MINI John Cooper Upgrades

MINI John Cooper Upgrades

Author
Discussion

Wigeon Incognito

Original Poster:

3,274 posts

225 months

Thursday 16th February 2006
quotequote all
Hi all,

My father currently has a MINI Cooper and is thinking about having an upgrade fitted as its soon out of warranty.

John Cooper seem to offer 2 upgrades, the John Cooper Sound Kit or the Works package. Has anybody here had any experience of cars with either of these packages fitted, what do you think?

He is aware of the alternative upgrades offered by the plethora of other tuning companies, however information re results with these has been much easier to come by. The John Cooper packages, particularly the Works kit added to a standard Cooper, seem much less common.

Thanks,

Matt.

baskey

14,291 posts

233 months

Friday 17th February 2006
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pretty sure the sound kit is just induction kit and exhaust back box, the full monty one actually has decent power upgrades achieved from cylinderhead work etc etc.

if ti's out of warranty i'd be inclined to go to BBR and save the cash!

maserati3200gt

1,576 posts

241 months

Monday 20th February 2006
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We have just had the JCW Engine Conversion fitted on a 2003 Cooper Sport and the mid range difference is much improved.
Great fun when hitting the country lanes and motorways!
It does make a great car faster even at the price.The price obviously is a personal opinion but it does give the car much more midrange torque.
However our initial revs from 0 to around 1500 is a little slower than we expected from the conversion but at 2,000 upwards the car just keeps pulling and pulling. This does raise the odd reaction from the tts who like to tailgate the little Mini!

Our Friends are quite suprised how quick this 'little car' can be once they have a ride in it!
The 'Lads' we know like to call the Mini a 'Girls Car' but this 'caption' is soon forgotten when they are taken for a ride in the JCW Works ! often commenting the Mini is now on Steroids!
There is an additional conversion at JCW which can bring the car to 225 for an extra 2,500 but they don't plug this as much as the warranty based JCW / BMW Conversion for obvious reasons.
For us it was the logical choice as the Conversion is BMW Backed and based on our previous Customer Service experience from BMW , it made good sense to go for this product.
However there are other conversions which are better priced and develop more power but again this is down to personal choice.

Note : Depending on who you talk to at JC you may find a really decent advisor or an arrogant tt - Be Warned !

Hope this info is of Help ?


I highly recommend the conversion as it gives the car a new lease of life if buying Second Hand as we did.




>> Edited by maserati3200gt on Monday 20th February 22:08

Raify

6,552 posts

255 months

Tuesday 21st February 2006
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I can't recommend the JCW works package enough, it's fantastic.

But, if you're waiting for the warranty to expire anyway, why not go for one of the similar (and much cheaper) upgrades as baskey suggested?

baskey

14,291 posts

233 months

Tuesday 21st February 2006
quotequote all
i thought he was talking about works kit for a cooper not a cooperS...

Raify

6,552 posts

255 months

Tuesday 21st February 2006
quotequote all
baskey said:
i thought he was talking about works kit for a cooper not a cooperS...


Ahh yes. didn't read it carefully, and didn't realise they did a JCW kit for the cooper....

Raify

6,552 posts

255 months

Tuesday 21st February 2006
quotequote all
I just happened across this thread: www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109383

Which seems relevant.

Wigeon Incognito

Original Poster:

3,274 posts

225 months

Tuesday 21st February 2006
quotequote all
Thanks everyone, it is to be fitted to a standard Cooper not an S, and thanks Raify for the link, that sheds some new light on why there is so little info out there!

As far as why my father doesn't fancy an alternative to an official John Cooper kit is concerned, I think he is concerned about the resale value of the car. Also, to be honest I think he sees some snob value in having a John Cooper conversion - although of course he'd deny it! I've been trying to persuade him otherwise but so far have had no joy!

Raify said:
didn't realise they did a JCW kit for the cooper....


I've been told that they won't do it for post facelift cars, so if correct you were at least half right! Not sure why they stopped doing it or whether it was stopped only as a new car option or a retro fit option too.




>> Edited by Wigeon Incognito on Tuesday 21st February 20:30