Other than the weight reduction, and adding the JCW suspension, what is needed to upgrade to GP engine? I assume the intercooler, but what else?

 

You'll have a very hard job doing it.

The engine program will be GP specific.

The rear spoiler / wing is part of the performance enhancements - very expensive plus replace the rear window & drill into the hatch.

The underbody panelling also improves aerodynamics.


All the GP specific parts are just that - GP specific

 

What is your goal?
To convert your JCW MCS to a GP equivalent engine or to copy the upgrades to make it the "same" as a GP engine?
To convert your entire JCW MCS to GP equivalent (entire package)?
To try to get enough mods done to give you similar performance as a GP engine from your JCW MCS?

Read this about living with the GP for a week-
http://motoringfile.com/2006/12/18/m...review-jcw-gp/
The GP wing is over $2000 alone.
It's really much more than the power mods to the engine.
It's the whole package- suspension- aero tweaks- GP wheels- steering wheel, etc

To really try to copy it exactly would be very very costly and you're probably better off trying to pick up one new or used.

Ever take a GP for a drive? Ever take a fully modded MCS for a drive?
It's not for everyone. Sometimes the compromises made for high performance make for less comfort in daily use. My wife and kids refuse to come along in my MINI- even when I set the suspension to "softest".

 

And rumour has it we'll see a few more show up at selected dealerships soon ...

 

I guess I wasn't very clear. No, I'm not trying to convert my car to a GP, just curious what engine parts are different. Also, is the GP suspension much different from the available JCW suspension.

Thanks

 

Engine was to be at the same approximate power level 15% pulley, CAI, Cat back, IC, head. Good part is if you go non JCW you can find a combo that'll make more power for much less $$$.

Go into the car strip the sound deadening, do an RSD and pull the rear seat belts. To match the levels of the Euro version also get some racing seats (if oyu want a chance to get ahead go fixed back and save even more weight which should make up fo the non-aluminum rear suspension braces. And you're loosing weight from the center of the car which will help your balalnce. Go to a lightweight wheel/tire combo. And upgrade the brakes, like the seats another spot you can jump ahead if you go to a 4 wheel BBK instead of two, also you can do some steel lines and racing level brake fluid at the same time without incurring much extra work and give you more weight savings (in rotational mass of the rotars and better braking preformance) Spoiler take your pick of what you think looks nice. Springs and shocks to match the suspension (basic JCW suspension from what I understand) While its off wouldn't hurt to get a rear sway bar in there as well.

That should give you a MINI that is at least "on-par" wiht the GP as far as prefomance at the track goes.

 

Thanks, I already have a JCW, so specifically, I was looking at what else in addtion to a new intercooler is required.

My goal is to make more power while maintaing the warranty and MINI branded parts. From what I've read, the 218hp claim on the GP is conservative.

 

This could be an interesting and useful thread, davisflyer.

I too have an 06 JCW and have wondered the same. Not for my car to replicate a GP but to have some of the more power had by the GP and some of the handling that is not made by aerodynamics.

I've been looking at the JCW suspension lately as I would like something a little firmer than stock yet not lower it as much as some suspensions do. I'd never get up my driveway if I did. Besides all together handling. I'm looking to remove some of the dipping associated with takeoff and stopping. In other words make the car a little more stiff yet decent riding down the road.

IMO, the 06 suspension is too soft. This coming from someone that had the stiffer factory suspension before the change in 03. I liked the feel of the 03 and am curious if the JCW suspension would act in a similiar situation.

As for the engine. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe the intercooler and software are the only differences between the GP and JCW. A larger intercooler can be had from an aftermarket vendor. Or you could get the part numbers for the GP intercooler and see if your dealer could get the needed parts for you.

The software may be a little more tricky to get your hands on. If it would work with a JCW which I don't see a reason it wouldn't. It would probably be easier going aftermarket with the software.

 

Someone posted here on NAM a while back that there is aftermarket GP engine software in development ... if that comes out it's probably your best bet to get JCW+ engine performance.
Someone (in Germany?) was selling the GP intercooler a few months ago - something like $800! There's some huge aftermarket ones I think less expensive.

I believe the JCW suspension is the same as the GP - it's just that it's been adjusted to match the car; I think the JCW suspension has a number of settings to be used on installation so it's just a matter of getting it set correctly for your car.

There's also a JCW rear spoiler - not quite the same as the GP but close and mounting to the stock positions.

 

It's really a dollars and sense issue. There are numerous after market performance add-ons to get you the power that is equivalent to the GP... but at a premium price... especially if you cannot do the installs yourself. The rationale conclusion is....if you want it to be close to a GP then go buy a GP. You can still pick one up for $31,150 and your 06 MCS will still retain pretty solid residual value so you won't necessarily take a bath.

Cheers!

 

Gee, I don't mean to sound rude, but if I wanted to buy a GP, I'd buy a GP. I need the rear seats and, no disrespect to the GP owners, but I like the look of the regular S better. I know that I could get to similar or better power levels throught the afermarket, but I want to keep the car with stock parts. My simple questions was what is needed, using approved MINI parts would do it.

Thanks to those who actually answered my question!

 

Well, there is no combination of MINI approved parts that = GP hp performance, the GP is unique but You can easilly do it aftermarket and get the hp with the mods that motor on listed
but your resale value and reliability of course is diminished in the process.

 

I'm interested in the GP's undertray packaging. Does anyone have any pictures of these? Would aftermarket exhausts or products like the M7 under-chassis braces fit with these in place? Is there any aftermarket version of these available? I'm trying to personalize my MINI but want it to look near stock on the outside so aerodynamic enhancements that aren't readily seen would be a nice upgrade.

 

"Aerodynamic enhancements" on the street are quite useless. The speeds that you required to reach before a small reduction in drag becomes even the least bit usefull are well beyond anything but the track.

However if you wanted the undertray then picking up some plastic sheet stock (ABS perhaps) and utilizing the many underbody fatener points is an easy task.

 

Yeah but I've got a book of service records and I keep cars until they go to that great racetrack in the sky so niether of those bother me (And for the most part its not terribly hard to return to stock if you do it right)

 

Even some aluminum sheets and using a variety of faster points under the body and you could smooth out hte underbody withou t much effort, but like you said, the gains are only seen at the track and our German owners on the Autobahn

 

Not withstanding the "useless" comments of planeguy, there are pics of the underbody panels on GPMINI ... for example:
http://gpmini.net/wp/2006/07/under_macminis_gp/
http://gpmini.net/wp/2006/08/underneath_gp0032/

 

I don't expect to see any real extra downforce in day to day driving but felt that the smoother undercarriage may help highway fuel economy some. And I really wouldn't pay for a set of these trays but the idea of spending a weekend building some out of sheet alluminum sounds like a good way to spend some time.
Thanks for the pics GBMINI!

 

The GP is amazingly economical
Maybe it's the engine programming, but some of it must come from the underbody panels

 

You guys actually check mileage on the GP?? LOL I just drive the S*** out of ours and filler up HA HA HA then repeat as necessary.

 

I'd bet the lighter tire and wheel combo has more benefit to the fuel consumption than anything else. It's one of the main reasons some lightwieght wheels are on my wishlist too, better performance and better economy in one easy upgrade.

 

If someone can produce the drag coeffeicients of a GP and a standard S I will calculate the diffrence that would be made at highway speeds of such panels, granted that drag number gets the benefit of the spoiler and the rest of the kit, but the few tenths diffrence in drag wont amount to much at 70mph

 

See this thread for the intercooler part numbers & prices:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/john-coop...t-numbers.html

As mentioned, the software is the other part. GL finding a dealer who can get this stuff for you. Apparently, many of the GP-specific parts are embargoed by MINIUSA now. The dealer has to produce pics of the damaged pieces in order to get the new ones.

 

I'd like to get some more opinions on this. On 70mph 'sweepers' on the freeway the car seems much more stable and 'glued' than my '05 JWC car (it had the stock suspension). Is this all attributable to the suspension? Just curious....

 

It might be the underbody panels?