I got my very first Mini on Friday and am now looking at my mod "rode map" and here is what I have thus far.

(in no particular order)
* JCW Stage 1 Kit (once the dealer in Austin TX opens)
* Forge or Helix13 Stepped Intercooler
* Someone's Smooth pipe kit (open to suggestions.. I was all gung-ho on Alta until I read all those threads about fit and getting cut into by the firewall and all that jazz.
* M7 Oil can

I'm thinking those are the engine-bay mods that have the least risk of causing warranty issues, shouldn't be detrimental to fuel economy and should extend engine life..

But I am new to the world of Mini and am completely open to suggestions..

By the way, does the JCW Strut brace act as a Strut Defender? if not should I be looking at an M7, or another vendor? (again suggestions welcome :-)...)

Josh
09 Clubman S

 

The JCW strut brace does not have strut defenders and on the Gen2 cars they are not necessary.

Definitely do the JCW stage 1 upgrade. Once that is done, I would drive the car for a while and then think about the other things.

IC is a good next step.

I think the Oil Catch Cans are just bling.

As for the boost tubes etc, I went with NM as there has been to much nay saying about Alta on here lately. I shyed away from them. I do not think they do enough R&D on their products.

Here is a pic of my engine bay with all NM Engineering mods. Waiting on their STB to show up today as my old M7 bar does not work with the NM intake. Anyone want my M7 STB (its in like new condition $175 shipped)

 

Welcome to NAM!

Congrats on your new MINI!

 

Onefish2,
Nice looking Engine bay.. Almost looks like a marketing photo :-P... And thank you for the input..

So I take it you don't consider Oil slug to be an issue with Mini's then?

If I go JCW should I expect to replace the Intake after the kit is installed, or is the JCW intake solid enough (ie everything else is such a marginal improvement as to not be worth the $$$$)

Also where do people get those snazy "owners club" badges? those are kinda cool :-)..

Josh
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2009 BRG MCCS 6MT | #1 | NAV
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Does look like a marketing photo. I will have their strut brace on tomorrow and will post further pictures then. Perhaps i can sell the pictures to NM Engineering or trade them for more goodies.

Don't have the car long enough to know about oil sludge build up. So who knows. Some of these mods are for bling. I think the Oil Can falls into that category.

If it was me I would keep the JCW stage 1 intake. You are paying extra for it to begin with, why get rid of it?

As for the badges. Find the appropriate one for you car here on NAM. Right click the image and do a save as then upload it to your gallery. Then add it to your signature.

 

What do you want to do with the car? Is this primarily for the street and you want a little more kick?

1. Do the JCW Stage 1 if you want to keep everything Mini with the warranty. It is a mild tune and works quite well.
2. Forge or Helix are both good ICs
3. Smooth pipes are primiarily bling. If that is what you want, go with a quality product and NM makes good products. Alta is junk.
4. Any oil can would work. The issue is where to put it. There is likely some benefits from using it but I do not have one yet
5. Mushrooming of the strut tower is generally not a problem with the R56. Many aftermarket front upper strut bars do not fit the JCW Stage 1 air box. There are two versions of the JCW bar as well, and only one fits.

1 and 2 will give you power gains that you can feel.

 

My plans for the car are for it to be a street car mostly... But I will probably autocross it or other such fun.. Nothing too crazy though.. ( I doubt I'll take her to a track, but you never know).. Beyond the Engine bay I may want to tweak the suspension a bit, but I have a Step bother that makes custom shocks and struts for race cars I am trying to sweet talk into making me a custom set for my Mini :-)..

Josh
---------------------------------------------
2009 BRG MCCS 6MT | #1 | NAV
---------------------------------------------

 

For a street car, stick with the mild stuff. Some racing stuff can make the car noisy, harsh and difficult to live with on a daily basis.

Think holistically what you want. Drive it a while after each mod to see if more needs to be done. This is most important for suspension mods where more/bigger may not be better.

 

As posted before your mods should be based off what you want to do with the car. Personally an oil catch can is a waste because the MINI doesn't need it unless you start putting down a lot more power. Choose your parts wisely. A lot of people are mad a certain companies because they deem them inferior or just cuase they don't like them or because one problem and they believe that the comapny didn't do enough research. Find what works for you. Remember too that there is just more then adding an intake, exhaust, and a tune. You can get power from all kinds of different places. The MINI is not very powerful but, the handling is almost unmatched so suspension could be another place to possibly modify.

 

I certainly have a lot of sludge building up in the pipes of my JCW. If the catch cans actually catch this sludge, I wouldn't consider them a waste of money

 

Regarding the Shock and strut kit, while my connection makes race stuff, the technology he uses (actually quite interesting and patented) can actually increase ride quality & performance.. So while "race shocks" often = not fun for a daily driver. (We have all seen that episode of Top Gear where James takes the Race Aston Martin on the curvy roads.. A choose he will never forget :-P).. In this particular case I think there is a chance for something very cool..

As for holistic approach, your right.. I am looking at the whole car.. I've been scanning the suspension forums too.. Its just with the Engine bay there are sooo many chooses that after reading everything, I was just about as confused as to a reasonable path as I was before I read my first post :-P (just now due to information overload :-P)...

