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JCW GarageInterested in John Cooper Works (JCW) parts for your 2nd Generation MINI? This is where JCW upgrades and accessories for the MINI Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S (R56), and Cabrio (R57) MINIs are discussed.
Well I'm a long time r53 owner and just sold one of my 2x r53s and got this here r58. It has 117k and 100% stock other than wrap and rims. The only issue other than a few dents I'd a cel on for p0030 for front 02 which I ordered already and will be here tomorrow.
my 1st fix was performed today , i went to the scrapyard and got an armrest and the p.o had removed it for track because he was tall. The car was only on the track 3x for short time thxfully.
plans for the car are to doing timing asap ( to be safe ) , stage 2x clutch and 1x piece lightweight flywheel , intake , catless down pipe and exhaust , bov , larger turbo and a tune. Then I plan on addressing the dents and upgrading the exterior more.
Does anybody have any turbo suggestions for me ?
also is this jcw turbo worth selling or do the S's use the same turbo ? I don't know if it's because the bad 02 sensor but this car just seems slow to me. I know I'm used to hopped up r53's but still , it seems sluggish though it's very responsive, just not strong by anymeans..
I will attach a vid of my r53 I still own and pics below of the current r58..
Well I'm a long time r53 owner and just sold one of my 2x r53s and got this here r58. It has 117k and 100% stock other than wrap and rims. The only issue other than a few dents I'd a cel on for p0030 for front 02 which I ordered already and will be here tomorrow.
my 1st fix was performed today , i went to the scrapyard and got an armrest and the p.o had removed it for track because he was tall. The car was only on the track 3x for short time thxfully.
plans for the car are to doing timing asap ( to be safe ) , stage 2x clutch and 1x piece lightweight flywheel , intake , catless down pipe and exhaust , bov , larger turbo and a tune. Then I plan on addressing the dents and upgrading the exterior more.
Does anybody have any turbo suggestions for me ?
also is this jcw turbo worth selling or do the S's use the same turbo ? I don't know if it's because the bad 02 sensor but this car just seems slow to me. I know I'm used to hopped up r53's but still , it seems sluggish though it's very responsive, just not strong by anymeans..
Welcome to the frustrating world of 2nd gen Minis! LOL.
If the car is all stock as far as power modifications are concerned, it will feel slow compared to a massively modified R53. The turbo will dampen the throttle response, which will also make the car feel slightly slower. An aftermarket tune will help with that.
The JCW turbo is slightly bigger than the S turbo. I believe the S turbo has a 38mm compressor wheel, and the JCW should be 40-41-ish mm. The JCW turbo will flow enough for ~300hp, so don't be too quick to swap it out. 300hp will be about safe limit for stock internals, too.
Good idea on timing gear replacement. DON'T reuse any bolts, they are only designed to be torqued to spec once.
I've been happy with my ClutchMaster FX100 clutch kit. I went with the steel flywheel, which is about the same weight as the OEM dual-mass unit. The aluminum one should be a fun ride. Budget an LSD for when you drop the transmission to do the clutch job. The Quaife unit is solid, and so is the MFactory one.
Don't discount @Lou@Prototype-R for the tune. He can help guide you with power upgrades too. His R58 also has the JCW N14 engine, but he's shooting for 400-500hp out of his build. He has a fully built engine with Garret turbo. There's a lot you can do with the N14 engine, and he has an abundance of knowledge about what works and what doesn't. Discuss your goals with him, and he can steer you into the right path of upgrades.
Welcome to the frustrating world of 2nd gen Minis! LOL.
If the car is all stock as far as power modifications are concerned, it will feel slow compared to a massively modified R53. The turbo will dampen the throttle response, which will also make the car feel slightly slower. An aftermarket tune will help with that.
The JCW turbo is slightly bigger than the S turbo. I believe the S turbo has a 38mm compressor wheel, and the JCW should be 40-41-ish mm. The JCW turbo will flow enough for ~300hp, so don't be too quick to swap it out. 300hp will be about safe limit for stock internals, too.
Good idea on timing gear replacement. DON'T reuse any bolts, they are only designed to be torqued to spec once.
