as a proud and very satisfied owner of a 2005 mcs auto i am now salivating at the concept of adding the jcw 210hp kit to my car.

i have emailed with cooper works in the uk and they tell me that the mcs auto works kit will be available in the usa in may, so now i need some advice:

can anyone who has a jcw kit in their s tell me what it's like in day to day driving? is this thing geared mostly for people who autocross and/or take their cars to tracks? i am quite happy with the grunt of my s - but would love to add the jcw if it makes sense.

any input, info or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

thanks - drew

 

Drew,
Till very recently I drove a 2003 MCS equipped with JCW 210.
Now I am driving a 2005 MCSa equipped with only the JCW air filter.

So far, it seems that the full JCW 210 might not be needed on the new MINI; the readiness of the automatic to shift down & provide almost instant power largely negates the need to beef up the engine ... and having the air filter gives the "audio" benefits of the package at a lower cost
For now, I wonder if I might just get a JCW exhaust and save the $$$ ...

But at the moment, trying to stay below 4500rpm makes true comparisons tricky.

 

thanks for the reply ian. i was thinking just that as well. power wise the car seems to be quite the monster already! perhaps adding the air filter and jcw exhaust is really all it needs to give it a little more umph. plus i believe that adds another 7-10 horsepower, correct?

cheers - drew

 

I drive 300 miles per week with my JCW and have about 35,000 miles on my car (28,000 of which are JCW miles ). I have the 200hp kit plus the upgrade kit with larger injectors and airbox which makes it 210hp now.

The kit is fantastic - the car is now very fast and smooth. No problems to date and the extra torque is nice to have as it is noticeable in day-to-day driving. Sometimes it is hard to keep under the speed limit .

 

The JCW kit is not for rallys. The primary function it serves is to cause a very pronounced bluring of the mini as it screams past hondas and VWs in passing situations. In fact, if not used with some care a MINI will launch forward with sufficient force and speed that it can scare the wits out of the MINI driver as well as any passengers. The system is really quite well mannered in routine driving, and generally shifting below 4,000 RPM provides good performance for just running around. BUT, if you ever really want to move, all you have to do is push the revs past 4,000, and the MINI becomes a rocket.

I drove my '05 MCS for about 1000 miles before adding the kit. The car did well during that time, but of course I was limited by the break-in period restrictions. In my opinion, the kit is a little pricy, but worth the extra in terms of warrentee support. I suppose you could get more performance from other aftermarket kits, but the JCW kit works well for me. Meanwhile, I routinely get 26-28 MPG so long as I resist the temtation to kick in the secondary air. I have to admit I like the scream from the supercharger when the secondary kicks in. If I had one complaint it would be the lack of an overdrive gear in the 6 speed. It would be really great if 6th gear was a little taller.

Drive Safe
Phil

 

thanks for all the responses guys. i have actually decided that the full kit might just be a stretch for me in terms of price - but i CAN get the jcw air filter and exhaust installed for 2300 at my dealer ; ) so that is what i am going to do.

you were definately an inspiration on this one ian - thanks!

the reality is that living in new york city - and not having tons of empty roads to blaze away on - does limit my ability to use the kit, and the car feels pretty throaty as it is.

hopefully the addition of the jcw air filter and exahust system will give it the extra grunt and audio "love" that completes the picture.

i'll report in next week after the install!

cheers - drew

 

I have a JCW 210 on my '05. It is really a very nice kit, but I agree with Ian. It is really hard to see what the difference will be for an automatic since no one has seen one. Although I am going to guess that JCW will do some neat programming tricks with the automatic.

 

The last time I test drove a stock '05 MCS 6-speed, the car remainded me of an early '03 JCW MCS I have driven a couple of years early. I still have yet to test drive the new auto MCS, but to me the stock '05 MCS feels every bit as good as the '02-'04 JCW MCS (200HP Kit).

Ian, do you agree with me? Do you also concur on that the JCW might be enough for the stock '05 MCS manual?

 

If that happens it will be interesting ... personally I am not convinced of this; tampering with the transmission control algorithms is a far step from altering the engine computer mappings.

Drew, let me know how it works out ... the air filter is claimed 6hp and the exhaust has to be good for a couple more - I have noticed the '05 is more "growly" than my '03 as well; I would be interested to know if you think the MINI is quieter with the JCW exhaust.

