The kit is covered by your original warrantee if you still are within the mileage.

I was told by MyMini that the air filter is made by Pipercross.

 

What's the difference between a JCW head and say one from Seven ent.

http://www.7ent.com/newmini/detail.cfm?pageid=1701

Besides the badges

 

The engine has nothing to due with why the JCW kit is only for the 02MY to 04 my cars. The change in the gearbox is the issue.

JCW did all the reliability testing for the kit with the Midlands built 5 speed. The Getrag gearbox now being fitted to the Cooper was not tested for use with the works kit. JCW didn't think it would be worth their time or money to do all the testing over again with the new gearbox.

Will the works kit fit on 05MY and 06 MY Coopers, you bet it would. Will Mini still behind it if there is a problem, not a chance in hell.

I know all of this because I called John Cooper Works when it was announced the kit was coming to the US. BMW didn't think it would sell in the US either. The kit came out after the old gearbox production was stopped by MG to save money.

 

If this is the case (Mini won't stand behind it if I put it on my '06 MC) then you've just saved me a TON of money. When some tax or work-bonus funds come, I'll get a drop-in ITG filter and a cat-back exhaust and be done with it. I just want a touch better throttle response and a bit more noise for reasonable $$$, I can't justify the cost of a different head, headers, ECU mapping, etc. If I had wanted that much extra grunt I would have spent $4k more and gotten an MCS.

Thanks

 

The works kit is suppose to only be installed by a Mini dealership. Since the kit is marked for 02 to 04 model years, a dealership wouldn't install the kit anyway.

Have fun with the money you just saved.

Steven

 

I didn't know about the 02 - 04 restriction. I had left a message on a service advisor's phone on Friday asking about installing it on my '06 (no return call yet). I was going to order the kit but I don't need to worry about it now. Thanks again.

Aside from a filter and exhaust later in the MC , the 'money I saved' will more likely go toward normal care and feeding of the 911. I'm getting its catalytic converter hollowed out this week, inspection regs changed for '06 for my county so now it's just a visual inspection of OEM components, no more sniff test for the older cars.
I can feel the improved throttle response at high revs and hear the noise already !

I've already been beaten up by (suprisingly) the Porsche folks on rennlist and pelicanparts forums about global warming so hold your breath, but even with a hollow cat, driving it 2 days or so per week is still less harm to the atmosphere than when I had a 996 with no cats or mufflers, as my daily driver AND one weekend per month track toy !

 

This was my thinking, too. Not that the JCW tuning kit sounds bad (both in audio and philosophy), but I like to do the work myself and don't have the $$ to do all the mods at once. With a K&N Typhoon intake and a slightly used Magnaflow Cat-Back I have much better throttle response, some increase in HP (who knows how much...5? 10?...so many of the advertised intake and exhaust numbers seem unreliable), head-snapping acceleration from 4000 - 6000 rpms, deep, throaty sound and nice "burble" when I lay off the throttle. All for around $400. (I must say the Magnaflow is LOUD, and would have chosen a Borla or Helix if I had the cash for a new system. The JCW seems to have struck a nice balance between sporty sound and reasonable noise in the cabin based on the sound files).

If I had another grand I'd probably consider a machined head, or an m7 throttle body and MTH remap. Gee, do you have to be a meat packer to win PowerBall?!

 

No, but having thumbs definitely disqualifies you.

 

No input from anyone on this?

 

My review was posted to MotoringFile yesterday.

 

Could you point out where in the list of replys; Where some one addressed my question of whats the difference between a JCW head and one from 7ent for instance? I didnt find it.

 

Congratulations, James! Awesome write up!

 

Maybe nobody knows. Have you contacted each manufacturer?

 

A lot... JCW head is only mildly ported from everything I have seen, with the same size valves and cam as OEM. The 7ent head, among other offerings out there, has bigger valves and I am certain the porting is much more extensive (or, it should be at least). Also, I'd wager they've polished everything up quite well... It doesn't say if they include a different cam or not, but for that price, I'd think not...

 

Hmmmm........... I think I like.

 

A good combo would be put the sound kit on now. Put the head on after you're out of warranty, get a MTH mod and sell the TK exhaust (looks less efficient) and filter. Assuming you could get the TK for ~$2000 in '08 or get it without sending in your old head, it would cost you $3100 + labor and maybe you could recomp $400 for the exhaust and filter.
So say $2800 to have a '05-06' MC with SK + JCW Head and MTH mod. It would be a rare and JCW setup.

 

There are still very few JCW MC owners out there, I haven't had much luck tracking them down. There is a brief list of them at http://libraryofmotoring.info/jcwmcregistry.html.

 

Is possible to install it on model 2005?

Thanks

 

There were two options for JCW Coopers:

The "Tuning" Kit (TK)



....and the "Sound" kit (SK)



The TK fits builds up to 06/2004 (consult build date located in door sill), primarily because the difference in air filter designs (later MC's have getrag trannys that called for a redesign of the filter housing to mount). The other components (exhaust, head, badges) will fit later builds such as yours. I'm not sure if the software included would be compatible with new builds.

Unfortunately, US dealers no longer warehouse the TK. So availibility of the TK in the US will be your biggest concern. Check with your dealership about part number 11 12 0 302 672 (the TK) about availibility. A second source would be to contact www.mymini.com, who lists the kit for sale on their website. They might be able to import one from europe. Of note, the TK will not have the "badged" JCW exhaust.

Your second option is the SK, still availible for all Cooper build dates, from your dealer. It comes with software, badged exhaust, badges and airfilter/housing. If your dead set on the TK, another route may be considered such as posted here. Thread starter has not updated to confirm aquisition going this route.

 

Thanks optimal description

 

Moved my initial review to the JCW SK thread to not mix the boys up anymore.