Drivetrain Ireland Engineering exhaust
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 552
Likes: 11
Any ideas why this is so inexpensive compared to let's say the Alta? I wonder what the inside of the resonator and muffler are like. Everything else has been reported on, so where is the cost cutting? I guess some comes from not having tips but just that can't make up the difference.
the mufflers are flowmasters if i remember correctly, so no cheapos.. its just... thats how much it SHOULD COST originally...700, 800 for an exhaust? uh huh sure... 
its not that ireland is way too cheap, its just that all the other exhausts for mini are overpriced.
its not that ireland is way too cheap, its just that all the other exhausts for mini are overpriced.
4th Gear
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Haha just a little...I could not understand, for the life of me, why SS piping (cheap as all hell) & a muffer (80+) are going for north of 600 regularly for the Mini.
The only reason I have not sourced my own as of yet is that I would have no idea what it would sound like before installed/complete. I'll take the plunge eventually though and do a dual-outlet with the PU valence.
Back on Topic: Anyone have a sound clip?
The only reason I have not sourced my own as of yet is that I would have no idea what it would sound like before installed/complete. I'll take the plunge eventually though and do a dual-outlet with the PU valence.
Back on Topic: Anyone have a sound clip?
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 685
Likes: 1
From: Trumbull, CT
This is true. On my last car, a new gen saab 900, I was able to buy a full factory Saab stainless catback sport exhaust for $350. This is OEM-aftermarket stuff we're talking about too.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 350
Likes: 4
From: Westminster, CO
Just installed my Ireland
Ok gents..here are my initial impressions:
Installation and Fitament:
-1) Installing this exhaust is truely a piece of cake with 2 people. In fact with 2 people and if you had done it once before..I bet you could install it in about 30 minutes with pneumatic tools where applicable.
-2) Hangers ALL line up perfectly...no bending no tweaking.
-3) The stock exhaust is easily over 50 lbs..no doubt. This exhaust weighs 27 lbs from Ireland
-4) Install the mid section hangers/bracket OFF the car..much easier then trying to do while under the car. Also be careful not to install it upside down, you will know if you are "forcing" the exhaust mount 10mm screws and the mid-section is rubbing on the bracket.
-5) Get yourself a couple of bolts that are 2.5" long bolts and a couple of nuts and washers as the stock bolts are not workable, nor included in the kit, as is a stud pressed in the stock flange
-6) Center resonator does NOT hang low..not even more the 1/4" lower then mid-section brace/exhaust bracket.
-7) Only complaint other then the rough T-in on the exhaust tip, are the tips (IMHO) are a bit long. I might cut off 1/2 to 3/4" w/ the bandsaw
The exhaust truely fits amazing! Again I am going to have to do some tip adjustments (length)..but man for the price..I dont think you can beat it.
Sound:
Dont have a exhaust sound clip..but it is really nice and deep. (exhaust clip to come) Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwzeug_DsQo (Sound Clip)
More exhaust comes out of the T'ed in 2nd tip then you think..at least feel of the hand at idle
Pics:
Installation and Fitament:
-1) Installing this exhaust is truely a piece of cake with 2 people. In fact with 2 people and if you had done it once before..I bet you could install it in about 30 minutes with pneumatic tools where applicable.
-2) Hangers ALL line up perfectly...no bending no tweaking.
-3) The stock exhaust is easily over 50 lbs..no doubt. This exhaust weighs 27 lbs from Ireland
-4) Install the mid section hangers/bracket OFF the car..much easier then trying to do while under the car. Also be careful not to install it upside down, you will know if you are "forcing" the exhaust mount 10mm screws and the mid-section is rubbing on the bracket.
-5) Get yourself a couple of bolts that are 2.5" long bolts and a couple of nuts and washers as the stock bolts are not workable, nor included in the kit, as is a stud pressed in the stock flange
-6) Center resonator does NOT hang low..not even more the 1/4" lower then mid-section brace/exhaust bracket.
-7) Only complaint other then the rough T-in on the exhaust tip, are the tips (IMHO) are a bit long. I might cut off 1/2 to 3/4" w/ the bandsaw
The exhaust truely fits amazing! Again I am going to have to do some tip adjustments (length)..but man for the price..I dont think you can beat it.
Sound:
Dont have a exhaust sound clip..but it is really nice and deep. (exhaust clip to come) Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwzeug_DsQo (Sound Clip)
More exhaust comes out of the T'ed in 2nd tip then you think..at least feel of the hand at idle
Pics:
Last edited by cpayne; Jun 21, 2008 at 12:39 PM.
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 350
Likes: 4
From: Westminster, CO
Last edited by cpayne; Jun 21, 2008 at 07:46 PM.
it should. the only difference is the bend....it needs to be a bit steeper to clear the cabrio's bracing. worst case, you can have a shop add some more angle to it to clear.
problem area (Milltek in the pic):
problem area (Milltek in the pic):
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 350
Likes: 4
From: Westminster, CO
I like it...a 'bit' louder then then I like...but other then that perfect. Does not resonate at all on highway.
Last edited by cpayne; Jun 21, 2008 at 07:30 PM.
Actually I just had one that I won on Ebay for $275 shipped installed about a week ago.
I had it installed by Meineke & they did a pretty good job, but they said that they had a bear of a time with the hangers and had to bend some of them around, so I suspect I may have had one for an 02-04 sent by mistake.
For me, the jury's still a bit out if I really like it or not (it is growing on me more & more though). It's fairly loud (I had the one ball before, and it's a bit louder than that for sure), but doesn't drone much on the highway except above about 75 mph. The burble is still there, but it actually seems to be a tiny bit more muted than w/ the one ball. The weird thing is when I first took it for a spin it seemed like there was more low end torque from the butt dyno, but it seemed to take a tiny bit longer to spool.
