R56 JCW Upgrade review - Updated with second test drive.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Had a test drive in a cooper s with the new jcw engine upgrade kit on today. (thanks to pete in peter vardy for taking time out to let us thrash his demmo car). ;)

the kit has been installed on their demmo cooper s and it has only done about 200 miles so is still a very tight engine. But overall we were both a bit disappointed. There didn't seem to be much extra power, and very little change in exhaust note. Although We could tell there was an increase in torque. However it did seem to be not much improvement for £1200. Its a shame really cos Lenore and i were really looking forward to putting this kit on our car, now we are not sure. It's not available for the auto box yet, so i think we'll let the demmo car loosen up some, then maybe take it out again.

just thought I'd share.

a. :D


Update: Now test driven this car a second time and had a much better experience. See post number 12 (http://www.newminiscotland.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=148692&postcount=12) for more details.;)

[CoNs]

that sucks!

especially for £1200..

as you say, maybe when the car breaks in a bit, it might be a little more agressive:)

[Gismo]

What BHP increase do you get for your £1200

[Craig]

What BHP increase do you get for your £1200


they are alledging 18bhp, (up to 193bhp from what I understand) however as we know a Turbo S has been on a rolling road and made that figure without any mods.. :confused: :rolleyes:

[FergusM]

Does make you wonder what the JCW upgrade would get on a rolling road... has to be some imrpovement, but wonder how much.

I put an Alta panel filter in my car...possibly slightly noiser but think that was only change....

[japper]

I've had my Works tuning kit fitted since new ( 1st Sept. ) Now got 700miles on it. It is getting better as the miles rack up and the exhaust tone is deepening nicely too, but you have to have the window down to appreciate this as it's still really muted from the inside.

I test drove the demo some weeks ago with >1600 miles on it and this kit really frees up the revs at the top end. It screams through the redline now while still maintaing / improving on the torque from low down.

Just another 550 miles to go;)

[ELFMAN]

Hmmmmmm........ As Andy said, the standard S seems to have more power than MINI are letting on - shame the JCW doesn't immediately seem noticably quicker. 'Morego' Turbo S tested in 'Evo' gave BIG gains and they said it WAS easily faster than the standard one driven back to back. It's an ECU mod and costs about £590.00 I think (I could be wrong) and (allegedly) puts out 200+BHP and 220+ftlbs of torque - there's an exhaust for additional £'s which adds 11bhp and more Torque - so you maybe looking at about a grand for that lot compared to £1,200 for what Andy describes as 'disapponting'. I also HATE driving quiet cars!!!!! Still it's cheaper than 3K for my 210 JCW, but that 'works' and you get a supercharger whine thrown in! You pays yer money.......

[Gismo]

Let the warranty debates begin :rolleyes: :D

[AndyP & Lenore]

Let the warranty debates begin :rolleyes: :D

I know. Thats why this time we wanted to stick to official mini stuff. not that we had any problems with the last car..... But i think that more luck than anything.

[MINI William]

Had a test drive in a cooper s with the new jcw engine upgrade kit on today. (thanks to pete in peter vardy for taking time out to let us thrash his demmo car). ;)

Thats one demo NOT to buy then :D

[Clare1]

Our new JCW Demo goes on the Road tomorrow. Looking forward to trying out the new Kit. ;)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Our MINI was in Peter Vardy again today to have it's rear sun roof blind fixed (Eastern were supposed to do this weeks ago and only did the front one :rolleyes: ).

While we were there, we took advantage of having a couple of hours to kill and eye'd the JCW Demmo car (the one we took out and reviewed at the start of this thread. As you'll see from the first post, we were fairly underwhelmed by this kit and were a bit disappointed.

However...... it now has a thousand mile on the clock.:D

What a difference a thousand miles can make:cool:. We took the car out for a couple of hours and put it through it's paces. Both Lenore and I noticed immediately there was a massive increase in torque and power in the higher rev range especially. Honestly it was like chalk and cheese comparing our first test and this second test of the same car.

We were both still disappointed in the lack of exhaust tone, it is louder, but there's no extra burbling and no pops to speak of - especially while driving.

When we got back to Vardy's we got straight into our MINI and got onto the bypass and did a comparison, pulling away in the same locations, same road conditions. We immediately noticed our car was much slower in pulling away, it didn't feel as "torquey" - and I don't mean the village on the south coast - and most importantly, we noticed the power output dropped away significantly as the revs got to the 5,500 to 7,000 range. Whereas, in the JCW MINI the power output was noticeable right through to red line.

