Hey guys. Just wondering your thoughts on a new exhaust would be(pros and cons). Have a pretty brand new 04 CVT Cooper and was considering getting one. Any suggestions on which one would work the best for the CVT? Also, considering an intake.
What do you guys think? Will there be noticeable difference in my Coop?

 

It will make more noise, other than that............believe what you want

 

I've got CVT and added a cheapo intake. No exhaust yet. I've thought about dyno before and after exhaust, intake, chip etc. but haven't gotten around to it.

Seems like the going rate for exhausts is minimum 300 smackers. Some of them sound pretty sweet though.

 

You can search for many many past threads on intakes and exhaust options for the MC.

In a nutshell.

Make sure that it fits your 2004 MC. Esp with the CVT some intakes may not fit.

The safest option for an intake is just a drop in filter like a K&N gauze, a green filter (see piloracing.com) or a foam filter (Unifilter or Alta filter)

None of the various intakes make that much power probably in the 2 to 4 HP range if that much. Some are louder and look nicer than stock.

On the performance side some CVT owners have installed the Promini/BMP intake or MossMini intake. Just make sure it does not hit the inside of the bonnet pad.

For exhausts it doesn't matter if your MC is manual or CVT. It boils down to loudness and a bit of power vs price.

For the most loudness and power consider the Helix13 MC exhaust for about $550 which you could install yourself with jack stands. very well made.

Other good choices are the Rspeed.net MC exhaust for much less, not as loud and good power but less than Helix. Good overall choice. well made.

Rogue exhaust is also good and was reviewed on motoringfile.com by Gabe.

Newest MC exhaust is the Milltek for the MC- see Webbmotorsport.com.

Other choices are Magnaflow and Borla for MC which are also OK. Some power and not too loud. Mostly different looks and prices. The Borla has a big 4" tip.

 

Pros- great tone, nice gains, nice looks.
Cons- factory exhaust takes up a lot of room in the basement...
.hummm...my wife not too thrilled, but accepted.

 

Thanks for the input so far guys. Just wanna make sure I'm doin the right thing cus the car is brand new.

 

You want to know if an intake is going to make any difference? Well let me say that after driving over 20,000 miles, then putting on a Moss MINI intake, my car feels like a NEW car. Let me clarify.

I'm not talking about extra horsepower, but more like my car roars now. It's sweet. Some say it sounds like I got a V8. It feels better at lower RPM's as well. It seems to bog down less. Personally I love the sound an intake makes, and I never expected it.

Read my post on this from a few weeks ago including installation pictures:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=28599

Then watch either of these videos and tell me whether YOUR MC sounds like this??

Windows Media 9 for PC
http://store.northamericanmotoring.c...cucam_pass.wmv

QT6 for MAC/PC
http://store.northamericanmotoring.c...cucam_pass.mov

What's cool is that an intake roars only when you accelerate hard. If you don't accelerate hard, it sounds just like OEM. But step on it, and it'll roar all the way to redline. I'm told than an exhaust will offer that same sort of sound, just all the time, and not during hard acceleration.

I'd say buy an intake for the sound and looks. Don't expect much performance gain, but the upshot is that it seems to run smoother especially at lower rpms.

 

Let's keep in mind that he asked specifically about exhausts. NOT INTAKES! :smile: Also he has a COOPER(!) not an S. That said, it's all about sound. The Cooper exhausts make almost no power. There was a big test of most of them in a car mag a year or so ago. Helix's exhaust won. But even being the winner, I think it only gained around 2HP. I've heard the Helix in person, though (and drove a Cooper with one) and it sounds really, really great. It is loud, however.

 

Actually the second sentence of his post asks
"Also, considering an intake. What do you guys think? Will there be noticeable difference in my Coop?"

So actually he asked about both.

And I also have a Cooper not an S.

 

Ah - you got me! I know you have a Cooper - my response was to a remark by someone with an S that said "nice gains".

 

Oh you're talking about Kenchan. Hahaha, you got me.
I didn't even see that. But back to your post. I agree. Cooper Exhausts or Intakes should be purchased for sound and looks, not performance gains. Although, there seems to be some benefits on smoothness of power delivery as well.

 

Ok, it was me. Im the big liar.

 

Also of just as importance is that the exhaust may be lighter. My Rogue (MINI Madness) exhaust weighs maybe 14 lbs less (if I remember right). That's a very good thing for an MC where weight is quite important. With weight savings, a little here and a little there all adds up to a big thing. :smile:

 

I know this is talked about a lot, but I just don't buy it. If you save 14lbs on each wheel (unsprung weight), the difference will be huge. As for the rest of the car, you'd have to save 200lbs to barely notice it. Saving 14lbs on an exhaust is hardly an important factor. Even if you took out the rear seats and replaced a whole bunch of stuff if carbon fiber parts - that might make a difference but even then the 14lbs from the exhaust won't. :smile:

 

You'll need to knock off at least 100lbs to notice a bit of difference
in braking. I do notice the car's response changing before and after a
fillup, so even a 14lbs will be a good start if you can get more lighter
weight parts on your MC; At the end, every little bit counts. :smile:

 

Yeah but a full tank of gas weighs about 100lbs!!!

 

My point exactly! :smile: