Now that I'm reading this I do recall a different noise back there... caught it last night pulling into the driveway when the music was low and the windows were down... I'll look into that first thing this morning... Thanks!!

Edit 10:15 AM... Just went out with my plumbers pliers and bent the tabs up slightly and now I found the noise... Thanks Blackcoog!!

 

Well, I just spent a couple of hours in the evening heat fitting my exhausts. It isn't too bad a job - would be easier if the Mina pipes were actually round! I found a floor jack invaluable for taking the weight of the muffler.

So then I went for a spin. Crikey. As someone who definitely finds the standard exhaust too quiet, I am not sure this is not a step too far. It adds noise mostly at the low end, but still plenty at the high end. It is quite conspicuous - I am not entirely sure that it isn't blowing a leak, but I took a look at the join when I got back and couldn't see any soot. There is certainly no sign of a leak at tickover.

I found it hard to center the pipes. It seems that they just find their own position, with the only real adjustment being how far they stick out. One one side they are quite close to the bumper, but on the other there is plenty of clearance. Despite bending the tabs, it is making contact on one side so I need to do a bit more work. I can hear a brief vibration when pulling away, which must be that. Looks like I need to drop the exhaust to get at the tab though, so I will leave it until the weekend.

My biggest concern is the heat that was generated in the rear bumper around the pipes. The plastic was hot to the touch even after this short run. i am really concerned about this - but I never really checked how hot it got with the standard exhaust. Nevertheless, this seems like too much heat to me. The pipes are not contacting - the heat is the same both sides, so presumably this is "normal" with this exhaust.

So the jury is out. Too noisy and with a worrying level of heat soak. I am already thinking of taking it off...

 

Another thing to note is that the tips seem to pick up a lot of rocks/dirt which flys up from the rear tires and gets trapped between the two tips. I wish the wheel well guard came down further to block road debris. I'm going to look into making some small bracket.

 

I noticed the little stones after the first day... If you come up with something, please post.

 

Lots of vibration on the way to work this morning. The tips seem to have "settled" by resting against the rear bumper. Going to have to start from scratch I think. Any tricks to getting these things positioned properly?

I too noticed how the whole muffler area is quite exposed to the rear wheel. No wonder the OEM muffler wasn't polished!

Anyone with a stock XFR care to comment what the heat in the bumper around the tail pipes is like as standard, after a run?

 

Mine seem to be fine far as heat or vibration. Is it the 09 models only having this issue? They are much different

 

I'd say ditch the cheap t-bolt intake clamps and get some real exhaust clamps on order. Those t-bolt clamps will pinch the exhaust and make it difficult to remove down the road. That should also help prevent the exhaust from shifting.

 

Yep, I was going to drop by Autozone and pick up some wider clamps tonight. Any brand/type that you would recommend? I was just going to go for something that looked like the OEM ones, at about $15 each.

BigCat09 - mine is an '11 XFR

 

I don't know if the size is correct but here is the type of clamp I'd probably order:

 

On mine the drivers side settled into the perfect spot and the passenger side moved to one side. I loosened the clamp, repositioned it and then cranked on the clamp, yes, it did start to bend in the pipe but it has stayed in position for a couple weeks now.

I also had to bend up the little tabs above the inner pipes on each side, it was very minor and actually slipped my mind when I wrote my initial impression of the exhaust.

I have mine positioned with the tips as far out as possible, the rear hanger bar on the Mina is quite long and was touching the metal bumper support so I had to push the exhaust in a bit. I was thinking of pulling the exhaust off and cutting a part of the rear hanger bar off to shorten it but then didn't bother.

All in all I am very happy with the Mina exhaust.

 

Well, mine has been removed after just a day or so. Decided that I couldn't live with the noise at the low end - too boomy for me. So if anyone wants to make me an offer, PM me. It is a decent product and is good value even at the new price (obviously, I will take somewhat of a hit to move it on!). It comes down to personal preference really, plenty of people seem to like the noise characteristics, it just isn't for me.

 

That is a shame, you know the sound changes as the muffler 'burns' in a bit. It's not for everyone I guess.

 

Did the "no mufflers" version sound as awesome in person as on the video? Makes me think that I need a set of cutouts...

 

It sounded great! . If I wanted it loud I would delete the stock mufflers and just run a pair of resonators and tips.

 

While I was poking around under my 2011 XF 5.0L (looking at my new mina exhaust) I noticed that my car has an H-pipe after the resonators. That may be a stupid observation but I haven't seen any comments about the stock exhaust setup coming with an H-pipe. Is it standard across XF models?

 

Steve in SoCal - I don't recall seeing an H pipe on my 2011 XFR.

09XFSuper - yeah it is a shame, but it was worth a try. I just really struggled with the biggest sound change being in the low revs. What I really want is something that sounds almost stock and then really opens up as the revs rise. I guess you have to pay $$$$ for that kind of thing though - perhaps there is nothing available off the shelf even. I am not sure what the Quiksilver or Spires exhausts from the UK really sound like, but they are too pricey to take a punt on. I shifted the Mina on in a couple of days and only lost a small amount - it was worth a go.

Also, I wasn't overly happy with the fit - the tips looked lovely but are slightly too big for the opening in my opinion. A professional installer might have been able to get it right - if I had been happy with the sound I would have persevered!

 

Reading all of these experiences, really has me worried. I ordered mine, and it is going to be delivered in a couple of days. I was going to take it to my Jaguar dealer who indicated that they can do it for me. Will they be able to use Jaguar exhaust clamps that they may have in stock on the Mina system?

 

I used the clamps that came with it, they are fine, don't worry, just have it installed and enjoy!

 

As one or two others have suggested, I would recommend getting some wider clamps - the narrow ones supplied do pinch the pipe a little. The standard exhaust has the clamps spot welded to the pipe, so can't be re-used, but I am sure the Jag dealer will have something suitable, or you could pick some up from a parts dealer.

 

Sorry - just seeing this. Been slammed with work, school (condensed summer semester for my MBA), and getting ready for our first kid (Oct. 4th). Please let me know if I can further elaborate on the exhaust setup or the exhaust mods I made to my previous '09 XFS.