Drivetrain (Cooper S) MINI Cooper S (R56) intakes, exhausts, pulleys, headers, throttle bodies, and any other modifications to the Cooper S drivetrain.

Drivetrain NM or ALTA pipping

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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 03:01 PM
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NM or ALTA pipping

im wayching NM engineering charge pipes and ALTA ones i kinda like the NM more but idk wich ones to get

can anyone help me here and if u can recommend any other pippings
 
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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 03:13 PM
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Either brand should be fine. I have ALTA ones myself. I seem to recall hearing at one point that the ALTA ones would occasionally develop pin holes in them over time but that problem may have been fixed with design changes. I would lean towards hard pipes myself. At the time I got mine, hard pipes were not an option yet. Sure they will cost you a bit more but over time they should be more durable and stand up better to any vibrations and/or rubbing up against other components.

I've had my ALTA ones for 2 1/2 years now and they are still working well. That said, if when they ever wear out or collapse I'll be looking for hard pipes to replace them just because I like the idea of them being more durable.
 
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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 03:18 PM
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i was reading about NM pipping but they dont say what material they are made of thats why im unsure...
 
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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 04:30 PM
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NM are just silicone hose couplings and probably small section of aluminum pipe.

NM is the only company that makes a good fitting cold side boost tube right now. I have the Alta hot side boost tube and it doesn't have any issues like their old cold side boost tube did. Having an all hard pipe setup should theoretically give you less pipe expansion under heavy boost, especially with an ECU tune pushing 20 psi of boost, but there has never been a back-to-back dyno test to prove it on the R56.

For the sake of completeness in plumbing I would just get both pipes from NM-eng.
 
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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 04:36 PM
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Any of the boost tubes we make will never collapse. The boost tubes are always under boost of some sorts, not vacuum. We choose to use silicone mainly because its makes its a single piece instead of of multiple pieces and clamps and things that can potentially blow apart. Our setup uses 2 clamps and one hose versus others use 2 silicone pieces, one pipe and 4 clamps.

When SimpsonGI came in and we dynoed his car with tons of miles with our boost tubes there we virtually no wear. Silicone is actually pretty resistant to wear.
 
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Old Aug 25, 2010 | 10:35 PM
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We've been installing alot of these charge pipes lately. And have to say out of them all we like the NM discharge pipe the best. The silicone ends are superior quality, and the hard pipe is a perfect fit. Since both ends of the pipe are silicone and can be moved freely, aligning them is super easy. And customers have been reporting back they actually feel an improvement in power.

Also FYI Forge makes one too. It is all silicone and comes blue or black. But I think I have one red one in a box that they don't make anymore.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/forge-r...lete-hose.html

Obviously I say go with the NM discharge pipe. Also check out their Air Charge pipe, eliminating the noise maker is a good mod.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2010 | 06:57 AM
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With the Alta pipe currently at $129 v. the NM at $239 I'll have to order the ALTA. A $110 price difference is just to great. Perhaps NM needs to take another look at their pricing.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2010 | 03:20 PM
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I have both NM air charge and discharge pipe and would recommend both of them. Yes they are kind of spendy, but they are well engineered, the aluminum tubes have ridges on each end, and when properly clamped, if they ever come apart, you are probably running 1000 lbs. of boost!
I highly recommend them. Good luck!
 
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Old Aug 26, 2010 | 04:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Clubmaste00
With the Alta pipe currently at $129 v. the NM at $239 I'll have to order the ALTA. A $110 price difference is just to great. Perhaps NM needs to take another look at their pricing.

You get what you pay for...

Sometimes spending a little extra up front can save a lot more down the road.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2010 | 05:28 PM
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I think/feel you'll be happier with the NM items......they're very stout, well made, and fit very well regardless of the IC you may have.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2010 | 07:05 PM
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I have had both and I just like the look of the NM ones better
 
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Old Aug 28, 2010 | 09:13 AM
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A word of warning about silicone hot side pipes that I learned the hard way. They aren't going to collapse because they under pressure most of the time. However, they will expand as they age under constant heating and cooling, especially under full boost. Mine was expanding so much that it would knock the tranny out of 2nd gear under full throttle. Not fun at all! A guy here on NAM somehow figured out what was happening. Put on the NM hard tube and no problems since. If you want top quality parts that last, you're gonna have to pay for them.
 
