Do let us know what kind of mileage numbers you are getting after a few tanks of gas.

 

Great news. Once the shine wears off I am definitely getting this installed. Yay for warranty coverage.

 

the quoted power figures for the stage 1 kit have always been 192 hp/200 ft/lbs

My gas mileage dropped initially by about 2 mpg. Now it seems to have crept back up to where it was before the kit install.

With a 60/40 highway/city mix, I get just under 30 mpg. Maybe its just that I am not "testing" the power as much now that I know its there.

 

No discounts here in Annapolis Maryland.

 

That thing happens when you get new parts.. its fun to hear it work =]

 

my kit is due in this thursday give or take a day according to the parts dept.
loving it.

 

screw the local dealers. they are charging $150 per hour for labor here and absolutely no discount on parts.

and they wouldn't let me drive a new factory JCW while I was there for service!

 

Tell me more about the change in the shifting pattern with the package. One of my pet peeves is in the sport mode the transmission mapping will never shift up under a light load (ie: it will never shift to 6th at cruise). I overcome this by going to full manual and shifting myself. Does the JCW kit keep the shifting map in sport mode all the time?

 

local dealer has only to install the cd firmware upgrade. there is no tune and the badge, airbox, and tail can be installed yourself. I have so far installed everything myself so far and the dealer has charged me a small fee for computer changes and has no issues at all.

 

I ordered my kit on Wednesday and called my dealer today. They said they do not have a time frame for when the kit will be shipped. Does anyone have solid info on this. It seems strange to say something is available now and take orders but not really have any to ship.

 

Its not a stocked item since VIN is required and the code is coded to your VIN number. I was told it takes two weeks before the dealer will have it in.

 

8 months and now another 2 weeks. I guess I will have to be patient. My dealer said that I was 3rd in line for the kit in the national order bank.

 

Mine was suppose to be in today, but I didn't call to see if it did. Install appointment is for 09/09. My service writer freaked when I told him people are charged 2 to 3 hours. He told me 5 or 6 hours ....haha .... Think they are trying to get over?

 

I was quoted three hours. The service rep passed me to the parts person to discuss discounts. The parts person freaked when I offered to pay the Morristown Mini prices with the shipping. They wouldn't go that low, but did offer me a 10% club discount. They also suggested that they would not install the kit if I bought it elsewhere and brought it in. The service rep may have had a different take on that , but I wasn't going to risk my relationship with this dealership over it.

 

Did they give you an ETA on the kit. I am beginning to wonder just how long the wait will be after we order

 

They expected it to take a week, but I don't have much confidence in that estimate. There wasn't any effort made to nail down the timing because the install is scheduled for Columbus day (October!) because I'm off that day. The dealer if far enough away that any service equates to time off unless I want to inconvenience a friend or my slower half. If delivery takes longer than 7-10 days I'll report back.

 

No--its does not stay it in sport mode all the time unless sport button engaged or going to sport shift even if not changing gears vai paddles or lever.

As soon as I pulled away from the dealership the day of the install (nothing engaged) I felt the car was different. Its as if 1/2 of the sport modes paramaters were dropped back into "norma;" mode.

Simply.

In full auto--very limited (almost none) lag between pressing the pedal and take off. Holds gears longer on upshifting and dependent on pedal pressure.
Will shift up to sixth gear at cruise. Downshifting avaiable w/ pressure on gas pedal. The fiirst time I hit the pedal and it downshifted, I went WHOA BABY....this is awesome.

In sport shift. Holds gears even longer , more agressive shifts. Downshifts as a bit abrupt. SPORT MODE about the same except stops shifting up at fifth gear. No sixth available. Car rocks but a bit jumpy around town.

The 2 modes I use most. Straight full automatic. Manual shifting
w/ sport button not engaged--paddles for shifting gears.

If you really want a deeper explaination/questions-- PM me.

 

I ordered my kit less than 10 minutes after Mini sent out the memo. I was told that it was already showing on backorder.

Now, I don't know if certain orders were automatically scheduled once they became available or they are showing they are "on backorder" because though they are offering the kit now, they need to be shipped from Germany. (one explanation that was explained to me from a parts guy)

Regardless, I can't see more than a few week wait.




When you say "no sixth gear available", you mean it won't go into sixth but you can manually put it in, correct?

Just clarifying.

Emtrey,

BTW, now that the kits are available, are you going to have yours reprogrammed? According to Motoringfile, they said that they few people that did manage to get the kits early (such as yours) are missing out on a large difference that could be had with the correct software.

Here's an excerpt from them.... not sure how true it is but this is what they said....

"It is our understanding that the air intake and the exhaust from the dealer installed JCW (manual) kit can bolt right up to an Auto MCS. However it’s also our understanding that the ECU tuning currently available for the manual (according to the folks at MINI we’ve spoken with about this) does not work on the automatic Cooper S.
Therefore the majority of power gains that the car gets is not available to those who have installed the manual kit on an auto MCS.
So the short answer is, make sure you’re getting the MINI approved auto kit (which will be released soon) when ordering the JCW upgrade for your automatic Cooper S"

 

I am not sure. I trust Gabe and his info implicitly BUT if my kit is not getting anything excepet what came from the exhaust and intake (and not the ECU), it will be even more amazing. I ofered him a test drive ( he lives near me) but he never took me up on the offer.

I have driven my friends' JCW manual trans R56 and the engine feels the same as mine so I am sure something was done to my ECU (and the shifting is different which would require the ECU being involved). The only JCW MINI I have driven that felt better was the stage 2....but...ain't happenin around here. My wife loves driving the MINI and hates driving stick. My other car is a 6 speed manual and I have driven stick shifts for over 40 years.

I will take a wait and see posture. I would hate an ECU flash to be a step backwards in performance but I do not want a car that might have emissions testing issues. I love my car as is but if I would forced to give up a bit, I would deal with it ( I have another high perf car so it would not be the end of the world)

Yes you can put in it into 6th manually but then you are in manual mode till you release it.

PS--they are all "on backorder" till they confirm your VIN. Mine was too, for 2 hours.

 

Thanks bud, much appreciated. I hope your kit is the same, I was merely mentioning it because I'd hate to leave free HP on the table.

I'm sure it's the same power-wise, there's probably some little quirk that's different.

Perhaps one day we can all meet up and get a dyno run for comparative purposes.

Mark

 

thanks to you, too. Trust me, I am watching this very closely as it unfolds.
I can't wait till you guys get yours so we can compare notes.

Of course, if they "call me in", I will comply.

 

Not to hijack my own thread but I noticed in your signature you have rear seat pull down straps.

How well do they work? I hate having to reach inside the car and attempt to pull the seats up.

Thanks,

Mark

 

They work great. Its a gotta have IMHO. The only neagtive is I had to krazy glue on the little velcro tabs they provide. They pull off the grab trabs after sticking to the seat backs foir awhile. Easy fiix.

 

Why would Mini say the kit is available and when you order it the kit is on back order. Was it not bad enough we had a 8 month delay but now I just called my dealer and they don't even show an estimated ship date for the kit. Once again the dealer has my money and they have no time table. This is exactly what happened to me 8 months ago.

Does anyone have a contact at Mini Corporate to get info on when the kits might start shipping.

 

When I made this post, I was told it was on backorder.

I JUST hung up the phone with my dealer and they said it's off backorder status. He said I should have it in roughly 5 days.

HTH's,

Mark