EVERYONE has an opinion on this

I could not get the JCW kit without the head (I understand the head hasn't had enough done to it to make it worthwhile) so I went with the aftermarket stuff - mostly from Webbmotorsport.com (a sponsor here on NAM and a great guy). Randy Webb will take care of you and will back up his products should you have a problem.

Earl

 

If you go aftermarket,

One-ball exhaust $90
K&N Hot Air Intake $50
MTH-Cartune $75
OBD-II Cable $100
15% 0r 19% Pully $150
Total Cost $465!

That's a lot of saving for most of the JCW kit. I've really gotten into the low cost mods, and now I've got to start working on the pully. I don't have one yet. On yea, there's ajusting your SC bypass valve as well. To make sure you don't leak boost, and to make the throttle response a little snappier!

Something to think about..... But sorry, no badges.

Matt

 

"Bleating cries." Hmm... As in the sound you would hear as a herd of sheep are led off the edge of a cliff and plunge to their collective death?

 

Exactly! You win!!

This post was originally intended as a joke. Guess it wasn't a very good one, as most people have taken it seriously...

 

GENTELMEN, start your engines and STOP arguing I still can't wait for an all wheel drive 265hp factory lightweight mini modified to 290hp. When that day arrives you'll be looking back at all these silly arguments and .

 

Not really because then someone is going to want to increase it to 350hp. You can't set a limit to it. Heck it was only a year ago or so that everyone was saying man if I could only get to 200hp, then it was 215hp, now it is 250hp with the twincharged kit and even then people are asking if they can rais the boost for more power. I don't think it would even matter if the Mini came out with AWD and 500hp. It is still fun to watch all the kits come out though.

 

sure, <$500 is a big savings, but what about INSTALLATION for the *******es (incluting me) that don't know what an ECU is?
BTW, I am NOT quite that stupid, and I will learn anyway

-Paul

 

ROFLMAO
Guess that goes for any man.

My $0.02.

My performance mods have been reasonably priced and 100% reliable, although my warranty is a fond memory at best.

Alta 15% pulley with R. Webb install: $400
Alta CAI with silicon tube: $260
UNIChip : $750
Scorpion Cat-back exhaust: $520
H&R Coilovers, RDR 22mm Rear Sway Bar, set of 4 RDR Control Arms (all used): $1000
New heim joints for control arms: $320
Denso IK-22 plugs (used): $25
Magnecor 8.5mm plug wires: $50

Total: $3,325

Still way less expensive than a JCW, with at least as much hp available.

But as almost half of my expenses have been suspension related, I think I have gotten a great ride for a very reasonable amount of aftermarket expenditures. Something the JCW just couldn't compete with on a dollar for dollar basis. Granted I didn't finance my mods through the bank which would have been possible for a JCW kit, but then again, my overall monthly payments are lower which allows me to mod a piece at a time.

 

I love my Works kit. But I bought the car that way, on the used market. I don't know if I woulda shelled out the extra 5-6K at the dealer for an install. but I'll tell you it sure is nice to drop the car off at our local BMW/Mini dealer and not worry about it.

Different Strokes for Different Folks.....

 

Most likely you are right, for most people more is better but for me less is more. give me 265hp in a car that less than 2000lb and I'm one happy driver.

 

[QUOTE=JCW Driver]I love my Works kit. But I bought the car that way, on the used market.
Just curious what year is your car, how many miles when you bought it, were the modifications made when you bought it and lastly how much did you pay for it? you can pm me if you want.
tnx

 

I found it easy. The HAI was a web order with a cc, and 10 min work.

I didn't weld the exhaust.

The computer stuff may take a bit to get used to, but there may be someone in your area who's done it who would walk you through. If you go with someone else installing the pully, bump it up to ~$400, and add some spark plugs for $50 more (forgot them earlier). Still less than $1k. That's a lot of green.

I'm not advocating this as a best, it's just a low cost compramise. The one-ball isn't as good as the aftermarket, and the HAI, has an H instead of a C, but what the heck. Different strokes for different folks.

I could have afforded the works kit, but there was still a wait when I got my car.... And I like instant gratification. Don't know what I'd do if I did it over again......


Matt

 

are the JCW owners then going forward to mod their suspension...sway bar, springs or coilovers? how about wheels? I'm curious if warranty worries make you hold back on these important fronts. Too bad JCW didn't address a few of these tidbits in his warranteed kit, eh?

 

I think the amount of warranty coverage is different for each person based on their risk level. My last MCS was given back to BMW via a buyback which required lawyers and the sticky issue of my pulley came up. With the situation that I was in, it was getting a little messy and I could have been stuck with some costs as well as possibly be stuck with the car. Since that was the scenario that I went through, warranty was a little more sensitive for me. But it still was not the main reason I got the JCW. Some people are willing to take the risk or don't feel there really is a risk. I drive a lot of miles on my car (150 miles a day), and I want it to last a long time (at least 200,000 miles), before getting a new car. I also want it to be faster than stock, but I don't want to deal with the long term reliability of parts, or even worry if the manufacturer of these parts are even around in 10 years. I feel the JCW will be reliable up to 200,000 miles and beyond, and I don't have to worry whether JCW or Mini will be around in 2014. Some people really track there cars and run them hard on the weekend. While I like to ride my car hard, it is not going to be used as a weekend racer, so I am not as concerned about getting every last hp possible out of the car to make it go faster.

