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tweedbean's F56 JCW - Doing it my way

18K views 79 replies 20 participants last post by  tweedbean 
#1 ·
Hi all, as you know I don't waste any time when making decisions. After MITP I caught myself looking at autotrader which meant one thing, the Clubman just wasn't doing it for me. Cant quite put my finger on it, I had great fun transforming that car in just a year from a bashed about, pov spec clubby into what you saw at MITP. I learnt a lot from doing it, it helped promote my youtube channel youtube.com./tweedbean but I just didnt have a connection with it. So having put the feelers out I sold the clubby as a whole within about 24 hours to Simon Radford who's already in the process of building a forged N14 to go into it so keep an eye out for that build as its going to be epic.

Replacement, I've spent a long time thinking about the new Supra, however the UK allocation for 2019 has already sold out and also I now work from home permanently and have another car as the family car. Therefore any car I own right now will not get many miles on it other than for the occasional weekend/evening blast with friends. Therefore getting a new Supra and not driving it seems an utter waste of money right now, maybe in a couple of years if I end up changing jobs to one with a commute etc. Therefore I decided to go back and get an F56, a car I have unfinished business with.

For those that saw my last one, I purchased it from James J, aka R99 on here a few years ago, it was one of the first Cooper S' out at the time and he pretty much did everything visual on the car. When I purchased it I then addressed the performance side working with companies such as Scorpion, Airtec and Manic, where they used my car to develop their parts that are now on sale today. It was a great car but for me it was always in the back of my head that someone else started that project and I was continuing it. I tried changing up the colour scheme etc but I still had that gremlin in my head. Therefore I ended up pulling the trigger and selling it on.

Come to this week I set out a spec list of what I wanted spec wise on my new F56, must haves included HK, XL Nav, LED headlights, antracite headlining, volcanic orange/white silver/moonwalk grey paint. This was a tough spec to find as HK was often missing but was a must for me. I settled yesterday on a Challenge 210 as I worked out these covered that entire spec list.

Well that was until I got a couple of photos of an F56 JCW that was currently with Millsy. This peaked my interest, then I saw the spec sheet, it pretty much has every option you can get on a JCW bar a sun roof and front sensor from what I can see, the list was huge. Then came the price, lower than any other JCW I had seen but this was due to the fact it was a CAT S. It had been fully repaired by the bodyshop/repair company approved by the local Mini/BMW dealership and put back on the road. I know Millsy wouldn't recommend a dud and after a little due diligence I decided to go take a look. So literally within 24 hours of saying goodbye to the clubby I purchased its replacement. I totally understand the concerns about buying a CAT S and the implications on insurance etc but I've ensured at all points the car is 100% as did Millsy. So what did I get:

2016 F56 Factory JCW in White Silver with 10k on the clock

Summary of factory spec:
Adaptive suspension
JCW cup spoke wheels
JCW steering hweel
JCW spoiler
Red roof and mirror caps
Reversing CAmera
Privacy Glass
Height adjustable passenger seat
Front Armrest
Storage package
Heated Recaro seats in alcantara/leather/fabric
Antracite Headliner
Interior Firework dash
Red colour line dash
Excitement pack
Driving mods
Rear parking sensors
Rain sensors
cruise control with brake function
Light package
LED headlights with extended scopes
REar fogs
XL Navigation
DAB
HK Audio
Heads up display
Mini Connected

Obviously being a JCW you get the JCW brakes, bodykit, JCW dial surrounds, factory engine upgrades like lower compression, different turbo etc resulting in 230bhp as standard

None Standard Elements
There are a couple of none standard elements, not mods but just painted parts. When it was being repaired the owner made a couple of colour choices I'm not 100% sure on but they are easily solved so bare with me when I post up photos.
  • Fully colour coded arches - Not 100% sold on these, I'm going to wait until its lowered before I decide to change back to stock textured arches or not, one thing I do know is that it needs the pro lip kit front and rear as it looks a funny shape at the front, too rounded without them
  • Gloss Black Belt Line - This has been done with tape and isnt the best. With time I need to decide if this chrome should actually be on show and not covered up, easily removed anyway
  • Lipstick covered front grill - They decided to paint the chrome grills red for whatever reason, it just doesnt work for me so will be done in either body colour or black, plenty of photoshop images to follow, not going to rush into decisions
  • Black front and rear light surrounds - Not sure if these are a factory item or if they have just been painted, either way, Panda eye look is not for me so these will go body colour

