Got the Miltek exhaust installed on my '05 MCc. Thanks to Detroit Tuned for the part and Steve's Auto clinic for the install.

Here are some before and after video clips of the car. The car is staionary and this is just for comparison. I will do some additional posts to this thread with pictures and the problems that were encountered during the installation, some of which still need to be resolved.

Before video clip.

After video clip.

 

Here is a short clip of the car on a fun little off ramp. My wife is driving and she is obviousely not happy with all the Esuvee traffic.

Sorry about the wind noise.

Video Clip.

The fraze at the end is: "Sorry, Envoy ruined my fun." Maybe it will become as famous as "Needs more cowbell".

 

goaljnky,


tried downloading your videos but nothing happened, waited for about 3min. each time,

tommyb

 

They work just fine for me. You need quicktime to play the files usually.

Sounds nice.

 

It's in mov format so you need a Quicktime player. I am hosting this myself so the server might be a little slow.

 

I can't wait for my miltek to get here now!

 

So here is some follow up with pictures.

Old exhaust. I really did not like the way it looked. Plus it had a whine to it that wasn't pleasant to my ears. This picture also gives you a good look at the bracing on the convertible which will become an issue later.



Here is what it looks like with the exhaust removed:



A few more shots of the convertible bracing:



I highlighted the cross brace that the rest of the braces connect to:



This brace became an issue once the new Miltek exhaust was installed. The Miltek would not clear the brace. While Detroit Tuned guys assured me that the part number was the same for a regular MC and the MCc it apparently does not seem to be the case. I am sure it is not their fault as they just relayed the info from Mini dealer. Once again, thanks Ryan for doing the legwork on that. So the solution seemed to be to make same spacers to lower the brace a bit. You can see that in the following shots:



A little closer:



And here it is all mounted:



And finally:



Now, there still seems to be a problem with rattling, but it only happens after a sharp, or high speed left turn. I think there is a bracket that gets pushed up against the heat shield that causes it, as it seems to cure itself after a corrective right turn maneuver. Will go back to Steve's Auto Clinic next weekend to work on that.

And finally the overall, butt crack dynometer impression:

I love the Miltek. I am very happy with the results. The sound is fantastic. Deep and throaty without being too loud. As a matter of fact at idle it sounds no different than stock. The low end torque improved significantly, which was an unexpected, but a pleasant benefit. The acceleration seems a lot better and the car seems more responsive. I can't explain it, but even the shifting seems smoother. All these were observed by both my wife and myself while driving the car. As I said, the only problem is the bracing on the convertible but it should not be very difficult to overcome.

Otherwise, highly recommended.

 

Just had mine installed yesterday also.

It's so nice.

 

Sounds good, did you have it done this weekend ? If so myt car was there getting some stuff done too. Its the all black S. Hopefully I will get it back tomorow.

 

Yep, was there Saturday morning. Will be there again next Saturday to try and take care of the rattle.

 

Cool, were they almost done with my car ;-)

 

goaljnky: Thanks for being the first to venture an aftermarket cat-back on a Cooper Cabrio! I'm glad the install was relatively smooth; the subframe brace spacers are reasonably minimal, and we very much appreciate your trailblazing!

also: Great How-To!

Cheers,
Ryan

 

So the bracing just needed to be pushed down a little? I'm interested in putting a Milltek on my MCSC but was told it would have to be modified to fit on my MCSC. I want to be able to bolt-on the system myself.

 

Yes, the bracing needs to be pushed down. While right now it is done with some nuts that are larger than the bolts, I would say that overall it will need to be dropped about a 3/4 to 1 inch. I actually have an idea that should work a little better, but I need to find a machine shop to do it right. I will post pictures and specs if I do.

Meanwhile, the car has to go back to the shop as there is still some rattling. I think the nuts only provided about 3/8' clearance and it needs a little more. Steve at Steve's auto clinic said they might need to bend the pipe to give it a more oval shape in order for it to clear the brace, but I am leaning more towards spacer.

I will keep all interested posted.

 

I installed my Milltek cat-back last night. Took less than an hour for me to do it. The sound is awesome, the power increase is noticeable though not astounding. Schweet!

 

Is there a lot more clearance above the Milltek compared to the stock one? From the looks of it, you had to drop the brace quite a bit more than the minimal difference in pipe radius. Maybe if the Milltek was mounted higher and/or had an extra pair of slight bends, it would clear the MCc brace yet still fit the MC?

 

I am sure some design adjustments would resolve the problem. But for now I have to work with what I got. Of course of additional concern it the clamp, which can be seen in couple of the pictures (right side of the pipe) which might be rubbing up on the heat shield. Need to look into that. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I seem to pick up some vibration after a high g left turn.

 

Don't be afraid to "persuade" the heat shield a bit in the places that are rubbing. It's soft aluminum and is easily tweaked with a blunt bar between the pipe and shield.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Had Steve take a look at my vibration problem. Turned out the left bolt that connects the left side braces to the cross brace would sometimes rub up against the exhaust causing the vibration. The little rub marks were tell tale. Steve shaved the bolt a bit (a 5 minute fix at most) and now the car purrs like a kitten.

Project exhaust upgrade is now officially complete.

Now on to the next mod. Muwhahaha!!!!