Hi Folks.

I'm over the pond in the UK and I was wondering if anyone over in the US has installed a challenge exhaust on their car yet?

I have the rear muffler on order, I'm just waiting for the kind folks in Germany to release the part.

I ordered it as a spur of the moment thing, but now I am worried about the noise. Its too late to cancel my order, so I will have to wait and see what its like.

The full system removes the cat and rear silencer, and this clip below shows just how LOUD it really is.



The picture below shows the full system:



I have only ordered parts 2 & 5 (the clip). My thinking was that I will still have the cat and rear silencer on my existing system - so perhaps the noise wont be too much? My thoughts were that the removal of the cat and silencer are probably responsible for the majority of the noise - as heard above?

Am I right?

If anyone is interested the part numbers for the system are as follows:

1) Complete exhaust system: 18108308878

2) Rear silencer: 18128308919

Yeah removing the cat makes a big difference in sound and combined with a resonator removal it gets throaty.

So with me going for JUST the back box (number 2 on the diagram) I should be OK do you think?

I want an increase in sound, but I don't want to sound like an idiot pulling up outside work/home etc.

I know the Factory JCW back box gives a nice increase in sound over stock, and its louder than my JCW Stage 1 exhaust too, so I guess what I'm trying to ask is how much louder will the Challenge Cup back box be?

If it is designed for a race car then I am sure it will be LOUD. For me, the JCW tuning exhaust is loud enough for street driving!

Is the rear silencer the same as the factory JCW?

Any updates R99? I'm very interested in this little project.

Still waiting for it to arrive here in the UK, fingers crossed I will have it at some point this week, or next!

^^ HaHa, thanks for that!

Good news! The back box is here!

I will update with pictures and video later on.

suscribed

Awesome!

Loud is fine. But all that pop and burble sounds like crap.

not to most people who buy a factory JCW. Chances are, that's 30% of the reason they bought one...

Update for you guys.

After some serious difficulty getting hold of the exhaust, it finally arrived in the UK - it took just short of two months to get BMW to release the part.

I had it fitted, and it was very loud, almost as loud as the challenge race car. The pops and bangs sounded like a firework was going off in the garage!

I have however had to sell it on, because I need to pay for a holiday.

I might get another at a later date, now I have found a source to get me challenge parts, or I may go for the Factory JCW backbox with a modified downpipe.

Please tell me you recorded a video before selling!

Im interested in your source for the part. A friend of mine has one on order also but told me that the dealers are cracking down on non-challenge cars, ordering challenge parts. He sneaked his through the barn door before it shut, so knowing where you sourced your part from would be great news.
I personally love how loud and aggressive the sound is. Way better in person though.

A little off topic, but can you actually BUY a challenge series somewhere in the world?

Any updates on this?

I did not manage to get any video's of the exhaust - but IMHO it was too loud for road use. It also sounded like a tractor at low revs.

I now have the Factory JCW backbox fitted to my JCW Stage 1. It's louder on the Stage 1 JCW than it is on the Factory JCW for some reason - but its not as loud as the challenge box was.

I would not recommend the challenge box to anyone who values their ear drums! Also I very much doubt that it would be road legal should you be subject to a roadside noise test.

Thanks for that feedback..

But have you noticed any gains in terms of performance...the challenge setup is nearly a straigth line..

Have you kept the ressonator now?

Why did you sell it when you could have just given it to me?

Hey guys, someone on youtube just posted a video of his Factory JCW fitted with a Challenge catback.

Doesn't sound exactly like a challenge car, but it does sound good...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P16Io...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BecqT...eature=related

I like it! Does anyone know the manufacturer of the exhaust? I want one for a Clubman!

That sounds about 50% quieter than when I had the same exhaust system fitted to my car. I notice his is a Factory JCW though, so thats probably why.....

As I have said before, the non-Factory JCW stage 1 and stock Cooper S MINI's, for some reason, are much louder when you fit a different exhaust.

Here is my JCW Stage 1 fitted with the Factory JCW back box..... I'd say its louder than his Factory JCW with Challenge exhaust combo.....





On the second video, I had to slow down, because just as I was going out of shot I passed a Police car hiding in a side road.