Hi,

Last week I purchased an 06 Mini with the factory JCW package. It has 20K miles on it and is my new daily driver. So far the family really likes the car. I would like to get a little more out of it. I have been searching multiple sites and saw a list of recommended items one of this lists but I cannot find it. The only thing I remember is upgrading the intercooler to the GP.

My thinking is that I am ok with the JCW exhaust. For now I am OK with the suspension setup and will dump the runflats when I need new tires. I want to keep the reliability since it is my daily driver. I will try and do most of the work myself but if the group has a recommendation for a tuner in the SF Bay Area that would be great.

I am coming from an E34 M5 daily driver, fun car in a different way from the Mini. The Mini is almost as quick 0-60 but I would assume I can get more for not alot of money.

Sorry, I am sure this question has been asked a bunch of times. If you want to send me to a link that would be great.

Thanks for the time

 

Do a pulley...since it is a jcw, it has a mildly ported head, a 17 would be good...a 15 might not be too noticable....(you have about an 11% reduction compared to the S).
That, and maybe a custom tune...heck you could Do a cam too, but depends on your driving style, and you might need to add bigger injectors..

 

As for the brand of pulley, WayMotorWorks has a nice kit, and he now has a jcw pulley puller, needed to do the swap(a universal or s mini puller will not work). He has a waiting list of a couple weeks I think, but it is thecway to go IMO.

 

And I would only add:

1) Alta's JCW reusable foam air filter element ( fits in the JCW box )
2) Two step colder Iridium NGK plugs too. BKR8EIX (Gapped from .032 to .034)

Absolutely nothing wrong with the JCW exhaust btw. If you are looking for a little more pep in the top end, remove the center resonator pipe section before the two cans and repalce with straight pipe....only a tad more burble and pop and the engine breathes so much better in upper speeds.

 

OK, first you do not need to dump the JCW pulley. Anything bigger is over spinning the supercharger and though it's making more boost, the air is hotter, which decreases air density. The JCW pulley size is chosen to spin the supercharger to it's maximum rated rpm. However, if you do choose to go that route, a 15% is considered safest but might only net you 5 peak HP.

An better intercooler won't increase your HP, but it will allow you to keep more of your HP during hard driving. Do your research though as aftermarket intercoolers are expensive and often have more trade-offs than the stock intercooler. The stock unit is not really that bad.

Stick with the stock spark plugs, but change them once a year.

Change the airfilter! The stock airbox is actually pretty darn good, but a better filter will make a difference.

A cam and header will make the big difference. There are different cams out there for your driving style.

After all that, if you need more a good head will make an appreciable difference.

Oh, and no matter what you choose, get a custom tune to bring it all together and get the most out of the mods!

Enjoy!

 

Swapping out the SC pulley is as much of a driver depandant item as selecting the proper cam.
The fact is, a JCW has a ported head (not a lot, but a bit), and as such has lower back preassure, allowing the SC to flow a bit more air volume before it begins make too much heat, and you loose power.
IMO the 17% pulley, and the GP IC would be a great combo on a GP..IF the driver is not tracking the car, and not spending extended time at the red-line rpm wise....having 93 octane fuel would help too!! The OP indicated the car is his Daily Driver...and so as such, the extra boost at lower engine RPM's should help add drivibility and lots of FUN to his commute. The GP IC is a $$ upgrade, but it is about ensureing you don't loose HP due to high intake temps due to the pulley or hot ambient temps...and it is the best IC out there IMO for the $$.

 

Thanks,

My commute is around 50 miles round trip on a nice stretch of highway and is reversed commute so I drive fairly quickly on a nice stretch of freeway. I think I would consider myself a decent driver, not a great driver. When I get a car I always get the model with the most HP and I do use it from time to time.

I have a feeling that in the next month it might get liberated by my wife which means it will be our date car.

Got to love her she is the one that really pushed me to get the car and wanted to make sure we got a stick since the M5 was a stick.

Sounds like a common thread is that I need to get it tuned. Does anyone know of a tuner in the SF Bay Area, preferably the Peninsula? Or should I make the 8 hour trip to the LA area? If I do that I would save up and get a cam.

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

Tunes in CA are problematic...a few "tune party" events have been shutdown. RMW is on the west coast...does traveling to do tunes...and also can do remotes.
To make the car more fun to drive, get a bigger rear swaybar!! It may not add HP, but will make the car handle better...especially on the turns, and on/off ramps!

 

I was looking at the Madness filter for the JCW. I was not thinking about the Alta foam. Which is better? Also after driving my M5 with the UUC short shift kit on it. Which one do you guys think is the best one out there. I saw that B&M makes one but looks like it will not work on an 06. Is the Craven one good, or???

