Anybody know how the transmission testing is coming? I'd love to have 210 warranty-covered HP in my MCSa!

 

I heard that availability would be April or May.

But my MA was not 100% positive (considering he was told in November that the standard JCW kit would be totally compatible with the MCSa......he even put in 3 orders for clients with that configuration based on what he was told by his regional rep).

 

Well, it is now July. Does anyone have any further updates on JCW kit availability for the MCSa?

 

i've spoken to the jcw guys in england directly. they say the kit has been finished for some time and are just awaiting bmw approval.

hopefully soon...

cheers - drew

 

Since Mini barely has the programming out to fix the issue causing the SES light/running rich I figure the JCW software, in turn, is effected by that problem.

With hope the new download they have out will take care of things and not have any downside, then the JCW sw can make it through some long term R&D piggybacked on that...

 

Do you know if this kit ups the output to the 210 HP range or is it lower for the automatic?

 

as it was explained to me it is EXACTLY the same kit - just tuned for the automatic's computer. everything else is exactly the same.

cheers - drew

 

I've given up waiting for such a kit and started to mod my car to suit my needs

 

me too. But, I do have the JCW intake in the car, and I'm really loving it .

 

yes - the intake is awesome! ; )

 

Based on the problems that seem to be occurring with the DME for the MCSa, if I were BMW, I would want to get the problems with the DME sorted out before adding an additional element of complexity to the puzzle. Hmmm, I wonder if the JCW kit for the MCSa will be released before 2005 runs out????

 

What's a DME? Although I am a fuel economy nut (then why did I get an MCSa?) I find all that JCW stuff tempting. I'll keep dropping by this thread. Thanks for this information.

 

DME = ECU

 

I believe that the DME controls more than just the engine; otherwise, it would be an ECU (engine control unit). The DME seems to be implicated in problems with the MCSa (SES light going on and car going into limp mode), so it would appear that the DME is also interacting with the automatic transmission; therefore, the belief that the DME is more than an ECU.

 

I do hope they correct problems with the MCSa ecu first. My car is going in for the ecu flash thats supposed to correct this problem on Thursday.

 

I would be curious to see if just an ECU flash sloves the problem. There seems to be a line of reasoning that the problem involves a defective DME. So far (knock on wood), I have not encountered the problem (and I have an earlier build date (3/23/2005) car... go figure).

 

I dropped my car off last night for service today to get this update so we will see...

 

my car was built in february and i've not seen any problems whatsoever. are the problems related to cars built after a certain date only..?

 

I have a February build and I has the SES/EML problem. I took it in last week and had the ECu flashed and the fix put it. So far, so good. No further lights.

That said though, my car doesn't like me to turn her on and take off right away in the mornings. She sputters a bit when I do that. Also, since the flash, the transmission hasn't been as great as before. The shifts are rougher and more pronounced than before.

But even with that its very nice not to have that damn SES light on.

 

sorry to hear you've had the problem. i wonder how widespread this is or if it is just a handful of cars who live n the most humid areas...

as for me - car starts up and goes just fine. this is so weird.

 

Passat I hope my tranny doesn't start to shift crapply I will be redoing my MTH afterwards for sure if it really messes with the tranny. My car just likes to haul butt through the gears so if it gets messed up I'll be pissed

 

I've had my MCSa for over a month now in the most hot and humid Washington DC summers and have has no ECU or stalling problems yet. Occasionally when I am stopped at a light the idle will jump up a little, but that might be normal because I have the air going.

I put in the Alta CAI, and got a 15% reduction pully put in. Both together cost $600. I can not imagine paying what they want for the John Cooper Works. My engine could blow up, I could pay for repair out of pocket and still not pay what JCW costs.
- John

 

Oddly enough whenever I put my foot to it and am doing my best Mario Andretti impression the transmission is smooth. Its more the day to day, commute traffic, when the transmission jerks a bit.

I also forgot to mention that if I am idle at a light or stop sign for more than a minute I get a very pronounced vibration thoughout the car.

Dealer is 60 miles away so until something actually breaks I am just going to deal.

And asterix, DC doesn't know ***** about hot & humid. I grew up in Philly where it also got "hot & humid" and it is NOTHING compared to Louisiana. When you have to swallow the air, thats humid.

 

On the commuting driving I noticed the car has learned my style and likes to drive hard but when I want to take it easy it doesn't want to.

The vibration after a long idle usually occurs when the fan kicks up to cool the car and can create a vibration.

 

i get that one too... hmm....