I've been happy with my ClutchMaster FX100 clutch kit. I went with the steel flywheel, which is about the same weight as the OEM dual-mass unit. The aluminum one should be a fun ride. Budget an LSD for when you drop the transmission to do the clutch job. The Quaife unit is solid, and so is the MFactory one.
Don't discount @Lou@Prototype-R for the tune. He can help guide you with power upgrades too. His R58 also has the JCW N14 engine, but he's shooting for 400-500hp out of his build. He has a fully built engine with Garret turbo. There's a lot you can do with the N14 engine, and he has an abundance of knowledge about what works and what doesn't. Discuss your goals with him, and he can steer you into the right path of upgrades.
I will definitely reach out to lou and look into tuning soon. I'd like to get a few boltons befor I tune it so I can get abit more from the tune and try and get a little peppiness into this car.. I've got upgraded silicone hoses and noise generator delete along with a diverter valve kit that ive read mixed results with so for the price , I gave it a shot. Next I will order upgraded intercooler piping and an intercooler along with a catless downpipe. I'm also hoping to get an aem intake then too because I wanna utilize the scoop as a coldair intake and I like how the aem kit has that scoop that funnels directly into the airbox. I also will install a boost gauge once I install the diverter valve.
the got the cel to turn off too !!!! I got a cheap 60$ Amazon 02 sensors and ofcourse had a female plug when it needsd a male so i spliced on the old harness onto the new 02 sensors and luckily it didnt effect the 02s readings or accuracy and it has now picked up a tad bit of power and seems to be getting better mileage too. So then i cleaned the map sensor and mafs also and the car runs and drives sooooooo smooth..
but the car definitely is a far different feel than the r53 , the r53 has SUCH linear powerband , it falls off abit uptop on the less modded ones but even then a stock r53 though not as quick , still feels quicker because of the instant power of the supercharger.
this r58 seems like it's very peppy in the low revs and at wot , it's peppy then kinda falls on its face in mid rpms and then around 5k rpm it behings to build power and its like as soon as it starts to feel somewhat powerful, it's time to shift and loose that power I've just been building...
so , that's why i ordered the mods i have and will get the tune though the build will have far to go. I nedd to wake the car up in the meantime.
lol all the attention this car gets and then they always ask and look astonished when I tell then the car is actually pretty slow.. I should have named it " nimble turtle " ..
don't get me wrong , I ABSOLUTELY LOVE driving the car though , it's still a great feel and driving experience and for many , the car has enough guts to do what it needs to do.
I have ordered a forge style bov , silicone intake hose and silicone sound delete hose. I will be getting an aem intake too JUST for the underscoop diverter , I'm all about making a car as efficient as possible and imo , it's all the little things that come together at the end to really make the car special.
I'm looking at it's and trying to find specifically a tube n fin style ic. If the aftermarket ic's are so much larger they absolutely dont need to be bar n plate , though it cools better it has a bigger boost drop and with an already larger ic , i think thatd actually hurt performance just like how 90% of the intercoolers do for the r53's also. If they're increasing the core by as much as they do they HAVE to factor in pressure drop.
alot of people think just because they're seeing lower iat inreturn theyre getting more power but thats NOT the case from my experience.
I found most ic's do drop iat alot but they also rob around 4psi so even though your running 10-15degrees cooler avg it's not negating the boost loss..
I gonna hunt for the rite ic and i don't care what brand it is , so long as it'd the rite ic for what I want and I thiiiiiiiiiiink I found one. Lol it actually appears to be one of the cheaper ones too..
I have an x60 gauge so I can monitor iat's and also have torque plus too so I can screen shot and upload my results..
because I absolutely will be posting info on every mod i do to this car and letting you guys know EXACTLY how the car responds to it in a real world on road settings.
Get a mechanical boost gauge,, and tie it into the intake manifold. I think you'll see that boost loss isn't as big of a deal as you think in these cars. Boost control reference is in the manifold, so everything up stream of the manifold doesn't make much difference to overall performance. You might notice some throttle response differences, but it will be minimal after getting a tune.
