Hey guys. Just looking for advice on and new exhaust and header. In a 2003 MC should i have both. Im looking for more bhp mainly. I've looked around on many mc web sites and on NAM, theses seems to be a lot ouy there. I will probably get a high flow cat.

Can you guys give me some advice on whats the best bang for your buck and the best quality. I have heared magnaflow and maybe its a bit to loud.

Thanks

englishbloke

 

english,

Header-wise, I'm happy with my Milltek. Alta makes one, too, but I haven't checked it out.

Catback-wise, I'm not 100% happy with my Milltek... the fit on the rear valence isn't too great and requires tweaking (it does, however, sound wonderful). I'd recommend looking at the UUC (which is quite a beautiful piece of hardware) or Borla (there are two versions, one is quieter). The Borla comes in many pieces but may allow for a more custom fit. All of these exhausts are fairly close in terms of horsepower and torque gains...

 

I have the BORLA RACE exhaust on my 2006 MCS. It sounds great and
went on easily. It was on sale from MINI MANIA for I believe 820.00 but
that was eight months ago. Hope this helps.

 

Hey guys, englishbloke has an MC (not an S).....thus his post in the non-S forum.....

 

voting for miltek. Love it on mine and the sound is great. Everyone that has heard it loves the noise. Very quiet and deep on the low end but still very racey when you get on it. No droning on the Hwy. I didn't have any fitment problems on mine though.

Planning to get the header in the coming future.

 

I have an '06 Cooper and love the "My Mini Touring Exhaust" (extensive thread on this). I opted for the "touring" as opposed to the "sport." Fitment was perfect, nice growl but no "drone" at cruise.

 

My MINI touring exhaust is great, and relatively inexpensive. Negotiate with Pete.

 

The Magnaflow is loud, but will get you some measuable HP. It also improves (sound wise) with a few thousand miles. It gets deeper, throatier, with more burble and less drone. I like it a lot, and get compliments on it from other MINI owners.

 

Additionally there's the JCW exhaust for the MC's. Not cheap....

 

Well nothing says that this is an S only forum so Be nice nice to your fellow motorers

That said I know little about the specifics for Cooper exhausts.

The basics,
1) You haven't mentioned any other mods, getting more air out does no good if you aren't getting any more air in, so I'd suggest researching some HAIs (sound excelltent on the Cooper) and CAI options. The best sounding N/A 4 or 6 cyl. engine I have ever heard was a Cooper with a Greenstuff HAI and a local muffler shops custom fit exhaust. Unknown about the Bhp though.

2)Also anything after the combustion chamber only frees up existing hp it doesn't actually create hp; feels the same to a driver but just a little note.

3)The mod that gets you the most hp on a Cooper is Head work, so if your truly power hungry know its something to research, but again you'lll need to make sure air in and air out are ready. Think of the engine as a huge air pump the more that goes through the more power you're getting.

4) A header will be an effective power gainer, and you have to take out the current exhaust toi installl it anyways so it is a good choice to go ahead and do it when you do the exhaust, but understand it will add significant volume levels to the exhaust.

5) Like I said I'm not up to speed on Cooper exhausts and the best one I've heard was a quality custom from a local shop (flip a coin to wether I prefer this or a Ferrari note) so research alll your options, hear some Coopers at your next club meet and talk to your local shops if that interests you, many places have goood deals.

Hope this helped a little bit report back on what path you take.

 

You're definitely talking to the wrong guy with that line. In fact, that's usually MY line.

I wrote that post because all the advice in the first two posts was about exhausts for an MCS.....figured a gentle reminder wouldn't hurt.

 

I know, and I suspect a good deal of the following advice was MCS related too, its moved now so problem solved, just don't want people to think the S drivers are elitist or something

 

Likewise!

 

Let's see, based on those I've already owned.....

If the Mag seemed a bit loud, you should definitely avoid Stebro and you probably don't want a Helix. I would also avoid anything without a resonator until you get to hear it in person first.....I'm very happy with my Larini now but before I added a resonator (actually a Mag muffler where the resonator ought to be) I thought I was going to have to throw it out. I'd advise against Rogue but they stopped making them. The best I've had (or heard) is R-Speed.....unfortunately, they stopped making those as well for some reason. You might be able to pick one up on eBay pretty cheap though. I think the Milltek and MyMini Touring (or MyMini Sport, which you can order WITH a resonator) are good candidates.

As far as I'm concerned, most exhausts for MCs look like they were just built out of available parts rather than carefully designed for the car, as opposed to most MCS systems. That's why I started looking at one-sided MCS systems. I think the Alta sounds great and it should require very little modification to hang it and make it exit the MC valence (that's why I have one sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to take it in for a bit of surgery).

