Hi everyone, new to this forum, never owned a mini and I'm interested in purchasing one, type S or JCW model. I'm not new to wrenching, have built a few cars from ground up, 600+HP daily driver to give you an idea.

I'm debating if i should buy a new one or are they reliable enought to look at used models with low miles may be the way to go instead.

Can you guys tell me what problems or issues I need to look at when inspecting a used Mini? Anything unusual or tribal knowledge is great to know, or common issues with these cars. I'll let the market availability decide if its auto or manual so info on both would be great.

I'm still debating if I want to build it or not. If I do would like to get a 500hp setup for daily driving but from the quick search on the net, it does not appear possible but I could be wrong and that is another topic on its own.

I know the best way to get info is direct from forums and members who love to work on their cars.

Cheers

 

Mini or a MINI?

different cars

different answers

 

You will have to excuse my ignorance, the USA Model which i assume is MINI

 

I think Capt bj's car in his signature is Mini.
From what I have read if you want high hp you will want to go with a turbo car instead of a supercharger. However, the supercharger cars seem to more reliable. Turbo is in the 2nd generation cars and a supercharger is in the 1st generation cars. I love my supercharged car.
It sounds to me like you already have a fast off the line drag car. These cars are more for handling than drag racing. It is like driving a go cart on the street. You might want to think about making a fast cornering car rather than trying to build up a monster MINI. There have been some done though. One off the top of my head is the guy who put two engines in his MINI. I don't remember how much hp he had but it seemed to be pretty quick from what I do remember.

 

Thanks for the reply,

I'm looking at the turbo car for sure, there are more available than the SC models.

I have seen the twin engine and I'm not looking to go that route, just upgrade the internals and anything else I can along the way to increase HP. But I'm still undecided if i want to explore that option.

I'm also well aware these cars handle like a dream. My sister in law has a newer Model S turbo and my brother in law had the model S supercharger model.

At this point I'm more concerned about what I need to specifically look for when buying a used MINI.

Any info is appreciated.

Cheers

 

2011 or newer in most cases gets you the more reliable N18 engine. Beyond that you need to drill down in each forum section depending on model you are going to look at.

 

I see, anything in particular I should look out for on N18 motors?

 

If you want to build such a high power engine the 3rd generations have a 2L engine which I read BMW claims is reliable to 300hp in stock form. That may be a better platform to start with versus the 1.6L N18. If you do pursue such a build I'd be interested in that thread for sure!

 

Thanks for that info. I assume the third generation is 2014 and newer?

I don't believe such HP can be easily achieved without sacrificing something here or there due to space. Getting more HP out of a 1.6 or 2L engine is not hard if the parts are available. The biggest issue with any car is cooling for daily driving and I want to make sure it is a daily driver. Not sure if there are aftermarket manifolds for bigger turbo's or if there is even any space to accommodate a bigger setup. Also with regards to the ECU, I see there are chips offered but I'm not interested in chips. I would much rather go with an aftermarket ECU or a piggyback on the main unit like Hondata if one even exists for the MINI? Another option would be motec or megasquirt but I doubt either will be a seamless transition without losing a lot of the factory features. The more i research into this car, it is becoming apparent it is best to keep it stock with minor upgrades and I'm fine with that. At this point I'm more interested in learning about what to avoid and what to look for when buying a used model if i go that route b/c the Coupe model is discontinued and that is the model I would like to get.

 

arf88 - I'd suggest starting with this article from Motoring File. It has some good tips and a link to the R53 models if you're thinking of going for a first gen.

Hope that helps!

 

The first gen, being the R53 supercharger, is pretty known for just being overall more fun to drive than the R56 (and that's the general consensus, not just my opinion)

Power/parts wise, the parts are there. They're just not cheap nor easy to find if you plan on going past the basic pulley, intake, headers, cam, exhaust. There's someone here on the forums building their own pistons (which is awesome.)

I've heard rumors on twincharge setups but I've also heard those who test with both end up removing the turbo after awhile... Also have to remember, this car weighs next to nothing. So big numbers aren't exactly necessary.

I believe the MINI Ecu learns PAST a piggyback. Doesn't stick. It's more of a "I can drive this to the tuner" than it is a permanent modification.

The car is fantastic when modified, but not heavily...

 

Tec, thanks for that info, I was leaning toward the newer model due to the 2.0L engine, my in laws both had the SC model and now the turbo model. Not sure which they liked more since they got both i think it is subjective but I'll take your advice in considerations.

Making your own piston is very ambitious, I hope the person has access to precision machines. I think with all the info it seems like the best option is to leave it stock with minor upgrades like you mentioned.

 

R35 seems to be the lighter and more go-kart like feeling car.

R56S 2007-2010 seems to have more problems than the 2011-2014 cars. All of the various turbocharged R56 models have a higher likelihood of problems with some important systems, though 2011+ seem to have better odds. Typical problem areas include intake valve coking, timing chain/chain tensioner/guides and rails, turbo oil feed line, high-pressure fuel pump, thermostat/t-stat housing, vacuum pump, oil pump solenoid, oil use/burning... Not all cars have these problems, and very few will have all of them, but they happen more frequently than we would prefer!

