Drivetrain (Cooper S) MINI Cooper S (R53) intakes, exhausts, pulleys, headers, throttle bodies, and any other modifications to the Cooper S drivetrain.

Drivetrain It's Glorious!!! (Randy Webb Exhaust)

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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 04:36 PM
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It's Glorious!!! (Randy Webb Exhaust)

More to come...but for the moment:











Video:
Start-up, idle, stationary reving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-La15bfvtEs
Driving...this is the 'loud' 1-3k rev sound I mention below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-93sYRqyFeg
Drive-by at industrial park.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHA7MnKBhSw
Tunnel, 3rd gear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDrA2PCnkhU
4th gear 45mph drive-by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91af9vyL6Wk
Taken with a Canon SD400...and no my oil pressure gauge isn't hooked up

I know the pics suck, and im DLing a movie as I type this...but keep in mind that my hands are still a bit shaky, my heart is still beating pretty fast, and there is a grin on my face I have yet to get rid of.

Sound:

Idle sound is amazing. At low rpms (1.5-3k) if you are not crusing it sounds a bit loud...but still good sound, mid range has a great tone, and cruising speed is a nice low rumble...the back pressure gurgle and popping sounds awesome! At WOT its just the sound of air rushing out as fast as possible, probably loud from the outside but inside it's not that loud at all. After hearing it outside I can say it sounds like other big exhausts on F/I cars that I have heard...sort of like a small jet engine.

Build Quality:

This piece probably will be built by Randy, and not their supplier in the future, although Ill let you talk to him about that. Everything fit together very well, although (as you can tell from the pic) the alignment is just a tad off, something Ill have to work on tomorrow.

Install:

Easy, no instructions needed. Took about 3 hrs total, 22k miles on the car, 1 winter, no air tools used.
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 04:40 PM
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I see chucks!!!
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 04:47 PM
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Originally Posted by MSFIT
I see chucks!!!
The great thing about all black chucks is you can use them all afternoon in the garage...and no one is the wiser
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 05:36 PM
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it looks great!!

Does it have the switch (loud or quiet) as on the prototype??
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by DarkMiniCooperS
it looks great!!

Does it have the switch (loud or quiet) as on the prototype??
No, currently I just have the blocker in place, Im sure that Jeg's or Summit has one I can install. More vids being uploaded as I type.

Btw...its not quiet at WOT outside the car....
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 09:28 PM
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i like the burble, and the deep tone of it. definately going to buy one of these in the near future
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 10:10 PM
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It sounds great... not really offensively loud to me as far as I can tell...but little camera mics vs. being there, well, it's never the same either. I like the look of everything. I'm all about the valve switch myself, and will be waiting till that is good to go and Randy's ready for total production. Thanks for sharing!! Any hope you had before dyno runs done that you can do some afters? How is the power thru the muffler? Oh yes... similar clips in the open position would be AWESOME.
 
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Old Apr 28, 2006 | 10:34 PM
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I don't have the dump valve installed yet, so I won't be able to post about feature. I did get to drive around a bunch tonight, and I am finding crusing speeds very easy on the ears, WOT a very rewarding and surprisingly quiet sound...but the 1-3k range (basically town driving) is a little loud. Randy did tell me that the piece they would be producing in house would probably have a resonator in the mid-pipe...which I think would do a lot to quiet it down in this range.

So far the wife really likes the sound of WOT but didn't like the down low sounds...she said she wants to hear it outside of the car to see what that sounds like before she makes any judgements. I think it is a borderline wife friendly exhaust (my wife likes to go fast, and auto-x's), but the low rpm sound is the killer in that department. I really feel that the resonator would take care of that though...If I were a single guy I would have no complaints

I can feel the car pull more above 4k for sure, butt dyno registers strongly there. Down low it feels about the same. Once my header, and cat come in Im going to dyno tune the whole package and Ill be able to post some numbers. I don't think Ill be able to compare anything though Currently I have a 16%, Alta intake, plugs/wires, and UniChip (and the exhaust )
 
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Old Apr 30, 2006 | 08:00 PM
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whats that 'rattling sound that u hear as u rev the car? (clip 1).
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by skuzy
whats that 'rattling sound that u hear as u rev the car? (clip 1).
Just the backfire noise that is usually a popping sound with the stock exhaust. With the 3" exhaust (w/o a resinator) the popping becomes a more pronounced backfire, basically the same sound but not muffled.
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 01:59 AM
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"I can see blue, and he looks GLORIOUS"... sorry i couldnt help it. Congrats on the new exhaust!
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 02:48 AM
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Hope that those arn't what the final production ones will sound like, or that your cameras mike is dodgy or something.

Sounds terrible, like a wet fart. Horrible idle noise, and it sounds more like a backfire than a burble.

