Installed the Alta exhaust yesterday and it's already melted a good portion of the black plastic trim running underneath the rear bumper.
There's at least half inch of space between the Exhaust tips and rear bumper skirt...any more room and it'll look like dog ****.

Anyone else melted theirs? Is there a fix, like a steel underplate or any kind of insulation that can be used?

 

That is crazy! I can't believe with half an inch of clearance, that you're still melting the plastic...

Sorry.

That doesn't sound possible. My Milltek exhaust tips are about a half inch away, and I've never seen any melting. I can understand why you wouldn't want to move the exhaust any lower, just for cosmetic reasons. Tough problem...

 

Try using like 3 washers as spacers. It may help and not be as drastic of a look.

 

mmm... are you talking about melting to the left and right of the exhaust?
if so, the problem is not the distance. it is the hanger...
because the hanger is straight it allows the alta to slide left and right.
sorry, no pics but here's what i did:
mark the position of the hanger where it sticks out past the mount.
take off the mount and the adjustable hanger.
bend the hanger at your mark.
put the haner back on the mount, then put it on the exhuast.
now you can reattach the mount to the underside...
good luck

 

when I installed my Borla exhaust, I had to tilt the tips downward a little so they wouldn't be touching the plastic trim above. I don't really like the angled look, but it's better than melted plastic.

 

it's not touching, it's 1/2 in away...

it's melting above and to the sides of the tips, i'll get some pics of it tomorrow, today was raining and couldn't take good pics.

 

you might also want to check each connections on the exhaust system to make sure they are tight. When your car is running, the vibration will cause the exhaust tips to move a little even if all the connections are tight. So if your connections are not tight, the vibration will be more pronounce. That might be the cause of the melting.

In addition, I'm not sure how the Alta system looks llike, but if your plastic trim is melted on the sides (both sides?), your exhaust tips might not be centered. You can loosen up the clamps on both pipes leading up to the tips and adjust the centering of the tips.

 

 

I've got an '02 MCS w/ a Magnaflow exhaust. After doing a track event and the exhaust swinging a bit I melted the @%&* out of my plastic.

I've coveted this set up of MSFITOY's exhaust. (image borrowed from another thread). Looks very functional to prevent plastic meltage.

 

i see...a home made shield

riveted or screwed in i take it...nice
i'll have to give it a try...Can he sell me one of those???

now if i can do something about them chrome Alta tips so the chrome won't chip anymore...

 

single sided seem to wiggle around more than two sided systems

 

i just gotta lower them a little bit
they don't wiggle much at all, i've tried moving it...it's pretty tight on there

 

Its when your driving the movement occurs. I have a set of viper tips and the distance between it and the plastic is 1/2 inch on average. No melting.

 

FWIW, on every Miltek I've seen, the tips stick out further than in your pic.

 

This exhaust system should never have been released to the public. The POS swings and melts.

 

tell us how you really feel camel...LOL

i happen to love the sound and quality of the Alta
on tue. when i have access to a lift i will adjust it so it comes down a hair more

why is it you feel this way about the Alta exhaust?

 

I don't want to hijack the thread, But I'm very interested in this exhuast. I like it for it's simplicity and low weight.

Ro--I would apriciate any more feedback that you could provide and some of you others with ideas, good and bad, what say you about the Alta?

 

The sound on this exhaust is great, no doubts there.

But come on, I would never sell it to anyone if I knew that:

1. It would melt parts of the car
2. It was up to the customer to invent a more secure method of mounting it.

Real slack on Alta's part. They can do better than that. This exhast was definitely a shortcut.

 

btw I have followed several MINIs with this exhaust (bout 3 of them), and I can tell you right now that this thing swings and bounces up and down. Very irritating to watch when following the car, because you just want to shout to the owner "Hey dood YOUR EXHAUST IS LOOSE"

 

You might want to check out this as a possible solution:

The COOPER S TAILPIPE SURROUND from GT Tuning.

http://www.gtt.uk.com/PoshMini.asp

It's actually quite a nice look. GT Tuning is in the UK but will ship it across the pond. The fellas at http://www.miniworks.com/ used to carry some GT Tuning stuff, you can check with them, too.

 

My friend has the Alta, I have the Miltek and my wife had the JCW ehaust. I don't care for the Alta and my friend regrets buying it as well becasue of the mods you have to make just to center it.

 

the alta hangers are adjustible. just loosen them and turn them hard to opposite sides so the exhaust won't possibly move then you're done . mine no longer melts.

 

once again, the exhaust doesn't move much at all.
i have it mounted way too close to the bumper skirt...once lowered it should solve the problem...

neil, cool link, i like that exhaust tips surround...i've sent them an email, we'll see what they say about shipping me one.

Mr.Happy, prior to buying the Alta exhaust, i've searched and looked at Milltek, Invidia, Borla race and a couple others...none had the simple design that i was looking for, except for the Alta...the single sided design is light, has few turns and is very well made from what i can see...it sounds very good, quiet with a nice rumble and once a header is added it gets even better.

I like the mufflers they use, largest straight through mufflers you can fit under there, good power with little noise...last but not least, you're getting a quality stainless exhaust for $575, add a $150 OBX header and you're set.

Cons: the chroming on the tips is already chipping in a couple little spots, don't know why they went with chrome tips instead of just polished tips like the rest of the system.
It comes with adjustable hangers which takes a little adjusting, basically because in 06 they went to a diff. hanger from what i understand...so they couldn't weld a specific 06 hanger...in any case, it IS adjustable and i will adjust mine a bit lower and see if it will rid the melting issue.

If i had to do it all over again, i'd still go with an Alta exhaust.

 

You might want to check out the www.myminiparts.com single sided system.
I know it was recently dyno'ed and produced a nice gain. Sounds good, light wieght and decently priced. very uniqure tip as well.

 

robino: Thank you for your candid answers and honest opinion of our system. I do have a couple general comments and concerns. On the chrome, there MAY be some of the rinse left on the outside of the tips. This should have been cleaned better in our facility, but it should clean off easily. We have since added an extra step in the QC process. My apologies. However, if the actual chrome is truly coming off, PLEASE let us know! We added the chrome to the tips so clients don't need to polish the stainless.

Also, not making excuses just explanations. If you are running a catless header (you mentioned OBX), that would raise the amount of heat at the tips of any exhaust. The catalyst, will retain a large portion of the heat in that location (hence the tremendous amount of heat shielding in that area from the factory.) Without the catalyst, the heat is then allowed to run the length of the system. This could also contribute to the melting in the rear.

Finally as you have already mentioned, but just to drive the point home. There is a reasonable amount of adjustment to our system. But as you say, if the points are not tightened and the supplied hanger clamps used, the system could move. This isn't a fault in the system but in the installation. We are revising the instructions such that all clients can have a better explanation at their disposal.

Thanks again NAM for allowing this type of exchange! If I can help further PLEASE let me know!