New exhaust for my R53 Mini Cooper S
 

Not sure if you saw, but Borla has 2 different exhausts available for the R53 (one quieter than the other.) This is a good video on them compared to each other and to stock.

If you go with that go with the Borla Sport as it will be the louder one. But be advised they do crack over time and leak.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/borla-...haust-r53.html

I'd recommend a non Res Milltek or Strat as they will give you the aggressive sound but actually make the highest torque numbers out of all the R53 Exh. Also they are reliable and don't leak, or crack.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/millte...w-exhaust.html

https://www.waymotorworks.com/stratm...3-hardtop.html

We also have FREE Shipping on all our exhaust right now so that is a pretty good savings as UPS has been charging $70+ to ship lately.

I recently installed the Milltek cat back non-resonated I got from WMW. Was a little concerned about noise, but actually it's perfectly fine, maybe even a little quiet for me. Sounds great though.

my impartial 2p is to source either a JCW which keeps performance but sensible noise with the ability to decat the system and not be black flagged at circuits (over here anyway). If I fitted a Borla it would be the Touring, but it or the Milltek may be too loud. The other aspect is drone, and the JCW doesn't, at all. Another option is Maniflow, who have been making race exhausts for decades for the Classic Mini, but also do a seriously good 4:2.1 manifold which is what you need more than any catback but they also do a resonated or not catback which interestingly, in it's standard form is mild steel along with the manifold. Mild steel doesn't produce the inherent ringy sound the stainless systems do, so they have a nicer tone about them which sounds like a performance system rather than a noisy one. There are fewer cracking problems with it too as it tends to be a little more flex tolerant. They will do stainless if you want it but it is approximately 60% dearer. A mild steel system will last for some years anyway.

Only my2p of course. I use JCW with the Maniflow manifold in stainless (two of those actually in different spec as one offs) and the car makes a clean 235whp with decat and no issues on track for noise limits,

Sound? Not the best video but a few seconds from in the car.... I really like that the exhaust isn't the thing I hear most.

I had the Invidia N1 on my R53 & loved it. Quality was good, installation was plug & play, and it sounded great: no drone whatsoever, and it wasn't loud until you really planted your right foot. Everyone who heard my car loved it, except for those whom I blew by at WOT lol. And the kicker: it had a very nice price when I bought it from WMW. I'd strongly suggest you check it out.

I have the Borla Sport. I love it, very deep growl. It's been on almost a year and I've not noticed any leaking or cracks. I wrench my own cars......

Man, you came up on that red van pretty quickly! :grin:

FWIW, I have the WMW Stratmosphere (resonated) and love it.
Quality piece, great fit, not overly loud, no highway drone and speaks right up @ 4000rpm when you give her the gas.

I have a Magnaflow and love it! My teenager says my exhaust is ear porn and I have to agree. My neighbors have noticed but I have never had a complaint. On a road trip this summer my better half never complained about it being too loud or intrusive.

Here's a good video of the scorpion exhaust. I had this on my R52 and got a lot of compliments on it.

When deciding Milltek resonated vs. non-resonated, I read a lot of people found the resonated "wasn't loud enough" and that's part of the point of getting a performance exhaust. Honestly, I don't even know what "droning" sounds like, but to complain about it, I think it would have to be way worst that the sound I get on the highway with my non-resonated Milltek. YMMV since everyone has different comfort levels.

Yes, this is correct.

My other car (daily driver) is a serious performance German car with stock exhaust. My wife says the MINI with non-resonated Milltek is generally quieter than it. I was surprised to hear she didn't think the MINI was too loud. Makes me want to get the mating Milltek header now, but not sure if I should.

Anything but the r53 JCW exhaust..!
What were they thinking by putting a big crushed area just before the "Y" in the back. Closes up about 1/2 of the tube diameter.
I called muffler shops around my area, no one wanted to mess with forming and welding stainless steel.
So, Milltek it is I guess. Their sale came at a good time for me..!

Mike

Ireland Engineering has a nice setup.
http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/item/minicatback.html

the JCW flat section is only the bottom of the pipe for the convertible model rear brace and it isn't restrictive.

if a Milltek resonated is too quiet and you intend to decat it, maybe do that before removing the resonator, as a decat one depending on the manifold, gets quite loud, at least here in the U.K. some might not pass track noise tests,

I'd rather have a Borla Touring type side exit from the Cooper on my S, or better, one from Maniflow or custom over the IE one above, it looks like another of the Chinese jobs I've seen elsewhere, not the nicest design imo although it will be lighter.

A nice setup it is not. Do a search for fitment problems. The whole thing is a kludge.

ExclusiveWorkshops wrote -
the JCW flat section is only the bottom of the pipe for the convertible model rear brace and it isn't restrictive.

You aren't serious are you..! First, my car is NOT a convertible. That's what the dealer put on the car. If they messed up...so be it. It's what I have to deal with, it's there.

Now for the "not restrictive" comment...again, you can't be serious .!? Sorry but I have a hard time believing anyone that's grown past High School science classes can actually believe that comment. Any Physic's classes in College ?
And just how far would that crushed area have to be, to BECOME...a restriction ?
A small/medium small dent...yea, I agree, but the whole tube being crushed flat to about half the diameter, you need to go do some pressure testing. Even a freaking straw..! Get a straw blow thru it, now crush it about half way, hold it in that position so it doesn't open, and blow thru it again...tell me you can push the same amount of air, in the same amount of time thru the crushed straw.
Or better yet...suck thru the straw, then crush it half way, and TRY...to pull the same amount of air thru it...you CAN'T do it, simple Physic's.

Mike

P.s. - Ok I'll concede, at idle, and maybe to about 2500rpm... yea, no real negative pressure backup.. The higher the RPM, the worse the backup will be..!

It doesn't matter that your car isn't a convertible, they later produced these to fit both models, I believe the earliest ones weren't flattened here. It isn't quite to the extreme you feel it is, and it isn't restrictive. Just how much power does your car make? It's all very well comparing with straws, but the air being exhaled down said straw is disproportionate to the puff of air from your engine in relation to the available pipe diameter set that far back in the pipe. I doubt the remarks are really necessary, whilst I am no scientist and will not sit and profess over flow data I do know what works. I use the system, I've used the standard system too up to a power point, I've used a 2.5" race system, and I had rolling road data that displayed a direct comparison with other cars using similar mods via an overlay, and the JCW does not prove restrictive, simples ;O)

Do you really think this is an example of a restrictive exhaust?

If you don't have a cat it will get really loud. I'd go with the resonated exh just the keep the level down a bit.

GTODave - MSM311REP is the Milltek part number for the non resonated mid pipe only. If you have the resonated version, just swap out the mid pipe. I have the resonated version (with a Milltek header) and looking for something louder too.

Way - do you sell that Milltek part? I didn't see it on your site.