Plans
  • Lots
  • Seriously, I want to drive this car a lot so I can appreciate every little change I make, unlike my last two projects I am starting from a drivable base thats not high mileage or tatty
  • It looks like its on stilts so coilovers will be done ASAP
  • Already looking at exhausts/downpipes, I loved my old Remus/Decat combo
  • It needs so of the JCW pro elements like front lips/corner pieces, same for the rear aswell as a pro diffuser, currently the look is too soft for my liking, it needs more aggression

I'm collecting the car later today, its currently with Millsys being serviced and having new front pads fitted, plenty of pictures to follow but here are a couple of teasers for now:

Roll on new car day by James Baker, on Flickr

Roll on new car day by James Baker, on Flickr
 
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#39 ·
#44 ·
This morning I spent 30 mins fitting my P3 gauge into a spare vent, this allows the vent to still be used. A much tidier solution than a scangauge/ultragauge stuck on top of the dashboard. I'm also ordering the boost tap which can feed into this gauge as well. Not the easiest of installations as the US vents are different to the UK due to the side they sit on the car so had to be creative. Hopefully I will fit this later in the week as I know the central satnav unit and few other bits need to come out to fit the vent.

P3 gauge by James Baker, on Flickr

More boxes arriving from Orranje, great service as always, plenty of performance parts here, not all about the looks :thumbup:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
 
#45 ·
This morning I spent 30 mins fitting my P3 gauge into a spare vent, this allows the vent to still be used. A much tidier solution than a scangauge/ultragauge stuck on top of the dashboard. I'm also ordering the boost tap which can feed into this gauge as well. Not the easiest of installations as the US vents are different to the UK due to the side they sit on the car so had to be creative. Hopefully I will fit this later in the week as I know the central satnav unit and few other bits need to come out to fit the vent.

P3 gauge by James Baker, on Flickr
Did they misspell "integrated" on the box? :lol:
 
#46 ·
Couple of installs over the weekend. Firstly I decided to fit my P3 gauge, not a bad install at all and provides the basic numbers you need it a tidy package.



Then after that I decided to strip down the front end ready to fit the airtec intercooler which is specific to the JCW. The JCW has a shorted aftermarket intercooler than the S due to the lines for the additional coolant rad in the passenger side fog light position running behind the crash bar and a take off connector sticking out into this space. That said the aftermarket JCW intercoolers are still bigger than stock. I went for the Airtec one from Orranje, great price and service as always.

I'm going to give Airtec some feedback on their instructions, they miss out some steps and also have them in the wrong order but I managed to get the job done, its a lot more involved than either the 1st/2nd gen intercooler installs although its good to know that technically you can install this without cutting any other components etc so easy to put back to stock if that bothers you.

So Friday night I left it in this state, theres a lot to come off the car before you can get the stock cooler out.



Saturday I set about removing the stock intercooler for a side by side comparison:



Installation from this point wasn't too bad and it was then a case of reversing the steps:



Today I took it out for a test drive and the P3 gauge shows the intercooler doing its job as expected. The car is currently looking a little messy right now as I am missing a number of bits which are off at the body shop.

The black bumper bar is being smoothed and freshened up
Front/rear light rings, petrol cap and door handles are all being cc'd, everyone has black handles now they are on offer from Mini so want something a little different
The tailgate handle is being debadged/smoothed and painted in body colour too



Next week the full exhaust system and coilovers should be delivered :thumbup:
 
#47 ·
More parcels arriving this week, this time my exhaust purchased through Orranje. Its a Remus Valvetronic exhaust, its the V1 of their exhaust for the F56, which only lists as being compatible with the Cooper S however there are no differences between the S and JCW therefore it should fit. I decided to go the route of V1 over V2 as its what I had previously and enjoyed the sounds, unsure what changes with V2 could impact the sound as its very different design. Options I have selected include the none resonated centre pipe, 2x 4" genuine carbon fibre exhaust tips to complemented a couple of bits of carbon coming and also the new version of their sound controller. Not only does it have a bluetooth remote, it can also be controlled using my iPhone and programmed to open/close the valve based on revs. Ignore the dusty tips in the pic below:



This will be connected via a scorpion decat down which also arrived a few days ago:



Coilovers should be here later in the week hopefully, opted for BC's with top mounts, they havent let me down previously and are perfect for what I use the car for.

Just need to get it booked in at Millsys to get it all fitted
 
#48 ·
Finally all my cc'd bits are back from the bodyshop but didnt get chance to fit them tonight before dropping the car with Millsy.

