the more I see different exhaust for the cooper s , the more a custom one makes sense, I have no engineering degree but most of the designs out there I feel there is really no need for 2 exhaust, I have even consider cutting my exhaust which by the way has been done and just leave one. maybe even doing it in a way that the second muffler/resonator can be reatached by couplins,any thoughs,I know horse-power is an issue but also the way the original set up is done by BMW is too restrictive so any any will only improve performance

 

You may find what several car mags did when testing aftermarket systems- that wild claims of vastly improved horsepower are optimistic. Although a heavy unit, BMW actually did a fair job of producing a system that's quiet and produces good hp. A decent aftermarket exhaust for the MCS will only give maybe 2-5hp increase at the wheels. A better reason to do go aftermarket or custom is to get that raspy sports car sound so many of us enjoy, plus shed some weight. Whether your local muffler shop can improve upon what the either BMW or the aftermarket guys have done is anyone's guess.

 

I looked at all of the common MCS exhaust options and listened to as many as I could in person.
I examined:
Availability-in my area some are sold locally but most are not. Shipping is expensive to Hawaii but for you it is not bad most likely- except if you choose a European only model.

Sound- this varies alot and some are louder than others. Some with deeper tone like the Magnaflow and others closer to stock like the Borla. Some may sound raspy and some may drone.

Added HP or performance- Some offer small gains, I would guess 5-6 HP or less while others maybe closer to 10. Depends on which intake you match it with. See http://www.mcshp.org/data.html

Looks/appearance-
Weight- The lightest single muffler design is the Quicksilver at about 21 pounds. The stock exhaust is about 44 pounds. Very heavy.

Warranty- most stainless steel systems are overbuilt and likely to last the lifetime of the car. The stock exhaust I had was starting to rust in about 2 months.

Custom jobs- I talked to one exhaust specialist and gave him detailed pictures of several common designs. He did not seem very interested in taking on the project. I guess he knows that it isn't easy to guarantee a sound or that the product will yield better performance. For the price it may be not worth his time unless he has done it before for a MINI.

I ended up getting a London Stainless Quicksilver. An easy install, I like the sound which is not as loud as the Magnaflow. Power is great with my Madness intake. I really feel it in the mid to upper RPM range. It does much better now at 3500 and up. Like a rocket assist. The single oval exhaust tip looks great and is unique but can be replaced with a new dual tip option. I'll keep the oval one- I like it plenty :smile:

 

i'd also like to hear from someone who has modded the oem system. i want to bypass one of the stock boxes (or splice in a different muffler) in the hopes of getting a more aggressive tone. i don't really want more volume, i just want it more authoritative.

 

>>the more I see different exhaust for the cooper s , the more a custom one makes sense, I have no engineering degree but most of the designs out there I feel there is really no need for 2 exhaust,...

I agree. There's a bit of discussion on this topic going on here

I believe a custom 2.5" mandrel bent stainless system with a single magnaflow muffler would be ideal. Magnaflow mufflers only cost ~$100, so you should be able to get a custom system fitted for ~$250. Magnaflow mufflers are awesome straight thru mufflers (it's used in the TurboXS turboback exhaust on my WRX) in both performance & sound.

The two-muffler design used in the Magnaflow cat-back looks like it was chosen for ease of fabrication (so they could use welds instead of bends). A single 2.5" straight thru muffler provides sufficent flow for well over 250 HP, so all a second mufler is probably doing is adding volume since a single muffler isn't really a bottle neck for flow (power).

 

you mean like the NRP?

 

THe NRP looks like it might be a winner in terms of sound and performance. It has 2 1/2" diameter pipes like the magnaflow, is more straight-thru and doesn't drone at all according to the couple of people I've talked to that have the system. I can't wait to see dyno numbers on it. I've heard it is in the magnaflow range.

The only real negative I see with it are the tips, or lack of tips. They appear to just be straight pipes. But I'm sure it wouldn't bee too hard to put nicer tips on it, would it?

I also hear HELIX in Philly is building their own exhaust. This should be available soon. Sounds exciting - they make good stuff.

 

>>THe NRP looks like it might be a winner in terms of sound and performance. It has 2 1/2" diameter pipes like the magnaflow, is more straight-thru and doesn't drone at all according to the couple of people I've talked to that have the system. I can't wait to see dyno numbers on it. I've heard it is in the magnaflow range.
>>
>>The only real negative I see with it are the tips, or lack of tips. They appear to just be straight pipes. But I'm sure it wouldn't bee too hard to put nicer tips on it, would it?
>>
>>I also hear HELIX in Philly is building their own exhaust. This should be available soon. Sounds exciting - they make good stuff.
------------
Remove the stock tips, drill and tap the tips and the NRP tips. Use an allen plug / sealant to attached the two pieces together. The stock tips fit just over the NRP tips.

