Comments for MotoringFile

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by m8oman

m8oman — Mon, 28 May 2012 05:57:00 +0000

Those of you who recall statements I made about my unhappiness regarding the performance level of the the CM JCW …. lol … +1 regarding what I said previously. Sad, but Mini appears to be doing evertything they can to ensure any performance minded individuals -don’t- by a/their cute-ute,.

No only is BMW/Mini happy being a -Me-Too- organization in the cute-ute category, I’ll go so far as saying has it no interest in differentiating the CM from the rest of the pack in terms of performance … happy to be in the middle of the pack rather than leading it.

They cite “no interest”. Whell when you stack the card so deeply AGAINST performance-mindedness related to the CM .. SURE, you’re going to conclude what you just did here. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecy!

Someone send me an e-mail when Mini releases a GP version using the N20 engine… Mini/BMW analysts… you’re idiots. Your self-imposed blinders on your analysis has caused you to FAIL. You could have so easily supplanted Subaru and Mitsubishi had you built-up the CM with a N20 engine. But this way, just not interested.

Comment on White Roof Radio #424 by Todd Pearson

Todd Pearson — Sun, 27 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000

The ‘ring times are for a stock, off the showroom floor GP – the 2006 GP time is with the factory performance run flats and the new GP time is with the factory installed Kuhmo tires so the times are completely relevant. The whole point is that the GP comes stock with everything needed to be 18 seconds faster on the ‘ring. Apples to apples, the comparo is a stock 2006 GP vs a stock 2012 GP.

The whole point is that there’s more to a fast car, any car, than horsepower.

All that being said, yes, if one were to put semi-slick tires and better brakes on a 2006 GP, it would most likely shave many seconds off the ‘ring time but that’s not the way it came from the factory. That should not lessen the engineering feats and adjustments in the 2012 GP.

Comment on MF Review: MINI Countryman All4 On Snowy Streets by Tom

Tom — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:19:00 +0000

blah blah blah……………………………….

Comment on Exclusive: MINI to Introduce Next Generation Five Door Hatch by Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:29:00 +0000

Sounds like a great idea. I love the MCS, but have 3 kids and occasionally have to tote them in my car. 4 doors are a necessity and this provides another option for me since the Countryman and Clubman just aren’t my style

Comment on White Roof Radio #424 by Chris

Chris — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:23:00 +0000

As for the R56 GP being faster than the R53 on the ring… The most worthless comparison ever, and everyone is pushing it so hard, especially BMW.

Some people have hit on the tires on the R56–what tires did the R53 have on at the ‘ring?

Put some runflats on the R56GP, run that on the ring, then compare. Or put the Kumho’s on the R53 GP and then compare. Otherwise throw it out.

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by 0=^=0 Capn

0=^=0 Capn — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:45:00 +0000

So I guess they aren’t serious about racing. Why race and get race enthusiasts excited about a car they can’t buy? Just like drizzy said below

“I hate thinking of how Veloster Turbos, WRXs and Focus STs all have more HP and cost less.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btViXvIDsi0

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by 0(=^=)0 Capn

0(=^=)0 Capn — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:35:00 +0000

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is exactly what I have been advocating for years and have been waiting for! Time for a Subie. :(

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by Onechildborn

Onechildborn — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:07:00 +0000

That is great. Thay are beating this JCW think to death!

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by damn

damn — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:40:00 +0000

I wanted the Countryman S ALL4 JCW at first, but just couldn’t wait. Got myself an S ALL4 just hoping to add the JCW kit later on, getting the power equivalent to the JCW ALL4…..

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by Nathan Fong

Nathan Fong — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:19:00 +0000

BOO!!!!! And I have the ALL4, would love to see both.

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by lavardera

lavardera — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:23:00 +0000

The R56 engine kit in the Countryman sounds like a good idea, but no doubt there is no software to support it. It would probably work just fine, but with out the tune it would probably not work best, or even right.

I can hardly blame them for this, if the volume is not there. Maybe they think they will sell more factory JCWs?

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by drizzy

drizzy — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Ugh… the one real upgrade I want on my All4 is more power under warranty. I hate thinking of how Veloster Turbos, WRXs and Focus STs all have more HP and cost less. Dreaming of a WRC engine and brake kit.

