F56 Cooper S w/ JCW Pro Exhaust / Kit

F56 Cooper S w/ JCW Pro Exhaust / Kit

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Discussion

SonnyG88

Original Poster:

21 posts

108 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
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So looking at one of these and wondering if any common issues (other than rear brakes) have appeared?

How reliable is the engine?

Not concerned about general running costs but any info on bigger ticket items to be wary of?


Hammy98

850 posts

98 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
quotequote all
SonnyG88 said:
So looking at one of these and wondering if any common issues (other than rear brakes) have appeared?

How reliable is the engine?

Not concerned about general running costs but any info on bigger ticket items to be wary of?
Mines has had a couple of issues over the last year and a half that I can recall:

- Paint rub in door apertures. This seems to be quite common and a lot have been done under warranty. The seal on the door uses abrasive material which rubs against the paintwork in the door aperture near the sticker which has the tire pressures etc. Mine was worn down to the metal and Mini repainted the door aperture and fitted a rubbing strip.

- Cracked front wishbones. I believe there's a service bulletin for this however it's only carried out if either you or the techs notice it. Sounds like a rumbling from the front end over bad road surfaces.

- Crank case breather leak. IIRC there is a service bulletin for this one also. Oil residue on the (sump?) behind the front left wheel seems to be the main symptom as it's a slow leak and doesn't leave a patch on the ground. Mini refused to replace mine but an independent tells me it definitely needs doing under warranty.

Engine has been spot on. Mine has had a plugin tuning box on it for the past 5k, car is now on 26k.

Hope this helps!

SonnyG88

Original Poster:

21 posts

108 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
quotequote all
Hammy98 said:
Mines has had a couple of issues over the last year and a half that I can recall:

- Paint rub in door apertures. This seems to be quite common and a lot have been done under warranty. The seal on the door uses abrasive material which rubs against the paintwork in the door aperture near the sticker which has the tire pressures etc. Mine was worn down to the metal and Mini repainted the door aperture and fitted a rubbing strip.

- Cracked front wishbones. I believe there's a service bulletin for this however it's only carried out if either you or the techs notice it. Sounds like a rumbling from the front end over bad road surfaces.

- Crank case breather leak. IIRC there is a service bulletin for this one also. Oil residue on the (sump?) behind the front left wheel seems to be the main symptom as it's a slow leak and doesn't leave a patch on the ground. Mini refused to replace mine but an independent tells me it definitely needs doing under warranty.

Engine has been spot on. Mine has had a plugin tuning box on it for the past 5k, car is now on 26k.

Hope this helps!
I'll be the only one in the car 99% of the time so I'll keep on eye on the door area, didn't notice anything on first viewing and will check again before purchase. They did prepare the car very well, the alloys (track spoke..?) were refurbed prior to it being listed with new Michelins. Have seen many a dealer only offer to do that after the fact (and only if you question it!).

If those are covered under a recall then nothing to really worry about there.

I like the fact the engine is quite detuned and used in a lot of other models in the range. The previous gen really had me worrying.


Superdry

96 posts

193 months

Wednesday 21st November 2018
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Hammy98 said:
Engine has been spot on. Mine has had a plugin tuning box on it for the past 5k, car is now on 26k.

Hope this helps!
May I ask what tuning box you use, and your experiences of it so far? Interested in one myself.

Hammy98

850 posts

98 months

Thursday 22nd November 2018
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Superdry said:
May I ask what tuning box you use, and your experiences of it so far? Interested in one myself.
It's a Racechip Ultimate I have at the moment. There's a healthy bump in power from standard, Racechip claim 250bhp-ish. Fitting was pretty straightforward as there's only 3 connectors under the bonnet which it hooks up to (useful for dealer visits).

My car used to spin the front wheels in 1st only when accelerating hard, now it spins up 1st, 2nd and even 3rd if it's wet and you aren't careful. As long as you manage the throttle its pretty rapid, MPG has remained the same also.

There's a couple of power settings on the box that you configure by removing it and opening the case although I believe the new version allows you to change this via the mobile app. For me personally I prefer it over a bench map since I can remove it for taking the car in for service, and I can sell the chip on when I switch cars.


Superdry

96 posts

193 months

Thursday 22nd November 2018
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Thank you! Appreciate the information!

SonnyG88

Original Poster:

21 posts

108 months

Tuesday 27th November 2018
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So pick up tomorrow after some graphics are replaced. Looking forward to a nice cold start on Thursday morning..