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Hi Everyone. So I moved up from a 2013 MC to a 2015 JCW. Omg! I absolutely love it! Picked it up yesterday with 22k miles fully loaded up. I have a few questions?
-Tune? Worth it? Best brand to use?
-Exhaust Tips? I love the JCW Carbon Fiber Tips, which ones work best and don’t break the bank? I see a lot of them range from $100 to $500?
-Complete Exhaust? I’m reaching this and it’s so mixed, my mechanic is telling me the best bang for the buck is Milltek? I’ve used them before on my Audi’s and was super happy, thoughts?
-Motor Mounts? Thoughts/Suggestions?
-UJ OEM Tail Lamps? Need to be coded? Issues?
I promise to post pictures after I get it back from the Detailer/PPF guy. I’m having it paint corrected/ppf/ceramic coated/tinted. Ordered lots of OEM Black Line to convert, looking forward to sharing my experiences.
Pictures! Tinted, PPF/Ceramic Coated, Stripes Removed, JCW Pro Add Ons.....
Waiting on 18” OEM 534 Wheels/Tires and Dinan Elite Tune/Carbon Fiber Air Box Replacement. Still on the fence about exhaust.
Always happy to see another F series owner. Definitely underappreciated cars, especially in this day and age. To answer your questions:
Tune- There are a lot of nice options you can go with. I see you've went with the Dinan Elite, which is a pretty solid upgrade. If you ever want to go with an actual tuner, I can always recommend RPMPower, Evolve, or DervTech for something more powerful/customizable and for around the same amount of money. This generation of Mini is VERY responsive to tuning, even more so if you have a manual. Very little in the way of supporting mods (would really only need a downpipe) needed until you reach early to mid 300 bhp with a proper tune. The stock turbo does run out of breath past the 350 hp mark it seems though.
Exhaust system- Depends on what you're looking for in terms of noise level or sound. I have an unresonated Remus paired with a MarioKart downpipe and it is ridiculously loud but offers a very satisfying sound especially on throttle lift-off (exhaust overrun galore). Is your JCW equipped with the Pro exhaust or the regular JCW?
Motor mounts- The F series Mini does have the issue with the front motor mount of which I assume you're aware of. They tend to give out at around 50-60k miles, and the only replacement (that I know of) is the OEM. DIY is relatively straightforward assuming you have the right tools and possibly an extra set of hands. Would definitely recommend asking the dealer if you have a warranty. If you do chase more power through a tuner- I would also recommend looking into PowerFlex and their range of lower engine mounts.
UJ Tail lamps- There are a few aftermarket places you can go to get these lamps at. I myself have yet to do this, but from what I have heard, it is relatively painless. At most you would have to do some fiddling in BimmerCode, but it's relatively painfree.
Always happy to see another F series owner. Definitely underappreciated cars, especially in this day and age. To answer your questions:
Tune- There are a lot of nice options you can go with. I see you've went with the Dinan Elite, which is a pretty solid upgrade. If you ever want to go with an actual tuner, I can always recommend RPMPower, Evolve, or DervTech for something more powerful/customizable and for around the same amount of money. This generation of Mini is VERY responsive to tuning, even more so if you have a manual. Very little in the way of supporting mods (would really only need a downpipe) needed until you reach early to mid 300 bhp with a proper tune. The stock turbo does run out of breath past the 350 hp mark it seems though.
Exhaust system- Depends on what you're looking for in terms of noise level or sound. I have an unresonated Remus paired with a MarioKart downpipe and it is ridiculously loud but offers a very satisfying sound especially on throttle lift-off (exhaust overrun galore). Is your JCW equipped with the Pro exhaust or the regular JCW?
Motor mounts- The F series Mini does have the issue with the front motor mount of which I assume you're aware of. They tend to give out at around 50-60k miles, and the only replacement (that I know of) is the OEM. DIY is relatively straightforward assuming you have the right tools and possibly an extra set of hands. Would definitely recommend asking the dealer if you have a warranty. If you do chase more power through a tuner- I would also recommend looking into PowerFlex and their range of lower engine mounts.
UJ Tail lamps- There are a few aftermarket places you can go to get these lamps at. I myself have yet to do this, but from what I have heard, it is relatively painless. At most you would have to do some fiddling in BimmerCode, but it's relatively painfree.
Let me know if you have any questions!
WOW!! Someone responded!! Thank You for your input, I truly appreciate your words and will look at a feed options. Thanks again. Enjoy
Hey- you have nearly JCW version of my S. Jealous!
Tunes are awesome. I recommend Bytetronik.
Exhaust is really up to personal taste, and it's hard to find any subjective info out there. A lot of them are 2.5" for the S, so you don't want that. People seem to love the Remus though. Milltek does look really good for the price, and is 2.75". If you just want loud, some people have been happy with just chopping off the muffler and going straight pipe.
I'm running the Dinan Elite and Remus race exhaust. The Remus can be loud, but you can control that using the bluetooth switch. A nice feature of the Remus bluetooth system is that you can control it using your phone and, if so inclined can program it based on your preferences and driving style.Another plus is that when you set the valve, it does remembers that setting so you are not constantly having to reset it. Other advantages - it's a 2.75 inch system all the way back and it is lighter than either the stock JCW exhaust or the JCW Pro.
It's definitely not the cheapest system out there, but it is well engineered and a quality system. In my opinion, it's well worth the cost and it doesn't have any other bluetooth issues that the JCW Pro is known for.
