New to the site, and the wonderful world of Minis. We have a 2013 Cooper S convertible, and 2006 Cooper S Hardtop in the house. The 2006 Mini has a rusted out passenger side muffler. My son wants to "one ball it", by removing it, and pipe directly from the motor into the driver's side muffler only. Any concerns with doing this? Not sure why Mini would have placed two mufflers under the car, if 1 really isn't needed. Thanks for any info.
The "one-ball" was a common mod on 1st gen MINIs. I ran with a one-ball exhaust for about 50k miles. The two "balls" under a stock first gen (non-JCW) are a resonator on the passenger side, and a muffler on the driver side, with the exhaust routed sequentially through them. Bypassing the passenger side resonator has the same effect as removing the resonator on any other exhaust - makes the exhaust louder and raspier. Some folks like it. Some don't. There are a number of threads here about it. Here's one: http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s/6142-one-ball-exhaust-mod-today.html#axzz3Amqtfmye
Welcome to M/A the FUN Mini site. The one ball mod is very common because the one that has failed is really just a huge heavy resonator. They are known to fail / rust away. It is much cheaper to convert it to a one ball exhaust then buy a new OEM one of an aftermarket exhaust.
Thanks for joining the group. You might get lucky and find a member who has what you need lying around their scrap metal pile. I can't help, unfortunately, as mine were tossed out with the fall clean up.
Hi, and welcome to M/A! I have an '06 convertible and have been running a one-ball since '07. It's really only slightly louder than the standard system. It's not offensive by any measure. If your resonator is perforated and adding noise, going to a one-ball might even be quieter than your current situation.
I am not sure what part of PA you are in but if you are near Philly call Helix and they may have an OEM exhaust (takeoff) available cheap. Helix Motorsports is located at: 4648 Umbria Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 267 335 4337 Link to Helix Site: Headquarters
Welcome to the MA Forum. As Dave O stated, you can frequently find a stock exhaust for free when someone has switched to an aftermarket exhaust. You you do not want to spend the money on an aftermarket cat-back exhaust, I would suggest having a muffler shop remove the resonator and install a pipe. If you do not like it, you are not out much money.
Welcome to MA! If you were near me I would give you my old exhaust. One ball, I could never do this to my MINI. Heack I could even neuter my dog.