[St00ge]

Hey guys, just wondering if you can by seperate bits of the JCW kit. I heard one guy fitted the JCW induction kit. If you can fit stuff bit by bit, does it cost less when you want to upgrade to the full JCW package later?

[Fabio]

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

Hey guys, just wondering if you can by seperate bits of the JCW kit. I heard one guy fitted the JCW induction kit. If you can fit stuff bit by bit, does it cost less when you want to upgrade to the full JCW package later?

The only seperate bits that you can buy from the JCW upgrade are the exhaust and the induction kit. The rest(cyclinder head, supercharger) has to be bought as part of the full JCW upgrade package.

[St00ge]

yeh, but say once i put in the induction kit and the exhaust, and then later i want to upgrade to the full kit, do i still have to pay the full JCW price?

[Shorty]

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

yeh, but say once i put in the induction kit and the exhaust, and then later i want to upgrade to the full kit, do i still have to pay the full JCW price?

I'm afraid so........

[St00ge]

what a joke. It appears that BMW hasn't completely lost the art of ripping people off.

[WoodenDummy]

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

what a joke. It appears that BMW hasn't completely lost the art of ripping people off.

Off the top of my head I can't think of anywhere else that sells a 40bhp upgrade still keeping the warranty for under 3k, unless someone can point me out as wrong the exhaust and the induction kit are not as such part of the JCW power upgrade, they are just part of the sound kit.

You don't just stick a new supercharger on a car and leave it at that. That is not how you tune a car properly.

[St00ge]

yeh i no, but i wanted the induction kit for the noise, and the slight power increase, and the exhaust for the same reason, but also i know that the works exhaust has higher pressure flow, and this would help greatly with efficiency of the supercharger.

Do you know how much the induction kit costs in australian dollars?

[Johnny L]

Just an opinion . . .

If you are thinking about going bit by bit to save money, why not just fit some trusted aftermarket bits like an Alta 15% pulley and a CAI? These two items would probably cost you 1k in Austrailian dollars--less if you did the work yourself. They won't change the sound of the exhaust, but you WILL get about 10 to 15 percent increase in wheel horsepower. You'll also get some really cool intake noise!

Sure, there are warranty concerns, but the 15% pulley and the CAI--especially the latter--have really stood the test of time. The only regret that I've ever heard or read about from any MINI S owner is that they didn't do these mods sooner--even before run-in.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Alta (or any other car parts company). I'm just a guy who added the pulley and CAI and am very happy with it.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

what a joke. It appears that BMW hasn't completely lost the art of ripping people off.

Its not a rip off, its the fact that really you shouldn't be offically be allowed to order the other bits on their own

but a tip is if you buy these bits, then decide to buy the full kit, you can sell the new bits that are left from the kit pretty much for what you paid for them, well that is if you get a good price in the first place

Check out the UK group buy threads on the Exhaust and the Airfilter to give an idea of what you should be paying

[St00ge]

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnny L

Just an opinion . . .

If you are thinking about going bit by bit to save money, why not just fit some trusted aftermarket bits like an Alta 15% pulley and a CAI? These two items would probably cost you 1k in Austrailian dollars--less if you did the work yourself. They won't change the sound of the exhaust, but you WILL get about 10 to 15 percent increase in wheel horsepower. You'll also get some really cool intake noise!

Sure, there are warranty concerns, but the 15% pulley and the CAI--especially the latter--have really stood the test of time. The only regret that I've ever heard or read about from any MINI S owner is that they didn't do these mods sooner--even before run-in.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Alta (or any other car parts company). I'm just a guy who added the pulley and CAI and am very happy with it.

I still have two years of warranty. Surely these parts will void the warranty? And what does CAI stand for?

[tenshipb]

Avoid the JCW, it is nice but does not perform the way it should. I have found that most JCW do not pump out there quoted BHP, simply because they are not rolling road tuned. I blew away a new JCW with my Stage 1 Minisport conversion.
(£895.00)

www.newminisport.com

[Johnny L]

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

I still have two years of warranty. Surely these parts will void the warranty? And what does CAI stand for?

Warranties work differently in different countries. Here, there is a law that says that a dealer has the burden to prove that any mod has actually caused any damage. So, let's say you decide to do a pulley, but something goes wrong with your windscreen (the infamous cracking)--a dealer can't say, "Well, since you changed the pulley, that voids that warranty on the windshield." Of course, this is an obvious example, but even if something went wrong with, say, your head gasket; the dealer would have a difficult time saying that it was the pulley, and not, say, a factory defect.

Still, having said all of this, I simply have not heard of anything going wrong with a 15% pulley (the JCW is, I believe, a 14.2% pulley), so it's unlikely that the warranty issue would even come up. My '05 MCS is brand new, and I was a little hesitant at first to change anything. But after a lot of searching (MINI2, North American Motoring, and Roadfly.com), it was very easy to determine that the pulley is a very benign mod. Moreover, it's very inexpensive (the pulley itself is about $110.00 USD). The ALTA Cold Air Intake (CAI), is $250 USD. Together, they are a very cost-effective mod (much more so than the JCW mods).

Ultimately, whatever you do must pass the "Can I sleep at night" test.

Me, I'm well rested.

[St00ge]

Well said johnny, very convincing. I dunno bout that burden, cos i live in australia, and have never heard anything about that, but maybe its true, i'm not too sure. But i can see where you are coming from. I've considered many times the installation of the CAI and the 15% pulley, and its attractive.

Does that minisport tuning company cater for aussies? Any other tuning companies that are worth having a look at? I've heard about hartge, digitec, and BBR from BBC Top Gear, but i doubt if they cater for the aussie market.

[DEVO]

Does Mini keep the parts taken from your car? Or do they give them back?

[Johnny L]

Sorry it's taken so long to respond. If any MINI dealer does they work, they'll keep the parts. I have the JCW suspension fitted, and I was hoping to retain the stock parts, but, alas, it's not MINIUSA policy.

As for the pulley and CAI, I had the work done at an after-market BMW/MINI tuner shop, and, yes, they gave me the stock parts. I suppose if I got real paranoid about the warranty, I could refit them, but I'm just not going to worry about it. If the dealer says anything about it, I'll tell them to "Shut up and service the car, mate!" I mean, I'm entitled to an oil change and check up, right? How is the pulley going to affect that????

Quote: Originally Posted by DEVO

Does Mini keep the parts taken from your car? Or do they give them back?

[DEVO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnny L

Sorry it's taken so long to respond. If any MINI dealer does they work, they'll keep the parts. I have the JCW suspension fitted, and I was hoping to retain the stock parts, but, alas, it's not MINIUSA policy.

As for the pulley and CAI, I had the work done at an after-market BMW/MINI tuner shop, and, yes, they gave me the stock parts. I suppose if I got real paranoid about the warranty, I could refit them, but I'm just not going to worry about it. If the dealer says anything about it, I'll tell them to "Shut up and service the car, mate!" I mean, I'm entitled to an oil change and check up, right? How is the pulley going to affect that????

Wow, that's really lame. Seems like if you add the JCW kit when the car is new, you essentially have new parts coming off that could be sold to others. Wonder how they can justify that one.