jcw or gp? cant decide

[bullet]

am wanting to get my first mini and would appreciate your opinions on the models that im interested in,the gp or a late jcw,what would you go for and why,what to look out for when viewing and the benefits or disadvantages of either model,cheers guys :D

[mark1984]

the gp every time looks nicer, goes faster, handles better and like ali says its a ltd edition so always easyier to sell on when that time comes.

[stoney]

ok depends on what you want to do are you wanting to mod it or keep it standard ??

if you are going down the moding route i would just get a JCW if you are happy with the way rhe car is then i would go for a GP i have the GP and love it :thumbs up: but i dont think its a car you should do a lot of mods to a few little things are ok but nothing major IMO

[Big Gordy]

Don't know about the 'looks nicer' bit :hand: (Never really liked the wheels or the grey with the red mirrors but hey that's just me :p ) Its certainly seems to go quite well :smilewinkgrin:

[EcosseGP]

I'd go GP all the way but them I'm biased. If you bought a JCW you'd end up wishing you bought the GP. If like me you're happy having no back seats (i'd be happy only having z drivers seat) then it's the GP all the way. The car just makes you grin looking at it or driving it. It's not fastest thing on 4 wheels but it sounds great & certainly gets it's fair share of "stares" ..

[Craig]

As others have said.... A JCW if your intending on tinkering, if not get a GP as they are I think the best drivers mini ever produced. :thumbs up:

[zimbo]

...Never really liked the wheels or the grey with the red mirrors but hey that's just me :p

Come on now Gordy, it's not grey it's THUNDER BLUE :rolleyes::lol: sheesh what are you like. Be a GP for me if I had the money

[EcosseGP]

Thunder blue in some light battleship grey in other !!

[N16SHP]

Apart from the alloys, it would be the GP for me also. I think as long as you are tasteful with the mods, then it's fine. I do recall GP Billy putting on a different set of alloys for winter (I think) and also Ryan K and both looks pretty sweet IMO and finished off the GP.

[Stewart]

I’m probably the worst on here to voice my opinion as I don’t Mod or drive a performance Mini.

But for me it would be the GP for no other reason in the back of my mind I’d still be thinking “You know what this thing is still up there with the best and is still the Bonkers Mini of the family” I think an older Works is always going to be an older works but the right GP kept mint will always be that wee bit special if that makes any sense…..

[SuperCooperS]

I like the option of having and being able to use back seats.. even though the GP is awesome and good for a mad toy.. I like the choice of being able to have a few folk in the same car for road trips and camping etc... but if purely bought for having fun or for a second car then it would be the GP

[stoney]

I like the option of having and being able to use back seats.. even though the GP is awesome and good for a mad toy.. I like the choice of being able to have a few folk in the same car for road trips and camping etc... but if purely bought for having fun or for a second car then it would be the GP


Can not fit much camping stuff in the back of a mini :lol:

I have winter wheels for my Gp and as I said it IMO if he wants to get a Gp and mod it that's fine but why not save your self around 3k and get a s works and mod that that's the way I see it any way

My GP is slightly moded but nothing that can not be removed with in less than an hour !!


IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT :)

[SuperCooperS]

I know the boot is quite miniscule... and so is the leg room in a works.. I dont think id fancy sitting in the back of a GP balancing on that bar on a long journey :rolleyes:

[The Dogfather]

If its a choice between a GP and an R56JCW then I’d go GP, the R56 engines are problematic. There’s problems with coking and the well documented cold start rattle. Plus there’s question marks over the clutch/dual mass flywheel and direct injectors.

If its a choice between the GP and a R53JCW then I’d go the JCW. The GPs are overpriced and I have to admit I’m not a fan of the bodykit, colour or rear wing. The money you save could easily be spent on making a JCW better than a GP, coil-overs, lightweight wheels etc.

[Alex from NM]

Can not fit much camping stuff in the back of a mini :lol:


IF IN DOUBT FLAT OUT :)

I disagree it fits perfectly ;-). In there was an inflatable double bed, cooking range, table and chairs, 2 camping chairs and enough clobber for me and Mrs S for the week :thumbs up:

If you avoid any car pre 2010 you should be OK with the R56. Its furnished with the N18 engine which should eliminate the TCT and coking issues.

[SuperCooperS]

what exactly is the choking issue.. and how can it be sorted? if it is a problem with a particular car?

[The Dogfather]

R56 MCS pre 2010. Oil catch can supposedly fixes it but there’s already been a few cases of engine rebuilds being needed with higher mileages.

Alex is the man who knows about the fix

[SuperCooperS]

is it a noticable thing when you drive the car or what are the symptoms of the choking?

[The Dogfather]

Its coking by the way, i.e. the engine gets a carbon build up on the exhaust valves. Not sure if this is as a result of, or a symptom of excessive oil use.

