Well, is been a long wait for me but looks like tomorrow I will take delivery of my own 2009 JCW HT.

I figure I will create her own thread, so I can post and keep a time line of her mods in one place.

I have posted some of these shoot in other threads already so i hope it's OK to re-post.

Day One





2007 MCS JCW meets 2009 JCW HT





My Original MA welcoming my new JCW, Brad sold me Zero7



Day Two



Details







Day Three







Family



Yesterday





Today with iPhone







...Enjoi!

 

Very nice Im jealous

 

L-O-V-E it! PS is too awesome. Do you have the choice of keeping the diffuser black if you wanted?
(with no extra cost with what they already charged)

 

yeah that pure silver does it devil man. very nice.

 

Very very nice.

Are those ghost metallic silver stripes with wide black pins?

What little mods do you have planned for the engine bay, not that it needs much. JCW power is all goodness.

Keep posting the changes, always nice to see lots of pictures. What is the plan for your 07?

 

Sweet ride!!! Can't wait for my JCW to arrive.

 

You might want to think about doing this quick mod while everything is still clean underneath.



It's easy to do and I think it improves the appearance from the back quite a bit. I just sanded with a dry 600 grit paper, masked off with tape on the tips and aluminum foil over the pipe and muffler, and applied several coats of ceramic Hi-Temp paint. You have to cure it by letting the car run and the cool a few times, but it was a pretty simple and quick job.

 

What's with the red dot? Are you Indian?

Hey don't forget to have them put that JCW badge on your front grille, it's missing.

 

great ride! thanks for the pics - makes the wait for mine more enjoyable.

 

Looks great..I was thinking about the black out . can you post a big picture? Thank you.

LOL This MINI is the first one to be build by Tata. hehehe It strted as a joke from my Tech, told me it came without the tow hook plate, in my case a beeach! 'cose pure silve does not come pinted from the factory is a port installed item...AND I waited for over a month for it to come in.
I like the red dot..I been looking for a MY for my laser blue..

Yep..iz more enjoyable with pictures


Thank you for the comments.

 

All you need to do now is add some JCW Recaro's!

 

would be nice...too much money and not US spec, not impossible to get tho.

 

Last night I deliver my JCW to myself, I try to talk me into giving me a few accessories, but I could not convince myself to give me even the mats.

I been driving a MCS JCW stage1 since they came out and my MCS has a IC CAI and Hoses, Plus a full down pipe and exhaust made by Milltek, which sounds gorgeous. I also have a JCW suspension and H&R springs with adjustable end links and a set or adjustable control arms.

All of these extras do not make up for the way the JCW works out of the box, there is nothing I can do to my MCS JCW stage1 that will even get close to the performance of the JCW factory.

The EDLC is a amazing feature, it just wants to go faster and faster, just in a few secs @ 5.9 to be exact on my GPS on the first try I can reach 60mph, my JCW has 22 miles right now so is not been a long drive, but the gear box feels stronger than mine MCS. and the suspension with eibach and sport suspension felt more like a regular drive than my JCW suspension with H&R's.

Basically what I am trying to say is that they are 2 totally different MINIs.

 

Very nice, you really need to drive it and put on some miles.

I would like to hear your impression after the engine is broken in and revving free.

Congratulations, I always enjoy your pictures and commentary.

So you could not get that cheap azz MA to give you any JCW floor mats!

 

So, it looks like you changed out your color line trim pieces. Is this something the dealer did for your, or did you do it yourself? Did you buy the red trim pieces separately and keep the old? If so, about what did they cost you? Thanks!

Chris

 

Since it's "rainy" I was going to take the Jeep to pick my wife up @ the train station... your post has made me decide to jump in my Lil'Buddy and get'm all dirty to go get the mrs...

 

I passed the 100 miles today. so I am on my way.

Thank you, I am glad to share and post, specially pictures.

Yeah, no floor mats no nothing, I was lucky to get a spot to configure my own, I may still talked him to do it.

Yeah I didn't order the color line and after delivering "Panda", a friends MINI he order with red roosteI had to change mine... I can't tell you is going to be easy is a bit difficult specially the piece with the docking slot for the key, so all and all could be a costly change afterward. Option from factory $250, later I am sure will be around $900 to $1200 depending on installation time.


Your Lil'Buddy looks great...nice saturation on your pictures.

 

If I can share any wisdom with anyone in the market for a Cooper S IF pony up the 7Gs for the JCW is all good.

If I had to do it again and had the JCW MINI and I was spending money in upgrades I will save my money and buy a new transmission with the EDLC.



