Little help please---I'm ordering a 2013 MINI S- automatic-should I order the JWC engine tune or the standard S and do engine upgrades ? Aso will the drilled front breaks make a difference over the stock -----has any one ordered a MINI and gotten any cash off the MSRP ? If so --how much

 

Go JCW you won't regret it. Just make sure you get the paddle shifters. There are some showing up with none. Drilled brakes look better

 

Thanks man-- I really appreciate it

 

First thing to consider is trans. Order the manual trans not the auto. The manual is much more fun. The JCW engine tune is simply economics. Is it cost justifiable. Ask the dealer or service rep the H/P difference for the buck. The 13's are much quicker than the pre 12's. Although HP Ratings remain the same on the spec sheets there is a very noticeable increase in top speed, est. fuel millage and acceleration. What year was your last MINI? The manuals accelerate much quicker than the "autos" and thats a plain fact!!! Drilled brake calipers allow brake calipers to cool faster under heavy and constant brake loads. If you learn to engine brake a little more you don't use the brakes as much. I use my brake very little, mostly just to let people behind me know I'm slowing down as the brake light comes on. FWD vehicles perform better when you stay off the brakes. Learn to let the MINI pull you through the corners. Hope this helps.

 

Could you please explain a little more about the engine brake. Thanks.

 

Engine braking can be done with a manual transmission by taking your foot off the gas while leaving the car in gear. The momentum of the moving car pushes against the compression of the engine, which resists it, thus slowing the car. You can have greater effect by downshifting a gear. This technique is useful when going down hills because it can reduce the amount that you need to use the brakes. Another common way to use it is to take your foot off the gas when you see a light change or some other reason to slow or stop in the distance ahead. You'll eventually need your brakes to stop the car, but you can slow it down just by leaving it in gear.

Automatics don't do this as well because they are designed to let the car coast more; there is less resistance between the pushing of the car and the internal compression of the engine.

If you can afford the price difference, I'd recommend ordering the JCW car from the factory instead of an upgraded S. There are components in the factory car that the engine kit does not supply. Also, the factory JCW comes with upgraded brakes compared to the S. The JCW brakes can be added to an S, but they cost about $2K just for the kit. Since the engine kit itself also runs about $2K, if you get both you're almost up to the price of a JCW factory car by the time you figure in the installation costs for the kits.

Besides purchase price, the other thing that might sway you AWAY from a factory JCW is the cost of the insurance. On my policy, the factory JCW is a couple hundred dollars a year more than an otherwise equivalent S model. Your policy may be different; if it matters get a comparison quote first.

Oh, and if you order a JCW you may have to wait longer, since they don't build a lot of those cars and they apparently run them through Oxford in batches. Check with your MA.

Either way, you'll get a fun car - keep us posted!

 

Engine braking is when you manually put the trans into a lower gear and let the clutch out to the engagement point so the engine RPM decreases rolling speed. As the rpm decreases, shift down to another lower gear and so on until your rolling speed reduces enough for you to accelerate again. You will get the feel for down shifting and engine braking after you have practiced it a few times. You must use some caution as not allow the engine to over-rev during down shifting when driving a manual trans. You can disengage the clutch if this is likely on a manual trans and then tap the brake and then reengage the clutch. On stock automatic transmissions the factory only lets you down shift inside a fixed RPM range. I've driven both and the manual is so much better.
Suggest you test drive both at a Dealer and play around with each then you'll get a better idea of the difference.
Another major difference is the auto shifts up by its self (unless trans is in SPORT Mode) and does not allow the RPM to stay in "a sweet spot", then when you need power you have to floor the accelerator for the trans to down shift to get max power. With a manual trans you can stay in any gear you want until you manually up shift reguardless of being in "SPORT Mode" or not.

 

Thank you Both for explaining. I think I'm going to try that. I actually do do that once in while. Thanx.