If you don’t know who is POP BANG COLOUR is, let me fill you in…

Ian Cook is a contemporary British artist renowned for creating artwork using radio-controlled cars, car tyres and toy car wheels #PaintwithCars. He also creates #ContinuousCar drawings with one continuous line, commissions, school workshops and team building events, paint events and pop bang car vinyl wraps.

Painting with cars is quite simple – paint is applied onto the canvas, and the cars and wheels are run through the paint. However, prior to any painting being created, there is a great deal of preparation in choosing the correct image/s, doing a few tweaks (flipped, removing backgrounds if requested etc.) or mocking up a completely new image; this is what the client requires.

He a little back story on him:

Graduated with a first-class degree in Fine Art Painting, Ian has a quirky edge and has always described his artwork as ‘a friendly explosion of colour’. His unique process of painting started for 3 main reasons;

1. Car and motorsports enthusiast

2. He has trained and always wanted to be an artist

3. For Christmas in 2006, he was bought a radio-controlled car and was told: “Don’t take it down the studio and don’t get paint on it!” and so he decided to do just that.

Since 2007, Ian has combined his passion for cars and art, creating various artworks and projects. Highlights include painting a portrait of Lewis Hamilton the size of a 3-storey building, breaking a Guinness World record and having artwork featured on Top Gear.

Ian and his fleet of paint-splattered cars can be found at popular motoring shows and events in the UK and internationally when not painting in the POPBANGCOLOUR studio.

Artworks are generally created to commission or appeal to the audience who are likely to be at the event, whether at BTCC, Goodwood, Silverstone, or elsewhere.

His big break started with the first artwork he created live in a shopping centre in Wolverhampton. This was covered by the local media and then picked up by the national media. This led to featuring at various motoring events when at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed, an employee from M&C Saatchi spotted Ian’s work…

He has worked with a lot of automotive brands, Car Events and appeared on BBC One.

His skill and work are distinctive, and you have definitely seen his work without even realising it!

If you want to check out more of his work, here are his details:

Website – Pop Bang Colour

Instagram – Pop Bang Colour

Facebook – Pop Bang Colour

Twitter – Pop Bang Colour

Here is my interview and live drawing with Ian Cook, aka Pop Bang Colour

Any comments and subscribes to my Youtube Channel would be much appreciated as I want to grow the channel to help other MINI owners out worldwide and bring the community together.

If you want your car drawn to drop him a message, he will get back to you on a time and date.

The cost was £75, which included the drawing being sent to you plus you’re supporting a British artist!

If you want to modify your MINI like mine – Here is my Ultimate R56 MINI Modding Bible – Click here for my guide

Hopefully, this guide will give you a stepping stone to find the perfect MINI, and I look forward to the MINI Adventures.

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit for repairs, upgrades or parts:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by my own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners worldwide, and this is not a sponsored post for full transparency.

If you got the modding bug, don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for all generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips seen on my MINI R56 JCW to support the blog & YouTube channel.

All your support over the years, and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always, it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

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The post Automotive Art: Pop Bang Colour Draws My MINI R56 JCW appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Having been an R56 MINI owner for nearing on 10 years I do look back at the best and worst of times as decade comes to a close. My R56 JCW has love and death of me at times when it repairs bills and maintenance but that has stopped me for loving her the way I do with the smiles, memories and friendship along the way. The R56 has taught me a lot about cars, engines, car upkeep and mechanical sympathy the older she has got with age as the mileage has gone over 125,000 miles which is 5 times around the world.

