Hey,

I bought this R56 today and I am already on the forums to talk about it! So, I bought the car with 120,000 miles on it and full knowledge that the catalytic converter has been gutted. I need to replace it but have a question. What damage do I risk driving it with a gutted cat? Would that cause it to run rich and soot up the tailpipe? could it damage the turbo?

Also I see that the stock replacement is around $750, but my muffler guy said that there was a Catco (AP exhaust) unit that he could source for $270 and change. Any experiences with cost and difficluty of replacement? I can't get it regsitered until I replace that.

Damn thsi car is quick though, it threw me back in my seat.

Thanks for any advice on these 2 points.

 

Which cat, down pipe or exhaust? should be able to find a stock downpipe for cheap most guys replace them with high flow units, just post an ad in the parts section. they can be a bit of a bear to replace if you havent done it before.

 

It's the downpipe. What are the thing to bear in mind when replacing? Welding necessary or is it bolt on?

 

If the cats been gutted, you may want to check and see if the ECU has been remapped. Lots of us run catless downpipes with our tunes because you need a high flow one. The stock cat in the downpipe is pretty restrictive. If anything, having no cat helps the turbo spool quicker. I have heard of a few guys who gutted their cat instead of replacing the downpipe. I’ve got my old factory DP sitting around here somewhere, if you need one. Not sure how much to ship to you from WA. But I wouldn’t go replacing it until you figure out why it was done in the first place!
At worst, you may get a little sooty tailpipes, but I’ve always had that issue even when it was bone stock. It’s an R60 thing especially from what I’ve seen. Its not going to harm anything on the vehicle, no worry there. Like I said, we do it on purpose! Lol.
A Mini dealership should be able to scan your ECU and tell you if it’s been tuned or not.

 

MrGrumpy, I would be interested in knowing how much you would want for that factory downpipe. I will see if I can find out why it was done. Thanks for the tip on the sooty tailpipe as well.