Man, this is amazing, the R56 Turbo exhaust was shipped just this past Thursday and it arrived here today(2 business days) from the UK!!

All I can say is WOW, this thing is purely a work of art. I can honestly say this is the nicest looking exhaust I have ever had for any of my 4 Mini's which include the Alta, Milltek, Supertrapp and JCW exhausts. Now, lets just hope it sounds/performs as good as it looks. ;-) The best part for me so far is that it weighs in at an extremely light weight of 19-20 pounds on my bathroom scale(thats as light as my R53 Supertrapp systems last season. I will be weighing it when I get to work tomorrow on my scientific scale, I will post the exact weight down to the .001 pound after weighing in 8 hours or so.

OK, now on to the tips. They look great! They have a slight upward angle towards the end that I would guess will look great on the R56, we will see shortly. ;-) Also, one other thing that is unique, the part that hooks into the cat is slightly flexible to allow for an easy install it appears, so, that will be really nice I would guess since it will be a bit easier to get proper fitment unlike some other exhausts I have had on my 1st gen Mini. Now, on to performance.........

I am really hoping that I can get some scheduled dyno time before the install. If so, I am going to be doing a baseline dyno pull before the exhaust is installed and then another dyno after its installed. I hope to have this done within the next 48 hours since I have to leave town and then have an SCCA Solo event immediately when I get home. If not, I can probably pull the system and do the dyno's at a later date. Anyway, will post more as things happen!!

 

Here is the exhaust, packed well enough to safely make the journey across the Atlantic in 2 days to my doorstep.

 

This is the beauty that I witnessed when pulling the first pipe out of the box.

 

And the tips after pulling out of the box.......



Proof that Quicksilver is made in the UK :-))))

and one last shot before the install tomorrow............

 

Very nice !

Do you happen to know if they make one for the non turbo R56 MC ?

 

Unfortunately, I don't think they have one as of yet. I am sure they will some day though.

 

Just weighed it on my scale at work, it shows 18.50 lbs, so, thats going to be a nice weight saving's I'd guess.

Next up...... Dyno time :-)

 

It looks like a cat-back from the pics, is it indeed a cat back and if so do they make a turbo back version?

Really looking forward to seeing how you like it!

 

Yes, it is a cat-back. At least I hope so, I am running in SCCA G-Stock and anything more than a cat-back is illegal.

Anyway, just got back from the DynoJet runs. 168whp and 194tq is my baseline, the exhaust is going in, so, we shall see what kind of gains the Quicksilver makes shortly.

 

it looks good, but the invidia gets my vote

 

The R53 Invidia looks like a nice exhaust, no doubt about it, although, I have never personally owned one so I cannot say more than just a quick walk by. Does Invidia have one for the R56 yet? If so, I haven't seen it. Anyway, I am sure either would be a fine choice. OK, now on to dyno numbers with the R56 Quicksilver shortly.............

 

what is the diameter of the pipe on that exhaust.

 

Just guessing, but, looks like 2.5", but, will measure later.

 

Hey not at all trying to pee in your pool. But that system definately eliminates one catalyst. What are you going to do about CEL's? Is your racing class REALLY that picky though? Either way good luck with the project it looks like a ton of fun! Let me know if I can ever help though!

 

doesn't look like there is an 02 bung so if the last cat doesn't have one after it, shouldn't it be fine. I know Rheyphile (sp) removed one cat on his custom exhaust without a cell.

 

Thanks for the post Adam. Actually, I contacted you guys several times for correspondance and potential development of a system, noone ever responded besides you who directed me to your associate who never responded after several attempts(all I asked for was a simple response, maybe he didn't realize non-responsive behavior is bad for sales/PR), so, I moved on and luckily found the Quicksilver system.

Anyway, yeah, the SCCA is extremely picky. If indeed this system replaces a Cat, it would be illegal. So, is that not a resonator on the center section near the driver area? Anyway, thanks a ton for the heads up on the 2-cat situation, that would have cost me in the long run I am sure. Anyway, if you are correct, I will have to make some slight modifications.

