Anyone report whether the jcw's have this annoying feature?

 

It's on the parts diagram on RealOEM, so it looks like it is. I'm going to check one out tomorrow morning, I can double check then.

If it does have the ASD module, it can be defeated the same way it is on the Cooper S - ESYS being the method of choice.

 

Write. Does not seem right. Please keep us posted. GK

 

JCW review on MotoringFile: http://www.motoringfile.com/2015/05/...cw-for-a-spin/

 

Rkw thank you for this post! It's nice to see a GP owner giving his thoughts on the new JCW.. And also that he likes that color combo lol.

 

I also see it in RealOEM, however it's not always perfectly accurate. Besides, ALL gasoline BMW's now have active sound, so thinking that a closer-to-BMW MINI won't have it is illogical.

Thanks for the link. The point in that little-review that stood out for me was he was comparing the "r-compound" tires on the GP2 to the all-seasons on the JCW, which is hardly a fair fight.

 

When I say that's not right...I mean to put fake sound on a JCW. Why not put fake sound on a formula one car too.:-)

 

I still think Active Sound Design is a weird feature. My exhaust sounds fine, much more so than my 2007 MCS (no burble at all). I don't wanna hear it through the speakers. I want to hear music through the speakers. Why they think they have to do that is beyond me. It's like the Auto Start/Stop. You're paying for stuff you probably don't even want. They should make these things options not standard. Also, I don't find my ride height too high at all. I do have the sport suspension, so that includes a rear sway bar, and I do have a much stiffer frame from the convertable, but I bet most will not want to lower the car.

 

It's a much larger picture that that. First off, how a race-car sounds is totally irrelevant unless you're Bernie trying to put on a circus-show. Back in production-car land, an OEM could spend an absurd amount of time and money on acoustic-tuning the cylinder head ports, intake manifold, boost tubes, intercooler, compressor, and air filter box, only to have the project director tell them to do it all over again because they adjusted their torque curve requirements along with going for SULEV. At the end of the day, most of the OEMs are now going with a performance [read: power + emissions + low NVH] and then using in-cabin tuning to create the psycho-acoustic experience they deemed appropriate for that specific model. This allows them to use the fundamental engine in a plethora of applications without being stuck with specific acoustic makeup only relevant for one model.

Purists ideals are a very very minor part of the equation, because the people with those ideals are rarely actually buying cars (see: Jalopnik commenters praying for a manual trans M4 to buy in 15 years for $4k).

So, the couple people on the forum that either don't like it out of principle and the even fewer that don't like the actual sound will already have an ESYS cable ready to go to flip that bit in the ECU. "Problem" solved.

 

Got you. I made a bypass harness for my f56.
My perspective is no purest in any
way. I drive a 4 cycle engine for a reason. I like the sound and the way it drives. But I also like electric cars...for a different reason. On the r56 they basically had a mechanical moneymaker that made the cabin more noisy.
I my present f56 with the disconnected ASD I have heard problem sounds in the engine that I would not of heard with it connected. Yes there is a lot of soundproofing. That is the reason they do it....So you think your car sounds cool......

 

Ryephile well said. Everyone has all these extensive detailed opinion s on the active sound and I'm like hey that thunder grey is a nice color combo lol.

 

Confirmed - checked the rear service area and lo and behold, the ASD module was there.

Keep in mind the ASD is enhancing the ENGINE noise and not the exhaust noise. Two different things. The JCW exhaust needs no enhancing! I've disabled it for research purposes on my Cooper S and I find the cabin noise too quiet without it. I know Gregory disagrees though and I think it comes down to different strokes for different folks. I do agree with the sentiment that you should be able to turn it off from the menu though.