I've had the rear boot handle debadged/smoothed and painted body colour as well as cc'd headlight rings, petrol cap and door handles. All have turned out perfect. Will throw them all on the car when its back from Millsys.

Ignore the rain spots on them:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I also had the bumper bar repainted with the holes filled, managed to fit this and the new black grill surround:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

What a difference its made to the front end, just needs the cc'd headlight rings fitting, here was the before photo lol:

F56 Day 1 by James Baker, on Flickr

Also the BC coilovers arrived, these are being fitted over the weekend by Millsy alongside the decat and exhaust:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
 
#49 · (Edited)
Well the cars back from Millsy's, what a transformation. Theres lots of drama driving the car, something a stock Mini lacks for me. Its pops and bangs like crazy, I can wait to get it mapped. The decat and remus combo is spot on if you like it loud, too much for some, but spot on for me. The carbon/titanium tips sit perfectly, I'm glad I paid the extra for the carbon ones, will work well with the wing I have coming. Valvetronic allows me to make it quieter when needed, which isnt very often :) Videos to follow



Here you can also see the debadged and cc'd boot handle I had done aswell as the cc'd rear light surrounds. Really clears up that rear end:



Also had the BC's fitted, they can go lower but Millsy wanted to set them to a sensible level to allow them time to settle. Just need to work out what I can fit in those arches and get something ordered:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
 
#52 ·
Just unboxed the Eventuri intake, wow what a piece of kit, the devil is in the detail. Carbon is spotless, bonnet scoop is like an OEM part, inverted cone filter enclosed in carbon, engraved logos on the jubilee clips, machined parts. It’s an expensive bit of kit but you can see why. I got mine through Orranje and they can supply a cheaper black plastic version if you aren’t fussed about carbon under the bonnet and that still comes with the carbon scoop. Can’t wait to get this fitted tomorrow.



While I was out today, I did a bit of a before and after video for the Remus/decat combo, its loud, especially on cold start, not for everyone but I love it. Already seen some little blue flames out the back:

 
#54 · (Edited)
I have a couple of avenues I am currently investigating at the moment, just waiting on responses.

Today I fitted the Eventuri intake and bonnet scoop. Super easy to do, it fits really well, fully recommended.

The bonnet scoop is OEM fit, perfect, here you can see the difference in size between the stock scoop and the new functional one:



The carbon looks spot on under the bonnet and it makes a great noise:



I also fitted colour coded headlight rings which look so much better than the black ones:







And I couldnt post about this without a sound clip:

 
#55 ·
Also managed to throw the cc'd door handles on yesterday, it such an easier process than on previous gens. Theres no need to remove door cards etc. you go in through a rubber bung with a 4mm allen key and off they come. Final bit of chrome other than the front badge which I havent decided what to do with that yet.



Not a great photo but here they are fitted:

 
#57 ·
Yes and yes please and thank-you.... liking it all, have you considered making the black front number plate panel body colored like on the grey one?
Thanks, I'm really happy with the ways its going. I did consider it as I've had that bit filled and painted, however its looks odd in a light colour, I tried a couple of photoshops and decided to stick with black and lose any holes/indents You get away with it on a dark car, not so much on a light car.

Do you still have yours?
 
#58 ·
So progress has slowed a little on the two Mini's recently as I am currently doing DIY in my spare time having decided to knock through to create a kitchen diner myself, so busy knocking down walls etc. However I did find time to get my new wing fitted. I decided to go for the Duell Ag style spoiler from Miniworks UK as Duell AG items are just so difficult to get in the UK. I would rather purchase from a UK supplier than take my chance on a cheaper alternative going direct to China/alibaba etc. I went for the lower half painted in red to match the roof and upper half genuine carbon fiber. when it arrived, I removed my JCW wing which was super easy, it isn't stuck on like previous generations, simply 5 screws and 2 bolts to get it off:



I then slipped on the new one to find that although the cut lines were spot on and matched the roof line, there was a huge gap between the spoiler and the roof. The spoiler couldnt at that point push any further onto the car. So I attacked the underside of the wing with a dremel to sand away as much material as I could and to open up some of the areas where it meets the body. I also mades some mods to the plastic trim bolted to the car to give extra clearance. Note I did go through in a couple of patches on the underside of the wing that I reinforced after taking this photo, so don't worry if you can see those and I gave the underside a coat of red paint just for my piece of mind. This gives you an idea of the sort of areas I had to work to get perfect fit if you decide to fit one yourself. I was told this was a one off problem and they hadn't seen this before so hopefully anyone else wont have to do this. It also didnt help that Miniworks UK wanted to get the paint finish perfect for me so they did what they thought would be a good thing in body working and painted the underside as well as the top which is a great service, however that extra layer of filler/paint/primer thickened that underside, once I sanded through that and some high points in the GRP, all was perfect:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

After a lot of trial and error I managed to get a near OEM gap which I was really happy with, here is a before and after shot, you can see the silver top of the boot lid in the left hand before pic:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I suppose the lesson learnt here, GRP products may need some work to get them to fit, however much they cost. Once bolted in place, you will never see the sanding/cutting as its all on the underside that bolts to the car and that will never see the light of day.

