also, if i were to do a header... i would run the obx with a high flow cat... or a test pipe... depends on who you are and how enivornmental you are... but for about $400 bucks you have proven increases in horsepower... other header manufactures are either 2-3 times as expensive for the same, less, or no hp increase... or are completely unproven on the dyno.


as far as exhaust... go with what you like the sound of best... just don't get rid of that jcw exhaust... if you ever sell your car you will want it... and new ones will cost a pretty penny

 

Took the words right out of my mouth ...

Hey ... to each his own . Didn't mean to dampen your "need" for hp.

 

I think I am going to disagree with this... Have you seen an OBX next to a Milltek or Larini? If he bought a GP, he obviously cares about quality. And if he cares about quality, he won't buy a cheap asian knock off like the OBX. The wall is soo freakin thin on those, I find it hard to beleive they will last the lifetime of the car. the OBX is cheap because they don't include a cat. If you were to call up Stramosphere and try to get just the Milltek cat, it would cost you close to the retail price.

And what do you mean not dyno proven? Larini, Milltek, and Stahl have been benchmarked and show good gains.

-Brian

 

well, the obx never let me down... it has never failed... and it was on of the fastest minis on this board. The walls are thin, but mine never failed and i gaurntee that this car has made about 60 dyno pulls, and about 130 trips down the quarter mile, several long distance HIGH speed road trips, and a couple of track days under its belt. You can pick up magnaflow cats for under 200 bucks!

Skrew the miltek cat!

as far as dyno proven gains... i haven't come across any Larini dyno comparisons or stahl header comparisons. I know stahl makes great stuff... but i haven't seen anyone post about either the stahl or the miltek.

I am not saying the OBX is the best header that has ever been built... It obviously isn't the best in craftsmanship...im just saying it is definetly a great mod for the money and i would go with it every time over the miltek, larini, (which baiscally did NOTHING for MARIOKART) Stahl i have high hopes for... i really want to like this header... i just want to see the numbers...

and you know what else... the OBX works!!!! and works well! And as they say when the green flag drops the ******** stops. i could care less how pretty my header looks... i just want to win...

 

isellem,

You have no idea what you are talking about!

Isellem quote "I am not saying the OBX is the best header that has ever been built... It obviously isn't the best in craftsmanship...im just saying it is definetly a great mod for the money and i would go with it every time over the miltek, larini, (which baiscally did NOTHING for MARIOKART)"

I have the Larini header that I sold and installed on MARIOKART's Mini back in my shop, (from the car that lost a piston) I inspected it, sent some pictures to Larini and all of us came to the same conclusions.

The cat failure as nothing to do with the quality of the Larini product, it has to do with some shade tree mechanics who have not a clue how to tune a car properly and make it reliable.

Why is it Isellem that you are trying to steer Nam members and fellow Mini owners of some proven products like the Miltek and the Larini?

Nobody should recommend an OBX header for the street, they are not legal for street use (without cat), and by the time you had a cheap cat, you do not gain any performance at all.

I agree with BlackBrian, if the GP customer wants to buy a great product, let him get it,

If you have nothing good to say, dont post at all.

Victor

 

whats up with all these OBX header bashing..??
You can pick up a good quality high flow cat for less than $100... o yeah you can even weld your stocker up and it will give u very steady gains straight out..

they are cheap.. yeah, so what?? I have never heard of a story where obx fell apart into pieces because it has thin walls.. you get alot for what you pay for with the OBX.. unlike milteks and some other headers..

 

We are talking quality here,

Do you compare caviar to dog food?

The last time I checked, Mini owners paid $15000 to $30000 for their unmoded cars, some added $5000 to $10000 in mods.

This is not a forum for $500 Yugos or $1000 Hyundais

Victor

 

just because the header is cheap doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it.. If the gains are alot like the more expensive headers I dont see why not? You dont see a header and half the people that ask what you have dont know the difference between obx and the others anyway.. Now if the header was known to fail I would completely agree with you. but for those that care about having the "best" and dont care spending alot more for the same kind of product more power to them

 

Victor coming from you, i take that as a joke! Not an insult! To say that i have NO idea what i am talking about is ridiculous...

and why are you being so damn defensive about the cat failure... i had no idea about a cat failure! And yes, the proper tune or lack there of will kill a cat. THANK YOU FOR STATING THE OBVIOUS. Nobody cares about why his cat failed... its no where in the subject of this post or thread.

As far as steering people... That is a friggin joke. You are the guy on here who CONSTANTLY pushes what he sells for your own benefit. So if anyone here is steering any members of nam its you! First you suggest a dinan intake which if you ask just about anyone is much better than the JCW intake that is already installed on a GP. ill give you the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to that you did not know that GPs have JCW intakes

As far as a Larini header being proven... i openly asked to stand corrected in my earlier posts if people had RESULTS from the larini header. And so far none have surfaced. THe OBX is proven! The miltek is good too... im not discounting it... Im just saying that people can get the same level of performance if not greater for FAR less money.

Now if the Miltek, the larini and the OBX are proven... the OBX is the least expensive and people on here might be interested in something other than what you sell. ITs at least an option and an inexenisve one at that.

If you notice, i did not say you should ONLY by the OBX blah blah blah blah... i said that i had great expericance with it... it has given me great results and has never ever had a drawback! I shared my UNBIASED opinon and experiance with the header.

