>>The ECU not being reset between runs has me worried. Back to the dyno....

MCSHP,

Any status update yet?

 

>>12 months from now you could sell any of these mods for about 1/2 the price you paid for it and get something else, while having enjoyed the mod for a year. Seems like an ok trade. My $0.02

Right on, Dave! We've (my wife & I) sunk an embarassing amount of $$$ into building our personal ultimate MINI (license- "1 HOT MCS&quot and we know we'll end up putting some of the things on eBay in the future.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our MCS immensely and the mods certainly contribute to that (in fact, after recent suspension work and on our 3rd set of wheels/tires, I was "testing" things on Angeles Crest Highway - - we live nearly at the base of that twisty highway and it goes up to 8,000 feet and I've been driving it for 25 years - - and for the first time EVER I had two guys in leathers on sport bikes pull over and wave me by).

 

Anyone have dyno comparisons of the Magnaflow versus the Supersprint exhaust? Haven't read the "entire" MCO board, but seems there isn't much mention of the Supersprint. We were initially leaning (more like positively prejudiced) towards Supersprint since we've had great luck with their systems on other cars, and in fact we now have a full headers-to-mufflers Supersprint system on our MCO.

Several months ago the fellow who is arranging things for our modded MCS to be in a magazine was all over us trying to get us to put a Magnaflow on our car and we were skeptical to say the least. Maybe we (wife & I- I'm one of those way-lucky guys whose wife brings up mods & upgrades during normal conversation) shouldn't have been so skeptical, as it seems that Magnaflow may indeed have the last laugh.

Many of y'all have read my long write-up on our MCS Supersprint experience, but for those who haven't and are considering a Magnaflow (which may just be the hot ticket, to the chagrin on Supersprint diehards like my wife & I)... here 'tis:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Car: 2002 MINI Cooper S (“MCS”)
Owners: Tom & Shannon Wiggins
tom@wigginsassociates.com & anim8@earthlink.net
Location: Pasadena, California
Car info: http://home.earthlink.net/~bmwmini
Exhaust: http://www.supersprintna.com/exhaust...ini_intro.html


"We pretty much decided on a Supersprint exhaust back in April 2001, when we ordered our MCS. We have had great experiences with Supersprint-- on a previous Neuspeed-equipped Jetta and on our current BMW Z3 (4 years with the Supersprint and we still love it). Additionally, we have had a number of other exhausts on other cars (Ansa, B&B, Comptech, Stromung, and custom exhausts) and know what we DON’T like… namely, systems that are embarrassingly loud or whisper quiet and/or have poor build quality (even under warranty, it’s no fun shipping exhaust systems back to the manufacturer). This is why we selected Supersprint on prior cars and again on our MCS.

1)Sound- it's sweet <Supersprint’s MCS ‘Sport’ mufflers require the addition of a resonator…>
2)Loudness- not too loud, not too quiet <Supersprint’s ‘Sport’ is way too loud as shipped- okay w/ resonator >
3)Piping- all mandrel-bent, optimized diameter
4)Quality- plate steel flanges, not stamped; seams welded & rolled, not crimped
5)Tuners- more contracts w/ top BMW tuners than all other exhaust manufacturers combined
6)Fit- Metric OE dimensions and true bolt-on <was definitely NOT bolt-on in the case of this MCS system>
7)Experience- since 1955... older than me
:smile:

 

Wow, nice write up. Can a moderator move the SS stuff to a new thread, as I'm afraid it'll get lost back here at the end of the Magnaflow one..

I haven't seen ANY dyno numbers for the SS MCS, nor have i seen pictures other than the few on the SS and BMP website. I'd love to see either! Any word on if SS is going to address the design problems?

 

>>Wow, nice write up.

*** Thanks, hope it's helpful. Won't have time to do this kind of thing when I'm back to work, so enjoying it now. Just figure we should share our experience in the hopes that it helps individuals who are considering various exhausts (e.g. Magnaflow & Supersprint), as well as perhaps eliciting action or response from people from the various companies in questions (Supersprint-the parent company, BMP- the North American Supersprint distributor, and Monster Mini- the local Supersprint dealer here in So Cal).

>>Can a moderator move the SS stuff to a new thread, as I'm afraid it'll get lost back here at the end of the Magnaflow one...

*** Already thought of that and have already posted the write-up to related threads, as well as the Supersprint-specific thread. Just realized that I'm probably guilty of wasting bandwidth, so in future posts refering to the "Supersprint Write-Up" I think I'll just give a link to another MCO page.

