Can the '05 JCW exhaust be fitted to the '06 cabrio? I know there are subtle differences in the undercarriage. Thanks!

 

I just put exhaust systems on two '06 cabrios - one Cooper and one 'S'. The only interference is the brace that goes from side-to-side under the car near the back. The exhaust piping for most aftermarket systems interferes with that brace.

I don't know if the JCW exhaust will fit out-of-the-box, but if it doesn't, it's easy to lower the brace about an inch or so to give more clearance. I replaced the four bolts that attach the brace with longer M10 X 1.5 X 50mm bolts, and used some M12 nuts on the bolts as spacers between the brace and the body of the car.

 

I also did the same thing that ScottRiqui did with his brace. I usd 1'' spacers spraypaintd black to make them look as OE as possible. You'll run into some installation troubles of some kind in almost every instance with aftermarket exhausts on the cabrios. It's worth it though!

 

does mini offer any sort of exhaust options to add on? I have been searching but I can't seem to find any

 

nvm disregard

 

The 05 JCW exhaust may fit, depending on when it was built. When the cabrio came out, MINI changed the JCW exhaust to be a universal fit for both hardtop and cabrio. They flattened a section of the pipe to clear the brace and it is easy to check. If it is the earlier version of the exhaust, it shouldn't take much to have it modified to clear the brace.

Here are photos from MINI2 of the flattened section:




See this very interesting thread on MINI2 (starting from post #107 for the JCW). The change made it possible to fit it on the cabrio but unfortunately for hardtop owners it restricts the flow from what it could be otherwise.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/engine-dr...g-results.html

 

I've heard people saying that there is restricted flow from the flattened part, but does it really impede flow that much? I mean, I'm talking about sub 250hp outputs here. (like NOT the twincharge kit, etc)

 

I think a little bit of restriction might even be a good thing. When I first had my custom exhaust installed, it was 2.5" piping from the cat back to a paperback-book-sized muffler, then out the back of the car. It was a little loud for around-town driving, and I was about to drive the car from Virginia to Dallas and back, so a few weeks later, I had the shop cut out a section of the straight pipe and put in a small resonator, using flanges so that I could swap back and forth between the straight pipe and the resonator for autocross days.

With the resonator in place, it feels like I have a little more low-end torque. It's especially noticeable when I first transition from off-throttle to on-throttle. The resonator probably cost me some high-end horsepower in trade, but I don't spend much time at 6000+ RPM driving around town.