Hey everybody, I am interested in a Borla cat back system for my 2006 R53. I have been contemplating it since I bought my Mini back in 2009, just out of fondness for the Borla on other vehicles and love the tone and performance. The main issue: There are two available from them! They have the regular one (aka touring/street) and the aggressive one (aka race) available for it. I have called Borla about the differences, and they said they both are made the same, same power increase, same weight. The only difference is the sound for them, which I could not get a description to my liking for. I have searched every where I can for good clips for sound, but they are all blah... I have checked if any of my local Mini owners have the system, to no luck for the forum post. I have checked out the links on this forum for the exhaust sounds for all the systems, the one for the 'race' one is poorly done and I can not get a good feel for the sound. The Borla tech informed me that it is going to be louder in the cabin with the aggressive style (kind of leaning towards it) but I want to know how loud it is. I would appreciate new sound clips for a Borla system, which ever one, for a R53, preferably inside and outside the cabin. If you have either of the systems, and are willing to upload some clips for me and others to check out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
I've got a Borla (street I thinlk) for my 2002 Cooper, so it may not be a directo comparison.. It is louder and throater than stock. There is a step up in sound at over 3500 rpm, so it is comfortable around town and on the highway below 70-ish, but gets loud when you are playing.. The perfect compromise for me. Here is a crappy sound byte. Code: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ernestovumbles/4878262864/
Thank you! I'll have to check it out when I get home, blocked here at work. I am mainly looking for in cabin sounds, and thank your for the description. I have the JCW intake with the valve that kicks on around 3500 - 4000 RPM to allow more air. Do you have the same since you say the sound changes around that RPM range?
No, it is just a Cooper. I only have a K&N drop-in filter. The sound is from the exhaust.. No droning at highway speeds, and to me the sound is reasonable till speeds over 75 or so. If I'm going much above that I'm playing and deserve the louder sound
Here is the Borla Street (found on the interwebz).... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHiCwlOjAW0]R53 Mini Cooper S Borla Street Exhaust sample. Webb CAI - YouTube[/ame]
If you are not completely set on a Borla I have to advise you to not get it. I had one on my '03 MC and it was so damn loud I hated it. And as it broke in it got louder and louder. I apologize that I do not have a sound clip you are requesting. Just my 2 cents.
I had the opposite observation, R53, Borla Race, REALLY nice growl around 2000-2500RPM, smoothed out quite a bit on the highway but ANY louder exhaust will drone a bit. That's really just because you can HEAR it, and the tone is roughly the same all the time with the cruise is engaged. I'll check with by bud Josh, who now has it on his wife's R53, she loves it. He may be able to get you a sound bite. It had 10k on it when we put it on her car, so was broken in well. From a power standpoint, it was definitely a bump over stock, but didn't give near the power of my straight-back G4 system (+12-15 whp, no foolin, timed runs to check it), Slightly less aggressive than my G4.
There is one for sale on m|u. Not sure if is race or not.... [ame=http://www.motoringunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22775]Borla R53 Exhaust - motoring|underground[/ame]
To the OP....have you considered the 'one-ball" mod? If you want the sound to be a bit louder than a "one-ball" get the street version. If you want even louder get the race version.
Thank you everybody! I'll have to check out the video later, no youtube at work you know. Appreciate it. Looking mainly for an in cabin audio clip if possible. That G4 system you are mentioning, do you have any other upgrades for the engine so I can compare? Also, is it the regular R53 or a JCW model that you put it on? Thanks for looking out. That is the aggressive/race version, but the design is different. It is for the 2002-2004 R53 I believe. The 2005-2006 have a different set up where the center piece is connected. Not sure if it makes a difference or not though.
Alta CAI, 15% pulley, and the +10whp (ish) was before the pulley. Pulls like a train, but the G4 is louder/.more aggressive than the Borla race. I'll check with Josh for audio. The Borla Race IIRC is pretty decent on the highway.
We have the Borla Race on out 06 R52 S and love it! It's got a nice growl at idle and if you drive conservatively it's not imposing, but once your foot drops it absolutely comes alive. And the burble pop is awesome. So bottom line get it. Shawn
I was searching for the G4 exhaust you were talking about, did not find any hits on it, at all. Is it a custom built, or a bolt on system?
No, never been on the dyno but there was a noticeable gain and we did it in conjunction with an ALTA CAI. Shawn
G4 is a boutique manufacturer, I did some R&D and engineering for their exhaust. The "mission statement" is "Legal power", emphasis on Power, then legal sound limits, then tone. It's a straight-back, under-the-battery-box setup, twin specialty glasspacks with slightly different HP/noise ratios (all fairly aggressive) great horsepower, rather aggressive tone, definitely not "phartkantone" but definitely noticeable. GREAT pop under decel, the more aggressive versions almost sound like shotgun blasts, the less aggressive versions just have a nice burble-blap-blap. No time to write more but I may be able to get a pic and sound bite, just gonna take a few days due to professional commitments. (Yes, "boutique" is another word for "really small", but they'll be at MOTD...)