Everyone knows about the inboard hanger switch with '04 + Mini's. I myself have an '05 and got a great deal on an 03 style Magnaflow. Being that I was unable to use the inner hangers, I only had the outboard hangers hooked up. I zip tied the inboard hangers to bushings to limit movement. That worked great for awhile until one of my outboard hangers snapped off. Basically, I was driving around with the aluminum skid plate hold up half of the exhaust.
Now, I know there have been posts about people who take their exhaust to a shop to have the hangers bent. I don't like this for many reasons. It can change the temper of the steel; which is probably why my hanger snapped in the first place.
Norm03s came up with another method that you can do yourself. Basically, we got some strap metal and created another bracket using the inboard bushing as our template. We slid the bracket through the existing bushing and bolted it back in; effectively changing the bushing position to accept the inboard hangers. The only other thing I would suggest is putting in 3 or 4 washers to drop the bushings down a little; my exhaust tips are a little close to the bumper skirt and melted a wee bit. I like this mod because is gives you room to adjust the mufflers and you don't need a torch to do it! Here are some pics to give you an idea of what we did. Norm03s, thanks bud - it works like a charm!

 

CEO.. I was contemplating getting the Volt exhaust system from DetroitTuned.com for my 05 MCS, so I take it I would need to have the muffler shop fabricate and attach these straps since the special they're running says it's designed for 02-03 MCS'.. Correct? They mention, ".. With some creative bending and a torch you can bend the hangers to fit the new style brackets. A small job for any muffler shop or MINI Tuner in your area. The second one is that this system doesn't come with any hardware, but this is an easy find for anyone. Just get two muffler clamps and two bolts.." Any thoughts about this? Thanks.

 

Yes, the 02-03 style exhaust will need the inboard hangers bent at 90 degrees to accomidate your bushings. I myself like doing my own work to the car and have no experience with a torch. I don't know what the tolerance of the steel is and the side effects of basically changing the temper of it. Basically, the method that Norm03s came up with enables any DIY'er to install the exhaust with little more than a drill and/or dremel tool, and some scrap metal. If you do decided to install your exhaust yourself, you may want to use these clamps:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

You will only need 2 of them.