MF Exclusive: JCW Releases Gauge Kit

Sections: Accessories | R55 (Clubman) | R56 (Hatch) | R57 (Conv.) Mar 12th, 2009 35 Comments

In the next few weeks JCW will be releasing a retrofit kit for all R55, R56 and R57 models that allows owners to install one or two of the following gauges:

Coolant temperature gauge
Torque reserve gauge (relative torque as MINI calls it)
Lateral G gauge

These gauges will sit on the side of the tachometer exactly like the current MINI convertible’s always open gauge does. The retrofit kits will be available at MINI service centers around the world starting this spring.

But you know we couldn’t just end at that. We did some digging and managed to find the official retro-fit PDF manual. This document gives us a clear look at the work needed and the parts included in the kits. However a word of warning, this might be a little bit more than most of us can handle when it comes to DIY. It may be best left to your dealer or favorite independent MINI shop.

+ Retrofit Instrument Kit / Official MINI PDF

Written By: Gabe

Jon E

Sounds great. This has been needed for a long time. I would however like to see some other gauge options like boost, oil pressure, etc. I guess that will still have to depend on the aftermarket suppliers.
DBM

Wheres the link to the PDF? How much $$$$ for the kit?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1232156929 Mike Roberts

I think I would definitely go for the coolant temp but not sure what the second would be.

Anyone have any opinions?
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

Wheres the link to the PDF? How much $$$$ for the kit?

The kit varies in prices depending what you get and the market your in. The PDF is live as I write this. You may want to try again.
DBM

Thanks. I hope it’s under 500 with installation. But I think I’m being optimistic.
misslindsey

Boost! I want a boost gauge!! Lateral G’s are cool, but it seems you’d be holding on too tight to check it out. That was my experience with that dohickey in an SRT-4, anyway.

I’ll have to call my favorite dealer, though – might have to get me some of that.
CraigE

Boost! I want a boost gauge!!

The torque gauge serves essentially the same purpose. According to the “customer information” section of the install guide, it will also indicate whether overboost is being used.
JonPD

Nice, the addition of a coolant gauge is very nice. lateral g is less so as you normalally have better things to do with your eye than look at a silly gauge while under lateral g’s heh.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1478389903 James Irmiger

Throw these in with the “Openometer” as next to useless gadgetry (coolant temp excepted). I was under the impression that JCW was the performance arm for MINI. While these gauges may be nice for some, they really don’t smack of any real performance functionality and seem to be better suited to the stock options list (IMHO). Very clean looking though!
greg

Bout time! What have they been waiting for? I’m not sure I like the design as it looks too “aftermarketish” being blue and not matching the tach/speedo.

wonder why they arn’t makin auxilery guages that go under the toggle switches.

I have both sets in my R52 JCWC. I have no idea what any of them mean but they sure look cool (especially at night).
that.guy

The R56 does not have a water temp gauge as standard equipment?! That’s crazy.
MikeJCW

For me, it would be the coolant gauge and the torque gauge……….as the G meter would be cool, but wouldn’t do me any good. I could see it I guess if I was a track junkie but otherwise ratehr pointless
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622436431 Chris Bamford

coolant and torque/boost….

@Gabe…. why are they blue though… are there any orange ones that match, or can we but the housing and spec our own pods?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622436431 Chris Bamford

buy
glangford

Yea, I’m going to go for coolant temp and torque gauge. I like the look of the gauges. Not sure of the cost though. I’m betting not too bad though. Its not a ‘true gauge’. It’s a tie in to an existing piece of digital data already available to the OBC through existing sensors and then converted from digital to analog (DC volts probably) to read out in the gauge in analog format. Scan gauge II will currently read water temp, but not as clean looking.
Bob

The gauge face color difference looks to aftermarket-like for me to go with these as well, although I’d rather see MINI offer matching black faces for the tach pod and center pie plate instead of white auxiliary gauges.
tony

From page 12 of the pdf instructions it looks like you can specifiy what gauges you get via dip switches on the controll module similar to the PLX gauges.

Shame the couldn’t get it to match the rest of the OEM gauges though.
GregW

Call me old fashioned but the gauges a sporty car needs is – coolant temperature (especially in MINI with the failing thermostats and expansion tanks) and oil pressure. Without these you are relying on those warning lights to come on when too late. All the other stuff is baggage.
glangford

In reality, I’m not sure any gauge is much better than a warning light, although for the extra comfort factor I’m going to go for temperature and to match and be symmetric, the torque.