From the side:

Duell Ag Style Wing by James Baker, on Flickr

The carbon is really good and works well with the other little bits I have on Mini liuke the scoop etc without going overboard:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Love the fact you can see the wing from the front:, its a big wing, not to everyones taste but I love it:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Having such a big wing, clearly shows how much I now need more aggressive wheels than the stock setup and it needs to come down a little, just waiting on a price from Orranje on a set I like before I make a final decision. I also have a rear wiper delete ready to go on the car once the weather is better.

Here is a quick fitting video if anyone is thinking of getting one, super easy two bolts and 5 screws:



Also a quick update on thee DDC dynamic suspension, still no dashboard error messages after disconnecting it when fitting coilovers and leaving it unplugged.

Finally got an error code 0420 from the decat, which was easily reset using my P3 gauge.

 
#60 ·
Agreed it certainly is a big wing, definitely needs some better stance to make it work, I wouldn't fit it if I was sticking with stock wheels. And when I say stance, I dont mean im slamming it into the ground and fitting stupid wide wheels/stretch/major camber.
 
#64 ·
Well after a very busy Christmas/new year period, my focus goes back to the F56. I have plenty of tweaks on the shelf such as rear wiper delete, new gear knob, fresh beltline etc, I'm just waiting on some better weather to get out there.

The Next Mod
But on much bigger news and something I hadn't planned for so soon was the car has now been remapped. Yesterday I received a phone call from Jason, over at Millsy's autos. Nick who some of you may know from his Manic days, now works over at Peron Automotive who are big on Fords and plenty of other marques. Nick was mapping my old red clubby for its new owner and offered me the chance to buy their new map for my F56. Having been involved in the development of the original maps for the F56 under the Manic name, Nick was one tuner I was waiting to pop back up following their closure. I had lived with the map on my old F56 S for a couple of years with zero issues so was confident it what he had to offer. My old S was running 295bhp and 460nm of torque and was spot on for where I would want this JCW to be. Being a JCW this new map should get me passed the 300BHP mark no problem, once its been on a dyno I will share the results.

I had a great chat with Nick around the mapping for both the 2nd and 3rd gen cars, they have been working hard in the background to build on what they learnt previously and they will soon be announcing Peron's mapping for the both gens. The big differences for me during the conversation with Nick was if felt like the the pops/bangs were less of a feature in the maps, they are still there and can be tweaked but were not a key selling point. I find with remaps, some owners spend more time worrying about what flames and bangs they can get from a map rather than the performance side. Each to their own I suppose, I love pops and flames myself as I am a big child but that for me they are a bi-product of your exhaust set up rather than a key feature of a map, again my personal opinion. We spent plenty of time talking about the 2nd gens mapping too, again they have learnt from past experience, so expect some good results on this front too. I'm sure Peron will answer any questions once they have announced this new service, Nick mentioned hopefully by the end of Feb they should have more news on their social media etc.

Time to Map It
So having arrived at Millsy's Autos, Nick was just finishing up with my old clubby. Then it was my cars turn, we pulled it inside as it was freezing and Nick worked his magic via the OBD port.

Remap time by James Baker, on Flickr

Once check it over and the car was warm, off he went for a test drive and all was spot on. So after having a good gossip with Jason, I warmed the car up again and set off home to feel the difference. Now unlike the S, the JCW out the box does feel reasonably quick for a Mini, however the remap has done exactly as expected and it now pulls like a freight train. My test drive home was limited due to this weather we currently have and rock hard run flat tyres, so I am now sat here planning which wheel/tyre combo to order to ensure this new power can make it to the ground. First impressions I am really pleased, with the limited grip on the wet roads, my bum dyno says it felt at least as quick as my old S, so I am now interested to get it on a dyno and see the actual numbers for comparison, because there should be more power with the differences on a JCW such as the turbo etc. I can happily say theres now a bucket load more power and torque.

