I'm saving now to get this done...Thanks for the part numbers

 

Hi everyone... just a couple quick questions...

I have read how the catback is more sound productive then it is performance. Because of this i think i might go with a custom 3" turbo-back exhaust instead.

I know a few have done this and i was wondering if it is too loud? and ... Is it just bolted up to turbo like the Alta downpipe is? and ... Is it just a 3" straight-through pipe to the muffler?

Any help/answers would be great! Thanks

 

Hi Ghosthound
A picture from the second cat to the muffler would be great. Just to see how much mandrel bending will be required by the muffler shop.

 

hi, sorry but i wont be able to get the car on a lift to take pix anytime soon. The exhaust on the r56 is actually very clean though, its fairly straight from the second cat on back. You could always take it to the shop, get the car on their lift and have them figure out what needs to be done.

The shop i went to was first worried about doing the exhaust because they had done r53 exhaust which require several sharp bends. He was glad that the r56 has a fairly straight back design.

I will get pix when i can, but it may be a while.



*just realized you havent received your car yet sunman.... I wouldnt worry about it though, the bends are very minor and once you get the car, just get it on the rack at the exhaust shop.

 

thanks ghosthound.

 

Ghosthound, I've been following this thread and have some puzzlement. The first time I read about this Magnaflow system you noted it was $355 out the door, the next time you posted I read $350 OTD and the last time it was $340 OTD. I am really puzzled as to how you got this $928.65 system from Magnaflow for around $350 installed. The $928.65 is Magnaflow's price for the exhaust no installlation included.

 

i must have mis-wrote the prices. The correct price is $355.XX OTD.

Dont get this confused with the catback kit that magnaflow sells. The shop welded up all the piping to a magnaflow muffler and tips.. thats why its a *custom* magnaflow catback.

 

Oh, that's a little clearer. You provided the piping from the cat to the muffler and the muffler is Magnaflow. Got it. Thanks.

 

well the muffler shop provides the piping and i ordered the muffler and tips through them as well. haha, sorry for any confusion!

 

Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Little help please!?!?!

 

It will be as loud or as quiet as you want. This all depends on the cat you choose, piping size, muffler choice, whether or not you put any resonators anywhere in the system...etc. It can be a 3" straight through pipe to the muffler if you want, or you can add a resonator to quiet things down, or even a 2nd cat like the stock exhaust has (why you would want to do that, I don't know...)

Thats the beauty of it being custom!

 

I was pretty much planning on doing a 3" straight-through to the Magnaflow muffler, and if i did do anything to the pipe it would be to add a resonator. But do you think an exhaust shop could put a resonator on? And could they make a connector to the turbo like the stock exhaust has?

(sorry for being such a nuwb)

 

Here are a couple of pics, unfortunately i did not get to take them while the car was on the lift. And also keep in mind my set-up deletes the 2nd cat, it is from the end of the DP back.

 

lxjose9xl,
Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a very clean install. Do you have any problems with not having the second cat?

 

nope no problems whatsoever.

 

Good lord that is a huge pipe that looks soooo sickk BIG

 

just to give credit where credit is due... i got the exhaust idea from lxjose9xl so its not "my" custom catback

anyway, did it cost you any extra to get the polished SS? I got SS piping but its not polished, i dont really care since hardly anyone will see the piping.

 

Also, how do you keep them looking so clean??? very nice...

yes it does look nice, but is it worth the cost to get the polished muffler too?

 

I actually didn't have a choice, the place I went only uses polished stainless steel with their mandrel bender, so I don't know what the price difference woudl have been. It came out to a bit under $340 for everything but they did give me a good price since I've done several of my cars in the past there.

And the question about keeping them clean, those pictures wer taken a couple of months ago, but they are still looking as shiny and clean. I guess it's pretty good material.

 

So what's you opinion about 3" being too large if one doesn't get a bigger turbo? Have you noticed any reduction in power?

 

as good as the piping looks, i dont think i would pay MORE for the polished piping and muffler. with something as low as the MINI, you wont be able to see it normally anyway.

 

I completely agree, If I had to I would not have payed extra.

 

How hard is it to fabricate a downpipe and a guesstimate on price? If I decide to do a downpipe I'm going to go custom.

 

the best i can say is to go to an exhaust shop and ask since the price of work varies from place to place.

 

Ghosthound and lxjose9xl,
Now that you have the custom install for a while, and assuming you both have not gone with a larger turbo (besides a downpipe on lxjose9xl's ride), have you noticed that going with 3" is too much versus say a 2.5" (i.e., too big for a 4 banger). As you are aware, on another thread in NAM there has been some discussion on whether the off-the-shelf manufacturer's brand 3" catback will affect the low-end and improve high-end performance. With that said, it would be nice to hear what you both think from the perspective of performance. TIA!