To bring the NRP tips back in line with the rear fascia as in the stock version, removal of a short section of the NRP pipe which will pull the tips forward. Just an idea I've seen done.

SMKKVK

 

>>you mean like the NRP?
>>

 

>>This is basically what I'd like to have a local shop fab with magnaflows mufflers.
>>

I have a personal preference for Thermals. they tend to be a lot more quiet, and are still a "straight through" design. I don't know what the dyno numbers are. I just tended to smoke more Civics (in all fairness though, Last time I used a thermal muffler was on a 93 toyota truck, still waiting for a better Hi-flo Cat to hit the market and someone else to measure how much backpressure we need before we start burning cylinders)

 

i believe the madness quicksilver exhaust also has a straight through design, and it weighs only 20lbs. :smile:

 

OK, I found this upgrade article on the MCS
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/pr.../0307scc_mini/
You want a "Straight through design" check this out!

 

I think the stock MCS exhaust is plenty good, just look at European CAr's latest shootout with a stock MCS neither the supersprint nor the magnaflow made big power gains, they were both in the 1-3hp range. I think as of now I'm either going to go custom or just have the resontor taken out and a simple bend put in to the stock exhaust and leave it like that for a while. I think a header along with a high flow cat will post bigger gains then just a cat-back. the NRP sounds like it is a very nice system but it seems a bit pricey. I just feel that I can have a custom system done for a bit less then that, but time will tell
Mike

 

>>OK, I found this upgrade article on the MCS
>>http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/pr.../0307scc_mini/
>>You want a "Straight through design" check this out!
>>
>>

The stright-through design seems more like the ticket, especially if the muffler can do a bit more muffling thus allowing street use. And that PC680 battery sounds like an awesome idea anyway, assuming it would last. The whole article was fascinating, especially the 112lb weight savings.
muffler

battery box from top

PC680

 

There is no Shielding by the Battery Box... That's going to caus it to get very hot... I like the idea, but that battery box is going to be a problem.

 

>>There is no Shielding by the Battery Box... That's going to caus it to get very hot... I like the idea, but that battery box is going to be a problem.
They chose a metal cased battery with heat shielding. I would be more worried about using a small capacity battery on the street.

 

>>i believe the madness quicksilver exhaust also has a straight through design, and it weighs only 20lbs. :smile:


True, but I believe it's only 2" diamater. Moving up to 2.5" gives you over 50% more flow.

I'm also planning to replace the headers, cat, pulley & intake. So, despite European Car's test results, I believe the stock system will really show how restrictive it is with these additional mods.

 

>>>>i believe the madness quicksilver exhaust also has a straight through design, and it weighs only 20lbs. :smile:
>>
>>
>>True, but I believe it's only 2" diamater. Moving up to 2.5" gives you over 50% more flow.
>>

Actually, going from 2" to 2.5" is only a 25% increase. Also, the quicksilver and all the other aftermarket exhausts (except the magnaflow and NRP) including the stock are 2 1/4". So 2 1/4" to 2.5" is an 11% increase ion flow potential.

I think you may have a point though - with more mods - especially a header that had a 2 1/2" exit - you'd benefit more with the wider exhaust. We shall see....

 

I'm pretty sure the quiksilver is 2.25" and the magnaflow is only a.25" bigger at 2.5". You are right though, the more mods you do the more you see the benefit of that exhaust.
Mike

 

The 2 main reasons I replaced mine is 1-Sound and 2-Stainless steel. The factory exhaust is pretty cheap steel and will surely rust into bits by the time the car is old. Since I am planning on keeping my MCS for a long time, I figured... might as well go stainless while she's young because I'll bet at one point in it's life every MINI that makes it to 100K miles will have to have the exhast replaced.
I do agree with you're thoughts though, and would have opted with the Quicksilver or NPR one muffler systems, but I got such a great deal on the Stebro system, which is a dual muffler + center resonator design. But , even though it is made of fairly thick stainless, it still weights 8lbs less than the stock system.

 

>>Actually, going from 2" to 2.5" is only a 25% increase.

Oops! I was using d instead of r in the area equation :smile: