I have a very clean 03 R53 with 90k miles that runs awesome! Looking at all the JCW's out there, I'm wondering if I'm crazy from wanting to source out and perform all the JCW upgrades on my MINI. I know there are less expensive performance upgrades out there that yield the same or more HP, but I was thinking in terms of pedigree for my MINI.

Question for one of the many JCW owners out there; am I crazy? Will my car become a real JCW if I go through the JCW catalog and check off all the boxes?

Does anyone think the dealer will update my engine with 90K miles or will they want me to buy a short block too????

If this topic has been covered in another thread ( I did look), please excuse me.

 

If you want a pedigree , I think you're out of luck with buying the stuff and making a JCW, (if can get it all) as you have a R53, and I believe its too old for the Mini dealers to mess with it.You would need the offical JCW number too However if you wanted to make a JCW replica for much less money , you could get some Ebay JCW badges.Then look around for some aftermarket,or used JCW go fast parts . and be happy .

 

Thanks, but I don't want "just" the badges. I want ALL of the components and I'll pay the dealer to install them (I have an extended warranty that dictates "no aftermarket or non-dealer parts"). Judging what I've been reading, the certificate comes with tuning kit and the dealer updates the software from MINI and updates the service records. lol - I guess I have my answer in terms of whether or not it will be a pedrigreed JCW.....

 

If you order the JCW kit from the dealer they should put it on your car . You would be looking at around $6000.00 for all the parts and labor that would get you to
208 HP. You might get the same HP by buying parts from dealers that have heads,exhaust, larger SC, and tuning at less cost but you would have to check around.

 

Yes.



But it's your car and your money. Do what makes you happy.

 

Word is you can no longer get JCW parts for pre-2007 MINIs from MINI. They are simply no longer made and there is no old stock sitting on shelves.

 

Talk to some of the aftermarket vendors about resolving warranty issues with they parts installed. Some of the vendors would fight warranty issues for their customers. At this point I would go with Aftermarket parts rather than trying to find JCW parts from a dealer.
Another option would be to spend some money on suspension parts rather than engine parts.

 

This is totally possible, and I can even provide ALL the parts for you. But you'll be surprised when you get the cost, vs what you can do afermarket.

I already have a customer with a JCW cylinder head with zero miles on it for sale.

 

Why not buy a newer R53 like a 2006 that already has the JCW kit on it or better yet a R56 JCW?

I would not want to put $6k into a car with 90k miles. That is insane to me.

 

Hey do what you want to do. I have found many of the JCW parts out of a couple junk yards all you have to do is some online findings.

I scored an JCW intake as well as 2nd gen JCW Brembos from a junk yard. I picked the rest of the JCW parts up at the dealer.

The junk yard even sent me the Valve cover plate from the car the intake came from. That by no means makes it a real JCW but what the heck.

 

I appreciate you sharing your opinion. A 2006 R53 JCW sounds like a viable alternative.

 

Thanks!

 

It would be far cheaper and much less hassle to sell your car and buy a good used JCW. Just because you've spent all those miles in the car, don't get emotionally attached to it. It's just a machine.

 

Much harder to do than it seems, I still cry for my totaled MCS and fantasize that one day I'll find it and convert it to a track car. It was more than just a machine it was part of me

 

Speaking as a JCW owner, I bought the car for the piece of mind during the warranty period to have a better performing stock Mini. Since just before my warranty ended I've installed a cam, header and tune. Head is in the future sometime. Speaking from my experience so far, if you stick with the standard items like intake, 15% pulley exhaust and tune, your pretty close +/- to a stock JCW, for much less $$$$. And since you aren't worried about warranty issues, aftermarket seems like a no-brainer.

Talk to the reputable vender's that also race their cars to find out what works best. You'd be surprised at how much crap is out there and sometimes how good the stock stuff actually is.

 

Since I bought an extended warranty (that covers the SC engine, drivetrain and electrical systems, etc.), I'm going to hold-off installing any modifications that might void the warranty. I'll wait until after it expires.

Thanks for all of your opinions!

 

I know WayMotorWorks has a JCW intake for sale for $350 and BavAuto has JCW exhaust: $573 for the axle-back and $267 for the center resonator.

 

I did a similar upgrade on my '06 R53 last Spring. Did not go with the full kit, but did the following:

- JCW Intake
- JCW Exhaust
- Helix 15% reduction pulley
- JCW Aero Kit
- JCW Strut brace
- JCW Intercooler cover (just for the bling)

Next will be suspension and brake kit.

The car has the look and 99% of the performance. I decided to upgrade because my car has only 25K miles, and is a late edition R53.

For an '03 with 90K miles, honestly it may be less expensive to simply sell your car and find a true R53 JCW.

 

mmmm....aero kit *drools*

Did the strut brace help much? I'd like to get one but I have the M7 STDs and not sure which, if any, bars will work with it.

Btw, how much do you like the JCW exhaust?

 

Strut brace on this car does very little from a performance standpoint, as the cars are so stiff to begin with. I got it mostly to help protect from strut tower mushrooming, although the M7 is probably a better choice.

Love the sound of the JCW exhaust. It sounds full, not raspy, and goes well with the throttle-lift burble of the '06 MCS. Got a great deal at the local MINI dealership, better price than most of the usual after-market options. The only drawback is that the mufflers are HUGE and are a bit unsightly as you can see the lower portion sticking out under the rear bumper.

Overall, adding these varous JCW bits and the pulley has breathed new life into the car. Definately happy with the results, especially when compared to stock.

See pics in my gallery

 

R53_Speed, thanks for the info. Didn't know I could get the JCW exhaust from other sources like Bavarian Auto. I'll look into this!

 

JackMac, may I ask, where did you find the JCW intercooler cover???

 

Here, on the NAM market place. Here is a pic after install:

 

You will spend more $$$$ trying to convert your R53 then if you just bought a used or even brand new JCW.

Brembo Brakes, Getreg beefed up transmission (Six Speed), Beefed up clutch, 21 pound challenger wheels, Larger Turbo, Different gear ratio's, A very sturdy beefed up engine (211) Horsepower) Other stuff I can't think of right now.

I just don't think it would be feasible to do it. PLUS It still would not be a factory JCW.

You can mod your car to be Very Hi-Performance and it will run with the best of them for much less and end up with a car just as good and be your baby. I would get the catalogs from some of the vender's and read a lot on this and other forums to see what works best and still lets your car be drivable on the streets without giving you a fit.

 

I just bought a 06 JCW long block motor. 9K mileage. Costs $610.00
The parts are out there.