Hi All. Just picked up a 2019 4 door Hardtop S with 6 speed manual. I previously owned a 2004 2 door S model. The cars have come a long way. A couple things I have noticed. First when I pull off the highway driving home from work(20 minutes @ 70 mph) I smell what I'd call a burning oil smell mildly. I'm curious if this is common, if I might have a leak on the top of the motor, or if it's just likely the detailing stuff burning off that the dealer put on the motor to make it shiny. I've put about 150 miles on the car since purchase, 40,000 on the clock. Second is the car drifts in the lane at highway speed. Kinda feels like a car that has that self lane centering feature. Hunts and drifts around and requires steering wheel input constantly. Is this normal for a 2019? My 04 had aftermarket coil-overs and ran straight as an arrow. It actually it better as you drive faster. Currently in the "normal" mode. Its not terrible like your fighting the car, but its always there and requires a firm grip on the wheel at all times. Theres no resting your palm on the the top of the wheel driving down the highway.

Next, the car I bought is a "certified" MIni and has 2 years of warranty remaining. I was really looking for a car I could start to build as the 04 was north of 250 hp. The dealer tells me I can't do anything to the car or I will void the warranty. I am planning to install the JCW tune kit thru the dealer to maintain the warranty. But I would also like to add a CAI and tuner to get some more power. I have read mixed reviews that many dealers sold NM Engineering and that their tuner and CAI won't void the warranty. But others say anything can void the warranty. Does anyone have experience with upgrades and dealers? If warranty OK is the NM Engineering stuff any good?

Thank you for any input.

 

Regarding the drifting, my first try would be to eliminate a tire pull by rotating front to rear.
If the same ask the dealer to do a 4 wheel alignment that includes Steering Angle Sensor Centering and Software Endstop Learning procedure.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. The car does have 4 brand new run flats on it. It goes in next week for the JCW tune kit so I will have the dealer drive the car and see what they say. I will let them know about the tire rotation and alignment recommendations. I am also going to have them look into the oil burning smell I am getting. I have no drips on the floor so my thought is its either on the top of the engine or just the detailing spray burning off.

Can anyone comment on the quality of the NM parts and warranty?

 

NM parts are very high quality, I have their wheels and rear sway bar and they are very well made. Their CAI kit is also high quality, but none of the kits add power on the third gen cars, with possibly the exception of the Eventuri. They do add noise, so a lot of folks like them for that purpose. There are a lot of threads on CAIs in this forum, so recommend doing a search.

 

CAI don’t add hp. I wouldn’t waste my time with them unless you just want a great looking engine bay. I also wouldn’t do the JCW tune. I would get Dinan’s + tune which keeps the factory warranty in place. It will give you 255 hp and 314 lb ft of torque. I got Dinan’s stage 1 on my S and it is fantastic.