Get a mechanical boost gauge,, and tie it into the intake manifold. I think you'll see that boost loss isn't as big of a deal as you think in these cars. Boost control reference is in the manifold, so everything up stream of the manifold doesn't make much difference to overall performance. You might notice some throttle response differences, but it will be minimal after getting a tune.
for sure... you are rite , it being turbo is gonna be different how it responds to mods.
I will install a boostgauge ( i like a specific digital one ) that ive run in my other cooper's because mainly it will match the cars interior mood lighting and its an accurate gauge also but I plan to install the boost gauge at the same time as the upgraded b.o.v since I will be running an adapter off the map and I will run its lines then. I will need to 2x check too where to plumb in the boost gauge or I wonder if I will be able to T off of the b.o.v boost line. That'd be helpful if I can because then I get to install 2x things at once...
what is max psi I should see stock , in sport mode ect ?
I now put on upgraded cops that actually have LARGER coils , step colder plugs ( so 2x steps colder than normal S ) , installed a catchcan and fixed the vacuum leak it had coming off the pcv because it didn't have the press clip to hold down on the hose so I fixed that. I also fixed the hole in the wheelwell along with the bad aat sensor and wiring harness, changed the oil and put good stuff back in , put on new wipers and I polished the headlights. I also lubed up all the suspension and bushings and while doing that found a rock wedged on the control arm next to the ball joint ( I thought I'd hear something clang around over big bumps
FOUND IT ! ) i also when i get home will cut the restrictionout of the hood scoop and cut the hood under lip so it can actuallyget some real cold air from the scoop for when i install the intake and i need to decide whst brand box i wanna use or i will buy another velocitystack filter setup and run that with my own custom ram air box for it , I will have it if I make it pull coldair from back behind the cowl vent area like the r53s do and also from the hood scoop and the stock inlet from next to the grill. Those 3x sources should be adequate to provide good constant fresh outside temperature air. Maybe I get lazy and just buy the ddm under scoop part though and build the rest. I feel I can make as good as an intake if not better than d.o.s have imo they've made the BEST quality, best gaining stuff for minis. Anything defenders of speed is awesome I've learned.
the car drives sooooooo nice ,i just cant explain it but this car feels so tight , so new yet. It's feels newer and tighter than alot of BRAND NEW cars I've driven and it's got 117k on it already. I think it shows that this car has been loved , though it got a few dings and dents from a Colorado hail storm prior in its life BUT over time I will fix its wounds.
NOW the car now feels like a 210hp mini and has begun to get power back, lol. I didnt realize it was going into power reduction mode THE ENTIRE TIME lolol..
here's where I get EXCITED !!!! I have ordered and is on the way a all aluminum valve cover ( supose to help boost leaks under higher boost and improved pcv atleast its red though so that alone makes more power
) larger ic , forge style bov , silicone intake and intercooler piping along with the deletes , flex oil dipstick and a catless downpipe. I ALSO have been speaking with the tuning God adriancl and HE DOES TUNE these newer minis thxfully. So I will ABSOLUTELY be having him tune the car and tuning hopefully will be done soon as I'm back home Monday. I already ordered the tuner for adriancl to download and then upload the tune into the car remotely. Hes done absolute WONDERS tuning my r53's so I trust the guy above anybody else. With all the mods and aftermarket parts my r53 has and how PERFECT the afr is throughout all gears in 1-21psi the afr is always SPOT ON. and the cars makes a godly amount of power too. I can't WAIT to feel this car after he's tuned it and then it's got some supporting mods then to keep everything safe..
I'm taking the car up to my cottages and to see my father this weekend because I HAVE FINALLY WON CUSTODY OF MY SON AFTER 10yr of him being held from me COMPLETELY !!!!! So me and my boy will be taking a little road trip in the coppercoupe and this will be it's LAST time being stock.lol.
Aaaaand i gotta say , I HATE GOOGLE MISINFORMATION !!!! I spent a few hours , yes HOURS looking for the aat sensor on r56's in junkyards and never found one but I pulled and used an r53 one. The reason I finally located it in my car was I'd looked over every inch of the drivers side and knew it either wasn't on that side or was somehow cut off or something. But NOPE stupid Google was wrong , the sensor IS NOT on the left hand /drivers side.. wtf !?! Like cmon lol , that's been a goal of mine with the r53s was to dispell all the misinformation I could and have 1st hand experience and feedback on as many performance upgrades as possible. That's my goal is to become as knowledgeable about these newer minis as I am the r53s.
