Been debating a ton of different cars for a year and landed on this manual 2017 JCW as my new weekend / semi-daily car! I'm coming from a 2015 BMW 328i with bootmod3 stage 1 for the past few years. Excited to be in a MINI and back in a manual! What should I know??

 

Keep an eye on the top passenger side motor mount. It'll go bad eventually. Not of matter of if but when. Don't sweat it, just be aware! Motor on!

 

Welcome!

The B48 has head room for extra power. Whether you go down the add-on box route or an actual tune.

The fake hood scoop can be made real and working. Eventuri.

You can fit 235/40R18 tyres with the correct wheels as well as 5 - 10mm spacers depending on the wheel offset.

You'll chew through brake pads.

Bimmercode and an OBDII adapter can remove the Stop/Start as well as other changes.

That's off the top of my head.

 

Be prepare for your friends and neighbors to poke fun at you for owning a Mini. My neighbor's 80+ yr old mother says I am too big for Mini. Then again, I am 6' and 230lbs..

 

The battery will die without giving you one iota of warning. As my buddy who works in BMW/MINI service said "they start everyday, until they don't". Plan on replacing & monitoring proactively.

 

yep, battery tender helps but if you dont drive it daily they tend to have a short life.

 

Expect to pay a lot of money for maintaining it if you don't DIY.

Example, I was quoted close to $700 to change the alternator belt on my old 2018 S.

If the battery dies and and you take it to a dealer you will be reaching deep into your pockets!

 

Congrats, you've bought my favorite Mini. I've had four in the last 15 years.

I've 108k on my 2018 Works car with a B48, running Dinan Elite for 256 hp, and 286 tq at the wheels. Mileage is 29.7 mixed.

Enjoy!

If you must, put a Quaife in it (spares the brakes as the electronic diff wears them out if you rely on it).

If you're ill, put the JCW Pro coilevers on it, but do NOT lower more than 10-15mm please. With that even the stiff RSB is not required. Camber plates for -1.5-1.8 degrees will balance it, eliminating understeer.

And if needed, run 17x8 wheels and 225mm tires, as the 7"rims and 205s are overwhelmed in the bottom two gears.

But if you're normal and healthy, just enjoy the heck out of the car in its current form!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I appreciate all the responses! I’ll definitely be going for 225 tires and new wheels sooner than later. There are a few bit around the car that need some love. I ordered some wrap and have plans for a red roof and dechrome everything. I’ll drop some photos (or possibly start a new thread for the build). This week I drove from NJ to GA and made a stop at tail of the dragon. Totally stock this JCW is a blast! Loving the car more everyday.