Well got my exhaust put on took a trip to Helenblitz had a great time even thou it rained. But one thing the exhaust seems louder on my 06 with a CVT than it did in my 04 with a 5sp. It has to be me but, just an impression.

Art

We have Megan Cat-backs on both our 06 Coopers w/CVT and I can tell you, they are plenty loud.

I'm looking forward to Spring and windows-down motoring so I can enjoy the throaty noise again.

I just got a Megan exhaust, going to install it soon, can't wait

Mark

Art, I loved the sound of your exhaust... the way it has that low drone growl.. nice!

I agree with loudness comment. There are a lot of hills in Seattle, and getting on the gas to go up a hill resulted in a lot of noise inside the car. I modified my slightly by welding a larger resonator on it which quieted it down substantially. I get a lot of compliments on the sound of the exhaust.

After I get the Megan installed, if I don't want to hear the exhaust in the cabin, I plan on turning the music up louder

Mark

Hi Guys,

With the new exhaust did anyone notice a bump in performance? Or just more noise?

Thanks,

retroom

Hmmmmmm.... hard for me to say, actually. I may have had a very slight increase in performance but we had CAIs installed on both our MINIs as the same time we put on the Megan Cat-backs. More likely that slight increase was due to the CAI than the exhaust.

I'm not expert, but I believe you would have to change out the entire exhaust system to garner any performance benefit from the exhaust.

I've had a Way/DDM intake on mine for over a year now, and there was a noticeable increase in throttle response. When I get the exhaust installed later this week, I'll report back if there is any perceived difference in performance. There should be, however slight, as it should breathe out a little easier.

Mark

I noticed a larger performance increase than I expected and at least 5 mpg better that has been sustained for almost a year now. I love the sound and was told by a GP owner they thought another GP was coming but no it was justacooper...

My MPGs may have gone down after installing the Megan Cat-back. Of course, that would be due not to the exhaust itself but to me spending more time in Sport Mode.

I have noticed a quicker responce and I am getting to love my nice rumble. Plus the mileage has changed whick is a plus. I have the K&N now but am thinking of the WayDDM. I almost asked way to remove the resonator on the intake so I could do a nice swap at the house.

Art

Well better over all and when I behave. I'm always in "sport mode" because I have a '05 so you may be getting better mpg compared to other times using the button.

Even when I'm "behaving", I'm still getting the same 31mpg I was getting prior to the CAI and the Megan cat-back.

But hey, even if my mpg's dropped a bit, I still wouldn't regret the mods. The sound of the exhaust is awesome !

aFe CAI combined with Megan Cat-back here. Love the combo. Deep, throaty, classic sports car sound with no nasally, tinny ricer noises.

Its presence at interstate highway speeds over long distances took a bit of acclimation (higher revs with the Getrag-5, you know) but now after almost a year it doesn't seem intrusive at all.

If you often find yourself out late at night and needing to sneak home unnoticed, this is not the setup for you. Your spouse will know exactly what time you got home...

Gild-Galad, what are you doing over here on the R50 forums? Dont you belong on the R53 side of things? lol.

I have the AFE CAI and would love a Megan exhaust. But that is low on my list of mods.

Ha! The bonnet scoop always leaves 'em guessing...

how much was that hood by the way? I always loved the more aggressive shape of the hood with the scoop.

(not to hijack the thread or anything)

OT: The numbers are in this post in a historical thread:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post1795841


***Now back to your regularly scheduled Megan Cat-Back discussion***

What about the Megan Cat-Back with the DDM CAI.. Has anyone done that?? Whats better the DDM Or the AFE??

Funny.... just mentioned in another thread I have that set up. I believe there are about half a dozen other R50 owners here on NAM that have that combo.

Each of them alone makes for a nice, throaty sound. Put them together...

Not sure about the AFE, but IMO, it would be hard to beat the DDM CAI.

How bout some vid. clips or a couple of pics Art....

That is pretty funny!! If you could get some pics up and also some noise clips that would be cool!

I have pics, but those won't do you much good. You need to hear the sound, especially at up around 4,000 RPMs and then when you take the foot off the throttle.

Maybe someone more tech savy than I can post some sound clips.

Anyway... here they are before install:



And here's a shot of my engine bay. You can see the DDM intake peeking out in this pic.