>>I haven't seen ANY dyno numbers for the SS MCS, nor have i seen pictures other than the few on the SS and BMP website. I'd love to see either!

*** I think the pictures on BMP are plenty and give a better view than what I would get taking snapshots. But I'm TOTALLY with you about wanting to see dyno numbers.

>>Any word on if SS is going to address the design problems?

*** In a word... no. Not that I've heard. But we're not "in the biz" and are not as plugged in as many of the folks on this board who are in the MINI biz. Hopefully Supersprint will do better than the manufacturer of our sponsored 18" wheels (we wouldn't have bought 18s with our own money, but that's another story)-- when I contacted them about offset problems and rubbing I got a short email basically saying that "Hey, it's a new car model, how are we supposed to know what fits?" (I've saved the email for humor). I even offered to take time in the middle of a workday, drive the car to their facility <an hour away> and do whatever is necessary <rent a car, etc.> so that they could look into it. No response. I have since heard of other fellow MINI owners plunking down $2000 for a set of these same wheels and having the same problems.

tom@wigginsassociates.com

 

Check your PMs

 

>>Check your PMs

Nope, nothing there...

 

Here's a question that will demonstrate my ignorance, so I apologize in advance.

Is there any reason that headers and cat-back systems need to be tuned "in tandem", i.e. by the same manufacturer?

We have a complete Supersprint system on our MCS from headers to tips... and it may just turn out that the Magnaflow is a superior cat-back unit (if it is shown on an INDEPENDENT dyno to produce more HP) and that starts one wondering...

What if one runs the Supersprint headers and the Magnaflow catback?

 

Tandem allows the manufacturer to fine tune everything so there's just the right amount of backpressure and everything like that. There should be no problems doing SS header and Magnaflow exhaust, but it probably wouldn't be as great a gain as a header designed for a magnaflow exhaust

 

SoCalTom,

What is the diameter of the Supersprint system?

One of the advantages of designing an entire system is the availablity of changing the entire size without having any steps. The Magnaflow is 2 1/2" from the resonator back - but the inlet to the resonator has to be 2 1/4" because the outlet from the cat is 2 1/4". There may be an advantage to this set up in the form of a pressure reduction to draw out the exhaust impulse from the head, but you could certainly reduce backpressure with a system that was entirely 2 1/2".

If the Supersprint header is 2 1/4", it would certainly work with the Magnaflow. The cat provides some backpressure, so freeing up the flow (in the supercharged motor), would almost definitely make more power.

A set of headers and exhaust at 2 1/2" is what I would like to develop. So far, with the MCS, it seems that the less backpressure you have, the more power you can make. I have heard some conflicting reports, but the Supertrapp that some of the guys were running made a reputed (so take that for what it's worth) 14 hp. The Magnaflow made 12-15 in third party dyno runs. The flow was probably similar due to the 2 1/4" system the Supertrapp was using. As more on this situation develops, I'll keep everyone posted.

Randy Webb
Owner, MINI-Motorsport
randy@mini-motorsport.com

 

>>SoCalTom,
>>
>>What is the diameter of the Supersprint system?

*** According to Supersprint's info, the OE factory system is 57mm throughout (2.25&quot and the Supersprint system is 63.5mm throughout (headers & exhaust are both 2.5&quot. Here's their link:

http://www.supersprintna.com/exhaust...iS_system.html

>>
...but you could certainly reduce backpressure with a system that was entirely 2 1/2".

*** and the Supersprint system is 2.5"
>>
>>If the Supersprint header is 2 1/4", it would certainly work with the Magnaflow. The cat provides some backpressure, so freeing up the flow (in the supercharged motor), would almost definitely make more power.
>>
>>A set of headers and exhaust at 2 1/2" is what I would like to develop. So far, with the MCS, it seems that the less backpressure you have, the more power you can make. I have heard some conflicting reports, but the Supertrapp that some of the guys were running made a reputed (so take that for what it's worth) 14 hp. The Magnaflow made 12-15 in third party dyno runs. The flow was probably similar due to the 2 1/4" system the Supertrapp was using. As more on this situation develops, I'll keep everyone posted.

*** Basically, I'm dying to see some dyno figures on Supersprint (by someone other than Supersprint), and I'm anxious to know how the whole system compares to just Magnaflow exhaust (no header). Supersprint has said they have achieved 21 hp AT THE WHEELS with the combined header/exhaust and I'm guessing with driveline loss that the 21 HP at the wheels might be something like 24-25 HP at the flywheel (flywheel HP is what I'm guessing most folks quote when they say "Hey, I just added 10 HP" or whatever.

 

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