Let’s get down the business and discuss the common faults with the R56 as it has become a modern classic:

N14 Engine – It has its issues, but it always boils down to how the previous owners to look after with preventative and routine maintenance. Check the oil and filter was changed a minimum of every 8-10,000 miles or every year. If you have tuned/mapped it you will need to more regular oil and filter changes at 5-6,000 miles if you like your pistons ring not to wear out or scoring the bore in the engine’s cylinders. I made a video on how to look after it, which is available on my Youtube Channel

Timing chain – It’s meant to last 100,000 miles but will be needed to be done at around 50 to 80,000 depending again it’s usage and owner maintenance. Signs of it will need to be done is high tapping noise, and rattling sounds like a diesel engine on cold start-up, and lack of go from the offset with the noise disappearing as the engine warms up. It will cost around £700 to £1000 to get this sorted from an independent or dealership

Carbon Build Up – A common issue on direct injection due to the way the fuel doesn’t go over the values to clean them compared to the old port injection. The plus was better fuel economy and power but carbon build up the valves was an annoying by-product. It will need decoking every two to three years to keep running right which set you back around £200 to 250. You might think oil catch can save you from this problem after all the youtube videos but it doesn’t sadly as the PCV system was poorly designed anyway so all it is doing is slowing down the process…

High-Pressure Fuel Pump – Common issue on MINI which is annoying as they seem to last between 50 to 60,000 miles before they fail so its £600 for an OEM one. The same issue plagues BMW’s of this era as the 135i has this issue with HPFP failing on them too

Valve Steam Seals – Common german car issue as the rubber seals perish over time allowing excess oil to enter the combustion chamber. Check for blue or white at idle or full throttle which will show either the turbo is on it’s way out or valve stem seals need to be done both are expensive jobs at £1,000 or £600

Engine Cover Weep – Typical German car problem which happens overage as the rubber gasket perished so its £150 for this job or if it’s the whole cover then another £300. On N18 engine cover melting is a common issue at the corner near the turbo

Turbo Oil Feedline – This issue because the MINI engine runs so hot as it leads to oil feedline to leak or coke up so make sure it has the recall oil feedline heatshield or buy the aftermarket braided oil feedline at £80 and £180 fitting

Water Pump & Thermostat – On an engine that runs quite hot any way you would think they would give it a good cool system but that’s not the case as they regularly fail as they crack or the rubber gasket fails – the joys of the plastic parts on modern cars compared to metal items of yesteryears. The water pump is £35, and the thermostat is £75 which is a bit awkward to replace so another £200 there easy

Bushes – You buy a MINI for it’s handling so expect the bushes will need replacing unless the previous owner has replaced them to poly bushes ones. Bushes are cheap at £40, but it costs four times as much to replace on given the hours of work going into replacing them at £300

Clutch – As MINI are brought to driven so the typical check of seeing how high the biting point or any whine from the front from the dual mass flywheel

Water Ingress – This issues only happens mainly in the boot as the rubber seals lose their seal over time, so do check under the false floor of signs of water in there. Boot seal is around £60, which can do it yourself

Panoramic Roof – They weren’t the best, to begin with, no they fail or leak – FUN Times – Replace £3k or motor £250. Use vaseline to stop water ingress as a temporary measure or WD40 silicone spray to keep the system working for the long run

Windows – They tend to have a mind of their own most of them with squeaky noises which fixed by WD40 silicone spray. The other issues is them not closing and going down before reaching the top of the window due to regulator issues or the more common issue they need resetting. A simple reset is done by holding down both window switches down for 10 seconds for full system reset

Tyres – If it’s still on run-flats do yourself a favour and buy normal tyres and get some tyre sealer – You can thank me later

Gearbox & Fuel Filter – Replace the gearbox oil and fuel filter every 50,000 miles or every 3 years – Often overlooked as we are told they are lifetime (ignore it and just do it) a fluid change is cheaper than a gearbox or new fuel pump

Diesel Engines – They are relatively cheap to run, but DPF Filters and EGR Valves will become an issue like any diesel car as the clog up with dutty diesel gunk

Manual or Auto – Get the manual – It’s a driver’s car, as the auto-box is mehhh and unresponsive a ridiculous amount to replace or fix given everything has to come out

Clubman Barn Doors – Check for signs of rust between the doors as drain points in the doors can get clogged, so water sits causing rust between the seals and door edges