Last edited by MiniManAdam; 02-02-2024 at 06:21 AM.
Nice start on the needed maintenance. Good to hear the car is running strong now, too.
I notice red springs? The car could be equipped with the elusive JCW sport suspension springs. They drop the car ~10mm from the factory level, and stiffen up a little bit too. Curious if it also has the uprated sways...
When I did my scoop grill, I used a Dremel to just open up the mesh. From the front of the car it looks like stock. But, if you know, you know
Nice start on the needed maintenance. Good to hear the car is running strong now, too.
I notice red springs? The car could be equipped with the elusive JCW sport suspension springs. They drop the car ~10mm from the factory level, and stiffen up a little bit too. Curious if it also has the uprated sways...
When I did my scoop grill, I used a Dremel to just open up the mesh. From the front of the car it looks like stock. But, if you know, you know
yes they are the factory red springs.
I didn't know if they were aftermarket or not until I found a mini/bmw tag on a spring.
the car WAS 100% stock , I have not found any modifications at all yet on the car.. the guy did tell me it was stock but you can't believe people any more unfortunately..
You can enter your VIN, and it will list all the parts and diagrams for your car. EXCEPTIONALLY helpful when trying to find part numbers. Then, just google the part number, or search your favorite vendor site, and purchase.
Thx for the link !!
I'm chasing down a p1497 STILL.
even after all new hoses , clamps , sensors and smoke test I cannot find the cause...it makes 18hg in nuetral and 15psi max but soon as I shift into 3rd at wot it goes into limp with that code.
I even tried removing the Forge bov and put stock back on but no change.
I even put a new pcv hose on ( not oem bit still airtight ) and it had no change...
I got rid of the 02 codes only to now have this p1497 code , ugh..
any input ???
What intercooler did you go with.......the vacuum coming from the pcv from the valve cover will cause that rubber hose to collapse.......
the hose is pretty rigid but I will make sure that's not happening but I've used this hoses with my r53 too and it never collapsed..
I also just went with a fleabay interFooler. though either the ic or the upgraded boost hoses OR the combo. The car feels AMAZING and picked up alot of throttle response and some decent power too.. my iat on 40' days went from 10'-20' down to 3-10 above ambient temps ONLY. Though I could only do a 1st and 2nd gear pull , the ic didn't seem to spike temps either and it definitely definitely recovered and was rite back down to almost ambient temp again within seconds.. I'm glad I didn't waste almost 500$ on a CTS TURBO brand ic or the alta ic. I guess the " step style intercooler " is the best design for this car from what I've read. This is just a bar n plate intercooler buy I purposely chose this core over the better cooling ,less flow tube and fin. The bar n plate cools 110% good enough so there is absolutely NO reason for an ic for this car to use tube and fin , no Point in restricting flow to cool it down that much because it's obvious that a bar n plate core is absolutely sufficient when oversized..
I did alot of 1st hand testing intercoolers with my r53 to learn exactly how each type intercooler responds..
Fixed p1497 by trimming the pcv rod so it fully closed..
Adriancl also tuned it and the car now runs GREAT , no limp mode FINALLY and it has picked up a decent amount of power too with the tune and intercooler piping and larger ic. Iat seem very good too so the ebay wonder is doing what it needs to.
Now that its running perfectly i will try the forbe blow off valve again and see if I can run that because when I was able to got wot , what little I could , when I swapped to the Forge bov it definitely built booster faster..
THANK YOU ADRIANCL ! YOU TRULY ARE A GOD with these minis. Once again , with Adrian my car WOULD NOT BE running rite..
considering tuning or need specific codes tuned out or mods dialed in ?? I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU PM Adriancl
also my downpipe JUST got delivered so hopefully Monday or so if the intake is here i will put them on and see how the car responds to them.
Found out my boost bleed cause !
**** wastegate ! the nut wasn't even on and I couldn't follow mod mini how-to so I tried setting it by guessing and almost blew up the car ! Lol it made 30+psi at like 2k rpm !!!