I htihnk that once I get more funds I will give RMW a call and see what I can do.

 

Consider the tune to be the "final" step to bring you items together as one...as an singular item, you can pick up some hp with no other mods, but I would reccomend doing everything else first...both rmw and WMW are great resources...since you are Planning on buying a few parts, I'm sure a quick phone call and chat with either one would give you ideas on how best to spend you money!!
I have used both, rmw for a tune+ tool, and wmw for a few items, both great companys.
I have heard of a few Alta foam filters failing...not sure if the right cleaners were used or not, but I have been told that foam filters in general must be monitored...either way, an aftermarket filter is a good move, the JCW filter is kinda restrictive, and at about $60 pricy for a disposable filter! Foam will let more noise our, cotton filters seem to be a bit more durable IMO in the longterm...both have benifits and drawbacks.
When you do a pulley, just be sure to get a jcw puller..wmw currently has a loaner!!

 

And fixed or adjustable camber plates with a TSW X-Brace from Way ( http://www.waymotorworks.com/ ) which you won't regret.

Then you can always make a weekend drive down to Mini Corsa ( http://minicorsa.com/index.html ) for a cam, a head or a header and have Jan ( http://www.revolutionmini.com/ ) tune it after the installation.

You will be impressed with the results. I was one of 18 cars at a Jan tune party and my flat spot and loss of power,
at 5,500 rpm, disappeared. I picked up 9 hp and 12 tq and drivability.

A different car than before and and worth twice the price.

On another subject, wonderful thing about cams, heads and tunes. You don't see them.

Hope this helps...

 

Who isn't running 93 octane [AKI] in their JCW? The JCW instructions specify 98 RON, which is approximately 93 AKI in the USA.

 

If you run in the hot southwest, the pulley should be kept below a 15%.IMHO
My best improvements have been
1 15% pulley
2 Sprint Booster(not needed with a good tune ,but I have no tuners around here)
4 upgraded JCW tune and injectors( you should aready have them)
3 GP IC
different JCW air filters won't do much,
pull out the air box flap crap, but that won't do much either except sound faster

anything else to make much difference you will need to pull the engine apart or get crazy with NO or meth

 

No he doesn't. I ordered a 15% pulley from him 4 weeks ago and he did not have a puller. I talked with him maybe 2 weeks ago and he was going to check with his machinist. Haven't heard back yet. The kit is very nice though.
I'm going to try to use a modified Alta puller instead of a 3 jaw puller or cutting the pulley.

 

Anyone in a part of the county where 91 octane is the highest sold...like much of the western USA, and even a few eastern states.

 

WMW Announched on a different thread a he JUST got one like 3days ago...actually has a waiting list he just started to it as a loaner!!

 

Shell used to sell 93 oct, but this summer it droppped down to 91 I had my problems with it anyway. I could go to a drag strip and buy 113-120 ! Always wanted to try the race gas in hot weather to see if the car stayed on tune when it got hot. Cheaper than a NO or meth injection system

 

Do you have a link to that thread? I've been waiting to hear from him about that puller since I already bought the pulley! Thanks!!!

 

You could split the old pulley with a grinder.

 

Ahh, first off, the 15/17 and 19% aftermarket pullies are not "lager", they are that percentage smaller to spin the SC faster.

Secondly, what is the point of going from a JCW stock pulley to a 15% ? Makes no sense when the stock JCW pulley is 14.85% smaller than the stock S pulley ?

If you create wamer air it is always better to go with colder plugs. And if you have done most of the mods we have, going 2 step colder is better for your engine in the long run. Always better to have colder plugs with our applications than not cold enough....other wise damage will most certainly be around the corner.

I have 17 pulley, JCW SC (05-06 Supercharger ),GP IC, JCW airbox with Alta replacement filter and JCW exhuast. When I read my plugs which were one step colder NGK's (7's) they were running too hot...........

Again, always better to err on the side of caution with our engines for the plugs to be colder than not cold enough.

 

What is your budget?

$400 or so will get you an excellent tune (RMW) which maximizes your performance with existing hardware.

No on bigger pulley. 15% is big enough, and your at 11%, so very little to gain. The rate of gain diminishes as the pulley gets smaller due to pumping losses and heat increase.

Best bang for buck, IMHO is cam, head and tune from RMW. It will blow you away and not impact round town driving.

 

I was under the impression that the JCW SC pulley is 11% smaller. Is this not true?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-it-exist.html

 

I had a 15% installed on my JCW and it did make a nice diff

 

that is true