 

i'll post a review for sure ian.

why would you imagine the jcw exhaust quieter than stock though? isn't the point that it makes more of that rumbling burbbling sound? did yours produce a more aggressive "note" ?


- drew

 

Absolutely - at lower speeds anyway.
When I test drove the Convertible in September last year I was blown away by its speed off the line; it was totally as fast as my (pre-210) JCW.
Definitely, when I floored the pedal while already at 65mph on the highway, there was much less pull than the JCW car - but that was without shifting down the gears.

In GBMINI#3, I find I am regularly tripping DSC at the moment accelerating slightly-more-than-gently off the line; I don't know the detailed technical stuff about a "torque converter" but my understanding (implied in the name) is that it swaps rpms for torque - so that seems to me that you have even more low end torque than a manual MINI, at least at low revs (the torque converter "locks" above 1800rpm).
I must suppose that the JCW on the automatic is going to be very tricky to use well at the low end.
At higher speeds, it might be nice to push the pedal and go without shifting down, but the auto shifts pretty quickly and seems to be smart enough to shift a couple of gears and really lay on the power.

If the auto-JCW does not significantly "reprogram" the transmission, it seems to me there will be little need for lots more power - and I think I will dump money into the stereo system instead

 

Because on GBMINI#2, the JCW exhaust *was* quieter than stock! The whole "trick" about JCW stuff is to make the MINI more "refined" ...
The air filter only opens up and makes noise at high revs - unlike aftermarket solutions.
The exhaust improves air flow but does not make excessive noise.
The engine upgrade provides "refined" power with an easy-to-drive torque curve, not as much "raw" hp as aftermarket upgrades, but "better".

The JCW suspension has been reviewed in the same way. That seems to be the goal of JCW ... to "refine" the pleasure of the MINI.

 

that makes sense ian. however i am banking on the parts desriptions directly from the jcw page on miniusa's site. see attachment.

in my opinion this is really the only extra love the mcsa could possibly need - the car's got power and a tranny to burn!

cheers - drew

 

I don't know about the shifting algorithms. My idea came from the fact that a lot of tuning companies do some work on auto's to perform crisper shifts, and shifting at higher revs under WOT. A typical example would be within the Corvette/Camaro/GTO lines where a lot tuning companies do a lot of revising to the autos.

For my '05 I find the JCW exhaust to be pretty mild at idle and cruising, maybe about the same as stock. But at WOT at 5,000+rpm the sound is quite intense. Not obnoxious, but definitely more intense and racy.

I would definitely agree that the '05 feels quicker than an '03 JCW.

 

Yes. Definitely throw that slush box on flaming funeral pyre and replace it with a Getrag 6-speed.

 

Huh?

 

I love the JCW! I am in my 3rd week of ownership so I am still in the breakin period.


It is a lot of fun but easy to drive in crappy Houston traffic. The only thing that is a little rough is the sport suspension. The roads around here are the pits so the ride is a little punishing, but not nearly as rough as in my Camaro.

The kit IMHO is a must do. It is great fun and worth every penny!

 

Mine has had the kit since new so I can't really compare with a non JCW, but I sure do like it! Now that I'm broken in (1000 miles) I find it pulls strongly from 1500 rpm to redline without a hint of a stumble anywhere. It was expensive but I'm very happy!

 

I love mine.

I plan to add an Alta Intake pretty soon as well.

Serious fun.

 

As a survivor of many a car improvement, you can't have too much power. ADD ADD ADD ADD ADD and GRIN GRIN GRIN (and then buy a new set of tires!)

 

I love my "upgraded" 04 JCW. Coupled with the taller, pre-05 gearing, it feels just perfect to me.

That being said, there is absolutely no way to argue that the JCW kit is worth $6k on top of a base MCS. It's just not. Somehow, I'm comfortable with that.

 

Why not the JCW intake ... a little more money but a lot more refined

 

Are any other components of the JCW kit available separatelyfrom the dealer? Specifically the pulley and exhaust (I know the intake is).

 

I think the exhaust is available.

The other items are not.
BTW, the JCW kit replaces the complete supercharger; it is not just a pulley (and now we open the "can of worms" discussion about whether the supercharger itself is any different).

 

Ian (or others),

A related JCW tangent - what does the JCW do at 4500+? Have seen comments in a different thread about a "sound difference" and something about the air intake.

Thanks,
Marty