Now feel much happier about ordering one of these kits. Still need to wait for them to be launched for the auto gear box though.:mad:

A.:D

[Craig]

I said my piece on the phone earlier... I think you would get it and like the power, but miss the noise and end up wanting another exhaust, thereby wasting money.

get a different exhaust, air filter and remap for less than a grand and still get more horsepower.. :D

[AndyP & Lenore]

I said my piece on the phone earlier... I think you would get it and like the power, but miss the noise and end up wanting another exhaust, thereby wasting money.

get a different exhaust, air filter and remap for less than a grand and still get more horsepower.. :D

Remember we're £500 in credit with MINI just now. So the £1200 cost for a remap, exhaust and air filter is actually only £700.;)

However, I think we will end up doing "something" to get a better noise out of the exhaust. This may involve a trip to Stainless Creations or possibly a trip "down south". Not sure yet.

A.;)

[Gorbash12346]

hmmm well everyone who has driven them @ work reckons theres not a huge difference either.

the differences in parts are a diffent airbox, they change the exhaust manifold but we don't know why as there is to the naked eye no difference whatsoever in terms of port sizing, finish or shape (a mystery to me), the exhaust gets a new back box, beyond this it's a reprogramme to remap the ecu...

not my idea of £1200's worth of parts

[AndyP & Lenore]

hmmm well everyone who has driven them @ work reckons theres not a huge difference either.

the differences in parts are a diffent airbox, they change the exhaust manifold but we don't know why as there is to the naked eye no difference whatsoever in terms of port sizing, finish or shape (a mystery to me), the exhaust gets a new back box, beyond this it's a reprogramme to remap the ecu...

not my idea of £1200's worth of parts

Hmmmmmmmm

Quite a few "reviews" filtering through on MINI2 and they are for the most part - positive. Remember you get a new Air Filter too.

Out of interest, can you confirm; is it the manifold catalyst that is replaced. Or just the turbomanifold? Not even convinced I'm using the correct terminology there.:confused:

A.:D

[japper]

Hmmmmmmmm

Quite a few "reviews" filtering through on MINI2 and they are for the most part - positive. Remember you get a new Air Filter too.

Out of interest, can you confirm; is it the manifold catalyst that is replaced. Or just the turbomanifold? Not even convinced I'm using the correct terminology there.:confused:

A.:D

It's just the turbo mani and is just a material change to cope with extra heat. This is only for EU cars as apparently American market cars have always had this 'upgraded' mani. Hence the difference in price / fitting time quoted on NAM.

I have had the Works kit fitted since new ( 1st Sept ) and have now covered 1500 miles. The car is still a little tight and needs another 1k miles i think. The sound has increased / deepened over these miles but i understand people who complain it's too quiet. Surprisingly the best sound is reversing on VERY light throttle blips ( 1k revs ) at which it does pop / burble nicely.

Still wish i could select the non sport steering with the sport throttle though.

[AndyP & Lenore]

It's just the turbo mani and is just a material change to cope with extra heat. This is only for EU cars as apparently American market cars have always had this 'upgraded' mani. Hence the difference in price / fitting time quoted on NAM.

I have had the Works kit fitted since new ( 1st Sept ) and have now covered 1500 miles. The car is still a little tight and needs another 1k miles i think. The sound has increased / deepened over these miles but i understand people who complain it's too quiet. Surprisingly the best sound is reversing on VERY light throttle blips ( 1k revs ) at which it does pop / burble nicely.

Still wish i could select the non sport steering with the sport throttle though.

Japper, how do you find the power increase? Did you have a test in a non JCW R56? Do you have anything to compare it with?

A.

[japper]

Japper, how do you find the power increase? Did you have a test in a non JCW R56? Do you have anything to compare it with?

A.

Yeah i test drove the dealer demo before and after having the tuning kit fitted. Virtually all the 17ps increase is at the top which is not surprising as the max power peak went from 5500rpm to 6000rpm. So below 5500rpm there's really not that much difference, other than it breathes better and so revs more freely. I've only recently got enough miles on mine to give me the full use of the rev range. It does feel pretty rapid once you keep it above 5k constantly.

[Craig]

well, Andy, after driving my car, I hope you make the right choice... ;)

in your own words "there isn't much to choose between them"............. and that is just with an exhaust change.. :)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Craig your car is a beauty. No doubt about that. But the JCW kit does unquestionably give you more torque and power in the higher revs. More so than your exhaust does.

The way we are seeing it is that it is a new exhaust (albeit not as loud as we'd like - will look at that later), remap and air filter. All for £700.

