I've had my JCW wing on since the day I got the car. I have over 400 miles on it now and have yet to hear any whistling sounds at any speed.

 

Thats no good news for me when i'm trying to find the problem.

Happy that it works for you.

 

Well... It might be good news. It suggests that the fault isn't in the design, but is possibly a flaw in the installation. I'd seriously consider taking some blue painters tape and taping up all the seams/gaps to see if it really is a whistling issue with one of them. If so, a clear silicone sealant to thinly caulk the offending seam may fix the problem.

 

You are right...I will do that. The dealer did say I was their first install of the wing. Thats not good to hear.

 

That might be the problem. But we installed the spoiler ourselves here at home, and it was our first (and only) install to date. Maybe we're just better at it than the pros?

 

Do you have to use any type of seal...what did the instructions say in terms of wind noise etc etc.

 

No seal of any kind, and there were no instructions either. We had been told by a friend that it just bolted on, and he was right. Maybe we just lucked out, or maybe you just had some bad luck.

 

Maybe its not the wing at all

 

I don't have the hole you show in the circled photo. Maybe you should get an exchange. Have you tried taking off your antennae to see if that is the source?

Take your spoiler off and reinstall it. It only takes 10 minutes and you'll identify any loose parts. Make sure you have the strip installed which abuts the window.

 

where do you uninstall the spoiler? I didn't install it.

 

lift the boot and you'll see some rubber plugs...remove them then use a 10 mm socket to remove the bolts, careful not to drop them into cavity...then just pull the spoiler off the roof... you'll then be able to see the 2 bolts which hold the pedestals on to the roof portion and make sure they are tight

 

Well I have to wait until tomorrow. I have enough tools to open up a tool store...but no 10 mm. Darn it.

 

Good news everyone. I got it fixed.

I first followed Flaco's advice and took the wing off. Drove the car and there was no longer a whistling sound without the wing. So now it was clear the wing is the problem.

I Did notice it wasn't tightened down enough when I took it apart so I tightened the bolts more when I reattached the wing. Test drove it and the whistling noise was still there but not as much. It was more of a chirping sound now and not at the 45 - 70 MPH range. Now it was at the 55 to 70 MPH range. Yeah...but still not acceptable.

While playing with the wing, the BMW service contacted me...how convenient. I explained what I did and suggested they look at it and consider some type of sealant along with the proper tightening. They said bring it down and they will take a look at it. yeah again....immediate service!!

I'm at the service department at about 2 pm. The guy was very helpful. He drove with and without the wing to recreate the problem. He also taped up all the seams of the wing but still heard whistling. The look on his face was as though he didn't want to break the bad news. After about 2 more hours, they said they couldn't stop the whistling but narrowed it down to the more center area of the wing where the two wing supports are that are bolted to the mini...

They said they still wanted to work on it some more. They were determined. He also said that they would order another wing thinking it was just a bad wing and if that didn't work I said I would go with the standard rear wing.

At about 4:30 pm, they tracked me down in the mini dealer area and told me they fixed it!!!! They had to use a sealant. I test drove it and absolutely no whistling sound!!!!!

To top it off, I might be getting a complementary clear bra for all the trouble from the dealer!!!!!!!

I'm happy.

 

Congrats on getting it fixed. I imagine it was annoying having to hear that whistle, but I feel the wing is so goodlooking it is worth some extra effort. It'd be nice if you could somehow change the title of this thread. I find it irksome when one person has an issue and suddenly no one should purchase said item ever again.

 

I tried to change title...don't know if it will take.

To answer the "one person has a problem" you raised...Its not a one problem issue...i'm just the dog willing to bark. BMW service did comfirm with BMW HQ that it is a known problem with the the wing and that the reengineering of the wing is underway. But the guys at the service department stuck there neck out to try and fix it with what they had. They said wind noise is a known issue on many areas of the mini...not just the wing so they used past experience to address the issue.

So I would argue it is not just a one person issue and I would still say buyer beware, because it is my belief that not all service departments would take extra steps to resolve the problem. The day shift crew who fixed my problem were a lot more helpful and determined than the night crew who took the car the first time and just said..."we don't know what to do". Thats what led me to call Ask Mini"

Not everyone is proactive like me and probably would have walked away or had the old wing put back on. Actually one of the mini salesmen opted out of installing the new wing on his car because of the problem they had with mine.

 

I need to be educated. Can someone tell me about this wing. Is it JCW? If not, then who?
Thanks in Advance for any useful info on this pic.
Motor On!

 

Yes, its JCW that i ordered and had put on.
I like it very much.

 

I've noticed wind sound on mine now sancochojoe and MINI Sterling thinks it's the same problem, so we'll see. Did they just fill your spaces with silicone?

 

Yes, they applied some type of sealant and so far not a single chirp at any speeds. The day shift in service worked on it.

I have to go back and get re-striped. I can see glass cleaner streaks under the stripes that I can't get out. The dealer new exactly what that was and it was something the guys in England screwed up and I think they do it often, given the comments made by service.

 

After some research yesterday, I now know that it belongs to the R56 JCW :-)
Has anyone installed the JCW themselves? and then did you use the Glue that Mini Dealers use? or did you find something else that works?
Thanks
Tristan

 

The dealer installed it initially for me and when I had the whistling sound, I took it apart which is not hard and put it back together before taking it back to the dealer only because the car was a week old and I wasn't going to pay for anything to fix it. Just use a 10mm socket, though if you do it yourself.

I personally don't know what sealant they used to stop the whistling, but it worked.

Note: I was the dealers first installation of that wing.

 

Sancochojoe, wow I'm glad they fixed it for you, and not only fixed it, but it seems they went the extra mile for ya!

 

The r56 spoiler is much easier to install than on the r53.

 

I'm glad their is a happy ending to this thread'. I have had the JCW wing since delivery 8000 miles ago and have not experienced this problem.Q

 

We installed mine by ourselves. No glue or sealant required, just bolts.