[roland2003]

Hi Guys,
A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are 4000 words.

Pic 1) Shows the GT Tuning Header & Cat seperated. This allows the user fast, easy and cost effective cat replacement.It also allows an optional 'de-cat pipe' to be quickly fitted in
lieu of the cat for track days etc.AFAIK only GTT offer this feature.

Pic 2) Note the entrance port shape and size.It is matched almost exactly to the OEM gasket, maintaining the same cross sectional area as the 1.530" primaries, with gradual
transition to 'round 'over the first 50mm. A round port at the flange or even an under size
'rectangular' port is no good. Only GTT achieves this accurate match.

Pic 3) Shows the Header and Cat bolted together (comes with a gasket). We use TIG welding thoughout, this is stronger and neater than MIG welding used by our competitors.
All the tubing is of a lower weight 1.2mm wall (others use 1.6mm) in S304 Stainless Steel.
We use a 2.5" diameter secondary pipe in preference to 2.25" as this allows us to produce our 4 into 1 collector with zero flattening of the primaries.Secondly it is a perfect match for most Cat back systems which are more commonly 2.5" entrance.

Pic 4) Note the very short & tight radius bends on the stock Header compared to the GTT one. Even worse is the severe flattening of the 4 pipes where they join into 1.As well as losing power it also results in a lot higher temps at the exhaust valves! (Not good)

Regards Roland GT Tuning

[Perm]

Roland,

What is the cost ?

What estimate do you give for increase in BHP ?

What does it sound like vs stock or Milltek ?

Many thanks

Perm

[roland2003]

Hi Perm,
I have 5 off left at a 'mini 2 special price' of £399+ vat (plus P&P),
After that they are £459+ vat. Even if it were £499+ VAT it would offer far better value than anything else out there.
BHP depends very much on the power& mods that the car has to start with.
I think 8-14bhp is a fair 'increase bracket' though.
Sound wise,slightly louder than stock,similar dB level to Miltek I would say.It will be louder
with the substitute optional 'de-cat' pipe.
Regards Roland Gt Tuning

[Perm]

Roland,

Three more question......

1) How much would you charge to fit ?

2) Is it compatible with a Milltek Cat Back exhaust system ?

3) Any concerns using it with a MCS with BBR 220 conversion ?

Thanks

Perm

[roland2003]

1) £75+vat to fit.
2) Fits with Miltek Cat back ok.
3) Will work very well with this, and defitately increase power.
Regards Roland Gt Tuning

[roland2003]

Heres a couple more shots ,one shows the '4 into1' collector close up.
Regarding the cat it is a brand new 120cpsi core design giving less backpressure than the
usual 200 cpsi units. Also the new latest type metal substrate coating does a better job of cleaning up the gasses at the same time, preventing P0420 'cat below efficiency' fault code appearing after as little as 20-30,000miles.
Regards Roland Gt Tuning

[northandy]

Quote: Originally Posted by roland2003

Hi Guys,
A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are 4000 words.

Pic 1) Shows the GT Tuning Header & Cat seperated. This allows the user fast, easy and cost effective cat replacement.It also allows an optional 'de-cat pipe' to be quickly fitted in
lieu of the cat for track days etc.AFAIK only GTT offer this feature.

Pic 2) Note the entrance port shape and size.It is matched almost exactly to the OEM gasket, maintaining the same cross sectional area as the 1.530" primaries, with gradual
transition to 'round 'over the first 50mm. A round port at the flange or even an under size
'rectangular' port is no good. Only GTT achieves this accurate match.

Pic 3) Shows the Header and Cat bolted together (comes with a gasket). We use TIG welding thoughout, this is stronger and neater than MIG welding used by our competitors.
All the tubing is of a lower weight 1.2mm wall (others use 1.6mm) in S304 Stainless Steel.
We use a 2.5" diameter secondary pipe in preference to 2.25" as this allows us to produce our 4 into 1 collector with zero flattening of the primaries.Secondly it is a perfect match for most Cat back systems which are more commonly 2.5" entrance.

