Just in case someone's got one available or will shortly and not gotten around to posting it, does anyone have a stock exhaust system from a convertible they've taken off to do a upgrade?

(Convertibles have a extra bend in the exhaust to clear some bracing)

I had a one ball done and while happy with the sound the first shop botched the job and the second made it worse. Every time I think about $1K for a after market exhaust I cringe and would love to find a take off system.

Thanks,
Mark

 

I know of a JCW cabrio exhaust for sale....$500. Maybe that's a better solution still?

 

Hmmm. Thanks, interesting. The JCW always has the flat spot in it for the cabrio from what I've heard so thats good! I guess it would depend on the condition, I'd be very interested in the particulars. If it's low miles and in excellent shape that JCW might be a great idea.

I'm trying to be a bit careful of anything that feels like a compromise based on being burned twice and a significant investment already. I spent about $150 for the MINI speed pipe and $60 for it to be installed by a local exhaust shop. They put it in the wrong spot and it rattled horribly.

I then had a local now defunct MINI shop do a re do. They 'fabricated' a system for me that's literally falling apart at the seams. That time I paid almost $500.

A sub $100 buck stock take off system would be cheap enough to be a no brainer. A used aftermarket or JCW at half the cost of a new is sorta in a grey area for me. Being mid way in cost makes me question myself and wonder if I should 'just stop screw'n around' and bit the bullet for new. Decisions, decisions.

 

It's a bit of a trip - but you might want to check with Dan Zipkin at Grassroots Garage in NC... he always seems to have a PILE of OEM exhausts there, and I know he's done some aftermarket cabrio installs...

FWIW, he's also done at least a couple of cabrio one-***** now - the "right" way... which is much trickier than the coupe (as you have unfortunately learned the bad way )...

 

Thanks. I looked and thats 5 and a half hours, without traffic. A bit on the far side I'm afraid. It might be worth the trip to get a cabrio take off cheap to bring home and mess with. But I'd hesitate to have the one ball done that far in case a follow up tweak was needed.

 

it's a take-off...swapped for a Magnaflow at delivery. Give Fred @ MoS a ring...one of his customers....he can put you in touch


what shop??? $500 for a one ball?

 

FWIW, one of my club-mates has the JCW on his cabrio and it's great - not loud - but very nice, and fits fine.

 

Aah, a take off. I just left a message with Fred and asked him to pass along my number to the fellow. A JCW take off for that amount I WANT! LIKE ASAP!

I'll PM you the defunct shop if you really want. I discussed it with the guy in another thread and we made our peace, so I won't beat a dead horse in public. The $500 wasn't for a one ball per se, it was to rebuild the system from just ahead of the mid brace back to the muffler. Because the first shop had hacked up and cracked the mid pipe trying to heat and bang it to clear the convertible brace. I wasn't thrilled at the time because I'd been told they had a 'fabricator' who did exhaust. I thought that meant he had a tubing bender etc.

It turned out he bought two pieces of off the shelf pipe, and used part of the MINI speed pipe to cobble together a run from the mid pipe to the muffler. Counting the piece on the muffler and the piece from the flange I've got 5 pieces of pipe in just that part of the exhaust, four welds and one clamp. It's 'cwap'. It's now leaking and falling apart. Where he reused the clamp on one end of the MINI speed pipe there's only about a 1/8th inch of pipe insert from one pipe to the other.

As a result its always shifting, getting loose, and leaking plus the tips move and rub the rear valance. I went last night to loosen the clamp and re align things one more time to buy me a week to buy something and I sheared the clamp. I could grind it off or have it welded but it's got other leaks at welds and never fit well so it's just got to go.

 

Thanks, encouraging to hear that if I'm able to get the JCW mentioned above. I haven't heard one but at this point I'm most concerned about quality and fit. I'd love to have a sound similar to the one ball but not willing to spend a grand for it. So we'll see what works out.

 

yeah...I was going to jump on it as I need a custom setup and will only use the rear section, but with the cabrio fitment, it's got a crush bend to clear the braces, so, not ideal considering the power I have.

