I had this installed a few months back and couldn't be happier, really changed the car and so much fun to drive. I had the two day code turnaround too, no big deal with the dealer giving a loaner.

The kit for mine definitely came with a new manifold, really shouldn't change the install price by much though.

 

Same here. 2 day job with coding. My ECU had a bit of hiccup prior to this, and this flash apparently fixed it as well. Free loaner car provided so I wasn't complaining. It was automatic 3 series, and I didn't like the ride one bit. I was so happy get back into my now-caffeinated MCS next day.

From what I heard from other SF Bay Area members, looks like we didn't find any nearby dealer doing N18 kit including manifold for N14 comparable pricing. Heck MINI SF didn't even know N18 kit existed and didn't want to even look into it.

One thing for sure is that my JCWed MCS is giving me lots of extra smiles.

Oh and I've paid off the loan so I don't have to get into another one with selling car / buying fJCW route.

 

I think you forgot to mention the JCW aero kit :smile:

 

A question to those with the JCW tuning kit: did the new exhaust delete the 2nd cat and add a bigger resonator like the fJCW? The picture from WMW makes it look like its after the resonator that they change it out. Could be just me though.

And for anyone who might know: would adding a bigger FMIC to an MCS before getting the JCW tune make it more of an aggressive tune more so than normal? Like say an extra 10-20%? Sorry if this is a seems like a silly question.

 

I had a loaner too, a 2013 roadster justa. I did a review on it here. They failed to fix the ac noise issue, which was why the car was at the dealer in the first place. The offered to keep the car another day and do it, and let me keep the loaner..... "Uhhh, I think I'll take my car and bring it back another day."

Hopefully they give me the tint too.
For anyone that read my story on how I got the car, you'll know that i purchased the car from my late father-in-law. I found paperwork that showed the car was supposed to be delivered with tint, but the car isn't tinted. Obviously i can't ask him the story on what happened.

I showed the dealer the paperwork (from a different dealer) and they are trying to see if they can give it to me. Cross your fingers!

 

The tuning kit exhaust replaces the last 2 or 3 feet of the existing system - just the muffler at the rear of the car and the tail pipe w/tip.

 

So, after 250 miles driving with the jcw kit (yea, I have a 150 mile/day commute) I've noticed that I'm getting basically the same mileage, or about .2 mpg better. Was actually surprised to see that!

 

The tune will remain the same and I doubt it will take full advantage of the bigger intercooler compared to a custom tune. Remember that the tune was made with factory parts in mind. However, an intercooler is never a bad idea since it will help with heat soak.

 

So it's more like a stage 1 tune then, is that fair to say?

 

As a guy who has had the JCW tuning kit and now has a fJCW I would recommend saving your money to upgrade/tune your car yourself. As IzzyG insightfully pointed out the JCW tuning kit is a fun option if you want to keep your car under warranty. But, as was mentioned, if you put mileage on quickly that warranty is gone before you know it. I would ask yourself: What is my ultimate goal for this car? If you don't have plans to mod it, but want something quicker than the regular S then by all means go for the JCW tuning kit. However, if you plan on doing a good amount of performance mods then save your money. Maybe by the time the warranty is out you will have saved enough to buy most if not all of your desired parts and could install everything all at once. Picking what mods you want and don't want could save you $$. Plus for $5k you can do a lot better than a JCW tuning kit, trust me. I spent $200 on a custom 3" downpipe-back exhaust plus an Alta AP for $850. Stage1 is screaming as is and with normal driving my gas mpg stayed the same. That's my two cents. I would heed what IzzyG says. The man knows his stuff.

 

Stage 1 compared to? If you're trying to compare it to say a Stage 1 Alta AP tune, what would be the Stage 2 JCW tune? 0.o

Or are you just saying Stage 1 as in no other mod dependent? If so, yes.

 

The latter, correct. I wasn't very clear on that.

 

I just looked for the tune you were referring to and it's no longer available, see the update at the top of this page. For those who have a feb 2012 or later R56 the options are very limited so far, but hopefully that will change soon.

I'm not in a hurry so I'll sit tight and wait a bit to see what other tuning options become available. A typical tune out there can lead to about 40 hp gains from what I've seen, well above the mini tuning kit. Together with a high quality exhaust like an Akra, this would be a lot more performance for about the same price. Of course the warranty might be affected, but that's a line I've crossed many times before with previous cars

 

You can contact Jan from RMW. He can tune the N18's but it will require shipping your ECU out. However, if you want one of the best out there, he's the guy

One caveat: He can be a handful to try to get a hold of ;x

 

I guess what I meant was in terms of more power. But since the JCW tune doesn't really need a bigger FMIC and doesn't take full advantage of having one either, like you said mod dependent, so yeah. lol

 

Thoughts after 750 miles on the kit:

Still a huge grin. When the turbo kicks in now, it's pure smile.
The exhaust note is soooo nice. People had mentioned freeway droning. Yes, you can hear it on the freeway, but this isn't a minivan. If you want a silent freeway ride, an MCS probably isn't the right vehicle for you anyway, much less the JCW kit.
My car must sound faster: I've had 3 different old biddys in my neighborhood wave at me signaling me to slow down. On none of the occasions was I more than 5 mph over the posted limit. This is exactly how I've always driven, and it never bothered them before. I'm waiting for one of them to come talk to me about it because I want to see this new fangled invisible radar gun they have!
The power seems to be more dependant on engine temp now than it was before. Since I don't have a temp gauge, I can't be 100% sure, but it feels like the turbo kicks in at higher rpm and with lower pressure when the engine is cold vs. When it is warm.
Fuel mileage is unaffected, if not perhaps a little better...on the freeway that is. In traffic hard to say, because I'm still having too much fun whenever the opportunity presents itself.

 

The primary deciding factor may come down to what it'll cost to get it installed. It's not such a big job on the N14 cars, but the exhaust manifold that the N18 engine kit comes with adds a lot to the install labor/cost. I think the kit is nice for someone who's planning to keep their car for a while but doesn't want to worry about warranty or service issues. Just like most other mods, however, it won't bring much when it comes time to sell/trade. I've enjoyed having mine. It made an already energetic car even more so. I didn't personally notice any change in fuel usage, but it didn't seem like it used more than before the install.

 

I'm trying to look for a JCW Stage 1 Kit in Canada. But dealer said they don't make it anymore :( I wonder where else can I get it?

 

I've had the JCW Stage 1 kit in my '10 R56 for some 6 months now, and love it. I've had very little to no loss in fuel mileage, and no oil loss at all.

I got it on sale for $1495, plus $300 installation.

My vehicle is still under warranty.


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