My exaust on my 06 Cooper S has a low burble/grumble when I lift the throttle in low gear. It's more apparent in neutral just reving the car. Is this the normal exaust tone/sound? I never noticed it when i test drove the Cooper S.

It actually sounds really cool, almost aftermarket. I'm just paranoid with the new car and want to make sure there is no hole or disconnect in the exaust system somwhere.

 

Yep, the burble is just an added feature, really!

Annette

 

If memory serves, the exhaust burble made its entry as a 2005 "feature".

 

As a matter of fact, my dealer informed me of the burble as a feature before we drove off with my new mini. He was tired of people asking why it sounded like a Harley!!! Enjoy the extra feature and don't be embarassed if it might even back fire on ya (not really backfire...just a little extra kick noise)!

 

The last issue of MC2 dealt with this question in the tech section. Classic Minis and other sporty cars with carburetors have a burble when you lift off the gas because fuel is sucked into the engine because of the high vacuum when the butterflys are closed. This is eliminated with fuel injection because the computer simply shuts off the injectors when you lift off the throttle. However, some of the racey persona is lost by this and several manufacturers have added the sound back by squirting a bit of fuel into the engine when you lift off the throttle. MINI started this in 2005 and I'm glad they did because I love the sound.

 

There is also a potential to burble based on how exhaust gases are mixed. The C5 Corvette from the factory has a tendency to burble because of how the connector pipe between the catalytic converter and the mufflers is constructed (h-pipe). The problem is that the burbling can become a backfire because of the construction of the h-pipe. The backfire problem is solved by the removal of the h-pipe and replacement with an x-pipe connector.

This is an example of how one approach (squirting fuel to create a burble) can lead to unintended collateral consequences (backfiring) that requires an aftermarket solution (replacement of h-pipe with x-pipe) to ultimately fix.

 

Interesting. I really like this "feature". It is one of the first things my car enthusiast friends are quick to point out. My buddy with a C230 Kompressor (has a horrible sounding engine) is really jealous of the exaust note on my MINI.

 

NO BURBLE FOR MY '03... !!

 

I wish I would have checked out the forum first! My dad has an '02 and I have an '05. He told me that I should have the noise checked out because his doesn't make that noise. I live in San Diego and drove all the way to the Irvine (because they are the BEST and I love the drive!!) and they told me the same thing. The noise is normal for the '05s and in fact the noise has been enhanced in the model.

I actually do like the noise as well. I feel like my car is just checkin in with me and letting me know that everything is just going fine!

 

Convert to a ""One Ball"! Burble A-Plenty!!
Jim