First post but have been lurking a while and need a place to condense some information and get some feedback.

I've got a 2016 F55 Cooper S with the JCW exhaust and tune. After the first 6 months, I like the car but it needs some tweaks to be a bit more dialed in as far as looks and handling.

I've got $2,500 i'm willing to spend and looking for opinions on some areas.

Wheels/Rubber: I feel like this needs an upgrade. Easy to break the current rubber loose and any additional HP would make this even easier.
-Brands and Places to buy that won't break the bank? Coming from Subarus primarily and there were common BBS but also mid/low tier like Rota.

Handling: I've read multiple threads on this but haven't seen a concise list. Coilovers/Springs are a no for me.
- Rear Sway, Front Strut, Etc... what's the best upgrade here?

Exterior: Outside of getting rid of all the chrome and besides tinting windows...
- Is there any front lips or wheel arches for the F55 non JCW that are recommended?

Performance: I loved the intake sound from my Subarus and Audis. Those cars required a tune when installing an intake. Not just to maximize the intake but so i wouldnt start throwing codes.
- Do Minis need a tune to go with an intake? Favorite intake brand?


I know there are a lot of individual threads on each one of these topics but it's been hard to decipher a lot of the info.


Thanks in Advance!!!

 

Just bought tires from dealer, they were cheaper than everyone else except online stores that don't have honest inventory systems. Yes you Tirerack and those other losers who's name escapes me.

Intakes on these cars are just noise so I didn't bother.

Dinan tuning chip is a nice $300 boost, highly recommended.

I don't drive aggressively enough for sway bars so no opinion.

I dressed up roof with red vinyl and checkered pattern on sunroof.

 

Welcome to MINI ownership and I too am sitting here wondering what my next move will be with my F55. I am not expert but here is what I have learned over the past 10 months and 26,000 miles of ownership.

POWER ADDERS
Piggy Back power modules are very popular and a great bang for your buck and reversible. You can talk all day about which is "best", but the three most popular are, Neuspeed (NM) , JB4 (Burger Tuning) and Dinan. The Burger unit has multiple connection points for more bells & whistles but that is only relevant if you need that information.
FYI I am selling my Neuspeed unit for $300, as I am going a different direction with the car now.

INTAKES
Again many brands out there, Alta, AWE, Nuespeed, CravenSpeed to name a few. I liked and purchased the AWE unit, since it has a large multi faced filter that is inside a sealed unit to keep out hot air. No tune needed.

APPEARANCE
This is were MINI outshines most other brands, you can do a crap load to make the car look unique. I have a 3M like product (used another brand) black carbon looking wrap to cover all of the chrome trim on the belt line and front grill trim. CarbonMini also provided a bunch of carbon covers for the remainder of the exterior chrome, but that alone could eat up a good portion of your $2500.

HANDLING
Rear sways will make a big difference, two biggest options are the 22mm and 25mm sways. Again Nuespeed and Eibach are two that make sway's, nothing from H&R yet, only springs from them.

WHEELS/RUBBER
I am hoping to make it through the winter in the Mid-Atlantic and then move to non-runflat tires with a slightly larger wheel and tire combination. Again there is a thread of F-body wheel/tire combos on the Forum, read through the 100+ posts to form your own opinion. Just make certain IF you plan to add a big brake kit in the future your front wheels will clear the JCW or Wilwood kits. My plan is Team Dynamics Race Wheel, 8" wide with 225 Michelin's.

There isn't a whole lot you can do to these cars for added performance yet, outside of intake, tune, exhaust. Intercooler and down pipes are available but have not seen any larger turbos just yet. My issue with the down pipe is the check engine light that will result from it. Best of luck and check out some of the vendors on here as they have a bunch of these items I mentioned above.

 

Thanks for the info! Curious how the Dinan and other compare to the JCW. I paid for the JCW so don't want to spend additional unless it's completely worth it.

 

Thanks for the response, very informative! What direction are you planning with your car now?

Will those power adders conflict with my JCW tune?

Carbon Mini looks like a good option for some of my pieces left. They don't show f55 fitment but i assume some of the parts are equal fitment?

Thanks again!

 

Check "POWER UP" thread in the 3rd Gen JCW Garage section for everything you wanted to know about tune boxes for these cars. Several people with JCW tunes have added them.

 

The NM or Dinan piggyback WITH the JCW tune is a great combination. I loved mine, but I am looking at a true ECU tune now so I won't need my NW module.
It really wakes up the car and it will not interfere with the JCW tune only make it better as it did with my car.

Check out the CarbonMini Facebook page as they show photos of the items available on there, they have plenty of items available just not shown on the web site.

 

For good discussion regarding anti-sway and chassis stiffening see https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...tower-bar.html

 

Man, buying the Dinan chip was the best $300 I spent on my Mini. I have the same setup, Mini and dreams as you, pretty funny actually.

Honestly, that chip is great. You can really feel the difference and it is a simple install. I put my comments and pictures on my site. Check it out if you are curious.

Im in Minneapolis and we are right in the middle of winter so once spring hits Im heading towards new lowering springs. I dont see the need for a coilover setup

 

Dinan tuner and rear sway bar are the biggest bang for the buck items.

 

You'll want to read this then — the JCW tune plus a piggyback like NM or Dinan will produce more torque and power across the range than the factory JCW engine does:
http://www.motoringfun.com/2015/11/1...-power-module/

 

I'm sure others have seen this:

http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/performance-tuners/

It appears to be the "Dinan" sport tuner box packaged with a Flowmaster label for other cars like Fords with ecoboost systems and sold in red plastic instead of Dinan black. And priced less than the Dinan for MINIs and BMWs.

Same wine in a different bottle???? Hummm.

 

Except when I go to the "choose your model" drop down there are only 2 options, Ford and Lincoln .......... so Id say it wont work on a mini

 

Definitely going to need some better rubber before all that. These itty bitty stock things don't grip well under spirited accelleration.