F56 JCW owner opinions and "must have" options
Discussion
The Lounge leather in satellite grey to me feels more premium than that in a M140i
Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
We just bought a 2017 JCW, not yet picked up due to dealer lockdown.
I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
blue al said:
The Lounge leather in satellite grey to me feels more premium than that in a M140i
Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
Satellite grey sounds good to me too. I can't buy another black car! Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
Malo said:
We just bought a 2017 JCW, not yet picked up due to dealer lockdown.
I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
Yep, or the half leather, I can cope with that. But you've hit the nail on the head.I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
Also I think the pano may upset the handling since it's a lot of weight on the top of the car. It's noticeable on my Audi and I think it's more than 100kg!
My 2018 JCW 2-door hatchbck is in I think Rebel Green. Very dark.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
Great feedback and interesting about how the DSC is affected by the brake fluid/bleeding. I'll be sure to remember that tip!
You clearly love the car, and I think I will too
It's not ideal to daily tuned N54T or RB26 engines, so this will fit my needs without costing the earth.
I bet that Hellcat is a handful !
You clearly love the car, and I think I will too
It's not ideal to daily tuned N54T or RB26 engines, so this will fit my needs without costing the earth.
I bet that Hellcat is a handful !
Rockster said:
My 2018 JCW 2-door hatchbck is in I think Rebel Green. Very dark.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
paultownsend said:
Any recommendations?
Lohen, Derv Tech & Evolve seem to be regularly discussed on the Mini forums & have rolling roads to show the before/after figures which I think is a useful gauge of the actual improvement. A good friend has owned two F56 Cooper S models...the first one was highly upgraded by another friend who is in the motorsport business (including full suspension, LSD, clutch, brakes, intercooler & exhaust etc,) with a Manic 300 bhp which was verging on undriveable even in normal mode & he now has a more standard version with just a stage 1 remap (about 250 bhp) & a switchable JCW exhaust (it came with the remap etc) which he says is a good balance & still has plenty of “go” for a Sunday morning hoon out with the guys.If the OP ventures onto the Minitorque forum for research purposes they should be warned it makes PH look pretty polite/mild IMO
paultownsend said:
shoestring7 said:
A good quality remap: turns the car into something it always should have been as opposed to meeting a BHP/PS number decided in a room by a bunch of brand marketeers.
Any recommendations? Well here’s my daily drive. My F56 JCW
Options on mine, but not to everyone’s taste.
P7L5A Wired
P7Y2A JCW Chilli ll
S226A Sports suspension
S258A rcdi runflats Pirelli p7 hard as nails even on low pressure
S3AGA Rear camera.
S402A Panorama roof
S420A Privacy glass
S473A Armrest front centre, with snap in adaptor for iphone8 which also fits iPhone se2
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger I have the Mini yours lounge leather option (black)
S507a Park Distance Control (PDC), rear
S521a Rain sensor
S534a Automatic air conditioning
S544a Cruise control with brake function
S550a On-board computer
S563a Mood Light interior package
S609a Navigation system NBT EVO EUROPE 8 inch screen
S654a Harman kardon hi fi system
S6ada MINI Head-Up Display
359 Heated front screen
ZTP Tech Pack
7L5 Media pack, Connected and Connected XL
Oh and a strange Mini of Ownership Passport
Colour C19 Rebel Green and Black roof.
JCW pro full works add ons before first new registration, wheels, adjustable suspension lower springs, S/S cat back snap crackle and pop exhaust with Bluetooth remote carbon fibre rear tips, carbon fibre mirror covers and bonnet scoop, corner lip trims, rear diffuser and spoiler tips painted red to match red front stripe.
The car new was 39k, I bought it second hand 1year old 8,000miles and paid £21k a big bag of money for a small car.
Options on mine, but not to everyone’s taste.
P7L5A Wired
P7Y2A JCW Chilli ll
S226A Sports suspension
S258A rcdi runflats Pirelli p7 hard as nails even on low pressure
S3AGA Rear camera.
S402A Panorama roof
S420A Privacy glass
S473A Armrest front centre, with snap in adaptor for iphone8 which also fits iPhone se2
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger I have the Mini yours lounge leather option (black)
S507a Park Distance Control (PDC), rear
S521a Rain sensor
S534a Automatic air conditioning
S544a Cruise control with brake function
S550a On-board computer
S563a Mood Light interior package
S609a Navigation system NBT EVO EUROPE 8 inch screen
S654a Harman kardon hi fi system
S6ada MINI Head-Up Display
359 Heated front screen
ZTP Tech Pack
7L5 Media pack, Connected and Connected XL
Oh and a strange Mini of Ownership Passport
Colour C19 Rebel Green and Black roof.
JCW pro full works add ons before first new registration, wheels, adjustable suspension lower springs, S/S cat back snap crackle and pop exhaust with Bluetooth remote carbon fibre rear tips, carbon fibre mirror covers and bonnet scoop, corner lip trims, rear diffuser and spoiler tips painted red to match red front stripe.
The car new was 39k, I bought it second hand 1year old 8,000miles and paid £21k a big bag of money for a small car.
Edited by Ian.Campbell on Sunday 21st February 06:24
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