Slinger - should have opted for a USA delivery!

 

I could but I would not be able to bring the car back without paying taxes. Plus it will be driving on the wrong side.

I heard if you self import, the car comes out about the same. And there certainly would be some hassles including a lack of warranty.

To give u an example of the option prices,
Gps is $8 k
Variable steering is $2 k
Folding mirrors is $2 k

 

S-driver, I just realised u were asking me to leave the car in CT.

 

Oh darn......you figured it out! Just think of it as a waiting "rental" when you visit the area in the future! It can be well pampered when waiting for you...��

 

What do you guys think of changing the muffler to the JCW cat back system as they would in the dealer installed tuner kit

 

 

It will be a bit louder. I tend to like the way MINI has done the exhausts on these cars, the JCW included. It should sound good without being boomy.

 

While i was at the track and Hard braking. My rear end seems to dance on me. Do you guys have any solution or suggestions for that? or do your cars even do this. I know you guys track R56 but was wondering.

If you looks at about 3min 40 secs you will see it dance. I know all the weight transfer is to the front. I have CO with 32 way adjustments will this help or other maybe harder springs in the front.

 

I have had the same issue. I have put larger brake disks in back, WMW rear brake kit, in hopes it will balance the braking. Will be using Carbotech pads that Eddie07S has used.

Eddie07S have you resolved this issue?

 

More braking at the rear if the car is dancing, won't solve it if the car is light..

 

Boy.....Harry's Lap Timer sure has evolved nicely.

 

Bigger brakes wont solve this, since this is a weight transfer problem then not having adequate brakes in the rear. When hard braking all the weight of the car shift to the front make the rear weight less causing the rear to get light to the point of it coming around on you. I tried setting the dampers to full hard in the front and half way hard in the rear and i didn't notice any difference. One solution i can think off would be to install harder springs in the front. The other would be add weight in the rear, but no one wants to do this. I wouldn't even know what the ratio would be anyway or how to calculate it.

I just wanted to know if the R56 fair better with this and since you guys have more track time then me in the mini maybe you have a solution or ideas. It not a big deal as long as you compensate for it and are expecting it, But it would be great if you can eliminate it.

 

Part of my issue was the imbalance in braking since I have the 6 pot Wilwoods up front. I have had the car re-coded to the JCW standard which accounts for larger front brakes and increased the rear disk to JCW standard.

You may wish to have the car corner balanced since you can adjust with the COs. This way you can optimize the weight. The guys at Swift recommends the ride height be the same at all four corners.

I guess you need to play with it to get the best perfromance.

 

Oh, the brake dance!

Can't resist a bad pun.

Yes, it is there in the R56. I have had some success with a lower the rear tire pressure. I run one psi less in the rear. You could try up to 2 psi less. Another option is to use a less aggressive brake pad in the rear, such as the stock MINI pad.

Now my last time out I had no brake dance issues and the only things that were different were the wheels and tires. I am suspicious that this may be caused by the tires which is why running a psi or 2 less in the rear helps. There may be some tread squirm going on under braking that is causing this and my new tires maybe are less prone to it. A bit of a guess with that one.

 

Thanks for the information, can use it at LRP. Just ordered the JCW muffler, hope to have it installed for my track day.

 

Where did you get the JCW program. I have asked around or for a custom tune but it like trying to find a unicorn. everyone just wants to sell you some canned tune which i really dont want.

 

I signed up for NEQ (Audi Club) for a two day event in NJMP and thinking of signing up to VIR with NJ PCA for the end of Oct. just scared it my be too cold.

 

I believe that this JCW program is only for the R56 as it is designed for the Brembo style JCW brakes. It is mostly to correct the eLSD used on the later MINIs with the DTC option. I would not do it on a Gen I.

 

OO i thought since i have the R56 JCW brembo brakes it would work (meaning they flash the ABS module with the JCW Brembo parameters). Not the tune side, but maybe the ABS module maybe different too.

 

I had mine done at MINI HAUS 35 Westbrook Indust Park Rd, Westbrook, CT 06498 (860) 399-6060. Art is very knowledgeable. You may wish to give him a call. I believe his own car is a R53 with JCW parts.

 

Is this a stealership or Indy shop?

 

Indy shop. He did my front bushings. Had the best price in CT. Also he built race cars in past so he knows about performance.

 

Ill give him a call later trying to decide if I'm going to go swap this exhaust manifold or not. it like today is going to be the nices day of the long weekend and i really dont feel like doing it lol, but i want to know if there is any other damage i cant see until i get under there.

 

Good luck with that. Hope to meet up soon at a track event or other.

 

2010 and later MINIs didn't have an option for a mechanical LSD. Instead BMW/MINI went to an electronic system that applies either the left or right front brake to control wheel spin in corners ("eLSD"). The main reason for doing the JCW software update for the brakes is to match the brakes to the eLSD function, otherwise you can burn out a set of brakes really fast. While it does change the whole ABS calibration the effect is minimal on the usual ABS functions. I would expect that it is not recommended for the R53, even if the ABS computer were compatible with that software (it may not be).

BTY - Art is a great guy.