My JCW is sitting at the port waiting to cross to the US, and I was hoping I'd have picked by now, but I'm having a hard time choosing between the two exhausts I'm considering - the AWE Touring exhaust and the JCW Pro exhaust.

I guess my qualms either way are coming down to a few things.

Fit and Finish - They both look excellent to me. I think I may prefer the carbon JCW Pro tips slightly more than the black tips AWE has. - Slight edge to JCW Pro

BT Switch - I think I'd just want to have mine set to race always, and the sound of needing to flip it that way every time I get into the car sounds irritating - especially if the remote is as flaky as forum reviews make it sound. - AWE seems like the winner here

Sound - I've heard both and both sound excellent. - the AWE has a slight edge in this area to me...just slightly though

Dealership Woes - After having the service department at my dealership hassle me and refuse to investigate issues because of aftermarket calipers/rotors (seems reasonable), snow tires (come on), and X-Brace (seriously?) I (frustratingly) have a hard time knowing if they'd hassle me about the AWE exhaust. I have a hard time believing it would meaningfully impact their ability to diagnose an issue, but neither would snow tires or an X-Brace. - Slight edge to the JCW Pro here for me.

Can anyone help me decide! The stock exhaust seems a bit tame for me, and both of these seem good for somewhere in the neighborhood of 10hp give or take. They seem dead even to me, all things considered.

--Matt

 

I've not had a single hiccup with my BT remote in over six months of use. I like to be able to dial the sound back in certain situations.

 

You mentioned you've heard both exhaust systems but the AWE has an edge over the JCW Pro. Could you please describe the difference in sound and why you like the AWE sound more? I'm also looking at both of these exhaust but have been unable to hear them in person.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I've heard the higher quality videos on YouTube through good headphones/speakers. Listen to as many as you can, and read up for drone complaints and noise level descriptions. You won't get a true to life impression, but you can pick up on the characteristics of each. I've done this on several cars now, and have not been burned on anything other than one Magnaflow exhaust (this brand is clearly not for me - and later reading of reviews did reveal what I hated about mine) so far.

I've loved the sound of AWE's exhausts on a load or cars and loved how they've all sounded, so that helps in this case too.

--Matt

 

Well, that's encouraging. Still don't love the idea of having to turn it on every time. I guess it does still sound excellent when closed too, which is a plus.

 

It's just another tick on the start up checklist. Comes right after select "Sport" setting.

 

Since you have it, do you feel like the "sold by MINI" factor and fit/finish make up for the extra cost? It seems like, best case, there's like $1000 between the two.

--Matt

 

Since you already have a JCW you don't and can't use the tune that comes with the Kit. All you need/want is the exhaust. Some places you can buy the exhaust only. I'm not 100% sure of the price, but you could PM KYDan. He went to a Certified Mini/BMW Specialist who sold hime the exhaust only. It was a good enough deal that KYDan drove from KY to Raleigh, NC to get it installed. If you want, I can PM you the shops info and you can contact them directly. Not sure how shipping, taxes, etc, would work. This is the shop that does all my non-warranty work.

 

Thanks for the tip. I mailed them. I also put an inquiry in at my dealership to get port and/or dealership install prices. I want the splitters and diffuser too, so maybe they can give me a deal.

--Matt

 

throwing my $0.02. the quality of the exhaust is pretty much the best out there. engineered in-house, it's pristine. as for what really matters, the sound, i'm not exagerating when i get asked at least once a week "what exhaust is that?!?!?" or "damn, what did you do". it sounds that good. the biggest difference is really the 180 technology. IMO, i would say that every other exhaust out there has some form of drone. some may say "it doesn't drone" or "i don't notice". the reality is that you don't realize you have drone until a product comes out that eliminates it and then you realize how much better it sounds. i had my muffler cut and told myself it wasn't that bad. after i had the AWE Touring exhaust installed, i realized how bad my setup was and how much better this setup is. it's not loud...and i like that...it's aggressive when it needs to be but if you baby the throttle it's not really loud at all.

this a quick and boring video i put together awhile back. my goal was to drive by the gopro at varying speeds/throttles to get a feel for how it sounds.

i'm going to be setting up my gopro again this weekend as i'm heading over to Watkins Glen for an HPDE...should get some better sound as i'll have the microphone on the exhaust.

