Exhausted fun

[Jasonking]

Hey everybody, could anyone point me at complete exhaust kit for standard mini 1000 please? Either retaining stock manifold or replacing with an LCB or such? Mild steel or stainless, ideally retaining the std HS2 carb for now if possible, what are the alternatives/availability/pros and cons etc? Cheers all.

[InnoCooperExport]

As you say your options are myriad. For one part it's easy, your choice of exhaust will not influence the carburettor as they are separate manifolds. As for mild Vs stainless that's a very personal thing. I often find SS sounds a bit tinnier but it is much more durable. That said, I doubt your mini will see as much wetness and winter road salt as a daily might so mild steel will still last you a good long while.

A good reference on what is "best" for a 998 mini is probably found in Vizard's yellow bible or Keith Calver will have written a piece on it. I went for a 1.75" Maniflow lcb and single box centre exit on my 1300 Cooper, mostly because it was closest to the OE fitment at the time. I probably wouldn't go bigger than 1.75" on a 998 and would maybe even think of going smaller.

MiniSpares are my preferred outlet, and I paid less there than I would have direct from Maniflow because of some sale or TMF+ discount I had at the time.

[mab01uk]

RC40 would be my choice, originally recommended many years ago by David Vizard in tests, lots of fitting/future upgrade options with a standard manifold or LCB, single box or quieter twin box/mild steel/stainless steel options, etc.

DOWNPIPE WITH STANDARD NECK FLANGE TO FIT RC40
This magic pipe will allow you to upgrade to the larger bore twin box RC40 without having to change from your existing standard exhaust manifold on 998/1100cc engines. Ends where a LCB would normally finish:-
https://www.minispares.com/ldp1-downpip ... o-fit-rc40

TWIN BOX RC40 EXHAUST.
Mini Spares genuine RC40 system has justifiably earned the reputation of the best exhaust ever made for the Mini:-
https://www.minispares.com/rc40-twin-box-rc40-exhaust

RC40 Classic range:-
https://www.minispares.com/exhaust/22/2205/

[Jasonking]

Thanks for that guys, that looks like the kind of thing I’m looking for, is there any power/torque increase with the RC40 twin box system retaining the stock manifold and carb needle in HS2?

[1071 S]

You won't find much by replacing the mufflers/tail pipe (RC40) but you can add a Maniflow (which is what I used - I'm sure there are others) "Cooper" style manifold along with a standard Metro alloy intake and HS4 (should be plenty of good second hand ones available as they were fitted to 998s) for a bit of a boost.

I bought my "ordinary" (ie non SS) RC40 at IMM40 and later purchased a replacement ...which is still in the shed waiting for the old one to give up..

Cheers, Ian

[timmy201]

If you are looking for this to improve your performance then you should be planning on checking the fuelling and/or replacing the needle.

I’d say the best “bang for the buck” on a 1000cc engine is a “Stage 1 kit” from Minispares etc along with a bigger HS4 carb. Get it properly tuned and make sure the ignition system is also tuned and it’ll go along well

[InnoCooperExport]

On a sidenote to this, there's been some chat about cracking of the manifold. Is it worth fitting a flexi joint between the Y-piece and the rest of the pipe? Or am I overthinking things?

[850RS]

I race a 998 mini (w/ dcoe40 carb) and run the maniflow LCB and a single box rc40 and I get great power with this setup. If you are running the rubber couplings or the ql5000s you’ll need to either reshape/dent the header for clearance or get the header that is specifically made for the rubber coupling cars.


Here is the header I run-
https://www.minispares.com/c-aeg365-man ... b-maniflow

This is the rubber coupling header-
https://www.minispares.com/c-aeg362-man ... -couplings

Here is the single center exit box I run-
https://www.minispares.com/c-ara332sb-m ... ust-system