Midway through my track weekend a few weeks ago, I noticed that I had an exhaust leak. It wasn't throwing codes, it just sounded bad, so I kept driving. A week later, when I had time to get it warm and up on ramps, I could feel air pulsing out from the downstream edge of the second catalytic converter, right on the bottom. It felt like just a small hole, so I figured I'd take it in and get it welded up. So the mechanic calls me up and says, nope, it's not a small hole, it's a crack 3/4 of the way around the cat. :eek6::eek6: It's gonna be 2-3 hours of labor to remove and reinstall the header, then an hour of labor to weld it all the way around, plus gaskets. I might try to R&R it myself. Or I can just replace the whole thing with an OEM or aftermarket header. Any ideas? Money is an issue, more power would be nice, but reliability is probably the highest priority. It's gotta hold up to track days and road trips, which are mostly to and from the track, and I don't want to wear ear plugs. Yes, I'm aware that there are several sponsoring shops making headers, and I'm not really looking for opinions on whose is better or worse, I'm just wondering what my options are for a street-driven car.
So what do you have on there now? Aftermarket header or OEM manifold? Might be easier to go with the OEM setup.
Given the fact that you have 92,000 miles on it and the cat is most likely if not already bad, then the fact that an OEM is so expensive.... RMW street header.
Cut your old cat out and weld one of these in? http://store.42draftdesigns.com/Magnaflow-25-High-Flow-Cat_p_351.html
I have the OEM manifold, cats, O2 sensors, everything. Hmm, that looks like the cheapest option, and not a bad one. Yeah, the shop was quoting me $1300 for a new OEM exhaust manifold, and pelican lists them for $1450... :incazzato: So an RMW header would be cheaper.
As has been said by the guys at Mynes.......aftermarket cat's don't last long on the high temp MINI's. Get an OEM cat and have it welded on. Check with Mynes for a price.
1st gen MINIs seem to be rough on exhaust systems. If you are wanting to have the quietest option for the least $$, then get the cat that Metalman found. That looks like a decent option.
we fix em here we charge 2.5 hours (95/hr) plus the gaskets for the r&i, and the fabricator accross the street usually charges 100ish to make them look like they were never cracked-and the ones I have done were completely seperated att he crack!
You ain't kidding. Some mornings it takes me 1.5 hours to get dressed, eat breakfast, and tie my shoes. And I eat instant oatmeal!