Ran over a few R32's on my way back from Miami...I do miss my shift indicator lights

 

Does that mean that you would recommend buying the Cooper S and then spend the 7k on upgrades, or that the JCW is worth the 7k price difference over the Cooper S??

 

I was wondering that too Minitauro.

Beautiful car diablito! I had my deposit down on a DS MCS until I saw your car, then I had to cancel it to think over a JCW with the areo kit!

I noticed somewhere you said you have the sport suspension with the Eibach springs, 19mm rear sway, and obviously the black 18" R113's. I'm wondering how is the ride quality with that config in regular everyday (non-track) driving? Also do the tires rub on the fender wells any? Is the black a factory or dealer option for the R113's or did you get them powder-coated?

I'm wondering how to do my config, whether or not the sport suspension is necessary since I know I'm going to get aftermarket springs and sway bar regardless. Thanks in advance and sorry if this info is listed elsewhere, I'm just getting started on researching this forum and there is a lot of ground to cover!

 

me three also.

 

I'd be interested in what diablito has to say here too, but in doing my research, there were some comments about the standard shocks being a little under-damped for lowered cars. I ordered the sport suspension and I'm running that with Eibachs and 17" run-flats - I'm satisfied with it overall, but there are some drawbacks that I've experienced with this setup. I'm no expert and it's all subjective, so your results may vary...

The Good:
- Greatly improved aesthetics i.e. reduced wheel gap without looking slammed (1.2" drop) and no rubbing.
- Very smooth ride over small bumps with tight rebound damping from the sport shocks.
- For road use, I like the progressive springs - very little cornering lean and little perceptible dive or squat.
- Torque steer is minimal - the steering goes a little light when the tires are fighting for traction, but it doesn't have the severe pull that I've experienced on other front drive cars I've driven (notably my previous Jetta GLI 1.8T - that car would want to pull you off the road).

The Not So Good:
- Quick transitions like sharp expansion joints and pot holes are quite harsh. I've heard that this is the case with the standard sport suspension and run-flats too, but I had my springs put on at delivery so I can't provide any comparative feedback.
- The suspension will bottom out on severe pot holes with the reduced travel. The compression damping may also be off a little as the shocks are not operating within their normal range of travel. This makes traveling on unfamiliar roads at night a little stressful - especially in Massachusetts with our poor road surfaces.
- The lower ground clearance will cause the lower air foils on the JCW kit to rub on even the smallest inclines. I just removed mine and with the short overhang and 4.2" of front clearance, it is no longer a problem. I may have sacrificed some high speed stability, but I certainly can't notice it.

The Unknowns:
- The positive effect of non-run flat tires. They're just not an option for me.
- I've heard that the OEM shocks and struts will prematurely wear out or fail due to the reduced suspension travel. The Koni Yellows should function correctly as replacements (and are adjustable). I'd prefer the Koni FSDs when they become available for the R56, but will likely face premature wear/failure on those too depending on the design (the R53 spec FSDs are not designed to work with reduced travel).
- To be honest, I've not yet driven the car at anything close to it's cornering limits and can't speak yet to how it will behave under those conditions.

I hope that helps...

 

Excellent info, thanks Motor Head!! So many things to consider... What do you think the best suspension setup of all the options (sport+Eibach, stock+Eibach, JCW only, etc) would be for these two primary criteria: minimized wheel gap + best suspension performance in terms of the roads where I live being horrible. I'm less concerned with cornering performance because I doubt I'll put in much time on a track plus I've read stock is pretty amazing for that on its own with the wheels being so far in the corners.

 

You might want to check out the R56 suspension threads for more info, but if you're concerned about ride compliance and bad roads, you really should try to get a quick ride in a car with each setup. The people here are great - just start a new thread to see if there is anyone local to you. That will tell you if the setup is right for you before you spend money on something that you might not be happy with.

The reduced right height looks great but will always trade-off ride quality unless you go to a very expensive coil-over setup. The safest bet is probably to go with the base suspension as a starting point. You'll likely have more choices in the coming year as new spring and shock options become available too. I'm OK with my setup and would do it again, but I look at it as a work in process.

 

Ride quality is good.. I was used to the hard feeling JCW suspension, which makes the MINI drive flat like a pancake on the corners but is unforgiven on the regular asphalt.

No, I am sorry I was not too clear, what I mean is that if spending the $6,600 difference from MCS to a JCW model then for sure pick the later.

I had a lot of fun modding my MCS to a MCS JCW stage I.

I like the ride of the sport suspension with Eibachs but for aggressive driving or track driving the JCW suspension is tighter and makes the grade much higher than sport alone.

Now I have H&R with JCW suspension and Eibach with sport suspension and
for street alone i will go with the later set up for sure.