First off, sorry if this is a duplicate thread. I looked around and didn't see this topic addressed.

But to get to the point, I got my MINI newsletter from my local dealership and saw that there's a JCW upgrade for Coopers now, that involves a cold air intake, an upgraded exhaust, a high performance chip and some polished cylinder heads. I'm not a gear head, but that's what I got out of it. I called for the price and they said it was about $3400 plus tax, installed, and would give me about 20hp over the ~116hp of the standard Cooper.

My question is, has anyone else heard about this and what do you think? I like the Cooper, and don't need to go much faster than I already do, but the two things I'd really like are a better clutch and some more low end torque. I guess I'm looking for comments regarding value, whether you think the specific parts are worse/better than currently available aftermarket products and anything else you feel compelled to say. :smile:

Regards,
Steve

 

Well, I think the primary thing is that the JCW kit won't compromise your warranty. Perhaps certain classes of racing or certain competitors prefer going at it in a Cooper with a normally aspirated engine.

Practically speaking (...I'm not a gearhead either) if you want hp, just get an MCS. If you want still more, get a JCW MCS. I just don't get spending that kind of money for Cooper performance upgrades (...unless there's some special application.) Ordinary motorers who don't think Coopers are plenty fast and plenty fun should just get an S and be done with it.

 

I am a JCW fan, but I cannot fathom defending the JCW kit for the MC. It is way overpriced. If you go aftermarket, you can get the same performance for less price without voiding the warranty. I would go this route:

• R-Speed Exhaust (an exhaust will not even remotely void your warranty)
• Pipercross intake (again, an intake will not even remotely voide your warranty)
• AmD One-Click ECU (this is an ECU upgrade that lets you switch between modified and stock and therefore not detectable to the dealer).

You should be able to get all of this for a hair over a $1000 and it should yeild you pretty close to 20hp at the crank, or 17hp at the wheels.

 

just test drove the new 05 MCS, wow what an improvement over the 04 and older with the new improved tranny and a few extra hp, it felt remarkably close to the JCW I drove about a year ago without the $6K upgrade, the 05 is what the MCS should have been from the start....just move up, the resell is still fabulous on the MC

can't wait to test drive the new 05 MCS Works, only an extra 10 hp, but the new tightened tranny should make it a real little rocket and maybe worth considering the extra $6K

 

The mag EURO did a comparison test a while back with serveral tuners vs. stock. The JCW Cooper actually lost low end torque and, according to the writers, lost in the test vs. stock. Pretty much any mod you do to either MCS or MC is going to push the torque curve higher, losing bottom end.

Yeah, Nitro, the pulley, or turbo are different, but thats it.

 

It is hard to get low end torque with mods. However, the MCS JCW does add low end torque. I think two main things they do get the most power: smaller pulley (13.5 % or so) and port and polish the head (bigger valves maybe too?). So, you have to ask yourself which of the two gave them that torque. If it was the head, then the MC will probably get some improvement in torque too from that specific mod. I believe the MC with JCW or equivalent aftermarket parts would perform much better overall than stock. Even if torque ends up less overall, it should not be that much less to make much difference, and the extra hp would be a big plus. So, I see these mods as a good thing. About head work -- it helps the breathing so you get more power from other mods such as intake and exhaust. The intake and exhaust by themselves may not add much power, but with the head work that extra power is greater.

JCW adds value and good performance. It is a good kit. Other equivalent mods are cheaper, but don't have the JCW pedigree and won't help your resale value as much (in case you ever decide to sell). It is not that much money in the overall scheme of things. If you want it, go for it. JCW is also adding suspension parts too for a good price, which will provide better performance than stock suspension. If MINI would sell the JCW engine upgrades for the CVT, I'd do it for sure and continue with JCW suspension. Since they won't (they don't want to stress the CVT), I'm going aftermarket for further mods. :smile:

 

I would have to agree...