I just installed a Borla exhaust on my Cooper and... it's pretty freaking loud!

Given the various testimonials on MCO, I was expecting something fairly subtle, which was what I wanted, but this thing BOOMS! Not bad at wot and fine on the highway, but it really projects at low rpms, turning way too many heads and resonating in the cabin way too much. As I pulled into the parking lot at work, a friend was getting out of his car and snapped his head around as he heard me roll up. His comment: "What the f___ did you do to your car!?!" Clearly the difference in sound is way outside the "subtle" range.

I'm pretty disappointed, as I spent a lot of time considering the options and thought I had chosen the right system.

Just thought I'd pass this in case anyone else is considering the Borla. If you do, you'll be pimpin hard, indeed.

 

try getting it lengthened a bit. I thinks if the pipe be longer, even just a bit, I will quiet her down.

 

I live in a neighborhood that might as well be a 'retirement community' and i've had no one say a thing about the noise ... maybe they just don't have their hearing aids turned up !
... but after the 'brake in' period (a couple hundred miles ...) the sound does mellow out ...

 

Thanks. I'm guessing you mean the length between the resonator and muffler, correct? I think that's possible, as there are some slip-fit joints in the center section. Would just a 1/4" make a major difference?

 

XAlfa,

Since the Borla comes in several pieces, it could have a something to do with the install. Make certain the multiple joints in the system are well clamped/sealed. Even the slightest leak can make a huge difference in the in-cabin sound. Some have resorted to having a muffler shop weld all the joints once the system is fitted and adusted to the vehicle. Also check for any unintended hard contact between the exhaust system and the chassis. Finally, remember that exhausts often settle in over the first 1000 miles or so; it may mellow.

Good luck,

James

 

>>I live in a neighborhood that might as well be a 'retirement community' and i've had no one say a thing about the noise ... maybe they just don't have their hearing aids turned up !
>> ... but after the 'brake in' period (a couple hundred miles ...) the sound does mellow out ...

Thanks for the reply. What do you mean by "mellow out" exactly? Is it just a change in tone, or does it really quiet down a bit?

 

Yes, it does seem to get smoother and more quiet ; when i first started mine up after install, i shut it down and checked a bunch of the fitting stuff that Mister_S mentioned because i, too, wondered "What have i done ... ?" ... there was a 'raspiness' for the first day that disappeared, and then a noticeable smoothing.

When I put the seats down, i am still a bit startled at first 'cause the interior sound is more pronounced with the 'boot' noise unleashed ...

 

I was really considering the borla for my MC.... as I mentioned on another thread, I did see an MC with the Borla exhaust but was not fortunate enough to hear it.... by the looks of it, it would really boom.... however, a few people have reassured me that that wasn't the case... Pls. update as when you have a few more miles on your borla to see if it has indeed mellowed out... thanks.

 

I saw and heard a few MC's with the Borla at the Italian Job premier here in LA and I thought the Borla wasn't loud at all. I have the Magnaflow on my MC and I think that isnt too loud at all either! I was told by my cousin that my exhaust sounds pretty loud outside the car, but in the cabin I dont notice it much unless Im at wot.

 

I've had the Borla on my Cooper for 3,000 miles now. When I first had it installed, I was indeed slightly alarmed by the volume. It sounded great accelerating at speed, but I was just slightly embarrassed to cruise around the neighborhood. I stuck with it, though, and within a few hundred miles, though, it REALLY mellowed - became much more civilized, and now sounds just great! Less volume, less raspiness, and just a nice solid deep growl. My parents didn't even notice when I pulled into their driveway, and they are the type that get mad when the guy two houses up the street mows his lawn at 8 PM. Check for the stuff that people above have mentioned, but definitely stick with it for a few hundred miles and see how it goes - it is really worth it; I am loving the Borla. Take a nice long road trip this weekend!

 

You'll need more then the borla to be pimpin! Get some spinner rims, 10 tvs and a PS2 in the car, a loud system , suede interior and wear some bling bling, then you'll really be PIMPIN in your MINI!

 

Thanks for the words of encouragment chrisnl. Sounds like there is some hope, but I'm not at all happy at this point.

I drove the car home tonight on my usual 40mi mixed highway/city commute and was pretty much shrinking down in my seat the whole way, totally embarassed by the sound. It was uncanny how the exhaust note attracted modified civics and integras. They would appear out of nowhere and tailgate me or race up beside me then take off revving to redline and beyond with their own semi-legal exhausts buzzing away. I was like the pied piper of Riceburnerberg, or something.

Whatever the sound outside the car, the real problem is the sound inside. I got this system because I wanted to achieve something that approximated the sound of my old Alfa, which had a beautiful exhaust note. Instead, I got what sounds like a massive subwoofer in my trunk, blasting a continuous low frequency drone. Not my idea of what a car should sound like.

 

>>Whatever the sound outside the car, the real problem is the sound inside. I got this system because I wanted to achieve something that approximated the sound of my old Alfa, which had a beautiful exhaust note. Instead, I got what sounds like a massive subwoofer in my trunk, blasting a continuous low frequency drone. Not my idea of what a car should sound like.

A couple of quick Qs

Have you tried tightening the connections?

Have you tried playing around with overall length of the system?

 

"I was like the pied piper of Riceburnerberg, or something."