Looks wise, don't like it - the small round semicircle you can see on only one side of the car just looks totally out of place - and whats that other metal bit hanging down?
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 04:50 AM
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Tell us what you really think Kev....
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 05:20 AM
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nice update...... the original prototype on my videos had a resonator but a "louder" muffler..... I think when Randy adds back the resonator it will really bring this thing "home."

Nice Job
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 05:29 AM
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I agree with Kev! Coop, I think you should take that thing off right now and send it to me for more evaluation.
Bob

edit: Send the wheels along too! need to get the full effect you know!
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 05:35 AM
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Originally Posted by rl48mini
I agree with Kev! Coop, I think you should take that thing off right now and send it to me for more evaluation.
Bob
Now Coop, "Bob" is the kind of guy you could share a "foxhole" with....he has your back......
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 05:46 AM
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I think it looks beautiful out fo the box....it should be mounted on the wall...

...as for mounting it on the car...well....something's not quite right....

I think I'm going to hide behind Kev's full-frontal attack on this one....

(awaiting better sound-clips)....
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 09:36 AM
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Nice sound! A more racier note and less grunt.

What gauge pod do you have on your wheel? Where did you buy it and did you retrofit lights or did they come with it?
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 10:35 AM
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I'll see if I can cover everything with this post. (I would like to say: I in no way speak for Randy Webb Motorsports, these are my opinions and thoughts about this exhaust)

-Autometer ultralite gauges mounted with their stock cups to the back of the tach...I think I did a write up for it, I'll search for it in a bit...

-The round semi-circle is the muffler (as I'm sure you have guessed) and the other little piece is the bottom part of the clamp. Im sure that there is another way to mount it (like this - rather than | ) but since my car is lowered and not many people I drive past are laying on the ground I'm not to worried about it, and actually I haven't seen that piece since I installed the exhaust.

-The sound of the exhaust can in no way be fully represented by my SD400 which has a mic the size of a 1/4 of a dime. I'll do my best to describe it, but my best advice is to hear it for yourself.

It sounds like a larger engine to start with. Nothing about the exhaust note of this car sounds like a 1.6L. It snarls and growls dow low...it pops and snorts when you want it to, but can also be nearly tame if you drive it right. As I've said before with a resinator the low end noise will probably be dampened which will make it a bit more of a refined sound (in my opinion)...in this form it sounds like a muffled race exhaust. It leaves nothing to the imagination...when you hear it burble and crack on a city street you know that something mean is going on, and if you like cars...you want to know more. At WOT the sound almost goes away (from inside the car)..you just hear a "wooooosh" and the sound of the intake and engine noise, this is where this exhaust truly shines. Outside at WOT it sounds a lot like many of the full exhausts I've heard on my friends STis and Evos...just a tube channeling as much air as possible.

After driving it for a couple of days now, I start to like it more and more with each passing day...and with each passing on-ramp and empty stretch of highway, I have a better understanding of how much faster my car is above 4K. A lot of people with exhausts "hear" the new speed of their car, but don't really feel it. Since at WOT there is almost nothing to hear...I only feel the increased quickness of the car.

And last but not least...this exhaust is not for everyone. If you like timid, exhausts, and want to retain a stock sound...this exhaust is not for you. If you wan't to compromise performance for sound (I can't imagine ANY other exhaust on the market flowing as well as this one.), this exhaust is not for you. If you aren't going to take your car to any track days, or Auto-x's this probably is not the exhaust for you. If you're looking for a Strauss waltz to come out of your tailpipe, this is not the exhaust for you. That exhaust has a group buy going on currently I think...

This exhaust plays Mozart's Requiem.
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 10:57 AM
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$**t, you don't even know the half of it..... there is 10 more WHP when you take the plate out..... and then you can talk about sound......
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 11:39 AM
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JUST GOT MINE!!! I will let you know what I think sometime tonight
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by SpiderX
$**t, you don't even know the half of it..... there is 10 more WHP when you take the plate out..... and then you can talk about sound......


Still waiting patiently here... i'll be happy if I have her by Christmas.
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by K9MINI
JUST GOT MINE!!! I will let you know what I think sometime tonight
your car and mine are damn near cousins from your mod list......
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by SpiderX
your car and mine are damn near cousins from your mod list......
I take that as a big compliment!
 
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Old May 1, 2006 | 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by K9MINI
I take that as a big compliment!
my car is rough it has some dents in the roof from a bike falling off the rack which i have not fixed (yet) the interior has got scuffs all over it.... the front aero has bottomed out so often I have a small crack...... no trailer queen here..... but that is why I love this car..... if it was a P car I would have to cry with every nick..... these cars are tops when it comes to grins/$s... I see so many Minis that are beautifully kept.... mine is not even in a garage.
 
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