New commuter/track car ordered. 2011 Mini JCW Works 6spd Black/Black Hat and Black 17" Alloys, Heated Seats, Chrome line Interior, White turn Sigs, Arm Rest, Prem Pkg(Sun Roof, Auto AC, HK Sound), Xenon Lighting with Adaptive light control, Rain Sensing Wipers, Auto headlights, Black Jack Mirrors, Mini connect(Comfort Bluetooth, USB/IPOD, Wired Arm Rest,
SmartPhone Integration, Display screen). Just be getting a build date of early Dec. shortly. 3 weeks by boat to Seattle.

 

Nice! That's a lot of options!

 

Wow! Nice looking Mini!! I like the way you built it too.

I had a 2006 S for about 8 months... just long enough to realize it wasn't going to work for my growing family. I really like that car as a daily driver though, lots of fun. I never got a chance to drive the new turbo ones, must be all around better.

 

I got a car seat in the MINI right now, & we just got back from the dog park with 3 adults, 1 infant & dog, all inside the MINI!!!


Your list looks great, but you forgot the LSD! You are really going to want it, with out you will be doing a lot of 1 wheel burn outs. It's hard to get traction with out it.

 

Oh, there's no doubt that you CAN do it... but once your car seats multiply it gets harder and harder on the ol back.

 

There is not as much by way of aftermarket for the R56 mini powertrain yet. Turbo modifications are proving somewhat difficult.

 

Nicely done, will be a sweet car when built. Let us know if we can help you out with paint protection film and tint to finish the look. I agree with Stealth though, gotta get rid of that one tire fire.



John

 

Similar story. Had one of the newer turbo'd versions ('08 MCS) for about a year. Great car. But growing family = trade-in for boring Audi wagon

 

Stealth 993- JCW's all come stock with LSD now. One reason I am trading up from my 2010. Lots of patience needed when driving it hard. You have to wait to get fully get on the throttle or it is just tire spin city. Slowly
get back into the throttle or you are just loosing time. That is why many times the high HP Mini's are actually slower at the track. Hard to get the power down even with my 2010 stock. Run Flats delete is also a big help.
JCW also has a different heavy duty clutch as some MCS's have been having issues when run hard with mods. I didn't list the standard stuff on the JCW just options I ordered. Also JCW uses a bigger different Turbo.

James for HP improvements check out ALTA Performace out of PDX. Their programmer is getting good reports on new Mini's. Stage one on a stock JCW is 55 LBS of Torq and 20 to 40HP depending on the RPM. That is ona stock Mini JCW. Stage 2 requires Turbo back Exhaust but is 80 ftlbs and 25HP to 40 HP increase. Larger intercooler is required to go big time.


Current plan is dual Flat Black Racing Stripes down the center with thin Grey or Red pin stripping to outline them. ALTA programmer and CAI to start. Eventually delete the cats and new down pipe. JCW already has a Cat back exhaust. I am hoping the JCW is a bit louder with more popping etc when getting off the throttle. ALTA is working a specific program to enhance that. They can set your programs up to your needs too. Higher performance tune they can change throttle tip/in and feel, how heavy the steering is etc. It is a downloader that you plug in. Have one for my Diesel
truck and it rocks. Reg. towing and Crazy Larry setting. With the ALTA you can do the same. ie. Street, High Performance and Track/Crazy Larry. Somehow they always seem to get left on Crazy Larry. Except when towing, Melted pistons are bad.

 

I have an R53 SC'd model, so there is not much available for ECU tuning for our cars. UNICHIP has something out I believe, and Jan does custom tunes, but it's hard to get him up here on a regular basis....

 

Checked the Mini Owners Lounge today and I have VIN number assigned and Jack is scheduled to be completed on Nov. 30th.
I researched Mini shipping and the ship leaves South Hampton
Dec 7th. and arrives in CA the 29th. From there trucked to Seattle.
Looks like early 11'.

 

There are quite a few, but not like the SC ones. Mine has a few bolt ons & is WAY FASTER THEN STOCK.

Yea, I would not want to do it with more then one car seat. It is a bit of work to get the kid in & out. But this is our "big car". The wife doesn't want to get another car, but she might after the kid gets a bit bigger.

COOl! It should be stock! Yea, getting rid of the run flats was a big plus.
We have almost all the Alta bolt on stuff, intake, pipes, IC, turbo back. But no tuning yet. Last I checked they didn't have a good program for all the parts yet. I also feel it's a bit on the expensive side.

I agree about the being able to put the power down. It has to be in a straight line in the lower gears, or a easy roll on the throttle.

 

Nice build! Can't wait to see it!

 

The Mini is about as opposite as you can get from cornering the Maserati.

 

Ya I should have clarified that a bit. Compared to the R53, the aftermarket has not caught up yet.