Folks,

I have done extensive reading of performance mod threads for base Mini Cooper exhaust systems and can't determine which are the quietest and which are the loudest. It seems that people indicate that the Helix is loud and maybe the Borla. I get the idea that the AC Schnitzer and Remus are also loud.

For those of you who have heard them, how would you rate them for how loud or quiet they sound? Of those of you who have run or have heard them which has been the loudest and which the quietest.

Please remember that I am talking about base Mini Cooper, not an S.

Thanks very much for your feedback.

 

The Helix is definitely the loudest imho. Its also not brassy but a deeper tone than the others. Again,its all in the ear of the beholder

 

When I first got my Borla, I thought it was going to be really loud (just from the look of it). But it's not that loud, at least I don't think so. But then again I usually have my music so loud I can barely hear the exhaust

 

Meg, do you have the sport or the race exhaust? I have the race and would have to agree with you.

 

Your comments are for the MCS which has Borla Race/Sport and the street versions.

LilRedMini,

You are interested in an aftermarket cat-back exhaust for the MC. A good person to talk to would be Randy Webb at Webbmotorsports since he sells the Borla for MC, the Helix, the Magnaflow for MC, and Rogue.

I have heard the Helix13 exhaust for the MC and it is quite good and loud but in a very good way and offers the most HP gain. It is costly. Sold by Helix13 as well.

I have also heard the Borla for MC (large 4" tip) while is throaty but but it is not as loud as the Helix.

Another popular exhaust for the MC is the one by Rspeed.net which costs less but offers good loudness and power with a great fit/finish.

Mossmini.com has closeout prices of $399 for the Remus or AC Schnitzer but I'm not sure how they might sound. I'd guess not that loud because of european noise restrictions. The for both these, the muffler looks black in finish or partly black with silver tip.

 

Another comparison point: the Borla is louder than the RSpeed on the MC.

 

Do you know if the rspeed has a good mellow tone, or is it raspy?

Thanks for all the responses. Please keep them coming.

Have a great day,

 

I have not heard the Rspeed in person but the Borla was definitely loud and deep.I think that 4" tip is the largest one available.

The Helix was louder and more serious with more power. Well made.

The Rspeed is supposed to be mellow and not raspy-
http://rspeed.net/mini/item.asp?dept...2&prod=M20-105
try calling Rspeed and ask them. Their site might have a video or audio clip for the exhaust. See
http://www.rspeed.net/images/M20-105.mov
$496. Sounds pretty good to me.

Rspeed is nice, a good product at a good price but not as powerful as Helix while not as loud. Its easy to live with and better tone than the stock exhaust

If you are driving just around town it will work fine. If you autocross you'd wish you'd gotten the Helix exhaust. They are both very good.

 

Mellow and raspy are somewhat subjective terms, but I have an RSpeed and don't think it's raspy at all. It's hard to get excellent sound from any exhaust on an engine this small, but I think the RSpeed has about the best sound quality available. Of course, exhaust sound opinions are all in the ear of the beholder and opinions are worth about 2 cents each.

I also had a Helix and it was definitely a lot louder...just ask any of my neighbors. The Helix is the only exhaust I've heard that sounds as good or better, but there was just too much of it: in other words, quality = excellent / quantity = too much (for me).

 

Hi, LilRedMini! I have the Helix13 exhaust on my CVT. If you'd like to hear the exhaust (you'd hear the BMP/Promini intake, too) while its autocrossing, I can either e-mail you it (you'd need at least 15MB of capacity) or I can snail mail you it. If not, I'd just say that it's pretty darn loud (so says my girlfriend, mom, dad, bro, sis, neighbors, fellow local MINI enthusiasts,... -- ummmm, you get the picture ). Once again, please keep in mind that my opinion of its loudness has the intake blaring away alongside it:smile: . [E-mail me (erik_tanaka@hotmail.com) if interested .]

 

We also just got the Miltek system for the MC....Randy installed it on the car on Friday and I won't get to see it until Tuesday. We did a baseline Dyno on the MC and will re-check numbers after the exhaust is broken in after the autocross events over the weekend.

Give us a call, we would be more than happy to help you find what is best for your needs.

cheers
jon

 

I have the Remus, and it's not raspy or particularly loud, and the exhaust note is lower in tone than most. At freeway speeds, it's hardly noticeable other than a low rumble. On downshifts it has a nice mellow tone, and at idle it stays in the lower end of the sound spectrum. I'm quite satisfied with it. BCNU,
Rob in Dago

 

What kind of performance increase would we see on these exhaust? And this does lower your mpg right but by how much?

 

danbanger,

Freeing up exhaust flow is about the only modification that you can do on any engine that will BOTH increase power AND increase fuel mileage.

This is because the engine can breathe better as well as not use extra energy to force exhaust through the pipe.

You will see all sorts of claims about HP gains, but the only one that I've seen backed up with dyno results is the rspeed and they show about 3.5 HP difference which is about 3.5% in that case. I expect that most of the aftermarket exhaust would provide a very similar gain.

This in itself is virtually unnoticable, but teamed with an intake, a chip you might be able to notice the power difference if all done at the same time.