Hi, I am new to this forum and currently having a problem with a used 2009 Mini JCW Challenge race car.

When dynoed with racing 105RON fuel, it first produced 189whp. This power goes down with each subsequent runs until it stabilize at around 143whp.

Stock JCW (Challenge race cars supposedly has the exact same JCW engine) should produce 211hp on engine, or approx 167whp.

No CEL came on. I do suspect this problem is boost related.

Then as I was looking at the turbo, I saw that the turbo does not have a diverter valve like a normal JCW. It is blocked off with a factory looking (quality) plate, but the valve itself is not present.

When I asked the (non-MINI) race workshop who used to work on this car previously, I was told that the car came in brand new condition to them without a diverter valve.

I cant believe that a turbo car does not come with some sort of recirculating valve/blow off valve to release the boost.

I also checked a BMW part catalog website by entering the car's VIN number. For this car in this catalog, the diverter valve is indicated, shown as ELECTR. VALVE part no. 11657593273. The thing is, from the VIN the car is shown only as a JCW, not a MINI Challenge race car. So I am not sure that this is also 100% correct.

Could anyone confirm if the MINI Challenge car could come from the factory without the diverter valve? Many thanks for the help.

 

I'm not sure if it is universal, but every challenge car I have seen comes from the factory with a blanked out diverter valve

What you are seeing with the dyno is probably just heat soaking on the intercooler / air intake temps

 

It could be boost, but it could also be temperature related, that's kind of what it looks like. Does the car have boost/oil or water temp/IAT gauges? Was the car cooled on the dyno with fans etc? Power does go down with time and temperature, water/meth may be the answer.

And gratz on getting one of those, I'm jealous.

 

Hi there, thanks for the replies.

@ cct1: Yes, the car was well cooled with a 50mph headwind by the dyno shop's huge fan. Also thanks for the gratz.

@ robbo mcs: Thanks for the confirmation. This is what I need, because I have never seen another Challenge car in person.

As for possible heat related causes, I will try to find out what the coolant and AIT is in next dyno test. Are high AIT common with JCWs/Challenge cars?

One more thing, the car backfires a lot when off throttle, even at parking lot speeds. Is this normal for a Challenge car?

What would be the symptoms of the turbocharger itself going bad?

Thanks.

 

Does it look like the cover lid in the diagram part number 3 ?

"but every challenge car I have seen comes from the factory with a blanked out diverter valve"

That's what I was thinking.