The Miltek, and i am sure the larini, are built beautifullly! but some of us don't care nor will ever know what there headers look like... some of us are concerned with going fast reliably... and that includes the OBX. But if you are looking for the header with the prettiest welds and craftsmanship, shop at larini, miltek, etc...

AS far as adding a cheap cat... easily found for under 200 bucks (closer to 100) and voila the header is legal! Also, have you had any dyno time with an OBX with or without a cat? hmmm... didn't think so... check nam... results are everywhere about the obx.

I haven't had anytime with a Larini header, and thats why i ASKED about it being a proven header. If it has been proven... GREAT... LETS SEE IT!

You are right... if a NAM person wants to buy a PERFORMANCE product, they can and should be able to purchase WHATEVER ... by no means did i ever say that they SHOULDNT BUY either header! (over priced miltek cat... yes i did say don't buy it) Why are you blowing this way out of porportion.

Just because i am promoting something other than what you sell victor doesn't make me stupid... or unknowledgable.

If i have no idea what i am talking about concerning performance products, please feel free to beat my times at the track... the time is in my signature...

 

Like I said,

Please do not compare an OBX header to a Miltek or a Larini.
And if you do, you have no idea what quality/performance/reliability means.

Regarding performance at the track, its all relative, since we do not know the amount of the mods of your car, all we have is a time sheet, that does not mean much.

Victor

 

1) he didn't ask for an opinion about whether you feel it's needed, he asked for direction on how to attain his goal
2) autox and driving schools do little to teach you how to stomp the pedal when you want to go fast in a straight line (which is where a stock Mini falls short, even a mighty GP)

 

Victor,

it says in the signature... Fastest car... no nitrous no turbo assitance. i ran it on street tires... not even an r compound...

lets see who knows what

 

Now this is turning into a numbers game?

time at the drag strip is relative, it is all based on numbers,
weight of the car, horsepower, temperature, tire pressure, wheel size, octane rating.......should I keep going

all we have is a time, and a mention, no turbo and no nitrous

Anyone can go that fast, it all depends on what you are willing to do to your car and how much you want to spend.

Victor

 

Wow this has turned into a grudge match!! Lets keep this on topic? Just becauase I have a GP doesnt mean that I want to spend 600 dollars on a header. If the OBX works...why not use it? I have used obx products before and they arent the best craftsmanship as isellem has stated but they work darn good! And if you are going to "compare" headers why not compare the expensive ones with the cheap ones? People that have purchased MINIs have "compared" MINIs to a range of other cars....such as the Honda Fit, VW GTI, Dodge Caliber...etc... Now whereas there is NO comparison between a Fit and a MINI....You would still compare the two correct??

 

yup... first it was insults thrown by you... now its a numbers thing... go figure.

the only rules were no turbo no nitrous, street tires... MINI cooper s. only weight reduction allowed... rear seat removal..

You are right there are alot of variables... which i left open...
these variables you speak are starting to sound like excuses...

run whatever octane you want... whatever street tire (non R compound) you want, whatever performance parts, just no nitrous, no turbo, temperature ( i ran mine when it was 96 degrees out... if you get to the track now... you will have an advantage) hell, ill go with you to the track and help you set up your tire pressures, and octane and wheel size... let me know if you need any help!

as far as how much you want to spend? i did it with an obx header... thats a good place to start saving money

 

glad my experiance could help inform you of what is available to you as far as performance parts

 

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A!!!!
LOL!!

 

jarid,

I completely agree with you, if a GP customer wants to install a OBX header on his car, it is is right, and I respect their choice. If another customer wants to spend a $1000 on a Larini/Miltek, let them do it.

same goes for the wheels, if a GP customer wants different ones, why not, who are we to judge.

I rest my case

Victor

 

This is a joke!

Don't compare OBX to Miltek or Larini in terms of quality/performance/reliabilty!

We get nothing but you saying your Larini header is prettier than the obx.... Who cares if the welds on your header are a little nicer, who cares if the bends are cleaner. All that the general community knows is that the obx header flows more than well enough for any Cooper S currently out there! That has been proven! Reliablity... Well nobody has said anything about one failing yet! I have over 10K race miles on one! If something changes in the quality of the OBX header and my car becomes unreliable, the good news is I can get 3 of them for the same price as a larani.

For you to say this isn't even a debate really is narrow minded and shows the community that your best interest is in your pocket and not the customers.

 

No, if a person wants to install an OBX header you tell that person that they have no idea what they are talking about. Unless of course you have had a sudden change of heart

 

Justin and Marshall,

Why are you guys in this post,

Do either one of you have a GP?

Are you in the process of installing a OBX in a GP?

The only reason I posted, is because I am installing today a Larini header and cat back in a customers GP, thats it.

So unless you are paid by OBX, stop wasting your time and go do something useful.

I have some work to do (on that GP) of course.

Victor

 

I do not need a financial benefit to support a good product. I suggest you go back to work!

 

no comment

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is almost as good as the M7 coilover pi$$ing match.

 

get a ported head.... the JCW is only 15% over stock on the exhaust side... get one that is crazy ported... and maybe a header... that will get you some QUALITY extra power..

then a lightwieght clutch/flywheel set up will really help deliver it