I also had to tap the turbo housing because the stud Fd up the last few threads and I couldn't start a bolt in it at all..
Then put on the downpipe too and thats when i found the wastegate issue because it was perfect time to check it. I will rent a vacuum gum tomorrow and do it via pelican how-to. I had to trim some of the mounting tabs off the downpipe so it would fit perfectly but it does fit and fit very well now. The 40$ heatshield also fit like it would have come from the factory.
where can I buy a new exhaust housing with a wastegate in it ??? I think that would be the best option..
ugh , i will get this thing going soon..
I also plan on having a local mini buddy do the timing job for me and that will take a load off..
I spy the “square” JCW exhaust manifold in there? nice! Previous owner must have added it, and maybe that’s why the waste gate nut was missing?
The turbo blanket looks like a Forge copy. eBay special? Also, that turbo blanket should be tucked in between the turbine housing and the oil feed line. With it over the top of the oil feed, it’s going to hold the heat on the fitting and cook the o-ring seal, which will lead to oil leaks.
I spy the “square” JCW exhaust manifold in there? nice! Previous owner must have added it, and maybe that’s why the waste gate nut was missing?
The turbo blanket looks like a Forge copy. eBay special? Also, that turbo blanket should be tucked in between the turbine housing and the oil feed line. With it over the top of the oil feed, it’s going to hold the heat on the fitting and cook the o-ring seal, which will lead to oil leaks.
yes I read avout not covering the feed line, the blanket fit like the shield , perfect . It even tucked down on the cylinder head under the lip of the valve cover too !
so the jcw package wouldn't have come with this jcw manifold from factory ? Could this be WHY IT HOT 30+PSI ????
Im getting a new S turbo and I'm going to take the exhaust housing off and use that to repair my jcw turbo ALTHOUGH I seen ebay sells one that abit larger even on the intake side and that turbo NEW is ONLY 500$ even with its upgraded billet turbine.. so I definitely need to decide what route I go..
but those manifolds armt oem ?
This is the spot where you want to tuck it behind the oil feed line:
Tuck it behind this fitting, if you can:
That fitting in the second picture is the factory heat shield for the oil feed fitting. It was added because those feed lines would cook and then start to leak. The LAST thing you want is hot oil dumped all over a very hot turbo. Instant engine fire at that point.
This is the spot where you want to tuck it behind the oil feed line:
Tuck it behind this fitting, if you can:
That fitting in the second picture is the factory heat shield for the oil feed fitting. It was added because those feed lines would cook and then start to leak. The LAST thing you want is hot oil dumped all over a very hot turbo. Instant engine fire at that point.
ok thank you.. I will definitely move it off that. I didn't realize that.. derderder
sooooo I'm thinking of just getting this turbo , my buddy , actually a few of my buds are ALL running fleabay turbos and have been pointing me in the direction of this turbo as a cost effective replacement as well as for abit boost if I wanted to..
I get oem is oem but realistically, I won't drive this car daily driver for 100k so I don't care if the turbo doesn't last 15yr 100k , if it suites my needs, then it's what I want.
opinion on this size turbo , I don't wanna go too big and loose downlow grunt or be too laggy ???
then i will just sell my jcw turbo since all it needs is a 40$ wastegate. But if I remove it I'd rather install something new and already preset.
I had to run around abit this morning so I still took the coupe , lol.. so long as I DONT go anything past half throttle it will stay out of boost..
side note :
DAAAAAAAAAAAMN the car SOUND EXACTLY how I always wanted My r53s to sound. The cat delete downpipe with the jcw exhaust SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL !
I CANT WAIT until I can start romping on this baby and having it run hard but good... in time in time..
aaaand THANK GOD i was able to SOMEHOW retap the jcw turbo top bolt/stud hole.. PHEW
but I FINALLY WON CUSTODY OF my son after 10yr of him being held from me ( long story , yes I had court fought for custody and placement, didn't matter, woman's courtroom) and I had to take my boy on suddenly and I have to get the boy literally EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING. My ex WAS ABSOLUTELY USELESS and I can't WAIT to see her be jailed for stuff related to this !!!
anyways , that's why I won't be able to get this car up and going as quickly as i got my r53s together..
01-25-2024, 04:17 PM