For temperature, the problem is sensor location, sensor response time (somewhat based on location) and ‘time to effect’. If the time to effect, the time from failure to catastrophic damage is less than the sensor response time you are hosed. Sensor response time will greatly be influence by where you put it and is affected by mass around it and condition of the fluid. You may need to boil away the fluid (compressed liquid near the boiling point) and expose the sensor to superheated steam to know you are in trouble and at that point real damage may have already occurred. In that regard it may not be much more useful than the warning light, yellow, then red. An aftermarket gauge I saw putting a sensor into the coolant overflow may not really respond quick enough to do much good. The real benefit is being able to notice trends over time of the performance of your coolant system like intermitent thermostat sticking and just changes in the gauge behavior, but probably not sudden failure detection and damage protection.
glangford

Everyone seems to clammer for a temp gauge and I want one too, but I’m not really sure for sudden failures they buy you all that much. If the sensor response time is greater than the ‘time to effect’, or the time from initial failure to damage, it doesn’t buy you anything. The response time is greatly influenced by the mass around it and the fluid condition, whether its compressed liquid or superheated steam. In that light I’m not sure the gauge buys you much over the yellow light, red light warning system. An aftermarket gauge I saw using a sensor tapped into the coolant tank may respond so slowly to say a stuck thermostat as to be near useless to detecting and preventing damage in the engine block.

Yes, I still want one as I think there is some real value to keep track of your coolant system performance over time and understanding the ‘nominal’ behavior of the gauge. Just don’t assume it will be the end all in preventing all damage due to all coolant system failiures.
glangford

why are my comments not showing up when submitted??
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

@glangford: Apparently Akismet had tagged the IP those comments were posted under as suspicious. It’s automated so we have no control over it. The process is right 99% of the time.
rs

Temp gauge is nice. Where’s the rest? JCW…It will cost a bazillion dollars.

Temp Oil Pressure Boost

Enough of the cutesy stuff and give us insight into our cars fer cryin out loud!!!!
glangford

Gabe, Sorry for the double post. You can delete one they both say effectively the same thing.
J Ryan

Not so crazy about the offering, the temp gauge should be part of the car from day one, especially when MINI does not offer the variable redline as other BMWs (which also are missing their temp gauge now). Having to pay $500 to get something that should have been there seems excessive.

I also agree the color should have match the rest of the gauges better, both day and night. So it does not look like an afterthought.

If JCW is serious, they should offer a choice of water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, and voltage. And let us pick what we want, those gauges allows us to know when we can open it up, when it is working too hard, and when some components are beginning to fail before complete failure.

Analog gauges like G-meter, and torque meter are very useless in my opinion. They are more like gadgets I expect to see in a Scion xB.
http://www.mini2.com Chris

These are listed @ http://www.realoem.com already. With individual part numbers. Go GET ‘em!
rs

It’s interesting that the MINI Challenge car doesn’t have aux gauges but rather a scanguage looking device planted on the face of the tach and a more substantial looking device planted over where the radio controls should go. I wonder what information they put out….

http://motoringfile.com/pictures/challenge_3.jpg
John

Looks like on Pelican Parts the gauges are around $93 and the main interface is around $328 for a non-Nav version (someone double-check that!). I wonder what the install would cost.
Nushpapa

Will this be standard on all new JCWs? or will it be an option?
misslindsey

I can’t seem to find the gauges themselves at the moment, but $328 for the kit + ~$200 for gauges = $530 + $100 to install (instructions say 1 hour) = ~$650.

Sounds a little high, guess I’ll have to pick up the phone and see what the dealership actually quotes. $650 for gauges that don’t match well and aren’t exactly what I wanted might be a deal breaker.
golden_child

Didn’t they already offer the Lateral G gauge. Wasn’t it called the “Motormate G-Whiz?”

http://www.motormate.com/gwhiz/index.php
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=588008559 Fatih Veyseller

Lateral G gauge and Temp gauge.. sounds good for r56s. motoring will be more enjoyful now.
Ausom

Am I correct in thinking that the credos for the MINI’s interior is simplicity? What happened to just having the simple large speedo dial in the centre of the dash?
Farfel

I would prefer it if they nuked the center speedo and put a multi-gauge array there instead. I know it’s historic and all that but I hate that thing.
ericgotthelf

Universal Mini will not install the JCW aftermarket gauges. Any authorized dealers doing this install?

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