I believe that the F56 models are the 2015+. The S and JCW would have the two-liter motor, instead of the 1.6 liter one. I haven't paid any attention to what sorts of problems those are seeing, but since they're pretty much all new at this point it might be a while before we know what seems to break on them.

 

Thanks a lot this is the info I was looking for. I must say I'm a little bit surprised to hear about all the problems which the majority appear to be related to oil issues. I know BMW is big on 15k or longer oil changes which personally I think is a joke, but maybe more frequent oil changes would solve some of these issues unless it is a mfg or hardware defect. With regards to reliability on the 2011-2014 models beyond 100k how much longer do they last? I plan on using one as a daily driver and I have a lot of commute miles on the freeway, now I also change my own oil and trans fluid and use nothing but the best and do it every 3k/10k give or take driving conditions and season on my personal vehicle but it is a high performance setup so it requires more attention. With the MINI i suspect they use the same guidelines for oil changes as BMW?

 

MINI uses the same sort of "Condition-Based Service" that BMW does. Initially, the service intervals for "kind" driving were on the order of 15K miles or more. A couple of years ago, the dealer did a software update to my car which (among other things) changed that to about 10K miles.

I still have the oil changed at 5K or 6 months in my car. Might be overkill, but I can live with that.

Lots of people also go with that same "about twice as often" oil change strategy, and while it seems to help the oil-related problems in the MCS to some extent, it is not a complete solution. There have been at least five separate designs of the chain tensioner, for instance, and it's not at all certain that the chain tension problems are solved for good.

I haven't paid much attention to the longevity of the MCS models. Once I decided that a "Justa" was the right choice for me, I stopped paying as much attention to the S and JCW cars. The above is just what I have absorbed by reading this forum over the past few years.

 

Excellent information, my wife has had many BMW's and still drives one today, reason is, b/c she likes the fact dealer does everything and due to the electronics you have no choice unless you own the tool to tap into the ecu to do a simple oil light reset. For that reason alone and others I'm not a big fan of BMWs or similar luxury cars for daily driving, but I decided to give MINI an exception, however the more I research and get informed by knowledgeable forum members like yourself I find myself reconsidering the MINI purchase.

BMW resale value drops drastically after 100k mile factory warranty, and third party warranties are garbage at best in what they will actually honor. So if MINI has reliability issues now and beyond the warranty period it just doesn't make sense as a daily driver for me.

 

In addition to the issues covered above there are other items to think about. Primarily how far you want to go. If you want "built" power, the N14 JCW will be what you want. Only because the N18 engine is so difficult to build for due to the dual vanos system. See THIS thread for more info about N18 woes. But not every "built" N14 engine goes easy either. Check out the struggles HERE for more on that.

But if you want good bolt-on power the N18 seems to have the slight edge. Slap on a larger turbo, updated exhaust manifold, FMIC, tune and meth injection and thats all thats really needed to put you 260 WHP+. Intakes don't really seem to do much so thats up to you. Catless downpipe will get you some good results as well.

If you do opt for the N18, there is really only 1 tuner that I'm aware that has acutally cracked the ECU. The others are only able to adjust some maps. MANIC is the go to N18 tuner. See the enormous thread HERE for more on what MANIC can do.

The new 3rd Gen Coopers with the 1.5l and 2.0l engines are pretty new and have modest bumps in power. They are softer to ride in as well. But there are still plenty of upgrades. But as it sits right now there are any large power leaps yet with these. Just clip in "tunes" that you connect to the MAF connector. It does give a power jump, but its hardly a tune. That being said, I'm sure it won't take too long before we see more results considering it is a platform shared with BMW.

If I were buying a car to daily and want decent power, the '16 JCW would be my choice. With 238hp on tap, and interior that is light years quieter than its predecessors its a nice ride for sure.

If I were looking to get more power with parts available right now it would be the '13 JCW. For the simple fact MANIC tune is available with various stages. Plus the options for larger turbo, exhaust manifold, meth injection kits that are made for the car. Just more overall aftermarket support as it stands now. This would still be a car that you can daily as well. While the interior of this car will be louder it is more iconic as it still has the speedo in the center of the dash.


There are a ton of reasons to pick this car or that. You decide what important for you and have fun!

 

+1

 

Thanks for that great info, really helps

 

Get one made by BMW!

At least a 2014 or 2015. In my opinion they're the best Minis ever made - and I've owned 5 Minis - plus I used to work in the Oxford plant, making them. I would not touch a Mini made by anyone other than BMW

 

Please let us know which model you choose! 500 hp from a Mini is unlikely, and for a daily driver you'd be fine with either a manual or an automatic, though my personal preference is a manual. You can't go wrong with a recent model with warranty included. If you like tinkering, though, a supercharged R53 or just about any year standard model can put a smile on your face.

 

Here's a 500+ mini it would make an awesome daily driver

 

And, how about this one, too?


Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.