 

Now I'm just anxiously awaiting a phone call back! This would be great as the car is just about undriveable now. I think I'll do the install myself and consider replacing the front resonator section with front pipe from my stock system as things aren't hacked up in the front. IF the tube diameters match up etc. Nice thing is I can cut the stock to match length and can always put the JCW resonator in if things don't line up right.

I've been waiting to install my TSW X brace at the same time. If I get a call today I could be having a fun weekend in the garage. Time to fire up the kerosene heater maybe.

 

if it doesn't work out, I'll have a JCW/RMW hybrid for sale soon.

 

??? You're not keeping the RMW?

 

Check with Eric (Helix), last time he mentioned about how large his unused exhaust collection is.
He has quite a few stock exhaust taking off from MINIs. Give him or Ralph a call. You never know.
Good luck.

 

Thanks. Has to a for a convert but they might have. I'm going to put on hold for a short bit to see if this JCW one is available.

 

header and mid, yes, but looking at swapping on a JCW rear section for OEM look and (hopefully) quieter. At worst, it will be the same loudness but I have plausible deniability with the cops. I've pulled over already....it's hard to have fun in my car when you can't get on it for fear of a ticket.

how did your's turn out? Jan told me he made it a working vacation.

 

Any Cooper S exhaust built after 7/04 has the proper bend to fit a cabrio, and definetely check with Helix

 

Dan's so dang smart about MINIs it hurts when I think about it...

 

I see you one being pulled over and raise you one ticket... We don't need to be throwing extra money at the insurance companies

Everyone over here was extremely satisfied! My results saw an increase of 22.5 hp and the torque jumped up 32.5. I'm frustrated that the dyno just doesn't handle auto tranny's well. I'd love to have an accurate hp read on my car...

Mark, I'd send you my exhaust, since I changed it out, but the shipping would probably kill the deal. Sorry!

 

Thanks! That may be the valuable thing anyones every told me about MINIs!

Thanks man, but I'm sure you're right. Sounds like Helix will be my best bet if I go back to a stock system. At this point my favorite option is the new take off JCW mentioned. I've got a voice mail and email in to Fred at MoS asking if he could forward my info to his customer. I didn't hear back anything yet. This would be such a good bang for the buck I'm going to stall a few days and hope that works out.

If not I'll decide whether to go stock, go stock and attempt a one ball again with that system, or Milltek. I've also got a friend who's offered to weld where the clamp was to try to buy me some time... I may drop the system tomorrow and see if I can grind off the tack welded clamp enough to allow a new clamp to get even pressure, again just as a delaying tactic for a week or two.

Thanks again to all for all the great info, advice, and ideas! I'll post what ends up happening...

 

On the topic of exhausts... I've been trying to find out whether the pipe diameter of the JCW is the same as the stock MCS, especially at the back. Being able to swap/replace the tips might be fun.

 

If I get one I'll let you know.

 

Wow....

Congrats.

 

Fred called me back sat a.m to let me know he passed my phone # and info on to the customer in question. He got her voice mail and left a message. I ran out to MoS Sat mid day to get a exhaust gasket and new nuts for whatever system I put on.

I ran into Fred and we chatted. He's a really nice gent. He asked if I'd heard from her yet.

As of Monday still haven't heard. I guess I'll wait till Tues and if I haven't heard by then I'll decide what my next choice will be.

One choice is Milltek.
One is a stock take off system. (And decide if try one ball again.)
I hear conflicting reports on people with convertibles putin' on Magnaflows. This person with the JCW did apparently. Some say it doesn't fit without surgery, some say it does. They certainly cost less than the Milltek. But I'm trying to only do this one more time.

 

I decided I needed to 'get off the pot'.

After much browsing of threads here, some for the 3rd or 4th time. I just ordered a Magnaflow. Most of those buying the latest (#16662) report it fit fine on converts with no issues. Several retail sites mention it fitting as well.

I pulled the trigger when I found it for $769 minus $80 discount minus another $62 coupon and free shipping for a total of $627.

So in a couple days hopefully I'll be putting the car up to install it and the TSW brace... Cross you fingers for me all that it goes trouble free.