Hi. I don't post much here but I do a lot of reading. I have a question that I can't seem to find much information on and I am hoping that some of ya'll can help me out.

I am looking to upgrade my exhaust soon (when I get my tax refund) and would like to know more about the ones available for the MC. most of the info out there, including the extensive reviews on the webbmotorpsorts site, seem to be mainly about the MCS. I haven't found much info comparing HP gains between MC exhausts like I have for the MCS. Is this because it is negligible? is the only reason to upgrade for the sound? I am a beginner at autox so would like to keep this in mind as I shop around, although I must admit it is the sound that initially drew me into upgrading after driving a friend's MCS with a magnaflow. can anyone point me in the right direction or give me some tips?

thanks! :smile:
amanda
'02 SG/W

 

There are several threads regarding this subject here, but Grassroots Motorsports found that the Helix exhaust gave the best gains for HP on the Cooper.

Helix Exhaust Page

 

Mini Mania's Cooper exhaust had the highest torque gains in that same Grassroots article. Also check out RSpeed's system, it's popular among autocrossers for the same reason, plus it's a lot cheaper. The last I checked, it was on sale on their site.

 

If you want sound, check out the Rogue Engineering exhaust. They have sound files at their website.

Rogue Engineering

 

I can snail mail you my MC w/ Helix (& BMP/Promini intake) autocrossing on CD. If interested, just PM/e-mail (erik_tanaka@hotmail.com) me & it'll be there in a week or so ...

 

Personally, I am running the Rogue. My car makes more power than it should, I had a dyno done before I ever put an intake in (with only the Rogue on) Whether or not the Rogue was the cause of increase, I can't tell you. But my car sounds rather agressive, to put it mildly.

 

Amanda,
Here's a good thread from a while back specifically about Cooper exhausts.

And as you suggested, the reason that you don't see as many hp figures for the Cooper exhausts is because the gains are relatively minor compared to the MCS exhausts. Unlike the stock MCS exhaust, the Cooper one actually does a pretty efficient job. :smile:

I've had the Borla on my car for almost a year now, and can't say enough good things about it. If you do a search (and weed through the S stuff), I'm pretty sure there are at least a couple more Cooper-specific exhaust threads, although the one I've just linked to probably has the most info.

Good luck!
Chris

 

>>There are several threads regarding this subject here, but Grassroots Motorsports found that the Helix exhaust gave the best gains for HP on the Cooper.
>>
>>Helix Exhaust Page

That's true, but don't forget that they didn't review every available aftermarket MC exhaust (I know they missed the Borla for example) and at least a couple more have come to the market since that article was published.

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The gains are definitely less than those claimed for the MCS, especially wrt peak values. On the other hand, those peaks are less important for the MC. What you want to do is look for improvements throughout the rev range relative to the same test car's baseline curves (in other words, don't compare specific numbers from different tests). Look particularly at lower revs and especially (IMHO) on the torque curve. That's what I did and that's why I picked the RSpeed to replace my Helix when I decided it was too loud for me.

If you follow chrisnl's advice you'll find a number of threads full of comments about MC exhausts and you're right, very little discussion of hard numbers. Hunt for dyno curves. The GRM article dandp mentioned has some good ones...others are hard to find. I think the only one I've seen for the RSpeed is on this page.

_________________
'02 IB/IB MC (name=ZIPPY) w/ assorted factory extras + SSR Comps (17&quot w/ B-stone Potenza S-03s + RDR rear swaybar + B&M short shifter + HSport ARCAs + Helix strut brace + RSpeed exhaust + PiperCross Viper CAI......etc

 

A lot of autox'ers seem to prefer the supertrapp with 8-10 disks. Superlite compared to the others and healthy on power. Its just the muffler though and will have to be custom fitted.

 

Thanks to everyone for the links and also the helpful advice. I hadn't seen the thread "Exhausts for the non-S crowd" even though I did a search , don't know why it didn't come up. today I had lunch with some other mini owners and heard a borla. then I went by RSpeed and heard theirs although it was on a MCS not a cooper. He didn't have any coopers there. I will probably go with the RSpeed, he is giving me a good deal- $500 installed. I could probably get a borla for less but this way it is installed and done with, plus I get to support a local guy. it will be another month probably before I get this done so if I find more info or a used one comes up for sale cheap I may change my mind... :smile:

thanks again,
Amanda
'02 SG/W MC

 

That's a great deal on the RSpeed - seems like a no-brainer! If the Borla didn't exist, that's what I'd have on my car.

 

Amanda, is that RSpeed install a special just for you or would they give me the same deal? I'm asking because I'll be going to Atlanta in 6 weeks.

 

I really don't know- maybe he wants me to make him another one of my mini cakes like we had at the mini party at his shop

amanda

 

I just wanted to give and update and say thanks for everyones advice-
on Monday I went by RSpeed and picked up their exhaust, a set of Konis, and a K&N air filter. since I have no tools or garage space of my own, I am having to wait until tomorrow to get assistance from a couple of fellow mini owners. Joe at RSpeed is a really great guy, he gave me an awesome deal- matched a price on the Konis that I found online. I did take him some of my famous cookies tho, I'm pretty sure that helped. he also let me test drive their new shift ****. it is smaller than their old one and has a textured surface, which I really like so far. it seems to warm up quickly and doesn't get ice cold like my other replacement ****. on top of that, I won an ebay auction for some 15" 7 holes rims so that will reduce my wheel weight by a little over 5 lbs each corner. I am signed up for our MINI autox school on the 13th and CANNOT wait to test out this new set-up. thanks for all the help ya'll!

amanda