check this out! saw it on Ebay tonight thought i'd pass it on.
Ebay header
stainless steel and only $260!!!!!!
not saying i'd buy it, only because HP Racing is not known to make the best quality stuff. but if they can make a header for under $300, then why not a really credible company? and i know it doesn't have a catalytic converter and those are the most expensive parts but still.

 

I've wondered this myself for awhile now. Why the hell are headers so damn expensive? A good hi flow stainless cat can be purchased for around $200.00. The rest is stainless tubing & welding. If we can get an entire cat back exhaust system (all stainless with 2 high flow mufflers w/ hangers welded on) for less than $700 or $800, why shouldn't header pricing be comparable???

 

>>stainless steel and only $260!!!!!!
>>not saying i'd buy it, only because HP Racing is not known to make the best quality stuff. but if they can make a header for under $300, then why not a really credible company? and i know it doesn't have a catalytic converter and those are the most expensive parts but still.



This header is for the MC not MCS. It doesn't have a racing high flow Cat.
One of the known problems is that for all MINI headers that lack a racing cat there have been no known documented gains in power or torque on dyno testing. Do you think HP can do better than everyone else? Also these headers tend to have trouble with the O2 sensor and with the check engine light coming on. Outmotoring.com has an item to fix this and prevent the check engine light from coming on.

Making a header is not hard nor that expensive, just copy a proven design like the London stainless Quicksilver/Milltek header. Finding a design that works and produces power and torque that is repeatable on dyno is the hard part, even with a 200 cell racing cat.

Is it really worth $800-$900+ for an exhaust header for the MINI? Nope. Spend it on wheels/tires or suspension.

The other problem is noise, without a race cat many of the race headers are loud or make the noise from a cat-back system really loud. Too loud. I'll buy a Honda if I want loud.

 

Minihune,

i always thought that the headers from the MCS/MC were totally interchangeable. i may be wrong of course but that's what i thought. but either way i think you're agreeing with what i said, someone (hopefully Pilo) should give us a reasonably priced, dyno-proven header soon or i'm gonna go nuts. it can't be that hard with all the knowledgable companies out there, and the way the industry develops things these days.

 

I agree that in theory an exhaust header for the MINI should "fit" both MC and MCS alike.
However this product is clearly advertised-
"Not for MINI cooper S"
So if you install it into an MCS and you get any ill effect then their ad already discounts use of it in the MCS.

About 8 months ago Cat&Dog racing was working on a nice cheaper performance/race exhaust header. The design was done, the prototype was made and tested and it was supposed to come to market when it ran into some problems. Today we see nothing of all that work. Why? Talk to caddman and find out what is stopping something so close to production.
It might seem easy to do but it isn't as easy as it might look. look at the Jackson Racing header for $600- got any good independent dyno numbers that show it is worth the cost? The mossmini site shows this dyno result for +7 HP


_________________
MINIlani home of Jasmine Trias

 

First off, the headers for the Cooper and the Cooper S should be interchangable. But as minihune already stated, if they say "Not for MINI cooper S" then I wouldn't try it.

From what I have heard, better headers do not make much of a difference on naturally aspirated or supercharged cars, as we have seen with the small numbers on all the the aftermarket headers out to date. And removing the catalytic converter makes practically no difference unless you are running a turbo. So for all MINI owners looking to get an aftermarket header, stay with one that has a catalytic converter even if you are only planning on tracking your car. I only reccomend buying one without a cat if you turbocharge your car, but as long as its naturally aspirated or supercharged, keep the cat.

Also, the main reason that headers are soo expensive, especially for MINIs, is that the manufactures know that people will pay these prices and therefore they will make more money. Also, the MINI aftermarket market (if that makes sense) is believed to be very small so companies mark up their prices to ensure a profit. However, I think this assumption by the companies is a fallicy as, from what I have seen, a majority of MINI owners, male and female, young and old, all mod their MINI in some way, shape or form.

I have recently read on the mini2 forums (link to thread here) that Dinan is going to release a bunch of products for the MINI soon. This is very good as Dinan is highly reveered among the Bimmer crowd and very buddy-buddy with BMW itself. So hopefully, all Dinan products will allow us MINI owners to keep our warranty if we choose to mod our cars w/ Dinan products. As far as I know, they do not have a header yet. But I would bet that they will eventually come out with one, and a good one at that. From what I read, they are heavily competing with JCW (whole stole some of their business from BMW), so the price should be reasonable if they have one.

Lastly, Does anybody know which header is better: Milltek or Jackson Racing? Are there any real differences between the two? Which one would you buy?

 

I've read that, for the MCS at least, 4-into-1 is the collector design that makes the most power and torque. Jackson's is a 4-2-1 which adds a convolution, but has no cat - which takes one away. The Milltek is 4into1.

 

>>I've read that, for the MCS at least, 4-into-1 is the collector design that makes the most power and torque. Jackson's is a 4-2-1 which adds a convolution, but has no cat - which takes one away. The Milltek is 4into1.
>>

I should be testing the first of our protypes coming up soon. I'm not releasing any information until I have any proof. so please don't ask, just be aware that I am working on it. I don't want to start any issue or long winded threads about nothing.