Here is a link to Peron's site if you haven't heard about them, they are based between Sheffield and Barnsley, however for those that don't want to travel that far north, it looks like Millsy's Autos may be able to offer these maps in the future, so again keep an eye out on their social media too:

Peron Automotive

Millsys Autos

Big thanks again to Jason and Nick for sorting the car yesterday, now time for some stickier tyres.

Also for anyone with 30 mins to kill and who may be interested, one of my latest videos over on youtube covers my car history all the way up to the F56.

 
#65 ·
Its wheels time, I've been toying with lots of different wheels for months but I couldn't make up my mind. There were plenty of photoshops done to help with the process and many wheels considered. Although you can get plenty of decent wheels in 5x112 most start at 8.5" wide which is really tight on an F56 as you run into both arch and strut clearance. In the end I decided to go with the Oz Ultraleggeras in matt bronze, 18x8 et45. I decided to stick with 18's so I could lose wheel gap while still having decent clearance for speed bumpers etc. Went with bronze as everyone fits these in black or silver, I struggled to find many pics of these in bronze on any car when trying to do a photoshop. When picking these up today following delivery, I was surprised just how light they were, the only lighter set of wheels I've owned were my Volks CE28N (I will own another set of Volks as they were amazing)

Tyres I have gone for Michelin Pilot Sport 4's in 205 40 18, same sizes as on my old F56 so I know they fit well. Didnt bother with track focussed tyres as this car is purely for road use. Yes this size will have a tiny bit of stretch which isnt to everyones taste but it helps with clearance and looked good previously.

Big thanks to Oli at Orranje Performance for sorting out a good deal on these.

I have new TPMS sensors on the shelf and these came with new bolts/spigot rings. Will get the tyres mounted this week then hopefully wheels on this Saturday if all goes to plan.



 
#69 ·
Thanks, it was tricky picking wheels for the F56.

Nice choice and great colour. We love Utras so much that we have them on 3 out of 4 cars... none in bronze though.
Classic wheel for sure, been around a while but still look fresh on the right car.

can't believe you're only putting 205's on, if ever a car needed 225's even on the road it's one of these, if I get another one that isn't a contract car it'd have them probably on the JCW Pro 17's which still go over the big brakes, or the BBS's off my 53 if they do, but that's a big 'if' anyway, these OZ's in bronze will look nice though.
Running similar power/torque in my old F56, I only ever had grip issues at Santa Pod with this exact setup or when pushing it really hard. For 99% of day to day driving grip was never really an issue so happy to sacrifice a little grip when really pushing it for aesthetics, which for me are just as important. I know not everyone will agree with that philosophy, a lot of people think it but don't say it, but hey ho we are all different otherwise it would be a boring place.
 
#68 ·
can't believe you're only putting 205's on, if ever a car needed 225's even on the road it's one of these, if I get another one that isn't a contract car it'd have them probably on the JCW Pro 17's which still go over the big brakes, or the BBS's off my 53 if they do, but that's a big 'if' anyway, these OZ's in bronze will look nice though.
 
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#70 ·
So Friday I finally got the TPMS sensors and tyres fitted which meant I could get the Ultraleggeras fitted.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Wheels are now on, I did have a bit of hassle with two locking bolts deciding they didnt want to undo even with the correct key, an impact gun and huge breaker bar, so Millsy worked his magic and got them off for me.

So I headed home and continued to fit them in the rain. The sit so much better than the stock wheels with the extra width filling out those arches. Comparing the stretch on the tyres to the stock setup, there is actually less stretch than the stock tyre setup and its very minimal. Really pleased with the look of the wheels on the car, I will drop it a little more, no too low but enough to close of that wheel gap once I get a dry weekend.

Here are some pictures, the colour is really tricky to catch on camera:

Plenty of clearance on the brakes, I currently have 5mm spacers on the front from BC, when I lower it I may try to remove these and see what clearance to the strut I have:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

They do clear the brakes without that spacer, its purely the inner clearance on the strut.

Rain stopped me getting any decent pics, so here is all I have right now:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
 
#71 ·
Hi all, hope you are having a great bank holiday weekend, if you are looking for some Mini content, why not check out the latest video over on my youtube channel, a tour of my F56, why I went for an F56 and what I have done so far. I also cover why it replaced a Mustang GT and my Mini Clubman:

Also I have a video covering my car history from when I passed my test to now:


Feel free to subscribe for future content and thanks for taking the time to read this :)
 
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