Following my initial Mini Cooper S cold start noise article, more information has come available. On Mini2, NAM and the Dutch New Mini Club a large number of drivers have reported the problem. Most of them have reported the problem at their dealer but got mixed replies, some dealers replaced a number of parts and even complete engines, other dealers simply stated that the sound belongs to the car, which should be totally unacceptable. Even with many parts replaced and new engines fitted the problem keeps coming back. The first Clubman S drivers also start to report the problem so it’s more widespread than the R56 Cooper S.
The Dutch New Mini Club has setup a form where Dutch Mini owners that experience the noise can add their R56 to the list. This list will be presented to Mini so they hopefully put some effort in to work out a solution for the cold start noise problem.
Finally had time to upload some pictures from my Mini Cooper S Works. Next trip will bring it to the Alps again so after it I can give a good review of the performance increase of the John Cooper Works Tuning. In the meantime enjoy the pictures:
Last week I had the John Cooper Wors (JCW) Tuning installed on my 2007 R56 Mini Cooper S. They replaced the exhaust and airfilter with the new JCW exhaust and air filter and updated the motormanagement software. Output should be around 200 hp now, acceleration is increased a lot especially in 3rd and 4th gear. Haven’t tested the new topspeed yet but it should be between 235 and 245 km/h. Before the JCW tuning was installed the Cooper S got up to 233 km/h on a flat highway with 98 fuel.
Best about the JCW tuning is the new tune coming from the exhaust. Inside the car you can hear there’s increased exhaust volume without getting annoyed but from the outside the car sounds a lot more mature.
I found this video on youtube from a R56 Mini Cooper S that makes a diesel sound after ignition. From what I could find on the various Mini forums there are more people with the same problem, but so far there’s no clear solution and some dealerships even fail to address the issue. The video shows the most extreme case where the diesel sound is really loud even when the car is idling. Most people hear a diesel sound after a cold start between 1500 and 2000 rpm for the first 2 - 3 minutes. Is any of you having this problem?
Update:Motoringfile did a story on the cold start issue.
After seeing the JCW aerokit for the R56 Cooper S I knew the black grill would be a perfect add-on for my Cooper S. Last weekend I took the original chrome grill off and added the black edges in about 10 minutes, all you need is a screwdriver. You can order the two pieces at your local dealership for around 50 euro.
Here’s a picture of my Mini Cooper S with the black JCW grill:
Can pick up my brandnew R56 today! Tomorrow I will drive it down to Cannes and Monaco in Southern France to get used to the car and take some cool photographs in that area.
John Cooper Works released a new aero and bodykit for the R56 Cooper S not to long ago. Now the first pictures of new Mini Coopers with the bodykit surface I think about getting the aero myself aswell. The front looks absolutely fabulous on the Astro black R56 but the rear is not really my taste.
Milltek released a performance exhaust system for the R56 Mini Cooper S. It consist of a large-bore Downpipe and Sports Catalyst, Front Pipe, Centre Section, Connecting Pipe, and Rear Silencer with Twin Oval Tailpipes.
According to Milltek:
With only the full Milltek Sport turbo-back fitted, our Cooper S was producing a massive 202bhp!!! As standard, the car is quoted as 175bhp - that’s a gain of 27bhp.
The system makes a deeper and sportier tone than the standard system and subtly but effectively enhances the look of the rear of the car.
You can see the difference between the standard (OEM) and Milltek tailpipes in the photo above.
The price in the Netherlands for the catback is € 599 without mounting and € 1149 for the full system incl sports catalyst without mounting. The total system including install costs € 1349.
When I ordered my Cooper S the dealer told me it would take about 10 - 12 weeks until the new car was delivered. That means I would be able to drive it somewhere mid / end March. Yesterday I had to be at the dealer to sign my new salesagreement because I changed Punch leather to Lounge leather and added the alarm. The dealer told me a couple of people dropped out so my car would arrive a month early, woohoo!!