Pic 4) Note the very short & tight radius bends on the stock Header compared to the GTT one. Even worse is the severe flattening of the 4 pipes where they join into 1.As well as losing power it also results in a lot higher temps at the exhaust valves! (Not good)

Regards Roland GT Tuning

Looks like a lovely piece of kit... shame my mini is sold as of tomorrow

[Andy@Ross-Tech.com]

Looks sharp! Reminds me of bike frames. Any dyno plots showing before and after swap of the header?

[roland2003]

Cheers Andy,will dyno soon ,our car already had one cat taken out of the OE manifold,
and a lot of fettling though.
Regards Roland

[MAXIM]

roland you have PM

[Andy@Ross-Tech.com]

Thanks! Also wondering if you have tested using the race pipe versus using the cat to see if there is a difference in performance?

[robbo mcs]

Quote: Originally Posted by roland2003

Hi Guys,
A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are 4000 words.

Pic 1) Shows the GT Tuning Header & Cat seperated. This allows the user fast, easy and cost effective cat replacement.It also allows an optional 'de-cat pipe' to be quickly fitted in
lieu of the cat for track days etc.AFAIK only GTT offer this feature.

Pic 2) Note the entrance port shape and size.It is matched almost exactly to the OEM gasket, maintaining the same cross sectional area as the 1.530" primaries, with gradual
transition to 'round 'over the first 50mm. A round port at the flange or even an under size
'rectangular' port is no good. Only GTT achieves this accurate match.

Pic 3) Shows the Header and Cat bolted together (comes with a gasket). We use TIG welding thoughout, this is stronger and neater than MIG welding used by our competitors.
All the tubing is of a lower weight 1.2mm wall (others use 1.6mm) in S304 Stainless Steel.
We use a 2.5" diameter secondary pipe in preference to 2.25" as this allows us to produce our 4 into 1 collector with zero flattening of the primaries.Secondly it is a perfect match for most Cat back systems which are more commonly 2.5" entrance.

Pic 4) Note the very short & tight radius bends on the stock Header compared to the GTT one. Even worse is the severe flattening of the 4 pipes where they join into 1.As well as losing power it also results in a lot higher temps at the exhaust valves! (Not good)

Regards Roland GT Tuning

Hi Roland,

Very impressive piece of work

The one thing that concerns me is how far back the flex is. I have used various custom headers on the track, and with many I have had problems with cracking. This seems to be due to excessive forwards and backwards movement of the engine under load, due partly to the terrible stock engine mounts. Mini changed the engine mounts for 04 production cars, due to problems with the mounts. Even using different bushing materials the engine moves a lot on the track.

I used headers with a a flex back near the cat like yours, and they kept cracking around the point of the 4-1 join. I think that is why the OEM setup has the flex so far forwards.

Have you run this setup under serious track load??? I'm interested in your thoughts on this

BTW, thanks for all the work you are putting into the mini , and for helping people out on the mini2 boards.

Cheers

Robbo

[roland2003]

Hi Robbo, Thanks for the comments.
The reason the flexi is far back, is to maximise the length of ,& straighten the primaries
for better flow.Therefore the flexi joint used not only allows 'side to side' flex,but its
'concertina inner section' allows tension or compression to occur aswell. This is important as it is this 'in & out action' that will occur most. We have used this type of setup (not Mini) on a car we are using in the British Rally Championship,and has never cracked.
This is also one of the reasons why we have chosen to use TIG welding aswell,as is much stronger than 'MIG'
Best Regards Roland.

[supercoopers]

All,

I've just nabbed one of these GTT headers for my own car! It's a top piece of kit, well-priced (compared to the Milltek, which also can wear through its cats every 30-40K without the option for replacement!), is lightweight and comes with excellent build quality! Brum brum!

Henry

[GTT 280]

That's the first time i saw a picture of the OEM manifold - Errgh
I neeeeeeeeeed the gtt one fitted right this secondo.

I live in the northwest - where is the closest to get this fitted today ?