[SuperCooperS]

oh ok.. sounds nasty

[Alex from NM]

[boring fart mode]

On the 06-08 cars the oil vapour produced in the engine had no escape other than back up the PCV pipes (there's 2, one on each side of the head) under pressure into the inlet manifold and even back into the air system. Once its back into the inlet manifold there there's nothing to get rid of it from gathering around the inlet valves as the direct injection means it gets no fuel washing over them. This in turn means they will eventually end up with carbon buildup (coking) and effect performance. This was revised around the end of 2008 if memory serves as they have a redesigned head which stops the oil vapour going back to the inlet manifold.

The TCT rattle should have been addressed in 2010 cars with tweaks to the VANOS system (the variable valve system)

So basically if you want an R56 relatively immune to problems anything after 2010 is the way forward

For the record mine's a 2007 model so its at risk from the deadly rattle (fixed for now) and the coking. I've had a bit of a DIY cleanup with Seafoam which was quite spectacular if nothing else. Certainly made the neighbours curtains twitch to see where all the thick white smoke was coming from. The answer was my exhaust :D


[/boring fart mode]

PS- I'm no expert but I have looked into this quite throughly

[SuperCooperS]

I did have a cold start issue, with one of the JC sales men telling me that the car was supposed to sound like that and was quiet in comparision to others they have!!!!.... but got that all sorted out under warante with full manufacture modification several months back and dont have any problems regarding this now with the engine running nice and smoothly.. does the coking affect all cars of this era.. mine is a late 2008 car and still feels pretty fast.. is there a big drop in power if the coking has occured? what is seafoam and how do you know when to use it... and where do you put it?.. sorry lots of questions!

[Alex from NM]

Yeah, the local dealer told me mine was supposed to sound like a tractor too. I don't really understand why they thought it would be a good idea to lie but there you go. Re the coking - if you're a late 08 you might be OK. I forget when the redesigned heads went on. All that will happen with coking is the engine will get rougher, misfiring and eventually coughing and spluttering and become unresponsive. Obviously this is extreme cases. Chances are you might get a hiccup every now and again. You could cut the vapour out with catch cans but for a decent one you'll be looking at £120+ and you'll need one for each PCV.

Right, the cure rather than the prevention. The theory of Seafoam is it will soak up and breakdown all carbon deposits when introduced and burn them off during the combustion cycle and the waste will come out the exhaust. Best way is to pour it down the left hand PCV which goes straight to the inlet valves. Let it soak for 20 mins and then start the engine. There is still debate mind as to whether it actually does much good. I'd like to think it helps a bit as it must break down at least some of the deposits.

Here's what someone on NAM managed to do...

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Clips taken from here

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/178640-maintenance-how-to-do-seafoam-treatment-r55-r56.html

(http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/178640-maintenance-how-to-do-seafoam-treatment-r55-r56.html)

[The Dogfather]

I did have a cold start issue, with one of the JC sales men telling me that the car was supposed to sound like that and was quiet in comparision to others they have!!!!.... but got that all sorted out under warante with full manufacture modification several months back and dont have any problems regarding this now with the engine running nice and smoothly.. !

The rattle does return after about 10k, mine did just as the warranty was due to run out. This is why I handed it back and didn’t get another. The early R56 MCS engine has an inherent fault that can’t be fixed. I suspect that its beyond just replacing ancillary parts and it needs a major overhaul which is why BMW have never come up with a permanent solution and why they've changed the new engine.

[The Dogfather]

Alex, my late October build had the hiccup and it was a fairly major hiccup with the entire engine cutting out under full power.

[Alex from NM]

I have a feeling it was November builds. Best check. It is, Nov 08 have the revised cam cover with a pressure release valve on the back

[SuperCooperS]

Alex.. did you find any difference in the performance after doing your DIY..

Vidal.. the engine in that vid clip looks like it jerks like.. errrgg what are you doing to me.. when the guy puts the seafoam in, but definately seems to clean some away

I have done a reasonable mileage in the last 6 months since May time, roughtly 7500 miles and got the cold start rattle sorted after having the the car for a couple of weeks when I got the car in April.. everything seems really sounds and seems to be running fine..so hope that continues

Did you feel the power dead when you floored it Vidal or did it just die mid drive for no obvious reason?

[Alex from NM]

For me I didn't feel any difference to be honest, which might be a good thing. I'm on around 72k miles now but the engine is still running reasonably well touch wood!

[The Dogfather]

Did you feel the power dead when you floored it Vidal or did it just die mid drive for no obvious reason?

I’d be flooring it and it would suddenly cut out, in fact it was like someone applied the brakes as well, but just for a split second.

It was more seizure than hiccup if I’m honest.

[SuperCooperS]

that was a bit of bad luck.. is that what inspired the change of car brand?. would you come back to minis?

[The Dogfather]

Yes and Yes.

It came down to a financial decision, we just couldn’t stretch to a newer MINI (thanks to the motorhome) and I didn’t want an R53 as they’re too expensive to run.

Now I’m back in the MX5 I realise that power isn’t everything, I love powering up and down the gears so maybe an old Cooper would have been a possibility.

If I had to pick my most favourite and fun cars I’d struggle to pick between my old Cooper and this MX5.