Alta Exhaust 2.5" V2, 2006 MINI Cooper S

July 20, 2009

Introduction
Hopefully this write up of my purchase and installation of an Alta exhaust will be helpful to someone. Even if you are installing a different exhaust, you might find something of interest in here. Enjoy your MINI.

Summary
If you want the short version of this article, here it is ... before settling on an exhaust, try to hear it in person. Plan on how you will get the old exhaust off. The 2 nuts by the cat. are the hardest to remove. It might be best to have a shop take those off for you. Make sure you have all the parts before starting. Make sure you have all the correct tools. The bolts/nuts from Alta are not metric. You will need a 7/16 deep socket for the V-bands. They give you one Alan wrench, but you will also need an 1/8" one. Follow the instructions. Take time doing the alignment as there are a ton of adjustments available to you. If putting on the battery heat shield, it will need to be modified so do it a few days later after the exhaust has been heat cycled and has had a chance to settle (and maybe re-adjusted). In general I like the Alta exhaust but I have some concerns that will require more time before I can make a final decision.

In this picture, the inside of the pipes are bright and shiny. What looks like discoloration is caused by reflections (same as the red seen at upper right part of the picture).

Research
I read all I could about different exhausts for the MCS and decided to go with the Alta. I couldn't find any exhaust manufacture that had a dyno chart comparing a stock system with the only change being their exhaust. Dyno comparisons with an exhaust plus other things are completely useless if all you want to know about is the effects of the exhaust. Why don't companies provide that data?

In the end, I liked the Alta for the single sided design and being very light (weight reduction is always good.). The video's I heard sounded good (given the variety of sound quality of cameras.) The price (with discount) was good for a MINI exhaust (why are our exhausts so expensive?) So I figured I'd give it a shot.

One things I should have done is to have studied the differences in muffler types. The main two are Absorption (glass pack, or can be packed with something other than fiberglass) and diffusion (chambered.) They do sound different and they age differently. The Alta is of the glass pack variety.

I was concerned with some on line comments about the Alta. Rattling, one tip having more carbon buildup than the other and durability regarding how it holds up to the elements (external) and to hard use (internal.) stood out as concerns. As with everything on the Internet, you take it for what its worth, make a decision and cross your fingers. I crossed my fingers.

Order
I order the Alta 2.5" v2 exhaust, polished twin tip on 6/22/09. I was notified it would be delayed and I received it on 7/9/09. The instruction were dated (a number that sure looks like a date) 07282008. On the parts list was a heat shield, 02-03 rear hanger, 04+ hanger. None of these 3 were in the box. I figured the heat shield was probably not provided anymore and I didn't car about the 02-03 hanger but I needed the 04+ hanger. After emailing and calling, I was told that a hanger would be sent out to me. All that communication happened on the same day. That's good customer service. I received the hanger on 7/16/09.

Removing the Old Exhaust
Regardless of what exhaust you buy, the biggest problem is getting the old one off. Start working on that ahead of time. See if you can loosen the bolts at the cat. If you can't, hit them with some Liquid Wrench or the equivalent and try again later. If they don't budge, plan on cutting them off or going to a shop to see if they can loosen them or cut them off. If they are broken or sawed off, you can't reattach the stock unit with a bolt/nut combination without removing the broken studs from the stock pipe. The best solution (if someone else removes those nuts for you) is to take the car in the morning you are going to change the exhaust. If they break or cut off the studs, just drive home carefully (since the pipes will be disconnected) and start working on the car. You may want to ask them to remove the gasket so it doesn't get messed up as the exhaust gas leaks by it or just so it doesn't fall off on your drive home. You will need to reuse that gasket if you don't have a new replacement.

If you decide to cut the studs off yourself, once again, plan ahead. If all you can do is get the car up on jack stands, a Sawzall probably won't fit under the car to reach up to the top bolt. I sawed off the top one by hand (after a point I could twist/break if off), and the bottom using a Jigsaw with a blade made to cut metal. It was tough using the Jigsaw, but I could hold it against the pipe to minimize how much it danced around. This was a big waste of time. If I am ever confronted with this situation again, I will take the car somewhere to have those nuts (and now bolts) removed.

What remains of the sawed off studs. I am told that the studs can be removed (somehow) and a new ones purchased so the stock exhaust can be re-used.

This is after the install was completed. To the left is the front of the car and the catalytic converter, to the right, the Alta resonator. Where there is a bolt, on the factory system is a stud. You can cut it off since you don't need it for the new exhaust. The bolt opposite of this one is on the other side and up high where it is harder to get to.

Tips
The tips are double walled so that should keep the heat away from the plastic bumper. The tips are not "attached", they are part of the piping, therefore you can't put on a different tip. I wasn't planning on swapping tips so that was no big deal for me.

There is no baffle between the tips, so the natural flow is out the lefts side pipe. That is why discoloration happens more on that side. Unfortunately I am already starting to see that happening. I'll have to wait and see if it evens out or gets worse.

V-band
I thought that the v-band was just a new "band connector", but it is more than that. The pipe end is actually made different and makes up the whole v-band connection.

