Well after having the car for a little over a week now it was time for some major modding to happen, the exhaust! A couple weeks ago the local Mini dealership had an official unveiling of the R56 and I met a fellow NAM member who told me about this exhaust shop called PF&E and the thing that was funny was the place was right around the block from my work and I didn't even know it and I've been there for 10+ years, don't know how long he's been there but its atleast 6 years. Anyways here's what was done:

-re-used the stock flexpipe because he liked the design
-removed the second cat and resonater
-removed the rest of the exhaust completely
-added 2.5" T304 stainless piping all the way back
-added a polished stainless steel Magnaflow muffler
-added a polished Pypes flattened out oval tip

Here's a pic from their website of the tip


Sorry, but this is the best pic they've got of it and it doesn't do it any justice because from day one I envisioned a single tip in this particular style, so for me it was one way to go, that way Now I'm sure you wondering about the sound, well let me try and try and sum it for you guys....AWESOME!!! It has a deep burble when its going down the road and at idle its got just enough which is fine for most. Now I will say its loud enough that some would want to tone it down a bit and that easy to achieve because the owner of the exhaust shop (who actually handled this job for me) said you could add a bullet muffler to act as a resonater and it would quiet it down. I'm not going that route one bit because I really like how the car sounds now, its got REAL attitude and some real pull! I know its seat of the pants but this car really honks a bit more now which isn't a bad thing! Speaking of that, I know the MCS isn't about drag racing or anything but my previous car, a 2005 Crossfire which actually had a Magnaflow muffler only ran a 14.8@94 mph and my MCS feels WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY faster than my Crossfire, I'd bet any money on that. In closing I must say that if your thinking about an exhaust upgrade look around and find yourself a good exhaust guy and have at it

 

sounds great! I love custom work. Show us some pics and maybe a little soundclip!

 

Yep, we need to hear a soundclip.

 

Klasse: Where are the pictures!? Better yet; we need to hang out and take rides in each others car and compare exhausts.

 

That sounds like a great idea Ryan, maybe we can meet up on Woodward this weekend if its nice. I can also check out the ride of your car with the H&R's too BTW, I get my rims this Friday and then the modding is pretty much done for year, well except the Whalen cue ball shift know that is

 

Sounds like a plan!

 

It appears that my clubphoto is now "under construstion", so my pics will be up ASAP, but as far as a sound clip goes....Ryan

 

Sounds like a great quality setup- was the system mandrel or crush bent?

Although this is a turbo'd vehicle, is there any detriment in going with 3" diameter piping since the engine displacement is so low?

 

My car has mandrel bend piping. Now Ryan has 3" throught on his ride and don't remember him saying anything about a problem there and his car is lowered too. Drop him a PM for more details

 

Exhaust systems for turbocharged engines are relatively straightforward compared to naturally aspirated or supercharged engines. The turbo is the biggest restriction apart from the catalytic converter. The turbine damps the exhaust gas pulses and converts them into rotational motion. This ruins just about any chance to build a tuned secondary or impliment a scavenger box. Because the turbine messes up the exhaust flow so much, the main priorities are to convert the turbine exhaust flow from radial to laminar flow, and to keep the turbo-back exhaust restriction to an absolute minimum. The engine displacement doesn't play a part in selecting tubing diameter as much as peak horsepower [aka maximum flow-rate] does.

HTH,
Ryan

 

Ryan? What do you do for a living...i only understood a few things out of that last paragraph! I have a lot of studying of cars to do.....!

 

Hey Nerd! Did you just call me a name???



That's the best layman's description of Turbo exhaust tuning I've heard yet.

 

So, ideally, the wider (and smoother) the better so as to decrease backpressure as much as possible? Also, is there a diminished rate or return after a certain diameter? Finally, would it make sense to gradually increase diameter throughout the exhaust, creating a cone-shaped pipe (speaking from an ideal standpoint and ignoring the horrendous real-world difficulties one would incur in order to execute something like this)? Sorry to burden you with these musings.

 

Let's just say I'm in the automotive industry.


LOL! If your name is Laminar Flow then please accept my apologies! I'm glad that my description was helpful!


Yes there's a point of diminishing returns. The 3" tubing I used on my R56 is probably that upper corner point for an engine that "only" makes about 206HP at the crank. Anything bigger and you stop attenuating some higher frequency acoustic tones and the exhaust note becomes shrill. I'm not sure a "horn" exhaust shape would help, as the system is only as free-flowing as it's greatest restriction. Certain shapes like a horn or cone are used in naturally aspirated and supercharged exhausts to improve scavenging and make the widest power band possible.

Cheers!
Ryan [the nerd]

 

In the short time I've been around Ryan I think my automotive IQ has gone up a bit, just listening to him Our local rock radio jockeys in the morning, Drew and Mike, use this Homer drop sometimes and it fits best here with Ryan's use of words, check it out...

Homer's voice..."can you repeat the thiiiing you said about things?"

 

Awww thanks guys, you're makin' me blush now