Does anyone have an alta sporttone exhaust on their MCS? I was wondering if anyone had any pics and/or sound clips they could send me. Why isn't their much information on the web about this exhaust?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=23789

pictures AND videos/sounds

best thing to do is use the search function, there is a ton of info out there, just have to look. Good bit of info on alta's website too...

 

MiniMe85-
Just had a new Alta Sportone put on my '03 CR/W MCS this past week, and the sound is incredible! It has a very nice mellow rumble at idle, then an even nicer deep rumble/roar at acceleration ... so much better than stock. I don't have any audio clips but there are plenty here on the site. Bottom line is, I couldn't be more pleased. On the interstate,, there's no irritating drone, but still a "background" audio presence that's noticable without drowning out your ability to talk. From what I know, the Sportone is not nearly as loud as a Magnaflow and has none of the "rice-y", higer-pitched tones. Also, it didn't hurt that the one-sided mounting help me shed about 15 lbs. versus a dual muffler system. Finally, the tips are "huge" compared to stock with beautiful oval shapes with rolled edges!
I love it and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
Terry

 

i've got it. i did the cat back and was like ...this is nice .then i did the header ....it's insane . think of everything amplified . the whole spectrum . especially 4000 rpm's plus . the cam timing is optimal at thid point and the pipe lets everyone know it .

 

I've driven behind people with them, and i must say, it sounds very nice. Like one of the posters above me said, it is a one sided exhaust. This is a double edged sword, though... You benefit from decreased weight, but you also have a harder time aligning it...

 

i've heard all of the sound clips posted on NAM and they sound good. I've seen all of the pictures, but i would like to view more pictures. and by alignment trouble. how much trouble are we talking about. a little bending here and there?

 

I have the sportone and it's a great piece. i personally love the sound and slight growl. it's a deeper tone w/ a softer burble that is easier on my ears than most other exhausts. it's not so *pop pop, more *blub blub... if that makes any sense. beautifully constructed stainless steel from the cat all the way back. very clean...

as far as alignment goes:
the angle of the tips on mine is a little off. maybe 2 degrees at the most. there has been a history of these things being off. i once read on an old post somewhere that randy webb has cut the exhuast pipe at the rear muffler and realigned to fit perfectly.

in my opinion, if it's not noticeably off then it's fine.

second thing... i personally had a problem w/ the alignment of the mid resonator/muffler. it was rubbing terribly when downshifting and in hard turns at throttle. we bent the heat shields away from the can but it didn't solve the issue so we cut the heat shield where it was rubbing.

i don't get rubbing anymore for the most part. after autox yesterday on my last runs the rubbing came back but went away after another run.

so aside from some minor issues w/ alignment (and they are truly minor in comparison to the design/sound/aesthetics of this piece) this thing is a beaut... i give it

-g

 

you can't bend this thing. you can bend the hangers to force it into position but no bending of the exhaust. or at least i wouldn't want to do that...

 

I've got one, and I love it. I wanted something that wasn't annoyingly loud. It looks great and is a great price. It's also not too loud in the cabin unless you start to really rev the engine, which I like because it's more in the background for highway cruising.
Did have some difficulty aligning the thing, but I think it turned out fine.
Some pics:

 

i had the thing hung and looking good one day only to have it move later, the fix was to loosen the provided hardware at the hangers and tweak it till the exhaust couldn't move around then tighten all up again . no trouble since.

 

Hi,

Here's a link to my thread I posted a couple of days ago that shows how to properly and permanently align the Alta Sportone exhaust. It really works!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=78662

Mike

 

with the exhaust. do you recommend the SC pulley upgrade? I've been thinking about doing the pulley also but, lifting the engine? that seems like alot of work isn't it?

 

If you have the proper tools, the pulley upgrade isn't very difficult. I think the complexity of the task is over-rated (follow instructions posted on NAM, take your time, double-check your work, and you will not go wrong). It is definitely worth doing if you want to get the most out of your MINI.

Mike

 

Yeah. It's not that bad. My MINI is the 1st car I've ever really worked on. I've put on an intake, exhaust and pulley. The only thing I would suggest is to have another person help you with the pulley. The engine jacking can be a little tricky, and it's nice to have another person around to check underneath and around the engine while you're jacking, or vice-a-versa.

 

In order to lift the engine up, you have to loosen the 3 engine mounts right? What about the tranny mounts? Any other components that you have to take off and/or loosen to lift the engine?

 

Randy Webb has some really good instructions: here.
You do have to loosen the motor mounts, but not the tranny. You have to remove your airbox and the power steering fan, but follow his instructions and you'll be able to figure it out easy enough.

 

it's easy. get the pulley from webb motorsports. he'll give you a great how to and loan you a puller . also shows a good way to loosen the tensioner without a tool .

 

Guys (and gals?):

Just a note, that we offer FREE pulley removal tool rental to this owners group. When ordering the pulley from the website or via the phone mention it. Also, this is available through many of our dealers as well. We are also going to begin including (sometime in October) complete color illustrated instructions with each pulley detailing a bolt by bolt procedure for installation. We love helping clients before or after the sale, shoot us an e-mail or call!

Thanks again folks!

 

We love servicing our customers too - and have put an emphasis on it lately! We were the first to publicly offer the best pulley how-to available, and still do in our how-to forum on the website.

We offer the puller for anyone who buys our pulley, and as long as you return it in a timely manner, there is no charge (we charge you for it if you keep it!).

As for the exhaust, we had some issues with it during the testing we did here. Some of it was due to the part being a prototype, and we had an aftermarket header as well. I still have a tough time not only with the Alta, but any single sided system for both alignment and tip discoloration (the inertia of the gasses takes them to only one tip). The systems are light and they sound unique though. It also made similar power to other systems on the market.

Hope that helps!
Randy