I've got a Cooper (not the S) and I'd like to get an aftermarket exhaust for a sportier sound. I've narrowed it down to two systems. One is cheap, doesn't offer any real performance but sounds nice. The other makes some decent numbers, also sounds nice, but costs almost $300 more. Since performance is hard to come by in a Cooper, should I splurge on the more expensive system or will I hardly tell a difference?

 

I would just go with the better sounding one of the two. :smile:

 

I agree with kenchan, go with what sounds the best to you.

 

same here....4hp wont do much for you. And you never know if those numbers will appear on your car as well.

What exhausts are they if i may ask? I have the borla on my MC and i love it. Great noise, nice power gain .

 

depends on what's more important to you. sound or power? I would never buy an exhaust just for the sound. (ricers anyone?) Helix has a pretty good one also for the MC. Good Luck

 

I dont know how 'rice' it is.... all MC exhausts will probably give you about 2-4 hp. It's pretty safe to say that any MC exhaust you choose will probably give you the same amount of power (still not much). Granted some may not advertise the small power gain, and some advertise higher power gains...they will all give you about 2-8 hp depending on your car and other mods. SO...you might as well buy with you mind set on the following things: weight,finish,aesthetics,sound,price

**The above does not go for non-cat back systems such as the Remus which maintain the stock resonator which is what is holding back the extra power on the cooper**

I have heard a lot of great things about the Helix and Rspeed. I run the borla and love it. I am very interested in the center exit supersprint exhaust(w/o resonator) because it loses a lot of weight, no bends, and looks cool .

 

Maybe this thread should be re-titled "cat-back or non cat-back?", because that is the price difference right there. I guess with a stainless catback system you don't have to worry about replacing the resonator and front pipe for a long time so that might justify the price alone.

 

whatever sounds good to you, exhaust will never make a real performance difference... of course it depends really on your level of mods in other area...

and fyi, i never believe i've heard of a ricey mini exhaust tone...... i believe the only way you can make a mini sound ricey is by bolting one of those universal mufflers to the car... and even then it's gonna sound better than most 'rice' cars

 

Oh, i didnt realize that was the case.

I cant prove this, but wouldnt the install cost even it out a bit? With a non-cat back you have to have them cut the system and such where as a catback is just a few bolts to be undone...and then you would never have to replace it. I would get a cat-back, its worth the extra money.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone!