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There should be a resonator behind the main cat on a JCW exhaust. Because yours is missing, that explains why your factory built JCW is now a two piece exhaust. Many feel the JCW is too quiet and that’s probably why the resonator was removed. MINI probably used larger cans for the same reason the RPM controlled flap was added to the JCW airbox, Euro noise laws.
I never liked the way the large cans on the JCW hung so far below the bumper, at least on the standard S bumper. Every now and again I think about replacing it with a Milltek because they tuck almost completely above the bumper.
About half my order from ecs came in today, rest on Monday says ups. :(
most of what I needed for the weekend work session though is here in this first box.
Both OEM tmap and map sensors, plug wires, and the 3 motor mounts are in this first one.
Got the radio button on once I figured out the original buttons retaining sleeve was still on the shaft and that is why it wouldn’t fit! will have to add that detail to my review to help others!
and sadly I found out I messed up. Was looking at the r50 black driving/aux covers and saw white ones that would match the roof and stripes so ordered those instead… Oops! those are apparently for r56+ era lights and too big to fit r50/53.
R50s covers apparently only come in black so I’ll have to buy the right ones from ECS. And then the new plan is to paint them with several coats of Fusion satin bright white instead to get the same look. Their Fusion satin black has sprayed smooth and held up well on my f31’s abs front lip and rear diffuser as well other plastic auto projects (engine covers etc) over the years with only minimal prep (light scuffing & alcohol wipe down) . Figure maybe I’ll mask off the MINI lettering on those r50 ones to stay black as an accent a la Hella covers…
hopefully I can get the whites returned and refunded despite it being my screwup and not theirs.
Since everyone was sharing about their kids, I might join in as the kid. Really big gear MINI gear head (4 MINIs in the family). I really find it enjoyable and it just never gets boring. Done some mini jobs like pulley and PS lines on my white car but no front end service yet as the car only has 70k miles but soon for that big service. Recently picked up a finished project maybe for some little bits and its a red JCW just like yours except not stock. The build list is basically like if you got a free spending spree at RMW and could buy whatever you wanted. It is Daves A previous car if anyone knows him and his car. Oh and I totally forgot that we have an entire wall of Mini model cars since we have been collecting since I was little (Im 17 now)
now installing an aux port and trying to figure out how to de-install the non working (no audio but everything else works) iPod adapter kit so I can have Sirius back.
Last edited by Onizukachan; 08-21-2022 at 02:21 AM.
It works! Once I deinstalled the iPod adapter harness and moved the 3 pins back it came up, no audio though. Guess they don’t have the test station anymore like back in the day. About 5 seconds after I started a free 3 month trial for Alex on the website I was listening to Peter Gabriel.
My last step is to get the iPod cable out of the glovebox once I can get the grommet pulled out.
im almost done with the aux install as well, been working on that for several hours as I had to figure out how to lift the rear console section to get the wiring in under it. Rest was easy to tuck under edge of front console to hide it on the way up to the radio area.
relocated the tpms reset to the left side of console instead and had to cut in the keyed notch for the US switch in the console but on wrong side, then put the aux switch in the blank which I moved to right side. Made more sense to me that way.
now thinking to adapt a phone/ iPod holder to the left over base of the pre broken accessory cup holder it came with. But that’s a project for another day.
I’ll try to get some miles on it to get the readiness set for the obd2 test and get it registered!
Last edited by Onizukachan; 08-21-2022 at 02:19 AM.
Reason: Add pic
Spent about 3-4 hours cleaning carpets, pedals, and center console, vacuum, brush, spray with diluted DG nonsense, brush in and vacuum back out… and also cleaned and reoiled the Alta filter.
I was at Walmart and saw this for $10, figured what the hell.
couple of small screws from my junk bin and boom.
might modify it to mount directly using the stud to shorten it up closer to the dash, but it seems ok for the moment.
Ha, typical me, I went to version 2 already. Partially filled the void with gorilla glue to lock in the cut down retaining nut and better spread the load.
now waiting 24 hours for curing time and then I can pop it back on.
Ha, typical me, I went to version 2 already. Partially filled the void with gorilla glue to lock in the cut down retaining nut and better spread the load. Now waiting 24 hours for curing time and then I can pop it back on.
Similar to your solution, I use a 17mm ball mount for phone holders in almost all my cars, and then a magnetic mount with a corresponding metal plate slipped into the case of the phone. In a pinch, I can put our Garmin GPS onto the ball mount, too, if needed (although the smartphone maps coverage and service is typically never an issue where I travel).
Just wanted to post a couple pics of my son in the Mini (and his awesome shirt) as I've seen some great shots of others! Has a couple years until he can reach the pedals; hopefully I've still got it when he's older.
Ha, typical me, I went to version 2 already. Partially filled the void with gorilla glue to lock in the cut down retaining nut and better spread the load. Now waiting 24 hours for curing time and then I can pop it back on.
Looking at those pictures again, I'll have to talk that through with my daughter if that's a path for a phone holder solution she might consider in the future. Right now, I think she likes having the cupholder too much
But, I will definitely keep an eye out for the cupholder and bracket (even a broken one) on my next salvage yard trips. If I can find a broken one, they I can modify it with the ball mount and have it at the ready for an eventual changeover.
Hmmm...I wonder if they have cupholders that connect to the 17mm ball mount...
The first thing my daughter did was to glue one of the self adhesive phone holders right onto the dash of that JCW. I about had a stroke! I forgot about it eventually until a few weeks ago when she texted my to say that she managed, on a real hot day, do peel it off with no glue and no damage. Thank Heaven. Now she just lets her play list do its thing and she doesn't look at the phone at all. No need for a holder. Little girl is growing up.
OP that boy is pretty cute, well dressed too I might add.
Looking at those pictures again, I'll have to talk that through with my daughter if that's a path for a phone holder solution she might consider in the future. Right now, I think she likes having the cupholder too much
But, I will definitely keep an eye out for the cupholder and bracket (even a broken one) on my next salvage yard trips. If I can find a broken one, they I can modify it with the ball mount and have it at the ready for an eventual changeover.
Hmmm...I wonder if they have cupholders that connect to the 17mm ball mount...
Just an idea… build one and put it on the other side from her existing cup holder!
That’s the beauty of it, I put the mount in the middle so it can be used either sided, removed, etc whenever you or she wants.
Alex and I went to a detail garage’s rides n coffee Friday night. Had a nice c4 park next to us. We joked with the owner they were almost Twins (and probably have about the same HP truth be known), and will be impossible to tell apart once the bonnet stripes are back on.
Final night without bonnet stripes.
today I pulled the JCW tips off and used oven cleaner to get some of the carbon off the inside, followed by loads and loads of scrubbing with plastic mesh sponge and “pink stuff”.
when I showed them to Alex’s he said, “So they WEREN’T supposed to be black inside?”.
they really did look like they had black painted interiors they were so sooted up.
itried my vvivid hex film that I used to darken the side bumper and rear under bumper reflectors on the f31, and it almost worked, they looked loads better, it the film wouldn’t stay stuck to the MINI reflectors. So I pulled a F it card and painted them matte black so they don’t stand out like a sore thumb in the day time… but they do still illuminate at night.
Soaked the floor mats in the tub with borax and laundry detergent (they still smelt of dog and such). Applied OEM bonnet stripes again.
I took some f30 LED puddle lights and swapped them place of the OEM incandescent ones, and we aligned the driving lights, and adjusted the xenons. Who ever had done them had set the right one a little low, but then set the left one even lower, so the cutoffs made a stair case instead of overlapping. you could see the left cutoff line on the road surface just 35-50 feet a head of you, ie no light being thrown down range at all.
they really need a set of OEM D2S xenarc bulbs. the ones in my f31 seem to be about 4700k and work great in both rain and shine, but whatever 6k bs is in there now is “okay” in the dry, but you can’t see a damn thing when roads are wet/ raining. My wife’s atlas has LEDs and they are probably about 5k and even they are partially gone when roads are wet, but these BS things have me checking if i accidentally left the lights off they are so bad in the wet.
if I put CBIs in my f31 (I feel I need a little more output with the variable light distribution coded since the left and right don’t align parallel or overlap until high way speeds) I’m putting my old stockers in the r53. A little better high beam bulb that is closer to 4700k (like my Zisa h8 fog bulbs) vs the 3900 ish they seem to be now and this thing will be a lot more fun to drive at night. Right now the pucker factory when high beams and driving lights are off is a bit too high.
The vinyl inserts or the actual trim piece inserts? I might still have a set of the vinyl inserts laying around somewhere.
the vinyl “appliqués” for the aero bumper that black out the area around the fog surrounds. This thing had ppf nearly everywhere BUT there and as a result they are pretty banged up looking in person. Plus I really liked them on the red r53 in the JCW video advertisement from 2003.
I think I have the vinyl version and will look for them this week and let you know. There was also another version that was a metal (aluminum?) veneer for that area.
im actually getting the bolts loosened to replace the hydraulic motor mount right this minute. And I need to find the second much smaller exhaust leak so it doesn’t sound quite so noisy at idle (pretty sure it’s the rear band clamp) as per request from the boys mother who thinks it is still far too loud when I drop him off and pick him up from her house in it.
edit, job done, and I think now that the extraneous noises are gone that it’s the manifold leaking.
Failed motor mount…
the next mod will probably be to change the nut behind the wheel by getting Alex to take the course to get learners permit so I can let him start learning to drive in it and my wife’s atlas… (also fwd and grossly overpowering the front wheels but auto so easier to practice in).
the next real mod will probably be to get a set of r50 covers and paint them white, and change bulbs in the high beams and driving lights to something closer to 4700k instead of 3900is like the aged incandescent are delivering now. ,and maybe a chrome hatch handle but I have to send back the r56 white covers I accidentally bought from ecs tuning first, , and the tmap that is correct PN but has been supplanted apparently by BMW to gen2 sensor with yellow o ring and cross port vs correct gen 1 with dual blues and open port. , and the aero wipers I bought wrongly and get some funds back, first.
eventually yes, my highly attuned back side says it will need suspension refresh (and new tires) , but right now I have been told to slow down the spending by my accountant/wife till we rebuild back up our rainy day savings. And she’s right.
Last edited by Onizukachan; 08-28-2022 at 06:37 PM.
yes, they have a law here in Texas that teen drivers, ie those on learners’s permits, or with the under 18 provisional license can not use a wireless communications device when driving, even hands free, not for streaming, not for navigation etc. no exception except when calling 911.
so I figured go era appropriate iPod for music. Plus the 5thgen/ video had the best dac they ever put in one and 30 gb of storage.
that way he can leave his phone in the glovebox and not get in trouble.
I have a BT adapter that plugs in the aux on back of radio I can switch it over to in 2 years so he can have hands free and streaming then.
Looking great! Impressed the motor mount did anything considering how badly broken it was. Wouldn't surprise me if your 2ndary cat is broken from that destroyed motor mount! I know my GP was when I picked up it. Love the iPod as well. Thought for a second it was the U2 version!
Looking great! Impressed the motor mount did anything considering how badly broken it was. Wouldn't surprise me if your 2ndary cat is broken from that destroyed motor mount! I know my GP was when I picked up it. Love the iPod as well. Thought for a second it was the U2 version!
the precat was completely broken off at the lower weld because of it. That saved the primary/ big cat I’m sure. I have the other two but had enough stress doing the one on Sunday and wrestling the block around and back into alignment by hand. will leave the others for another time when I’m in there doing something anyway.
08-14-2022 | 01:48 AM
