Hey everyone. New cooper owner here. Actually two new ones. I bought an 06 Mini S 3 months ago, and my wife kept borrowing it and had so much fun driving it, she traded in her car for an 05 Mini S convertible. I have been reading the exhaust thread with the types of exhaust everyone has with interest as that was one of the first upgrades both of us wanted to do. I wanted to install a header and catback and was wondering if anyone had done both. Reading the thread it did not sound like anyone had both a hader and a catback system. I dont know what the best header out there is for the mini. It sounds like a few people have had a bit of trouble with the OBX mounting flange on one bolt, but I wanted to get a nice stainless setup. One of the headers said you could use the original heat shield as well to keep the extra heat out of the engine compartment, which sounded like a good idea. None of the other headers I saw mentioned that. As far as the catbacks, I was looking at the Borla street or sport, the Alta stealth, Alta sport tone, Mini madness catback and the Remus. There is a lot to choose from and Im just not sure which way to go. I would like an agressive sound but not something so loud it scares the neighbors which might leave the Borla sport out of the equation, but without really hearing any of them its hard to tell. And how much louder is it going to be putting a header on it as well? I went to the Remus web sight and they actually have a click and play where you can hear their exhaust and the OEM so you can hear the difference, but Is their system a real catback? A lot of questions I know but I would hate to spend two grand on a header and exhaust system and hate the way it sounds. Any feeback from you guys and gals out there would really be appreciated, especially if you can direct me to some sound bites of the different exhaust systems. Sorry for the long thread, and once again thanks for any help.

 

<enter> is your friend

 

Check with your local Mini club - someone there likely has a custom exhaust system you can hear... where are you? Check the local forums and club websites... there's a lot of info in the exhausts thread as well. MANY have the header and catback, a lot started with the catback and then added the header later, read on a check the "search" function as well. Good luck!

 

i have ran both a header and catback combo. i had a miltek header and catback and it wasnt that loud at all. i would suggest the obx header though its the best bang for the buck. find one used and you shouldnt have any problems mounting it.

for the catback. alta is really good, some people have been finding ireland exhaust around pretty cheap and everyone seems happy with it so far. i believe autoxcooper carries them or may know where to get them

 

I run the alta 2.5" and love it, it makes the perfect note all the time, not too loud while running around town but when I step on it, it makes an aggressive note. Another exhaust I've heard that is similar to the alta is the Milltek(although the Milltek has 2 mufflers adding more weight than the alta with 1). If I was going to choose a header I would without a doubt choose the rmw street header.
Here is a thread that might help you make your decision...or confuse you more
Your MCS exhaust reference thread. Videos. Sound clips. Etc

 

First, you need to decide if you really want to do a header and cat-back or just a cat-back. The reason, I say this is for the loudness of the end result. A header and cat-back will usually be much louder than a cat-back. Thus you will probably want a quieter cat-back to go with the header than if you are just going with a cat-back and no header. Unless you are planning many other engine mods, I would suggest just a cat-back exhaust and use the header money for other items (such as rear sway bar).

If you are doing just the cat-back, the Borla Sport is a great sound but would be too loud for most people with a header. If you are going to add a header something like the Borla Street or Milltek would be a good cat-back.

 

I run a RMW street header and a Milltek cat-back. Sounds good.

 

Check my sig, it's not that loud when cruising, but when you go WOT it is perfectly loud. I sprang for Supersprint header because you get what you pay for and I've heard of all the warped OBX's. I kept the stock cat, you have to cut and weld but it's real easy to do.

 

Do you have the Alts Sport tone?

 

Where did you find the RMW header? I did a search on google and came up with NOTHING, except references to an RMW header in various forums, including this one, but could not find anyone selling it or any pictures.

 

www.revolutionmini.com

 

All they show is the collector and itg sounds like its all custom work. Nothing I could buy and put on myself

 

right....their site isn't a marketplace, only general info. email jan or PM him on here (revolution mini works). He's got threads here on NAM with pics of everything he sells...just search for them.

short header thread

 

Im in Woodstock, Georgia, which is about 45 minutes from Atlanta