Craig

 

OasisT: Sorry for any problems or concerns. I remember answering at least one of your e-mails. (You don't happen to have aol or yahoo do you? They chronically reject our e-mail as spam.) Regardless I am certainly happy to help. That is definately a catalyst that you are removing so be sure to modify that system to have it slip fit or similar over that OEM pipe. In the future please let me know how I can ever help. The only other reason for a non-response would be if the mail was lost. We always reply to any piece of mail regardless of the subject etc. So please try us again in the future.

Happy Motoring!

 

I too removed the second cat. I thought it was a resonator actually.:impatient But regardless I have not gotten any CEL's ever and I have had it on for 2 months. I do not plan on running in SCCA G-Stock so I am not too worried about it.

 

Hey guys,

Quick point. It is illegal by the EPA Federal Clean Air act to remove ANY catalyst and not replace it with one rated and approved for that application. Now I am not trying poke or scare anyone, but we all want to motor responsibly in our environment. Our full turbo-back system for the R56 in 3" has two compliant 3" catalysts (excludes California and other states requiring CARB EO#'s that are vehicle specific. We also include an emisions warranty on our repalcement catalysts) and as ALTA2 has shown the dyno results it makes TONS of power. There is no reason (assuming you have access to proper parts) to risk HEAVY fines etc. from removing a catalyst.

There would be no CEL's from removing the second cat. There are no O2 sensors after the second cat (unlike many other cars), but that doesn't mean it is "OK". If anyone has any questions related to emmisions laws, let us know, or search for the Federal Clean Air Act in Google.

Thanks folks!

 

Always nice to see a performance part vendor with that attitude

 

Great:impatient Now I am breaking the law. Guess I should have looked more closely before I cut it off.

 

I always thought as long as you had a Cat and it was emmissions legal, it didn't matter how many cats you had. Anyway, your cat replacement is still illegal for SCCA solo use as well. The only option is to modify the existing exhaust behind the 2nd cat. So, it doesn't matter who's exhaust is used it appears since none seem to be SCCA stock class legal without the modification. That sucks. Oh, and, you cannot replace even the piping from the cat forward, its only a cat-back legal replacement.

Anyway, I might just do the mod today and report back the dyno results. ;-)

 

Adam

Yeah, you responded with no problem when you passed me on to your associate, I definitely remember you responding quickly. Anyway, when attempting to contact the guy that you sent me to, I think I even called and left a message. Not a big deal, I ended up with what I needed from Quicksilver anyway, so, its all good with no hard feelings since I realize people can get busy with other things. Maybe just next time let him know it only takes a few seconds to respond, and, it really does affect Alta's business. Thanks for the input though, this is good info and saved me potentially thousands in SCCA Contingency, so, I owe you a beer or something at least. lol

Anyway, I am off to the exhaust shop with this Quicksilver in just a bit!! I cannot wait to see how it sounds, I sure hope it sounds as good as it looks. ;-)

Craig Wilcox

 

Just got word, I seem to be getting conflicting info since I am told the 2nd cannister is not a cat. I then called the dealer parts dept and they said its a "silencer". This sucks. I wonder if some west coast cars are being built differently due to emmission laws. I am going to go down to the exhaust shop and have it taklen off to see for myself shortly.

 

OK, just got back from the exhaust shop. There are 2 cats and one resonator. The 2nd cat is smallish with no O2 sensor after it, but, like Alta said, it is a Cat.

Anyway, so, I cut the pipe after the cat and had the Quicksilver installed. All I can say is YEAH BABY!!! I absolutely love the sound, it sounds like a Fighter Jet at full throttle and pulls hard all the way to redline. There is no drone at all at cruising speeds, thats what I was worried about.

My evaluation of the system is definitely a postive one. For the butt dyno, I give it a big thumbs up and the sound exceeded all expectations, I just figured it would sound like any Mini exhaust system, boy was I pleasantly suprised. Another really positive point is that I would guess even with having to leave the cat that I lost about 12-15 pounds of muffler material. I will put the OEM portion on a scale to see how much weight was lost to verify it 100%, I weighed the Quick Silver minus the part that we had to delete and it came out to 16.54 lbs(the piece we cut off was 1.96lbs). Also, pics will be posted shortly.......