I think some things are more prone to warranty issues. Obviously dealing with stuff like rims is much farther outside of the realm of warranty worries than say modifying the engine, the electrical system, adding NOS.... I am interested in the JCW suspension. Mostly because it seems like a good street setup and not one just for the track. But again for me it will come down to the quality of the kit, reviews of the kits, and costs, and whether the JCW or the aftermarket has better options for what I am looking for my needs. It would have been great if the JCW came out with suspension improvement within the JCW tuning kit. But again for most of the weekend racers will laugh at this kit. Some of these people spend $2000-$3000 on suspension components, because they are looking for the extreme setup that will take them to the edge of the car's capabilities, but I am not that interested in that extreme of a setup.

So I guess to answer your question in short, I am not against aftermarket because of warranty and will definitely be considering all the options including aftermarket when I look at a few suspension bits early next year.

 

I upgraded the suspension of my 04 jcw with springs, sway bar and control arm. The wheels were also changed, as for the warranty I discussed the changes with my dealer and he agreed that these changes will not effect the warranty as a matter of fact he was very receptive to how nicely the car handles!

 

There's no fixed answer. It really depends on what you're comfortable doing and what you want to do with your car. I like to drive very hard in the hills where I live, and go on a track a few times a year to really beat the snot out of the car. 200k mile goals for the car? I don't think so....

I don't have a JCW, but if I did I'd be doing the same thing I'm doing now: Getting better at driving, finding a limit in the car I wasn't a good enough driver to be bothered with in the past, and figure out what to do to get the problem corrected, so I can get good enough at driving to find the next limit.

But I'm happy to turn a wrench in the garage, to a point. So all the "bolt ons" aren't a problem. So, if you're looking for a rule, the only one you find is the one you make for yourself!

:smile:

Matt

 

i've been reading and searching more on the jcw as i am ordering my first mcs next week. How much extra would you say you are paying monthly for the kit? Can you get the kit at any time or does it only come as a one time deal apon order?

 

The kit can be ordered and/or installed at any time.

 

You can order the jcw kit later. Does not have to be ordered with your new Mini but, check cost with order and later. You may be able to get a better deal if ordered with the car.

 

but take warning... once you install it, your car will go really, really fast.

 

Can you pick just exhaust, cam-shaft or CAI for JCW?....or you need to get the whole package?

 

No jcw camshaft (yet). You can do the exhaust and/or intake separately, afaik.

 

I have a completely stock MCS, non-JCW and I apparently have too much time on my hands. I'm not looking to argue one side over the other; I just thought I'd share what I've learned:

The JCW kit is comprised of a cat-back exhaust, a re-worked cylinder head, a 14.8% reduction pulley, larger fuel injectors, different spark plugs, an air intake system and an ECU recalibration.
Price = $4,650

I checked some aftermarket sites to try to price out similar components. I tried to stick to items that were a close as possible to the JCW pieces (for better or worse). Where there were several choices available, I tried to come up with an average price:

cat-back exhaust, average price (Webb Motorsports) - $742
cylinder head (Webb Motorsports) - $1,705
15% reduction pulley (Webb Motorsports) - $119
larger fuel injectors (M7 Tuning) - $400
Denso spark plugs (Webb Motorsports) - $65
air intake system (Dinan) - $249
ECU recalibration, average price (Webb Motorsports) - $715
Total price = $3,995

Most places will charge sales tax on a JCW kit (Georgia = 7%). There may or may not be sales tax on aftermarket parts, depending on how they are acquired.

There is no freight charge on the JCW kit. There may or may not be freight charges on aftermarket parts depending on how they are acquired.

There is a $1,000 core charge for the JCW kit. Most JCW core parts are just left at the dealer, so you don't get charged the core charge and you avoid additional freight charges.

There is a $420 core charge for the M7 injectors and a $600 core charge for the Webb Motorsports cylinder head. I assume you must pay the core charge on purchase and send the original parts back to M7 or Webb at your expense prior to getting the core charge back.

Labor charges on the JCW kit are almost a given; you could install them yourself, but that negates the warranty aspect of the kit. Labor charges on aftermarket parts depend on the individual owner's comfort level and capabilities. You could easily rack up equal or higher labor charges going the aftermarket route.

The total cash outlay is not that far apart. But, the JCW kit has to be purchased in one large, ~$5,500 chunk. The aftermarket route can be bitten off in smaller portions.

So, where does that leave me?
I'm glad I've never driven a modded MCS. I'm very happy with my car and I don't know what I'm missing...:smile:

 

If you don't mind going without the warranty peace-of-mind, I would say go aftermarket. You may lose some of the refinement that comes with the JCW kit, but you more than make up for it in bang for buck.

Heck, you could even take the SPI twincharged kit for about 5800, before install though, and get much better #'s than the JCW kit could dream of.
It's all a matter of what you want out of the car.

Do you want the warranty?
Are you comfortable shelling out that much cash at once?

Or are you looking to get the most power for the least amount of money?

Just some things to think about.

Steve

 

The JCW head is an uneccesary expense to get that much HP. With a TB, Pulley, cat-back, CAI and Unichip, I am making 178 at the wheels which is about the same as the JCW. If I add the head and injectors I will pick up another 20 hp with a header.


UNichip - $800
Pulley - 400
exhaust - 700
CAI - < 250
header 800
head and
cam 1800

approx - $4700 + labor = 230 hp (approx)

take away the head cam and header = $3100 for approx 200hp

These numbers are VERY LOOSE but you get the idea.