After literally hours of obsessing over which header to buy for my Mini (not an intentional upgrade, my stock unit cracked), I've come to the conclusion that most of the headers out there are overpriced for what you're getting, and they're clearly taking advantage of the Mini being a sort of niche type, Euro car. Sure, I'm confident that they're great quality, but there is some gouging there for sure (no offense..).

Nothing about the manifolds offered necessitates a price tag of $1,100. For those who have had an aftermarket header(s) on another make of car, you know that in most cases, they cost far far less for a quality piece when compared to what's available for the R53. Sure, Megan and OBX offer budget headers, and they've performed OK for most people, but I have a few concerns regarding their material and weld quality, though, haven't ruled either out as an option.

I'll get to the point: Has anyone seen this header before ? It looks to have great welds and overall quality. The company building these also seems to have a good following overseas. The company is SuperCircuit, and here is their header for the R53. As you can see, it's a 4-2-1, has a large and quality flex section, and is cat-less & resonator-less, which will be a turn off for some folks. My only question or concern about this header is regarding the 1st or primary O2 sensor bung. Why is it not more in the exhaust stream, and have they had problems with maintaining proper Air:Fuel ratios ? I've passed that question on to them. Anyhow, pending some more information, I feel this could be the best buy out there at $550. Your thoughts ?...

 

Tag for more info.

 

From the angle of the shot, that looks like a 4-1, not 4-2-1, which is a good thing. I'm interested in the measurements of the flange ports. Also, do they offer it with a cat?

 

i would guess the O2 bung is placed out of the flow to trick the computer into thinking the catalytic converter is in place and functioning. This is a fairly common practice in modern v8's that don't want to run catalytic converters.

 

That is true for the 2nd bung. The first is the one in question. This needs to be in the exhaust stream in order to read and provide accurate Air:Fuel ratios.

 

If you look at the middle photo, it's looking like a Tri-Y setup. I think the secondaries are just shorter than most we're used to seeing.

Edit: Confirmed with SuperCircuit that this is in fact a 4-2-1 or Tri-Y header. Regarding cat availability, I'm not seeing anything that would suggest they offer a catted version.

 

Yep, and It'll be a miracle if that works. You're more likely to soak the sensor in condensate every time you start the car. Personally, I'm done with running catless cars, both morally and olfactorily (that's a word, I swear).

Aah yes, now I see the tri-Y pipe.

Eric

 

I'm with you on the smell and environmental impact, though, on a car that inherently runs rich, high EGT's, and has lots of intentional fuel over-run (gurgle gurgle, POP !), I have doubts that most aftermarket cats will hold up well enough on this application. Your experience, Eric?

 

Yes again. only the German-manufactured HJS cat will have a factory-length duty cycle, and one of those cost as much as this header.

 

You could have just made this a thread about the header and left out the overpriced competition part. You are not comparing apples to apples. Let us know if it is code free with the stock ecu tune. That rear sensor is real touchy!

 

That's obviously just my opinion. Feel free to express one that differs; no worries. In my mind, the only thing to justify the high cost of some competitor's (one currently..) offerings is a cat guaranteed to last as long as the OEM unit. Then and only then can I agree that there is real value in that seemingly excessive cost.

I should clarify a bit: I'm coming here from 14 years of building Japanese (primarily SR20DET) cars. The parts aren't nearly as expensive, though, they're still of high quality from known manufacturers. I'm finding the cost of MINI parts a touch hard to swallow, but it's fine, I'll adjust. It also doesn't help that I'm in Engineering as an occupation; I have a decent grasp on what it costs to design & produce parts like these (sans quality cats), and am often critical of the asking price. Sure, maybe someday UNICEF will enter the world of aftermarket auto parts Anyhow, I digress:

I was simply throwing this piece out there for others to comment on, and rather not get caught-up in a debate about price points. My critique of this header is that I don't like (trust ?..) the primary O2 sensor bung being so far from the exhaust stream.

 

Reviving an old thread here instead of starting a new one with the same topic: did anyone ever get this installed? If so, how did you order it?