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Old Aug 28, 2010 | 09:26 AM
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thx guys!

now i totally decided imma go with NM ones and see if they can make me some red ones! or can i paint them? cuz i want them red
 
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Old Aug 28, 2010 | 10:01 AM
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Just to add some confusion to the mix, there's also the M7 pipe
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 11:53 AM
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Actually, the price difference between the NM tube at $240 and the ALTA pipe is even more now because ALTA has a 10% coupon making their tube $117 net for a total difference of $123. Also, M7 has their tube at $135 and a 15% sale making it like $115 net, that's a $125 savings. Basically, with the sales at ALTA and M7 you could get either "Hot" tube from them and pay for most of the NM "Cold" tube. BTW, if appearances is your issue, you can't really see the NM hot side tube hard pipe when its installed in the car anyway. One more thought...If you would like to get a fully custom set of pipes you can contact the guy at Exhaust Depot in FLA:http://www.exhaustdepot.net/index.html
He makes hard tubes to order. Just my 2cents.
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 02:32 PM
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I can't speak about all Alta boost tubes but the one I had didn't fit correctly, I fought with it until I threw it away. (perhaps I got a bad one, who knows?)

Don't buy the Exhaust Depot one, it doesn't fit very well, I also threw it away.

The NM one is good but I didn't like the coupling on it.

The M7 is the one I ended up with and glad I did.



My .02 worth.

Mark
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 07:37 PM
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i kinda liked the exhaust depot ones but i think ill spend the extra bucks on the NM ones! (if only they come in red and the silicon tubes on black..... :( )
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted by kadaj
i kinda liked the exhaust depot ones but i think ill spend the extra bucks on the NM ones! (if only they come in red and the silicon tubes on black..... :( )

The silicon connector tubes on the NM are black and the aluminum is blue. You can paint it any color you want. Mine's now black.
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 07:51 PM
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I have or have had most of the NM products on my car. They are all of superior quality. Their products come well packed in nice boxes. The install instructions are clear and easy to understand.

I learned this long ago... you get what you pay for.
 

Last edited by onefish2; Aug 30, 2010 at 12:14 PM.
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by onefish2
I have or have had most of the NM products on my car. They area all of superior quality. They products come well packed in nice boxes. The install instructions are clear and easy to understand.

I learned this long ago... you get what you pay for.

DITTO AND THEN SOME!!
 
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Old Aug 29, 2010 | 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by onefish2
They products come well packed in nice boxes. .

That is funny as hell... I've had my share of NM products and each time I get the new product, I immediately noticed how well packed it is.

Wierd, I could tell whose product it is simply by how well the box is made for it.

I like it.


Mark
 
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by orangecrush
That is funny as hell... I've had my share of NM products and each time I get the new product, I immediately noticed how well packed it is.

Wierd, I could tell whose product it is simply by how well the box is made for it.



Mark
I can just see it now:

UPS driver pulls up to OrangeCrush's driveway, exits the vehicle, opens up the sliding door, and pulls out an NM package, and walks up to garage, where OC is busily installing some other important part on his R56.

OC eyes the parcel up and down with pure lust in his eyes, and laviciously blurts out' "Nice package man!"

At which point the UPS driver runs to the truck and drives away at a high rate of speed, never to be seen by OC again....
 
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by cct1
I can just see it now:

UPS driver pulls up to OrangeCrush's driveway, exits the vehicle, opens up the sliding door, and pulls out an NM package, and walks up to garage, where OC is busily installing some other important part on his R56.

OC eyes the parcel up and down with pure lust in his eyes, and laviciously blurts out' "Nice package man!"

At which point the UPS driver runs to the truck and drives away at a high rate of speed, never to be seen by OC again....
Hey, what's wrong with that? I've done it ever since I ordered my first NM goodie! ROTFL
 
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by cct1
I can just see it now:

UPS driver pulls up to OrangeCrush's driveway, exits the vehicle, opens up the sliding door, and pulls out an NM package, and walks up to garage, where OC is busily installing some other important part on his R56.

OC eyes the parcel up and down with pure lust in his eyes, and laviciously blurts out' "Nice package man!"

At which point the UPS driver runs to the truck and drives away at a high rate of speed, never to be seen by OC again....

Funny thing is, every UPS, USPS, FED EX, Averitt Trucking sees Collision Specialties, Inc or Mark Mahoney on the package and automatically know to bring it early if they have a choice...lol

Hell, I've gotten phone calls at home on the weekend asking if I want to meet them somewhere...

Mark
 
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Old Aug 30, 2010 | 10:04 AM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by orangecrush
Funny thing is, every UPS, USPS, FED EX, Averitt Trucking sees Collision Specialties, Inc or Mark Mahoney on the package and automatically know to bring it early if they have a choice...lol

Hell, I've gotten phone calls at home on the weekend asking if I want to meet them somewhere...

Mark
I can confirm that. 3 times when I've ordered a part from NM I got it THE NEXT DAY!?!?
 
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