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The Carbonwurks Mini JCW LCI 2 Track Build & Upgrades
Posts by : Dan McKenzie | 23/01/2024For many years now, here at Carbonwurks we have been developing and testing road cars with an aim to offer great quality products to the end user. We often have bought in cars to develop carbon packages but this time, we wanted to showcase what we can do in our garage workshop with our talented technicians along with some of the many product manufacturers we work with.
The conversation started mid 2023 as to what the perfect car would be. We have bought and upgraded so many M Power cars along with a good handful of AMG and Audi R/RS models for good measure, we wanted something a bit more everyday and achievable to the masses. Keeping it German, the decision was to get a latest generation Mini! The search then started to find a low mileage, good specification Mini John Cooper Works and one that was manual transmission! After missing out on a couple that came up for sale, we finally found the perfect JCW and it was based only 2 hours away!
As part of this build, we have documented pretty much every single stage from collection all the way through to testing the products. Throughout the write-up we’ll drop some links and videos so you can find out more about the parts, products and brands themselves!
At the end of the Summer 2023 we found the JCW with the right spec for us and the initial collection video can be found below.
To showcase the performance upgrades properly, we needed to set a benchmark. With this in mind, one week after collection we went straight to Brands Hatch for an evening session to set a completely standard lap time in the car. As we progress with this build, we will head back to the track and show what lap times can be achieved with simple upgrades that help with performance and yet still retain full daily useability of the car.
After a good few hours of track driving, it was fairly apparent that the JCW left a lot of room for improvement! The Mini lacked a lot of front-end grip and the chassis had far too much body roll. Both these areas resulted in not being able to carry as much speed into the corner as possible and delaying getting back to throttle. The brakes performed reasonably well in base form and did last a number of laps, however, it didn’t take too long before the pedal felt soft and performance was being reduced. We had a debrief to discuss the areas in which we can improve the car.
Handling Performance
There were some fairly big flaws with the JCW when it came to using it on circuit and with careful selection we decided to go with the following parts manufacturers for changing up the handling side of the car.
Powerflex – We polybushed the entire car, 90% of which are the black series “Track” bushes with some of the engine/gearbox bushes being road series. Immediately the slow and lazy chassis response was reduced giving a much more direct feel. The upside is these bushes won’t degrade quickly like rubber variants too.
Whiteline – Both the front and rear anti roll bars were replaced with these massively bigger and stiffer roll bars. The rear roll bar is adjustable in stiffness which will help dial a different balance into the car. The chassis roll has been reduced dramatically along with a sharper turn in, the whole car feels more connected to the road.
Ultra Racing Body Braces – Under the car as well as the front strut tops have gained in chassis rigidity by installing these braces. Chassis stiffness has increased massively without any real reduction in comfort.
HEL Performance – The brake lines throughout the car were changed over to some HEL Performance braided lines. Not only should this help with braking consistency but also will help reduce a spongy pedal feel. A good first step in braking performance.
EBC Brakes – The discs and pads were upgraded both front and rear to drilled and slotted discs along with blue stuff front pads and yellow stuff rear pads. The pedal feel is massively sharper and will help with heat reduction/recovery along with coping with elevated track temperatures over a prolonged period of time.
Forge Motorsport – Swapping out the intake pipe gave a great induction noise to compliment to the air intake kits above. The short shifter for a simple part help reduce the gearstick throw, something that will greatly speed up shifting times on track. The control arms give better adjustability for geometry and alignment purposes, this will help dial in a more aggressive track set-up down the line.
AST Suspension – The first port of call with suspension is lowering springs. It’s a cost effective way to reduce the ride height for improved handling and improved aesthetics. We’ve used AST Suspension for most of our builds in the recent years and the reason is they are one of the best about. The car now has a better centre of gravity to help further improve the handling.
TPC Wheel Spacers – Along with lowering a car, making use of wheel spacers also helps out with improve traction and stability. We went with a 13mm spacer to do just that.
Now if you’ve read all of the above and want to see how we get on with installing all of this then checkout the video below:
Performance & Power Upgrades
With the car now handling better and responding how we need it to, it was time to increase the power and performance. The ultimate goal will be to drop a Remap on to the Engine ECU but due to the age of our vehicle it will require a FEMTO unlock prior to uploading Stage 1 / Stage 2 remap. However to get the car ready for this, it’s a great idea to upgrade other elements ready to satisfy any remap requirements!
RAMair Proram Air Intake – We changed to a Proram air intake kit, this increased induction noise considerably as well as potentially helping reduce lag and increasing power. A cost effective way to gain noise and power.
Armaspeed Air Intake – The Ramair version was good but we wanted more carbon fibre in our engine bay. We swapped out the Ramair intake and upgraded to the Armaspeed carbon induction kit, this will help further to reduce any heat soak from the engine and turbo. It also looks amazing too!
FI Exhausts – The standard exhaust sounded very flat and although the engine is only a 2 litre, 4 cylinder, it could be improved upon. We changed out the full exhaust system including replacing the catalytic converters to a road legal sports cat version. We went with a custom black metal tip along with a carbon fibre outer surround. Very stealthy look, awesome soundtrack which can be made quieter on demand with the switchable valve system.
Cosmetic Upgrades
The car behind the scenes is starting to pull itself together but it’s now time to tackle how the car itself looks whilst it’s on the road to make it a bit more unique from others out there and to also make it a bit more functional!
Yellow Motorsport DRL’s – The original white LED’s looked smart but to make our little JCW racer look as fast as it sounds, we swapped out to some yellow Le Mans inspired DRL’s to give some added road presence!
Downstar Billet Engine Dress-Up Kit – Our friends over in California put together an amazing dress up kit to really enhance and show the engine bay off. Replacing the standard bolts with dedicated fixings made for this car, it’s a big uplift on the standard fixings and only using the finest US made materials that are made to last.
Manual Dipstick – It may seem odd to add a manual dipstick over the digital version but for checking on oil levels quickly, the manual way is by far the best. A long job for a simple upgrade but great for piece of mind. Interestingly, the digital version can easily read nearly a litre out from it’s actual maximum capacity!
Carbon Fibre – Last but not least, we are Carbonwurks after all! We had to put our own twist on this car so upgraded the interior panels with a 1-off red metallic carbon fibre along with swapping out the front ducts, rear diffuser and engine cover with options for twill or forged carbon fibre. Our carbon parts are made with 100% autoclave prepreg carbon fibre for superb fitment and great longevity. It doesn’t matter if the car is not supercar money, we produce carbon that we are truly proud of. No expense spared, no compromise!
Final Thoughts
As you can see, we have built our JCW how we like to work and build every car – using only the best parts available to obtain the best results possible.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned to see the result on track soon to come spring 2024!
If you have any mini related requires whether that is current generation or older, please don’t hesitate to get in contact to see what we can do.
You can also follow our current progress on our Mini Upgrades over on Instagram and Facebook:
Instagram – @MiniCW3
Facebook – Mini F55 / F56 / F57 JCW Forum
The Complete CW Mini Collection
If after taking the time to read this blog and watch the videos, you think it’s time for your own Mini to get some upgrades you can purchase all the parts from our website on the link below!
Full Mini JCW Upgrade Collection