Now it feels like its a bit more torquey around 4 - 6 K and spools up more quickly (about the same as the one ball). It also make a distinct whooshing or turbine sound that I've heard described regarding some of the one-sided exhausts after about 5500 rpm.
The fit & finish are pretty good, but definitely not the greatest. The two tips aren't perfectly aligned (since the driver side tip carries 99% of the exhaust and it is not perfectly parallel to the other welded on tip), but it is centered pretty well & looks good from about 5+ feet away. I also masked & spray painted the inside of the other (welded on) tip before the install with flat black high temp BBQ paint since I knew that it wouldn't get black with exhaust soot like the other tip that carries most of the exhaust & you really can't tell the difference except if you're a foot away.
I had it installed by Meineke & they did a pretty good job, but they said that they had a bear of a time with the hangers and had to bend some of them around, so I suspect I may have had one for an 02-04 sent by mistake.
For me, the jury's still a bit out if I really like it or not (it is growing on me more & more though). It's fairly loud (I had the one ball before, and it's a bit louder than that for sure), but doesn't drone much on the highway except above about 75 mph. The burble is still there, but it actually seems to be a tiny bit more muted than w/ the one ball. The weird thing is when I first took it for a spin it seemed like there was more low end torque from the butt dyno, but it seemed to take a tiny bit longer to spool.
Now it feels like its a bit more torquey around 4 - 6 K and spools up more quickly (about the same as the one ball). It also make a distinct whooshing or turbine sound that I've heard described regarding some of the one-sided exhausts after about 5500 rpm.
The fit & finish are pretty good, but definitely not the greatest. The two tips aren't perfectly aligned (since the driver side tip carries 99% of the exhaust and it is not perfectly parallel to the other welded on tip), but it is centered pretty well & looks good from about 5+ feet away. I also masked & spray painted the inside of the other (welded on) tip before the install with flat black high temp BBQ paint since I knew that it wouldn't get black with exhaust soot like the other tip that carries most of the exhaust & you really can't tell the difference except if you're a foot away.
Other than E-bay where can I get a good deal of this IE exhaust.
Neutral
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
ireland engineering exhausts
got my ireland engineering exhaust installed today and after an hour (plus) of bending and welding and not to mention 150.00 dollar labor from the muffler shop, it was done. mix feelings! the hangers did not fit and the clamp to the mufler connecting the tip was way too small...finally had to welded on. was it worth 340.00 dollars, i guess. customer service stinks but the shipping was fast (4 days, from ca to fl). the system it self looks home-made but it was well polished and it sounded great on my r53.... get what you paid for!
Banned
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,499
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From: Car Nut Since 1987, Owner Since Fall 2005, Vendor Since Fall 2007
The real issue is shipping it to Canada. Just had a customer that wanted the system, but shipping it cost as much as the system to Canada. If you have a US address PM me and we can work out a deal.
I just got mine in the mail... Want to install it SO bad but this sunday some lamer side swipped my mini so it's in the shop getting fixed up.. So I will need 2 1/2 bolts to mate it to the factory header?
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iTrader: (2)
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From: Car Nut Since 1987, Owner Since Fall 2005, Vendor Since Fall 2007
Bummer Bang, You have all those parts laying around and nothing to install them on.
Just set them up around the house she won't mind.
You "shouldn't" need anything special to install the IE system.
I've had mine on since February. The exhaust won't move around a lot while driving, even the spirited type, but you can almost move it by hand, and on occassion, I had to kick the tips to center them. With vacuum caps, it is eliminated. I'm going downtown tomorrow though and see what the local muffler shop can do about the tips. I'm just not happy with them.
Banned
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,499
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From: Car Nut Since 1987, Owner Since Fall 2005, Vendor Since Fall 2007
Bang, check email, sent tracking info.
Fatherdeth, Thanks for the feedback, I have sent it to IE and hope they will review and adjust. Thanks for posting the helpful tips.
10:45am update, IE will make adjustments to fix the issues Fatherdeth addressed above on all new orders. Thanks again for the feedback we do see it and take any and all action we can to make our products better for you.
Fatherdeth, Thanks for the feedback, I have sent it to IE and hope they will review and adjust. Thanks for posting the helpful tips.
10:45am update, IE will make adjustments to fix the issues Fatherdeth addressed above on all new orders. Thanks again for the feedback we do see it and take any and all action we can to make our products better for you.
Last edited by AutoXCooper.com; Jun 26, 2008 at 08:45 AM.
Bang, check email, sent tracking info.
Fatherdeth, Thanks for the feedback, I have sent it to IE and hope they will review and adjust. Thanks for posting the helpful tips.
10:45am update, IE will make adjustments to fix the issues Fatherdeth addressed above on all new orders. Thanks again for the feedback we do see it and take any and all action we can to make our products better for you.
Fatherdeth, Thanks for the feedback, I have sent it to IE and hope they will review and adjust. Thanks for posting the helpful tips.
10:45am update, IE will make adjustments to fix the issues Fatherdeth addressed above on all new orders. Thanks again for the feedback we do see it and take any and all action we can to make our products better for you.
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 552
Likes: 11
Fatherdeth, what is a "vacuum cap"? I've been trying to read everything I could find on this exhaust and I never heard of the issue you described so I'd like to learn more about them. Please keep us posted. Thanks.
You probably haven't heard much about the issue I posted because in all honesty, it's not really that much of an issue. What you will notice is that on the tips of the exhaust hangers, there are no flanges that keep the hanger from coming out of the rubber holder. The Ireland will not come out of the rubber holder, however, there is some play and this can cause the exhaust to slightly slide around. What I posted is just a suggestion on how to keep the exhaust steady and still. Hope this helps.