Comment on Exclusive: MINI to Introduce Next Generation Five Door Hatch by ulrichd

ulrichd — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000

My mistake. I thought they were making the base hatch bigger to accommodate both 2 and 4-door variants.

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by Jason Williams

Jason Williams — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:20:00 +0000

In reply to my own comment. The rear section of the R56 JCW exhaust appears to be much shorter than the factory JCW R53 which should make shipping a non-issue. When comparing the R56 factory-JCW to the R56 kit-JCW exhaust the tips are different and the front silencer is also very different between the stock S (w or w/o JCW kit) and factory JCW whereas the Factory JCW has one less cat and a larger silencer compared to the S with a cat and smaller silencer. It will be interesting to see if the Factory JCW Countryman has a different front silencer section without the secondary cat just like the factory-JCW R56 (although I would assume so). In regards to sales numbers the Countryman outsells the coupe/roadster/convertible and is the about the same if you include the Clubman (as of April 2012) all of which offer the JCW-engine kit so it appears that MINI assumes those that buy the Countryman just simply wouldn’t buy the JCW engine kit as the numbers are there and will probably increase in the future.

Comment on White Roof Radio #424 by Theguyfromthehamburgertrain

Theguyfromthehamburgertrain — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:17:00 +0000

I’m not exactly sure what your question is or where you’re getting your numbers from, but 3/4 second/mile is a huge deal in motorsports. An F1 driver would give their first born for that kind of time shavings.

Comment on BMW Recalls Fuel Pumps. MINI Does Not. by John

John — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I had fuel pump issues with 2007 cooper S when engine started a miss …we tried to look into it but had to take it to mini dealer who charged around £500 plus approx to put new fuel pump in after about 27/29000 miles…… Car seemed to work okay…then at about 37000 miles we had a sudden loss of engine power light came on and we limped to nearest garage which was happened to be our company mechanic who stripped it down to find the injector on the right side cylinder had broken away and disappeared he could find no trace of it and said he presumed it had flown into the exhaust….the engine had to be fully stripped down cylinder had to be re ground we put new timing chain in and the whole lot cost £1300 so we were not impressed at £2000 repairs on a twenty two thousand pound top of range mini car just out of warranty period. At least the second repair profit did not go to mini dealer…..this is a car that has been driven slow only had sport button on twice in its life. It was the second new mini the first was a mini one and we had no trouble….we decided on the Cooper S as you could feel the power difference between the cooper and the cooper S on the test drive…we did not know we were buying trouble…..the wife wanted to buy the new mini but i am afraid this has put us off ….and I now am uneasy about other injectors going at any time. Also concerned as to the seat leather wearing as you slide into the drivers seat especially as we thought we had ordered the best leather seats and top spec. other than repair costs we like the car but feel the new one has more space ..We had assumed that a car like this should go at least 60,000 miles without problem even more when serviced regularly…..John & Sue Wilson- Sheffield

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by Jason Williams

Jason Williams — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:05:00 +0000

Although this news is kinda disappointing, it sounds like it is a great opportunity to plug some of the MF/WRR sponsors! If only one of them would start selling the Milltek Countryman S All4 cat-back or turbo-back… http://www.millteksport.com/exhaust.products.cfm?variantid=363

Comment on Exclusive: MINI to Introduce Next Generation Five Door Hatch by r53tuning

r53tuning — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:48:00 +0000

The JCW or GP will compare with the Abarth SS

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by Jason Williams

Jason Williams — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:46:00 +0000

You are correct however you couldn’t have turned a Countryman S in a Factory JCW Countryman even if they had announced an available dealer-installable JCW Engine Kit for the Countryman. The dealer-installable engine kit for the turbo Prince engines has always been essentially four parts: JCW sports exhaust, JCW air intake, ECU re-program and JCW badges (they make the car go faster.) The Factory JCW Countryman has in addition to these items a larger turbo and the clutch/transmission have been modified not to mention countless other non-engine changes. I’d suggest reading the well-timed MF article “The History of the Modern JCW Tuning Kit” to help make sense of this: http://www.motoringfile.com/2012/05/07/24014/

Comment on The JCW Engine Kit & Suspension Not Coming to the Countryman by CiaoBoy

CiaoBoy — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:32:00 +0000

So people can still buy the JCW Countryman from the factory, but owners of lesser Countrymans cannot upgrade their car with JCW parts to make it into a JCW Countryman?