[NearlyNN]

Hey Robbo you got me thinking there about where the flex section is, since I'm getting the Madness header/straight pipe this week. Check this picture out and tell me what you think: http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=166 It looks like it is farther forward than the one above, but hard to tell.

[robbo mcs]

Quote: Originally Posted by NearlyNN

Hey Robbo you got me thinking there about where the flex section is, since I'm getting the Madness header/straight pipe this week. Check this picture out and tell me what you think: http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=166 It looks like it is farther forward than the one above, but hard to tell.

Hi,

The flex position in the madness unit looks similar to Roland's and also similar to the position in the unit I was previously using.

I went through 3 headers with various problems before sorting it out. Mine kept cracking between the 4-1 and the flex pipe. Each time the crack was in a slightly different position. I know of one other local miniracer who had the same problem, and went through multiple headers. Now I have modified the engine mounts, which has reduced the engine movement. Also, I have a custom made header that has a ball type joint that allows much more flexibility. The other guy ended up importing a Japanese header with ball type joint, and that solved his problems as well, as far as I know.

I am not saying that these problems will necessarily occur, but it something to be aware of and keep and eye on. Also, the failures only ever occurred on the racetrack, never with street driving.

BTW, I also had some problems with flex tubing at one stage, actually burning and melting the flex, but that was fixed by changing to a different type.

Otherwise the car is virtually bulletproof and is running very strongly after a huge amount of tracktime and rallies

Also, you will love the sound of the headers and straight through pipe

Cheers

Robbo

[NearlyNN]

Robbo thanks for the response. I will watch for it. Do you have polyurethane engine bushings? I do, just wondering if that will help.

Glad to hear your season is going well. We're getting close to beginning up here. Looking at some fun events. Here's one for you to ship over for www.borderchallenge.com Hey, I might need a co-driver. Have all those warrants for your arrest in the States been taken care of so you can visit. Uh, just kidding.

[robbo mcs]

Quote: Originally Posted by NearlyNN

Robbo thanks for the response. I will watch for it. Do you have polyurethane engine bushings? I do, just wondering if that will help.

Glad to hear your season is going well. We're getting close to beginning up here. Looking at some fun events. Here's one for you to ship over for www.borderchallenge.com Hey, I might need a co-driver. Have all those warrants for your arrest in the States been taken care of so you can visit. Uh, just kidding.

Hi,

I just had a look at the Border Challenge, that looks like a good reason to come over stateside If only I could get those warrants cleared

Seriously, it looks like a good event. Enjoy yourself

I have 3 closed road tarmac rallies on my calender for this year.

I just finished the Mount Buller Sprint recently. This was the best event I have done in the car so far. An awesome road, 16km with 1km elevation and 140 corners (all with navigator and full rally pace notes). The course is repeated 8x over the weekend

Coming up I also have Targa Tasmania This is probably one of the premier closed road tarmac rally events for street cars in the world

Later in the year I have East Coast Targa

I also have a few other minor rallies planned, plus a full season of circuit racing in the BMW club supersprints

That should keep me busy and test the reliability of the car It should also test my budget and my wifes patience to the limit

BTW in my experience so far, tarmac rallies are much, much kinder mechanically on the car than circuit racing. However, the danger level steps up significantly, which is worth bearing in mind.

Also, I do have polyurethane engine bushings, which have significantly improved things.

Cheers

Robbo

PS : Sorry, this is getting a bit off the topic of headers

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by NearlyNN

Robbo thanks for the response. I will watch for it. Do you have polyurethane engine bushings? I do, just wondering if that will help.

Glad to hear your season is going well. We're getting close to beginning up here. Looking at some fun events. Here's one for you to ship over for www.borderchallenge.com Hey, I might need a co-driver. Have all those warrants for your arrest in the States been taken care of so you can visit. Uh, just kidding.

Just a thought Norm, and maybe it'll get confirmed here, but can't you change to the newer engine mounts?
I've looked at the newer ones and the mounting points appear to be there on the older cars (like ours).
Anybody know for sure if this is possible?