Hey all,

I have been looking to come back to the brand for some time now and may have finally found my ideal Cooper. It is a 2012 JCW S and has been babied from what I can see. The car has nary a scratch and drove like a champ today. I don't think I would want fo any power but I did have the following question about the car:

I have a down pipe to throw on from Akrapovic and in my experience, even an aftermarket down pipe with a catalytic converter still will throw engine codes. So, is there a way to code that out without an ECU tune? Perhaps some sort of reprogram that doesn't change any parameters other than the provision for the 02 sensors? I am ppannpla on installing the down pipe and adding the proper spacers to it, but figured I would ask.

Thanks in advance,

 

Welcome back. Some people code it out with an NCS expert type of coding. Some people use those spacers, i would watch out if you live in an area that has emission issues.

 

That is good to know for sure. Colorado recently adopted California emissions standards for incoming vehicles, but no one is sure how that will affect the rest of us. I may wait on the down pipe for now until I decide if/when I will get tuned. I have been reading the forum thoroughly and it appears that an aftermarket intercooler is a must for these cars. Maybe I will start there and see what I think about power response.

 

Yep,
Thats a good start, intake/intercooler are the easy ones. Check out forge or wagner for the intercooler. Forge is on sale right now https://www.ecstuning.com/b-forge-parts/v-mini/ but only for a couple more days as well as our ECS Tuning intake is on sale right now also:

I have the intake on my R58 JCW
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...er-intake.html

 

Looks clean and I love that intak design. Very sharp!

Have you had any experience with the CTS Turbo intercooler? I had some of their stuff on my MK7 GTI and I was impressed. Is their intercooler a viable option for the JCW?

 

Thanks!

We have an install doc on the product and all our gain listed.

Yes, its a lower cost options and most people like it, some people that never fitted an intercooler had some issues fitting them, but we see that across the board because they don't have an install doc on some products.

 

Totally makes sense. My CTS intake didn't come with any instructions, but pretty straight forward. Are there any tricks to the intercooler install? It also appears to be a straight forward job?

 

Set in loose, align and then tighten.

 

 

Well, the seller backed out at the last minute. It's a shame as I loved the car, but I guess things happen. I am going to keep the search going and who knows? Maybe I will find a nice clean R56 S for cheap that I can focus on building into a double duty car?! I am sure a well sorted suspension and brake package coupled with a stage 2 build is plenty of fun!

 

Sorry it didn't work out. Hopefully you'll find the right one, but hold out for a nice one as there are a ton of poor modded or poor maintained ones out there.

 

I have noticed that as I look through the different ads and whatnot. Would you say the R56 will be a more reliable option than a nice R53? I have been fidning some cherry R53 models for great prices.

 

Hard to say as it will vary based on each individual car. I think I would pick an 05 or 06 R53 over an N14 powered R56.

Our first MINI was an 06 R53 that we bought new and it was simply fantastic. I think it was 9.5 years old and had 109k miles when we sold it. We miss that car.
We recently picked up a 2013 R56 as somewhat of a beater (daily driver, parked outside, always seems to need a wash) and about 6 months and 7k miles later (38k miles on the clock) it has not given any problems and is a hoot to drive. Another R53 would have been nice.

I recently watched this video from this guy who works at a MINI dealership. Lots of generalizations and missing a few items on the R53 list, but he certainly has more data points than I do.

 

 

I have both and work on both so I love them both, but in different ways. With proper maint both are reliable. But I would say R56 repairs do tend to cost more.
Finding a cherry R53 is getting harder these days and may be a good find. I would suggest test driving both and see which you prefer to be your car.