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JCW GarageInterested in John Cooper Works (JCW) parts for your 1st Generation MINI? This is where JCW upgrades and accessories for the Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs are discussed.
Had a shop put in a “turbo” straight muffler where the stock jcw resonator used to be. Cut down on the overall volume and drone. But did get rid of most of the crackles and pops. Which were cool but sometimes a little too loud also. Has a decent deep tone still.
Still no mufflers in the back. I’ll get some sounds clips soon. Pretty happy with the result though. Still a sporty nice tone and volume without being excessive.
Almost looks like an old school glass pack ("cherry bomb"). Sounds pretty good, would have thought it would be a lot louder but maybe it's the device you're recording on, not sure. How's the 25mph neighborhood 3rd gear drone level?
If you watch the other video I posted, that droned A LOT.
This has a deep tone but the drone has been cut to maybe 1/4 of what it was. It really was dump truck sounding before.
the guy at the shop showed me a flow master and magnaflow straight through round can mufflers. With holes inside. Pretty much looked like resonators. The muffler I got was a “turbo” muffler he said. Kinda bends inside and still has the resonator looking holes throughout.
If I end up wanting to change it down the road, I would probably buy my own 2 stainless steel rear mufflers that resemble the jcw setup. And put a higher quality resonator in the spot where this current muffler is.
if there is a good sale on a nice aftermarket system someday, I may just go that route.
If this were back when I was in my college years, I would have kept the straight pipes and probably gutted the cat and tried to shoot flames. Different times. Lmao.
I fixed my driver side door handle issue today. Wouldn’t pull open from the outside. But could lock and unlock manually.
Took 5 minutes to pull off the door panel.
the metal cable that comes down from the outside handle was in the right spot, but had popped out of the plastic sort of guide bracket. So it wasn’t actually pulling anything when you pulled the handle.
Had to Detach where the cable ends to feed it vback through the bracket. Then pulled it and guided the end back into place. If it happens again, I’ll look for a way to reenforce that part of the bracket where it pops out or get a new bracket if they have an updated piece.
Got around to removing the vinyl stickers the previous owner had on the headlights and the yellow film. Then buffed the headlights with a random orbital and some meguiars cleaner wax because it’s all I had laying around. Worked pretty well. Did a before after at dusk with the flash.
A heads-up on the wheel alignment.
Your car has been lowered and has different camber than factory specs.
Might be a good idea to have the front and rear toe adjusted.
I did much the same thing to my 05, JCW. the toe was too far "in", both front and rear. Makes a difference in the overall handling, not to mention tire wear.
Alignment is in the near future. Was contemplating on waiting to change the tires because I might go with a different size, which will affect alignment as well.
I also used the 3M headlight restore kit on my lights yesterday. Came out pretty good.
Before the restore Before the restore
Removed chrome trim ring on the headlight with the broken washer Taped off the other light
End result after restore. End result after restore.
Ordered an a/c clutch coil assembly from eBay for $40. They do state that the clutch/coil is for the OEM 6 rib unit and not aftermarket units. I’m guessing OEM supplier compressors would work with it, but not sure.
Got someone that will put it in for $100 and make sure the a/c is charged fully.
they want another $250 to do the crank pulley though. Might just pick up the Hamburg-technic harmonic damper pulley from ECS with a new bolt since that one is only $150. Would like to get the ATi damper, but with the labor costs, it’s starting to get too expensive.
I keep replying to myself and using this thread as a log of sorts.
Ordered the following parts:
- ATI 2% larger Harmonic Damper
- new crank bolt and crank seal
- OEM Timing chain, guides, and tensioner
- Timing chain cover seal and 2 oil pump seals
- Crank position sensor Seal
- new belt
- OEM supplier belt Tensioner
To install everything and the a/c clutch/coil, as well as recharge the a/c system, it’s $700 in labor.
When the parts cost more than the labor, it seems like a great price on the labor. Haha.
If a mod wants to move it to the BUILDS section, that’s cool. This forum section is JCW and R53 specific, so that’s why I originally posted it here.
Got order shipment confirmation on my parts orders. Ordered some from way motor works and some from Detroit Tuned. Wanted to pick up one of their Diverter valves, but spent more than I wanted to as it is. Haven’t been throwing any codes And doesn’t seem like I have any obvious DV issues, so I’ll save that for another time.
The mobile mechanics just got done a little while ago on my car.
new a/c compressor kit with drier and evap etc...
new belt and tensioner
Ati 2% larger harmonic damper
new crank seal
Labor was $350 for everything. Parts probably added up to $900 or so. Got a decent amount done at once. ATI was a pricey upgrade but the smooth idle is nice.
Turns out a cravenspeed lightweight pulley was on the car. So glad I got the ATi. Car runs so much smoother at idle.
Looking good. I had similar exhaust setup as you. I just added a flowmaster 71415 and it sounds awesome. With just the resonator like you have it was too loud. Whats next for your car?
