header (photo on the mini2 forum). It is 2 into 1, 2 into 1, with cylinders 1 and 4 collected, 2 and 3 collected (1-5/8 tubes) then the collected tubes (1-3/4) collect again into 2-1/2, ending in a ball joint. You use the stock cat, welding a supplied end to mate tho the header joint. the header is very well made and fit perfectly, clearing the underbody easily. entire install took about an hour, including welding. As mentioned in the other post, the port to flange match was a significant improvement (the stock flange covered the port area by as much as 1/8 "
the reasoning behind 1 into 2, cylinders 1and 4, etc. has to do with scavenging. the idea being that the junction will have a suction pulse at the right moment ( as well as a diameter increase) to enhance the exhausting of the siamesed cylinder. Cylinders 1 and 4 are exactly out of phase in the firing order, so if you make the primary pipes the right length, you will get improved scavenging at the target rpm. (the pulse has to travel down the length of pipe to the junction at exhaust gas velocity, so you can time its arrival and correlate that to rpm.
as I recall 2 into one set-ups tend to boost midrange power, and 4 into 1 boosts at higher rpms. (I'm a bit rusty on this)
I checked on the warranty, and it is 25 years, not 7.
MCS4ME,
The weights were about the same.
jlm,
Thanks for the info. How is the feel of the system? Did you notice any increase in performance?
So do you have to weld to use the cat, or can you use a bolt-up flange? That was one of the points I liked about the London Stainless system. I do think Supersprint has a race cat available as well, though. I would like to get this system in my hands to do the full eval and comparison. It's good to hear that it fits well.
I would bet that the two systems have different advantages, and it would be great to get a hold of what those are, in order to build a system for one's particular needs.
I believe you have to weld to use the stock cat, and bolt on flange for the metalic cat...but I would need to double check to make sure...I'll ask al next time we chat.
that's what I heard about the metallic cat also (no welding). the big, big advantage of the stock cat is that it says "mini" on it should some one look for an illegal replacement. If you wanted to, you couls unbolt the ball-joint and center pipe flange, removing the section with the cat, and bolt on a aything you wanted for those "track only" sessions.
So far, the system feels great; unfortunately, my car is still on the stands as I complete my suspension tweaks-but I'm scheduled to hit the road friday or staturday! I have to fork lift the car from my loading dock, so I'm getting as much done in this session as possible.
Randy: the camber plates are done except for the bearings, which I just got today, finally, I'll try to get a set out ASAP. Are you still going to the track?
That's good news. As soon as the snow melts, I plan to hit the track. After all of those 70F days that I was spoiled by, we've actually been hit with some winter here in Denver this last week. I needed to get to the track this week, but it looks like the next round of testing won't be until next week due to the weather.
Do you have any pricing on the header yet. Just one other question,the header in your picture looks like the Milltek header AMD is selling. Same manufacturer??
Thanks for your help. Keep up your great work. Hows the intake project going.
Ouch, $1300 seems pricy for a header. If I were to get my first love (EG Civic Hatchback) I could get a top of the line Spoon Sports header from Japan for $900. Why so much?
it includes a cat. By comparison, high quality four cylinder all stainless steel headers with three collectors (and even trickier bends) form a top company like Stahl) are in the $400 range. Unfortunately, only a few imports are available for the MINI.
Randy and all,
On the stock exhaust, is the cat welded onto the header? I was thinking of going in stages with an performance exhaust like SuperSprint. I was thinking of buying the metallic cat and the rest of the exhaust. Then do the header later. Is this feasible?I am still concerned about performance headers that might crack. The stock headers are cast to provide driveabity and durablity? I understand that the 4-2-1 is good for scavenging(pulling the remaining exhaust air from the 2 cylinder heads). The 4-1 systems provide better air flow, correct? Does this mean that the horsepower is better utilized at higher speeds? The 4-2-1 provide better torque at the low to mid range? What is the better system? I think the way the exhaust for the mini cooper s bends so much is crazy. There are so many bends in the systems. What do you all think of the Quicksilver system. It has one muffler.
I checked out the price from BMP and the system is high. I remember $433 for each muffler side. Altogether, the system was around $2K. Are there systems that similar in performance and quality at a lower price? Great write up, Randy.
Thanks,
Arly
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