 

Yes, on the cost, contact Chris at G3 Automotive, he is a great guy, and does a fantastic job for a reasonable price. He beat the dealer price by quite a bit. Like Vetsvette, I have had no problems with the blue tooth application. I drove the beastie home via the Tail and smoked some pretty fast cars with it, the only vehicle that could dramatically outperform it were the ninja bikes and those guys are crazy! I have the NM module and it dynoed at 269+ rounded down or 270 rounded up with the exhaust and the module on low setting. I am getting ready to see what 100 octane Sunoco and the module on high will do. It takes a bit for the module to reach peak, about 40 or so miles, but it is a different car with it. Was it worth the drive to Raleigh from Frankfort? Yes, for me it was as I had a fun drive up, dinner with friends and some good runs in the area. And, the best part was the drive home, we did 4 runs on the Tail and what a hoot. Hardly any other vehicles on it and most of the pulled over to let us pass. I am contemplating coil over suspension for it now and have contacted Chris about that.

 

I guess neither the splitters, diffuser, nor exhaust are port options. The dealership quoted $1700 plus the price of tips ($200 something for carbon). We'll see what the suggested place has to say.

--Matt

 

I have the pro exhaust. I was looking for performance as well as warranty. The carbon tips are too pricey so I got the chrome for now. If only the carbon tips were priced as a set or a better deal. Never heard or experience awe setup so k can comment.

 

Your 2 cents will cost me more than 2 cents I'll start a separate build thread as I'm getting a few goodies, but AWE will be my exhaust for sure. To be honest, I wanted Akrapovic to make one for the F56 platform. I even offered my car for testing. They don't have any plans to make one though.

 

So far it isn't looking good for the JCW exhaust. I don't love the switch setup, and it's still easily double the price of the AWE if I can get the dealership to match ECS Tuning's price (which I've managed in the past, since they are [or at least were] ECS's supplier).

I've always wanted to have a piece of AWE kit on my car, and it's looking more and more like that's going to happen.

I thought I read somewhere that the JCW exhaust is made (or at least was designed) by Akrapovic.

--Matt

 

Hello If you need anything let me know. We just had a cross the site OEM price drop so things might have changed since then.

Also just bumped into the Product Manager for MINI UK in my travels, the exhaust is made by RA " Red Arch Manufacturing in the UK, and they have been working on the bluetooth glitch on the controller that some people had with the valve shutting on it own over time. It has something to do with searching for Bluetooth devices , but they are/ will sort that out.

See the RA logo on the module




I can say the JCW pro exhaust sounds awesome. Good luck on whatever you choose.

All your JCW pro stuff here.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-prices-3.html

 

Well, in a positive turn of events, the dealer was able to improve their pricing on the JCW Pro exhaust and will install it when my car arrives. She is on a vessel now, so things are shaping up nicely.

Does anyone know if the carbon fiber tip part number includes one tip or two? The dealer thinks just one, which is pretty steep, so I just figured I'd ask if anyone knew.

--Matt

 

Well at least you got it, price is per tip each for the chrome and the Carbon fiber. You will love the way it sounds.

 

Yeah. In my search of jcw carbon tips, it's been for a single not a pair. One of he reason I couldn't pull the trigger with the purchase and installation of the exhaust. The parts manager was able to get me the regular tips and a really discounted price since it was added to the jcw pro exhaust. Regular tips was also for a single. But I think the manager gave me the pair for the same price since it was the price we had discussed and he wanted to honor that.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Seems steep, but they are pretty sexy looking!

--Matt

 

Thanks for the info on the Bluetooth glitch. Mine cuts out infrequently, but when it does, it annoys me, so I'll be happy if they get that fixed.

Other than that, I love the sound of my JCW Pro exhaust. Just got the carbon fiber hood scoop today, and the black light surrounds a couple of weeks ago from ECS. My local dealer normally isn't close in pricing, and when you figure I'd also have to pay tax locally, ECS turns out to be a great deal - especially if I get free shipping.

Thanks again.

Karl Muller

 

If I would have to choose, I would go with the JCW for the following reasons:

This is a factory approved accessory that may bring some residual value at resale time.

Also the tips look far better in my opinion and they have the engraved JCW logo. The esthetic side is a dominant factor.

 

Thanks for the all the orders and welcome on the info.

 

Its easy; AWE exhaust for half the price with better sound/bigger robust tips & documented power gains!

 

If you want the sound always on the AWE is most likely the better system for you as it is less expensive by a significant amount. Power gain is a non issue as both systems produce basically the same power increase in the 9-10 HP range. It should not affect the warranty service as it is a cat back system. If necessary remind your dealer of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act.