Hi all, I am new to Mini. I just bought a R56 BRC Cooper S Hatch with 6-speed manual as my new daily. What a joy to drive for its price. I want to replace it’s exhaust as it doesn’t produce enough sound to me. I want some growl when revving, pop during engine brake, but NO drone on hwy cruising. Three exhaust that comes to mind are Borla, Milltek, or Quicksilver. Which one would you recommend for price vs quality? I am open to other brands as well.

 

Exhaust sound is highly subjective and personal. I highly recommend you listen to someone else's Mini, that has a sound you like, and get a system like theirs.

 

Buy a new downpipe, add sound and power in the same package...My choice is akrapovic, not too loud ,but there are also other good options .The exhaust gases flows better, which also increases engine sensitivity to take revs easily.

 

I have the Invidia Q300. Great quality for the price (about $300 cheaper then the next system) but it does drone. I added a $100 resonator and that pretty much takes car of the issue.

 

I would listen to them on youtube and see which one you like best, sound is subjective, one person likes loud decats and another person just wants to be louder then stock. Milltek, borla..ec cant go wrong. The Akrapovic sounds and fits great. The Valved systems by IPE and FI are awesome sounding but loud for some people.

 

By far the Akrapovic is the best, but does cost the most, but worth it and fits perfect every time
https://www.waymotorworks.com/akrapo...6-r57-r58.html

Otherwise the Invidia is a good choice a bit louder though and fit not as well, but does fit pretty good for the price.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/invidi...haust-r56.html

The Quicksilver is also good and fits a bit better with good sound
https://www.waymotorworks.com/quicks...7-r58-r59.html

Those are all full exh that connect to the downpipe and go all the way back. The others like the Borla are just rear muffler sections so hard to justify their cost being just a muffler.

 

Man that Akrapovic exhaust does sound magnoglorious on a drive-by. Does the exhaust sound deeper/heavier than a factory JCW exhaust?

 

If you're after a better sound when running it through the gears but don't want the highway drone I'd suggest going with a catless downpipe. I wanted more growl from mine and it's perfect paired with the stock exhaust. Definitely louder when going through the gears but when cruising on the highway it's just slightly louder with no drone, plus you get a nice bump in the seat helping the turbo breathe better.

 

I appreciate your insight. I cannot run catless, here in Dallas we are emissions tested annually.

 

leave the cat.. ditch the resonator ASAP! If you can find a used JCW rear section/ muffler for cheap.. it will sound great. Otherwise its likely you can find a replacement muffler like Magnaflow, to get rid of the OEM box.

*straight pipe/no res from the cat to JCW muffler, cracks and pops all day. I have to be careful around cops when the car is hot.. it cracks loud enough to get the red&blues going.

 

It's a different tone hard to describe but still pretty tame.

I have it on my GP and feel it doesn't drone like the stock JCW did on the highway. But get more low end sound and more pop and burble than I did with the JCW.

 

Ok so I think I am sold on the Akrapovic exhaust. I would like to do the DP they have and realize that I could get a check engine light. If I am only running a stock tune on the my Mini JCW do you think I ma still going to get a dreaded CEL? The exhaust system sounds especially good with the DP installed.

 

 

Well I won't be chopping off the catalytic (terrrible for humans and car won't pass inspection/emission testing)

 

If it's the downstream cat it will pass emissions fine.

 

I have the one main cat. JCW cooper.

 

We have done this combo several times and actually not had a light, but sometimes you still can. If you do we would work with you as there are a few options to fix it.

We have them in stock and ready to ship too. As the price is now the lowest it's ever been with FREE Ship
https://www.waymotorworks.com/akrapo...6-r57-r58.html

downpipe
https://www.waymotorworks.com/akrapo...6-r57-r58.html

 

Will the Milltek Down Pipe mate up to the Stock JCW exhaust with no modifications? Is the same true of the Akrapovic Down Pipe mated to the JCW exhaust?

 

yes and yes. *Both are 2.5" and have the same taper bell end for connecting to the Vband at your flex adapter

 

Yes both will bolt right up. I prefer the Akrapovic myself.

 

I removed my 2nd cat and resonator with stock gen2.5 S exhaust.

It's louder and gives more pops.

There is no drone up to 80mph, and if you go above 80mph, you can hear bit of drone sound, but it's quite okay that you can ignore.

Check this video link for my exhaust sound.

 

Without removing any cats, I had a pretty decent sound with no drone just by deleting the resonator. Simple straight pipe welded into place with my stock 2011 MCS system. Then went with the Remus Powersound cat-back system. Really love the sound, and don't notice any drone. The Remus has manually adjustable flaps in the outlet pipes, so you can adjust the sound a bit. I always run mine wide open. LOL. Listening to sound clips is great, but remember that computers do not reproduce the sound you will hear in person.