Josh

 

Let me offer a twist here.

First a question? Why add HP if you can't control it? Meaning why add power when the suspension is the foundation. Our cars are pretty good as it is but there is certainly room for improvement.

Heres what I've done so far
-JCW Suspension upgrade (In retrospect I'd just do coilovers)
-Front and Rear Sway Bars (22MM on Rear)
-TSW Lowering Springs (excellent quality if you don't want to pay for coliovers)
-I did the Strut Brace bar and in retrospect I'd just do the STD's. Really mixed bag on if it really does anything for you. I would consider the TSW undercarriage X brace
-DoS CAI (you get seriously cooler air than the JCW or anything else)

Next
-Exhaust Depot DP (90%+ no CELS)+-Militek CatBack

That should add 25 - 30HP

Oil catch can for $150? Nuts. You can buy a universal one on eBay for $25 and get some hosing and your set. Just did however not installed yet, literally got ti last week. Couldn't hurt

Forge or Helix are both Excellent IC's I hear and going on after the Exhaust

Good Luck

PS_ Stay away from Alta and Riss Racing like the plauge!

 

Tgs91,

you make an interesting point to suggest going suspension first.. My thought on that was that other than a bit of understeer under power, the mini handles pretty damn well..

Also my thoughts on suspension are kind of on hold while I wait to hear back from my step brother.. If I can get a set of his shocks those would be amazing... (yes even for a daily driver).. So thats why I was focusing on the engine bay in this thread.. it is interesting that you mentioned undercarage x braces and sway bars.. I kind of thought of those as being more race centric.. and given this is my daily driver, I was thinking they wouldn't be as valuble.. What is your ride quality like? (I know you probably stick to the ground like glue, but how stiff is it?

Thanks

 

I'll temper my response to this is a personal call based on your driving style. Since you talked about more power I think you might be in the same boat as me

Your right our cars come stock with a pretty darn good suspension. They do!.

For me, and let me stress for me, the addition of the sway bars and to a minor extent the strut brace has given me added ability in the twisties or as simple as sticking a sharp turn onto a entrance ramp. More so than I could with the stock sport suspension.

Before the backend of my MCS would get 'squirrelly' on hard turns. My additions calmed that down immensely. I really have to be hauling some serious, serious a** to have that happen now.

I do not have a X brace currently on mine, considering for the future.

I consider myself as a 'spirited' or 'aggressive' driver and maybe even a 'Twisty Addict'. If you have a similar driving style I would strongly consider

Minimally I would suggest the rear sway bar (22MM) That will help you enjoy the added power even more

 

I have the EP DP and Milltek catback. It is a very nice sound and good performance. I am throwing mine on the dyno in the next few weeks. I will post up my numbers

 

When your ready to start modding let me know. We carry all the brands and have experience with them. So I can put together stuff that will work well for you and not give you problems.

WAY

 

Good advice. Gather info. Buy well-designed products from companies with good reputations. Take your time.

I have purchased from at least 7 companies and only one has had bad products and service. PM me if you want to know detailed reviews of all the products which work and the pluses and minuses of each product and I will be happy to help from a non-racer perspective.

Avoid poorly designed products and bad service from alta. PM me if you want details of the nightmare of dealing with this company.

 

Scrap the JCW Stage 1 and go with RWM if you can! Who cares about warranty right?

 

Not a paid endorsement. Way does good work and won't b-s you, one of the good guys. No fanbois, just fact

Now as to his charming personality.......

 

Save your money any buy a new car. Theres no way to make affordable power in this car.

 

are you joking?

 

If you want power for good value, for roughly the price of that JCW kit you can get the RMW tune (with flash loader if you want to go back to stock for warranty), downpipe and an IC.

 

Yea really. The R56 is about 3 years old now. Give it a break! Big steps are coming. More tuning from RMW, RMW water/meth kit, big turbo upgrades. If money is the complaint well that seems to be the price of admission to any "tuned" vehicle.

You could just buy a rusted out Civic and go super bonkers in the ricer market, but then you'd be... a ricer

 

-Yea all the common bolt ons are available...and have been for a while: TBE's, FMIC, CAI's, piping kits.
-A good tune is available, and more is discovered in the ECU weekly. Thats +40whp/40ftlbs gain right there.
-As you said, RMW will have their meth kit out shortly (its already done).
-There's soon to be a complete bolt on turbo kit on the market.
-Cams are already available, with even better ones coming.
-If you want the head done, that can be done at nearly any machine shop that knows what they are doing.
-I've already talked to 2 companies about getting forged pistons and rods made for the R56...and they'll do them.

So when people say there is no power upgrades available, I just have to laugh. Not sure what you mean by not having any "affordable way to get power", prices of everything are in line with aftermarket parts for any other European car from what I have seen.

 

Lots of good information here... thanks everyone for your input.. I really like the NM product line for my turbo piping.. right now I am just torn between DoS intake and DDM racing intake (call me crazy but I like the idea of actually USING my front scoop.. Heck I may open it up with the M7 ram Scoop just so it actually vents rather than just looks pretty... If anything I want to avoid making the car TOO loud which seems to be a common comment about DoS (not that its to loud persay, just loud in general)... Anyone know if you can use a strut bar with the DDM intake?

Thanks