Anyone found a decent, alternate option to the OEM catalytic converter? I am getting an error on mine that it is bad. I need to replace it but the OEM price is STEEP! Just curious if anyone has installed an alternative that has bee reliable. I am not looking for any sound alteration or anything like that. Just a good serviceable catalytic converter.

Thank you!

 

Don,

Which header are you running? Many headers on the market will throw an occasional CEL for catalyst inefficiency due to the higher flowing lower cell count, but some do actually fail internally and will either start to blow the catalyst out the tailpipe or the catalyst will actually become cocked in the exhaust and cause flow problems.

We sell the Vibrant cat if you are in need of a new cat, they're $120 plus shipping and I should have one on hand.

 

I am running the stock header. I just found a used header and cat from a friend who is parting out his 2004 mini for a good price so I am going to give that a shot and see if it resolves the issue.

Thank you though. If this doesn't do it, I will hit you back up.

David

 

I got the Milltek header when I did a bunch of other work a couple years ago,
because I wanted a slight performance boost and it's supposed to have one of
the most robust aftermarket cats available. I have my fingers crossed.
It's almost as pricey as the oem manifold, but it's very well made.

 

x2 for Milltek!

My OEM header cracked/died in the middle so I had to find a suitable replacement. The idea of selecting a replacement on the cheaper side still had the tendency of throwing a CEL code. I dislike looking at CELs... so already having the Milltek catback system, I elected to complete it with the Milltek header.

Awesome setup and have not looked back! Currently, I am on 26.2k miles and 3 years and have not had a single CEL yet. Great setup.

But price point may be a consideration.

 

The milltek header looks nice! is there a noticeable performance gain? my oem manifold is doing fine for now, but if I ever have to replace it, I think I'd probably go with an aftermarket header.

 

Oh yes, I think so. The sound emitted from the motor is greatly changed/increased. When you are driving like a civilian, you cannot hear it which is nice. But when you get on the Mini, it comes to life.

At or around 3k rpm, the Mini begins to climb quicker and pick up speed. Obviously, not as noticeable as putting a pulley on the supercharger but I believe it is noticeable. Then again, I already had an intake, pulley and exhaust on my Mini. So maybe that helped with the addt'l pull by removing the one bottleneck left.

 

I noticed the last 1K or so (5,000 - 6500 rpm) goes by noticeably quicker.
On this engine, also note very little change in sound at no or light throttle,
but quite a bit throatier from 3K up with the pedal down.
Note: I have an R50 with a Milltek catback also.

 

Very interesting. I've always stuck with the stock exhaust because I don't want to have to listen to my cars exhaust when I'm going down the highway, but I would like it to be a bit louder and faster on track/play days.

 

I've been using this one from Amazon for 11,000+ miles now, has been working great, no complaints or codes......

Nik

 

FYI- If you're Cat went bad better look for the reason. They don't usually just "go bad", there's probably another reason. Check for vacuum leaks, perhaps a smoke test. I just went through the same thing. Just my thoughts-Cheers