UPS surprised me and showed up a day early yesterday! I bought a Borla Cat-Back from a NAM'er in the marketplace. Tomorrow morning I'm swinging by the exhaust/tire shop so they can see if they have the clamps they'll need in stock, and if so I'll probably have it put on tomorrow or the next day.

If I had the space, tools, and jack stands/ramps I'd tackle it myself, but I don't.

As I understand it, the stock hangers are used. Any chance they'll break in the process? Should I order new ones before I bring the car in? I'd hate to have my car stranded there.

Also, the original parts list includes "4. 2.25” Accuseal™ clamp (qty 2)"

Any reason run of the mill exhaust clamps won't work?

 

Stock hangers should work fine. Congratulations on your new exhaust. Aftermarket Exhaust is one of the most noticeable mods I have completed on my Mini.

 

Nice choice! Grassroots Motorsports Magazine dyno tested the Borla on a Getrag R50 in their August 2006 issue ( volume 23 #5) along with some other bolt on mods. They may still have back issues available.
The stock baseline was 106.1 hp & 102.3 lb-ft torque . Stock exhaust weighed 31 pounds, Borla 25 pounds. The borla dyno'd at 110.2 hp & 106.4 lb-ft with good torque gains through out the RPM range (where it counts!)

Grassroots also did several issues on modding a 2002 R50 that you might find helpful:
Jan 2003
Feb 2003 (Vol 20 #1) Dynos for bolt-on exhausts, intakes, etc, Some of the articles can still be accessed by going to their website.

 

That's great, thanks for posting those numbers!

I have the mid pipe with the mechanic right now, he's sourcing gaskets and the right clamps. With any luck I'll have it on the car next week!

 

Good news, shop finally got around to finding some gaskets for me. However, the clamps are elusive. Borla says they have them but the part number I was given does not seem to exist, so I'll have to call in the AM and figure it out. They're $15 each and I need 2, seems like a lot for a clamp.

Does anyone know anything about AccuSeal clamps? They're 2 1/4". Can't find them on the Borla site at all.

 

If its already at the shop, can't they just weld it all together for you? Unless, you really want the ability to take it apart in the near future?

 

That's a possibility. Right now they've actually just got the mid-pipe, the rest is in my boot. The mechanic said he'd try to find something that would work and suggested I try to find something if I had a chance, as well. He seemed confident something could be done, one way or another.

Hopefully I'll have it on the car by Monday, somehow.