Ya that dude over there is weird. He wouldn't return my phone calls or emails about the manifold separating for a refund or replacement. It took my buddy who was friends with him to finally get him to call me back. So pretty much I'll never deal with those guys again. Super unprofessional and especially if they told you a faulty manifold was ok to install (they're just sales people so of course they want the sale) but who knows, if they fixed the problem, awesome, but keep me posted on yours. Be interesting to see if it eventually fails. And that noise is probably the 2 different sounds the manifold makes combing with the exhaust. Mine had a weird tingy sound like exhaust leak but it wasn't. That manifold is so much more open than the stock that it's a lot noiseir. Ya torquing was fun... So I'd say as soon as you start to hear a nice exhaust leak, hope you don't, then I'd say that flex pipe blew out and you'll know. You take the manifold off and the flex pipe will sound crunchy like broken pieces. Good stuff... But hope it works out for you! And stock sway bars suck but then again you get no rattle so win lose. Ha. Good luck! Let me know how it works out in a few thousand miles!

 

Hey Blacklisted, I'm back with the update you requested. I've had the manifold on for approximately 5k miles now and it is holding up well. No issues. That "tingey" sound you mentioned persists, but is not as loud as it was initially. I recently had my car smogged for registration and it passed. I have no complaints for this purchase this far. We'll see how it continues to hold up. The product is mandated by California to last a minimum of 80k miles, I believe. Shall I run in to any issues within that time frame, Magnaflow will definitely be hearing from me. I had fairly good success reaching someone when I called their main customer service line.

 

2seven.

At almost a year is it still holding up well? Thanks.

 

w00ht, you have impeccable timing to ask how this Magnaflow exhaust manifold/catalytic converter has held up. I ordered the factory MINI version today, because an exhaust leak became obvious approximately 2 weeks ago with only 8,000 miles to it (I believe that there is a legal requirement for catalytic converters to last a minimum of 7 years or 70k miles.) Fortunately, I ordered the part from O'Reilly Auto Parts. After consulting with one of the managers there, they will accept the return without hassle. I just have to drop it off once I get it off of the vehicle.

To anybody else considering this product, heed blacklisted's warning and DO NOT purchase this part.

 

I'm sorry to hear that, what a bummer. I was hoping it was going to hold up since it's the only CARB approved header for our cars I've seen. Oh well I guess I'll go with the Miltek and play the manifold swap game come smog time when I get to that point.

Was it the flex-joint again like Blacklistedmini suffered or something else this time? If memory serves the JCW cars periodically split the flex joints on factory manifolds, perhaps it's a side effect of high EGT's on cars in a higher state of tune than the factory W11's.

 

Just to follow up on this thread... My stock manifold cracked right after the pre-cat and I ordered the Magnaflow manifold as it is the only CA legal replacement available. Magnaflow is always going on about their superior quality so i figured it was worth a shot. Big mistake! Welds on most of the unit are decent, but the welds where the header tubes connect to the mounting flange look like they were done by a complete noob. So bad, that they didn't even completely seal one of the ports. Here's a couple of Pics - the first one shows the manifold and the second on shows light coming in around the edge of one of the ports.

Needless to say, I'm returning it and will be going with something else. I strongly recommend that anyone considering a Magnaflow product make sure you inspect it before you buy. Very disappointing!



Mounting flange



Instant exhaust leak!

 

hey guys. i realize i never posted my header replacement story, so i’ll go for it here; maybe it’ll be relevant/helpful.

the car: ‘05 MCS with the std mods (pulley, CAI, tune), stock motor otherwise.

i got a CEL for O2 sensor at about 125k mi. changing both O2 sensors didnt correct the CEL, so i knew my cat was bad. went with the milltek header with the 200 cell high-flow cat when it went on sale last Dec. (merry christmas to me!). heat wrapped the milltek, and swapped it in. i put all the heat sheilds back in where they belong after retorqueing the header-to-head bolts several times. the CEL is gone. i have about 10k mi. since the swap with no problems. no leaks, rattles, no CEL. this is using the stock cat-back system (GASP!). the increase in exhaust sound is very slight; you can hardly tell there has been a change. there is a noticable increase in midrange power, and a very tiny loss of torque at the bottom you only notice when engaging the clutch when pulling away from a stop.

i am in CA. With the heat sheilds in place, it is impossible to actually see the header, and with no CEL, it wont be any problem passing the sniff test out the tailpipe. i would recommend going with the milltek; the fabrication quality is great, and you get a bit of performance improvement. And the cat is compatible with the MINIs emission controls.

 

Its unfortunate that Magnaflow has gotten into the OEM replacement business, but I can understand their desire to expand their market share. I have never heard of issue with their aftermarket exhaust products having issues with quality. However, I have had problems with their OEM replacement products, on more than one occasion. It really is too bad, because threads like this end up hurting ALL their business, and not just for the OEM replacement parts.

 

Good to know that the Milltek header passed the most stringent emission tests of the country. A good cat is the most expensive component in a cat'ed header, and I will never get why a catless header tout to be super low flow costs way more than the Milltek header with one of the best cat. The problem with cat'ed headers is, you pretty well have to trust the integrity of the manufacturer, and we are talking about aftermarket where pay your hard-earned money and take your chances. For me a good header is more than long feeder pipes, or fancy 4-2-1 better than 4-1. It is all things considered WRT your needs.