A.;)

[Craig]

yeah, but you have to agree, it's still not worth the money for what you get... especially after finding out what they replace and the small increase in power compared to other products... (Morego, GTT, Alta etc etc) :confused:

[AndyP & Lenore]

yeah, but you have to agree, it's still not worth the money for what you get... especially after finding out what they replace and the small increase in power compared to other products... (Morego, GTT, Alta etc etc) :confused:

I know but we've been down that route before and it was a worry for two years I'm not prepared to repeat. The what if? scenario is just too worrying. I'd rather pay a wee bit more and get that iron clad warranty.:(

Although I accept that will be difficult for you to agree with considering the meeting you have tomorrow.:rolleyes: :eek: :confused:

A.:o

Edit: Not convinced it's not worth the money. Time will tell on that.;)

[ianking]

Andy, do you really drive the car hard enough to merit the £1200 for the upgrade. Your car does look the dogs danglies with the aero kit and nice wheels mind so I suppose if you have money to burn its about the only big accessory that you have left in the book.

But like some have said, is it really worth it. If it was me I would go to star performance and get a re-map and then stick in the K&N panel replacement. Prob cost £200 all in.

Up to you though as its your hard earned cash.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Andy, do you really drive the car hard enough to merit the £1200 for the upgrade. Your car does look the dogs danglies with the aero kit and nice wheels mind so I suppose if you have money to burn its about the only big accessory that you have left in the book.

But like some have said, is it really worth it. If it was me I would go to star performance and get a re-map and then stick in the K&N panel replacement. Prob cost £200 all in.

Up to you though as its your hard earned cash.

As I understand it a remap would be in the region of £500 ish. I know a K&N panel filter would be pennies in comparison, but I just don't want the risk of trying to argue with MINI Service guys that "the aftermarket air filter did not cause my turbo to blow". I think you'll agree, so far we've all had enough trouble getting them to agree to fix genuine manufacturer faults without throwing the possibility of after-market created faults into the bargain.:confused:

A.:D

[ianking]

I suppose thats true. Especially as it seems as though these R56s could be a bit 'fragile' under the bonnet with all the tractor sounds and fuel pumps and water sounds etc.

[N12 JLK]

speak of your own car Kingy, our is fine. Would like a bit more bhp though and a bit more of a elfman sound;)

[Scottie]

As I understand it a remap would be in the region of £500 ish. I know a K&N panel filter would be pennies in comparison, but I just don't want the risk of trying to argue with MINI Service guys that "the aftermarket air filter did not cause my turbo to blow". I think you'll agree, so far we've all had enough trouble getting them to agree to fix genuine manufacturer faults without throwing the possibility of after-market created faults into the bargain.:confused:

A.:D


Do you really need to upgrade the car performance at all.??? Is it something you really need and can you justify.??

Or is it a "ScottieCoop" syndrome. It is out there and you must have it no matter that you really don't need it. Afterall is it that important how quick you get to 60 in day to day driving.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Do you really need to upgrade the car performance at all.??? Is it something you really need and can you justify.??

Or is it a "ScottieCoop" syndrome. It is out there and you must have it no matter that you really don't need it. Afterall is it that important how quick you get to 60 in day to day driving.

A bit of both Fi.

Scottiecoop syndrome right enough.:o We probably don't need the extra power, but we do want the extra power. And TBH, we have noticed that our R56 has less power than our R53 - for obvious reasons.:o We just want that power back.:cool:

A.:D

[Scottie]

A bit of both Fi.

Scottiecoop syndrome right enough.:o We probably don't need the extra power, but we do want the extra power. And TBH, we have noticed that our R56 has less power than our R53 - for obvious reasons.:o We just want that power back.:cool:

A.:D


fair enough I can't say much more. If you want it and can afford it then bugger it go get it fitted.

[vintageb3]

A bit of both Fi.

Scottiecoop syndrome right enough.:o We probably don't need the extra power, but we do want the extra power. And TBH, we have noticed that our R56 has less power than our R53 - for obvious reasons.:o We just want that power back.:cool:

A.:D

Sell you a silver box with black plugs hanging out of it if you want?:eek:

mark

[AndyP & Lenore]

Sell you a silver box with black plugs hanging out of it if you want?:eek:

mark

Is it not going on your car then?

[vintageb3]

Don't know Andy...Dastek are the only ones that can deal with this chip...and I don't trust them to be honest. Its a gut feeling just from contact with them.

I may decide to get them to dyno the car...but not just now.

I know you had great service...but that was sometime ago.

I think things have changed.

mark

[AndyP & Lenore]

Don't know Andy...Dastek are the only ones that can deal with this chip...and I don't trust them to be honest. Its a gut feeling just from contact with them.

I may decide to get them to dyno the car...but not just now.

I know you had great service...but that was sometime ago.

I think things have changed.

mark

It seems that may be the case Mark. Shame really.:(

[vintageb3]

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1785337#post1785337

FYI

mark

[AndyP & Lenore]

Thanks for that Mark. Good to hear further positive feedback about the kit.

A.:D

[N12 JLK]

good review