Here the V-band is loose. When tightened, the gap on top is closed up.

Resonator
The resonator is straight through with perforations inside with sound deadening material, a typical "glass pack" design. The rear muffler is probably the same (I am guessing due to its shape). Because of the bends in the pipes of the rear section, you can't look through it.

Install
The instructions recommend having someone help with the install. I agree. I really could have used a 3rd hand but still, one person can do it.

The instructions for installing are spot on. The only change I made was to install the 1st section, then the 3rd and then the second. If you install the 1st, then the 2nd, you need to support the 2nd while you install the 3rd. By doing 1st and 3rd, I was able to install the 2nd section between those two so no extra support was needed.

Fit
Follow the instructions and tighten up everything little by little, making sure things are being place correctly (were you want them). I was surprised and worried about how little clearance there is between the resonator and the heat shield (at some points.) Also, the resonator pipe ends right by the end of the exhaust plate. That could be an issue with the v-band. Be careful with how you position that V-band. If the front pipe were just a bit longer, that would take car of things. I put the v-band off to the side rather than hanging down where it was too close to the exhaust plate.

I couldn't get the 2 set screws on the rear hanger tight enough and so the muffler would drop down a bit. This was because the Alan wrench kept slipping out even before I put even a slight amount of pressure on it. I had 3 different Allen wrenches do that. The heads of the set screws just weren't very good. I went out and bought 2 more set screws at the hardware store. I got them a bit longer to make them easier to work with. Those went on well and tightened up appropriately.

I was able to get my tips centered, but after a few heat cycles and with the exhaust settling in, I had to slightly readjust the tips, but only by moving the tips (not any other part of the system.) That was nice and easy because it could be done with the car on the ground.

This part of the exhaust looks too low, but when I raise it I get horrible rattles from somewhere up front. The resonator is such a tight fit, I really can't see how this part could move up without causing other problems up front. Well at least it isn't dragging on the ground giving off sparks (ha, ha.)

Now that the exhaust is stable and rattle free, I notice that you can easily move the exhaust form side to side. This doesn't happen while driving (as far as I can tell), but it can move much more than the stock exhaust could. I believe this is because of the single sided design. The rear most hanger controls side to side movement and with only one side you don't have the extra help from the driver's side hanger. Another cause (although minor) is that the bar on the 1st section (that attaches to the mounting plate) has no ends on it as does the stock one, so it offers no side to side support at all.

Battery Heat Shield
I decided to re-install the battery box heat shield. I had to bend the corner and bend the part by the tips down. I'd wait to do this until a few day later in case you make other adjustments to the exhaust. My heat shield is bent down a bit farther than it needs to be because I adjusted prior to my final exhaust adjustment.

Besides seeing how the heat shield is bent away form the muffler (top right) you can also see how the exhaust (where the V-band connects) looks a bit too low.

Sound
The best I can recommend on selecting an exhaust is to hear it in person. I was not able to do that. The sound is louder than I expected. Not so loud you can't hear the radio, but loud enough to draw attention. Idle sounds very good and not too loud. Low RPM 1000-2500 sound a bit "woofy" or airy and is a bit louder than I wanted. Above that it gets louder but sounds less airy and there is more engine sound. At 5000 and above (under load,) the car sounds like a jet. This is the same as the stock sound except much much louder. At that RPM, I don't mind the volume.

Leaving off the gas gives the most wonderful sound of burbling and popping that you can imagine and at just the correct volume. I didn't know so much of that "stuff" was going on. You know how you are tempted to gun it under a bridge to hear your exhaust? I do the opposite. I lift to hear all the burbling and stuff. Truly the best sound coming out of this exhaust system.

The car gets louder as the exhaust warms up. I hope over time (with age) that it doesn't get any louder.

Suggestions For Improvements
Disclaimer; I am not an exhaust designer and this is the first exhaust I've ever installed. One of Alta's first instructions says "... this kit should only be installed by a person experienced in the installation ... of MINI Cooper Exhaust systems." I conveniently ignored that part. So here are my layman suggestions.

Include 2 more collar clamps for use on the 1st section at the support plate.

Add a hanger off of the 3rd section that would go over to the drives side rear most hanger to stabilize the sideways movement of the exhaust.

The black system is more expensive than the polished one. Could the price of the exhaust be reduced if there was a non-polished one available? Whether that could be done or not, it would be nice to make the selection of the tips (polished or black) an option. I would have probably gone for just black tips.

Conclusion
I am cautiously happy with the exhaust. If the car doesn't become a "cop magnet", the exhaust doesn't get louder, doesn't develop any rattles and it lasts (internally and externally) then I can say I am happy with it. Wow, I'm pretty demanding, aren't I? Anyway, I just need more time to see what happens.

Follow Up
I hope to do a follow up to this after spending a longer time with the exhaust. As of this writing it has only been 4 days. I also plan to post a video of a comparison of my car, stock exhaust to Alta exhaust with no other changes. I think a comparison may be more helpful than if I would just put up a video of the Alta.

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