I heard the Borla and liked it, but later found the hangers are not exact fits.

I have been speaking with Adam over at Alta, he's very willing to spend time with a potential customer via email so I bet his customer service is exceptional. With that in mind the Atla gets a big plus.

My only apprehension is that Alta no longer offers the 3" system, Adam said it was too loud. I have not heard the 2.5" in person - so I am looking to hear from someone who removed their JCW exhaust and installed the Alta 2.5. Specifically on a MC-S convertible.

 

the 2.5" sounds nice but is loud compared to a Milltek. We had the Milltek on the wife's cabrio and the Alta on my Coupe and my wife hated my car but it did sound nice.

be aware, fitment is not perfect on the Alta. They claim to have fixed it but be prepared to tweak things a bit to make it work.

 

PGT - thanks. I had heard the 3"Alta on a cabrio which is important since I think there is a hige difference between the SC and Turbo engines (speaking sound here guys)

I liked the 3" and wanted it, I am going to order the 2.5" I just wanted an opinion of it vs. my current stock JCW

 

Hi,
I've had a Borla Street on my 06 since new, sounds great. I sold the JCW exhaust for $400, I had the Borla on my 05 'S' and took it off before I sold it to install on the JCW.

 

Are there any HP gains over the JCW exhaust? Personally I think the JCW sounds perfect.

 

The Borla is not a direct fit on the 2008's and required modifications to stop it from hitting the chassie under heavy accel. I spoke to the good folks at Borla and confirmed its something they are working on - but the Clubman is on thier radar scope first.

 

As with most things in life this is subjective - have you heard the JCW on a convertible or a tin-top when you came to the conclusion its perfect?

The only way my JCW exhaust will sound perfect to me is if its next to a VW bug or the like. The exhaust sounds weak at idle, actually almost not there at all. Under throttle it wakes up a little with a nice growl but too muted.

 

OK great. I had my sister in law in my car this morning, her comment...

"OH! how cute, it sounds just like my VW Rabbit when you downshift" Nice, real nice.

 

If I were you, just remove the resonator and you will get the sound you are going after, a deep/loud growling noise. And not only will your MINI sound 100x better, you saved a lot of money along the way as well.

 

Sorry for duplicate post - server problem

 

Maybe, but I already ordered the Alta :-) I am going to video the JCW and on the same tape video the new Alta.....I'll post it in a couple weeks after I take delivery and install

 

The JCW Tuning is a great boost to the power, but I just can't live with the exhaust drone around 3000 rpm. I'm looking to replace the JCW exhaust with an Alta or Milltek.

How did this turn out for you, cg1?

Anyone with recommendations on the Alta or Milltek to avoid any drone on the highway?

 

I am convinced that the only way to tell if an exhaust is correct for you is to hear it in person (not just outside the car but in it, being driven).

With that said, the Alta does have a bit of resonance/drone on the highway. It seams most pronounced a bit above 3000 RPM in 5th gear (about 70MPH). I don't have any idea if it is more or less than the JCW. The drone isn't there in every gear (it is not just RPM specific, but RPM and load specific). The drone I have is completely livable for me (so far.) Now if I was a traveling on the road 8 hours a day, I might feel different ... might

 

You guys replacing the JCW, put the up for sale here on the Marketplace. But add pics, plenty of pics to add.

 

You do realize that this thread was bumped up from over a year ago right? Looks to me like only one person is interested in doing this.

 

Yes, it started over a year ago but I'm looking at the same options: taking a Mini Cooper S Turbo with JCW Tuning and trying a different exhaust than with the JCW package.

I'm down to an Alta or Milltek, and the whole point for me is to lose the drone around 3000 rpm.

I'm definitely put up the replaced parts for resale at my local mini group (SOMC around Toronto, Canada) and here.

 

The drone seems to be where the twin-scroll turbo fades out from the first push with peak TQ around 2000-2500 rpm and dips with the valley around 3000 rpm and then peaks again at 4000 rpm. All the detailed dyno graphs I've seen for aftermarket parts show the twin peaks with a torque valley around 3000 pm.

http://www.altaperformance.com/produ...-Cooper-S-Twin

My guess is that the JCW exhaust was really tuned for the higher HP and TQ of the full JCW engine whose peaks and valleys are at higher rpm than the MCS Turbo, 1st torque peak around 2800 rpm, valley at around 3600 rpm, and 2nd peak around 4200 rpm.

http://www.altaperformance.com/produ...t-Dual-Tip-JCW

If the resonance really does coincide with the torque valley between turbo scrolls, then the full JCW with bigger turbo, tougher pistons, etc., then you would really be speeding at 3600 rpm to get the drone, and the first peak at around 2800 rpm is closer to standard cruising speed on the highway.

Since I'm adding the Alta intercooler, and it's supposed to increase power through the torque valley, I'll get that installed to see if it makes any difference before making any exhaust decisions.

http://www.altaperformance.com/produ...r-Upgrade-R56-