As to headers, definitely go to the drivetrain forum and check out the "here we go again..." thread. No matter how happy you end up with whatever catback system you buy, the header will change things.....probably make it louder.....maybe even a lot louder. If I was starting from scratch again, I would almost consider replacing the header first to see how much difference it makes and use that info to decide how picky to be about the rest of the exhaust.

 

Hey Englishbloke,i will not comment on other exaust as i dont know nothing about them.I have installed a Borla cat back and a pipercross pk222 intake on my MC,the note while day to day driving is simply brilliant slightly deeper but dont bother the music noise level is almost standard,i was worried i'd get fed up with a loud exaust after the new toy syndrome wore off,definatley not with this thing.However when you step on it you are definatley aware that you've changed the exaust but still not hi pitched boy racer,i am very pleased with it.Fitting was 1/2 an hour straight out of the box and a perfect fit,installer was impressed with quality and workmanship.If i had to ridicule it i'd say the tip is large but again good looking with the Borla stamp,but thats personal preference i guess.And no i dont work for Borla.Cheers mate.

 

Sorry, my other post was fixated on the "...magnaflow and maybe its a bit to loud" part.

Like Motor On wrote, the head is the key. Unfortunately, it's also an expensive mod. Most aftermarket p/p heads will cost you between $1500 and $2000, and that's without a cam. You'll likely save some $ if you can find a local shop that can do it but then you run the risk of trusting someone who's probably inexperienced with the MINI motor to build you a head that will do more good than harm. Whichever way you obtain said reworked head, it'll then still cost you more to have it installed than both the header and catback installation combined.

By the way, I also agree with Motor On regarding the need to consider the system end-to-end (i.e., you won't avail yourself of the full potential of opening up the exhaust side of the pump if the intake side is still restrictive). That said, for a Cooper I get the feeling the exhaust side is the worse bottle neck.

If you're not prepared to go as far as head work, the header must be the next most important bolt on. Since you wrote "Im looking for more bhp mainly" I assume that means you're more interested in hp than tq. If so, the conventional header wisdom seems to apply to the MINI in that the available 4-1 headers seem to increase peak hp near the high end, but without helping tq at the low end or mid range, while 4-2-1 headers are more likely to do the opposite. Luckily for you (given your hp focus), the MINI aftermarket provides at least twice as many 4-1 as 4-2-1 systems. I read about a lot of high flow cats going bad, so be sure of the warranty if you buy one with a cat.

For high end hp, you need to make sure you avoid exhaust systems that cause backpressure. In order to preserve tq, some manufacturers make their pipes for Coopers the same diameter as stock. This is NOT to preserve backpressure, but to ensure flow velocity. However, if you want that pump to breath freely at high revs you want a bit more pipe. Also, try to match your catback diameter to your header collector/cat/flange diameter.

just a few things to consider

 

We've been running a Borla for nearly 4 years... still love it.

 

My Cooper has a Helix13. It's no longer made, as I understand, but there are still some available. In its day, it was the highest dynoed catback. It's kind of noisy, but that might be because I have tracked my Cooper a few times [don't recall it being that loud before I did that]. If you can find a Helix13, that's what I would buy.

My MCS has a Milltek and I really like it in the S, as it is relatively quiet but still has a nice burble to it. I understand that Milltek also makes one for a Cooper, so you might want to check one out, if you cannot find a Helix13.

 

from what i have heard/read helix13 and magnaflow make top hp, but are also on the loud scale. i got a magnaflow cuz i prefered the noise a bit better and the price ( i got a great deal) but the terms of looks i love the helix one which looks almost stock (magnaflow looks a bit coffee can-ish)

the header info i have read/heard is all over the place. but in general 4-1 does make more hp than 4-2-1 which makes more torque. i have heard of miltek cats going bad but they are very good with their warranty (haven't heard of anyone having trouble getting their stuff replaced quickly and effeciently)

 

I heard my Magnaflow for the first time today as a pedestrian (my friend took my MINI out for a drive). It really sounded good, and is not as loud outside the car as it is inside. So, I'd recommend going to a MINI rally and hearing as many different systems as you can before making your decision.

 

Larini header+ Larini MC Catback (both made in london)= Super Value (call for Special pricing.

Victor

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I got some good info. BTW I have a K&N intake.

 

here is a borla exhaust on an mc

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...22040673225850

sounds alot better in real life!

 

Do you know what the best sounding one is??

 

will a mini mania 02 MCS header fit on a 06 MC. also did the exhaust change in anyway, such as mounting, from 02 to 06