Stop! You're killing me ... I love it. I may have to use that sometime. On a better note (so to speak) if you decide you don't like it I'm sure there's someone here who will take it off your hands but give it a little time. It'll mellow out our you'll become tone deaf to that frequency, either way it'll sound better.

Best of luck!

Geoff

 

>>A couple of quick Qs
>>
>>Have you tried tightening the connections?
>>
>>Have you tried playing around with overall length of the system?

Thanks for the suggestions. I've checked the connections and listened for any leaks and all seems tight. Sorry, but I'm pretty ignorant about exhausts. When you say play around with the length, what do you mean? My understanding is that this is an "engineered" system for the mini, designed to fit very precisely and sound right. Are you suggesting that I shorten or lengthen one of the Borla sections by chopping and welding? That seems kind of extreme to me.

 

I heard two Borla equipped cars the other week and they sounded good. I was thinking of getting one, but chose the Magnaflow instead, figuring if I didn't like it I could sell it. You, my friend, would absolutely hate that system if you think a Borla's too loud! The ricers in town don't know what to make of it and leave me pretty well alone.

I did find with the Magnaflow that the further you get your tips away from the back valance, the less interior sound you'll get. The Borla should work the same.

Question, the Alfa you mentioned, how many miles were on that exhaust system? and was it the stock system? If you answer these questions with "alot" and "yes", that could explain the difference in the sound you were looking to get. A well used (not to be read worn out) stock system will never sound like a free flow exhaust, even a relatively quiet one like the Borla. It'll give you a hint at it, but it won't come any closer than that.

Hope you can get it worked out.

 

These are all good points about installing any aftermarket exhaust on a MC or an MCS.
Part of the loudness comes from the exhaust parts being new and not heated up enough to burn away the baffling inside the muffler- that's what the few hundred miles does. If there are no leaks then try the extra miles first- good time to do some extra motorin. By the way the best way to get your exhaust hot is take long long trips- so think about a cross country trip somewhere- like where the petro is cheaper. I'm sure that after the miles the Borla will sound better and and if it doesn't then recheck those connections for a leak and consider lengthening a segment to move the tailpiece tip away from the back of the rear valance as was suggested.
When I talked to RandyBMC about exhausts he mentioned that Borla comes with LOTS of pieces and that he likes exhaust systems that have few pieces- so the leaky connections is still a legitimate concern- you can get a shop- like the one that installed it? to take a look later.

 

>>I was like the pied piper of Riceburnerberg, or something.



Are there any dyno numbers on either the borla or the magnaflow yet?

 

FWIW,

when we did a comparison of aftermarket exhausts at a group meeting the borla on the regular cooper tied for loudest with the quicksilver mcs. the borla for the MCS is much mellower then the borla for the regular cooper. we didn't have a magnaflow there, but from memory it was louder then all of them there.

ones tested, racing dynamics (mc), borla (mcs, mc), quicksilver (mcs)

the cooper had the exhaust for about 8 months, so it was already broken in.

 

Just wondering..why did you switch? Performance mufflers
are going to be louder but it sounds like you aren't interested
in that. So why put on a performance exhaust?

 

>>Part of the loudness comes from the exhaust parts being new and not heated up enough to burn away the baffling inside the muffler- that's what the few hundred miles does.
>>

You know, I have heard this theory about exhausts getting quieter a few times on this board and I really don't believe it to be true. I base this on my past auto experience and this exact statement above! A few hundred miles burns away baffling... baffling works to quiet an exhaust = louder exhaust. This was true of my RX-7, and many people I know feel the same. I'll be the first to admit I could be wrong though...

 

>>Just wondering..why did you switch? Performance mufflers
>>are going to be louder but it sounds like you aren't interested
>>in that. So why put on a performance exhaust?

I was definitely looking for more sound, but not quite as much as I got and less biased to the low frequencies.

 

>> when we did a comparison of aftermarket exhausts at a group meeting the borla on the regular cooper tied for loudest with the quicksilver mcs.
>>the cooper had the exhaust for about 8 months, so it was already broken in.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but thanks.

 

>>You know, I have heard this theory about exhausts getting quieter a few times on this board and I really don't believe it to be true. I base this on my past auto experience and this exact statement above! A few hundred miles burns away baffling... baffling works to quiet an exhaust = louder exhaust. This was true of my RX-7, and many people I know feel the same. I'll be the first to admit I could be wrong though...

I had the same intuition, but somebody tried to convince me that mufflers with glass or stainless "pack" insulation will get quieter as the packing compresses and becomes more dense. Out of the box the packing is very loose and permeable to sound, over time the exhaust heat and pressure gradually compresses into a more sound insulating "wall" inside the muffler. Makes some sense but could be total bs.

 

>> Question, the Alfa you mentioned, how many miles were on that exhaust system? and was it the stock system? If you answer these questions with "alot" and "yes", that could explain the difference in the sound you were looking to get. A well used (not to be read worn out) stock system will never sound like a free flow exhaust, even a relatively quiet one like the Borla. It'll give you a hint at it, but it won't come any closer than that.

About 7k miles on the Alfa system, which is stock but was replaced just a couple of years back. It was definitely a bit quieter than the old system when I first installed it, but that one had more than 100k and quite a few rust holes. The biggest difference I notice between a "proper"exhaust note and the rice-burner sound that I now have working on my Cooper is the frequency. The Alfa is much more up in the mid range, while the Borla (and standard Civic coffee can rig) boom way down low. I'm all for loudness, if it has the right tone.