Convertible Roadster & Coupe – They suffer the same issues as everything is shared on the hatchback platform. The coupe boot struts can fail quickly, given how heavy the boot lid is – you will know when you open it for the first time

Countryman & Paceman – They suffer the same issues as everything is shared on this platform minus the chassis

With everything said and done I love my JCW and the older it has got stuff will just break which you have to accept like any car but a lot of the work can be done as preventive measures. A lot of the work you can learn yourself if you want to DIY or find a good specialist or MINI dealer to help you along with your MINI Adventure. I took out the MINI Extended warranty which has saved my ass a lot of times with my turbo replacement, timing chain issues and roadside recovery to a MINI dealer for repairs with a MINI courtesy car given within a few hours – £75 a month looks cheap – link to the MINI Extended Warranty site

If you want to modify it – R56 MINI Modding Bible – Click here for my guide

Hopefully, this guide will give you a stepping stone to find the perfect MINI and look forward to the MINI Adventures.

Here are my recommendations for MINI UK & Overseas specialist to visit for repairs, upgrades or parts:

Lohen – lohen.co.uk

1320 Mini – 1320.co.uk

Sussex Road & Race – sussexroadandrace.co.uk

Millys Auto – millsysautos.co.uk

TWG Automotive – twgautomotive.co.uk

MiniWorks – mini-works.co.uk

RSI C6 – rsic6.com

Outmotoring – outmotoring.com

ESC Tuning – ecstuning.com

Detroit Tuned – detroittuned.com

My list is made by own opinions and me speaking to respective companies & other owners across the world, and this is not sponsored post for full transparency.

If you got the modding bug don’t forget to check out JCW Adventures Store or Official eBay Store for some stickers for all generations of MINIs or R56 JCW carbon fibre exhaust tips as seen on my MINI R56 JCW to support the blog & YouTube channel.

All your support over the years and please offer that same support by following my Youtube Channel as well : )

As Always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up & Stay Safe!

Support the blog by Sharing, Subscribing or Buying from the stores

JCW Adventures Store

Official eBay Store

JCW Adventures Youtube Channel

Facebook

Instagram

The post Sorry I Am Not Perfect: Common 2nd Gen R56 MINI Problems appeared first on JCW Adventures.

• AEM was one of the first companies to engineer and design performance aftermarket induction systems with specific tube lengths and diameters to take advantage of pressure waves in the inlet tract. The tuning of the inlet tract dimension creates more control over the RPM range being affected.
• AEM began to explore the advantages of cooler air on combustion efficiency way back in the mid nineties and coined the phrase Cold Air Intake.
• AEM worked with K&N in 1999 to design conical air filters with built-in air horns at the filter base to greatly enhance air flow into the inlet duct.
• AEM developed the first dual chamber intake kits designed to generate more power over a broad RPM range.
• AEM designed a unique air bypass valve in order to avoid hydro-lock situations for systems where the filter is low enough to encounter water at certain times.
• AEM created one of the first hybrid induction systems for cars with engine swaps.
• AEM has developed an electronically tuned air intake solution to MAF sensor scaling problems when using non stock inlet system dimensions for additional power.

AEM took it upon themselves to develop an R56 MINI Cold Air Intake given the MINI community in the USA plus I have funny feeling one of the staff has an R56 MINI.

AEM cleverly worked out to utilises the non functional scoop on the R56 MINI Cooper S & JCW which was carried over from the R53 Cooper S because of aesthetics. The position of the intercooler and air intake in the turbocharged R56 doesn’t require cold air to pass over the engine like in R53 as the intercooler was position above the engine.
The principle of a Cold Air Intake is to increase the cold air volume coming into the engine as colder air is more dense as it carries more oxygen per volume unit than warmer air thus creating more power. Aftermarket intakes often replace the ‘restrictive’ factory airbox and air filter to give you better performance and better engine sound. They normally relocate the air filter outside the engine compartment so cooler air can be fed into your engine. Cooler air carries more oxygen, which translates into a more intense explosion in the combustion chamber for more horsepower and torque.

This modification does harm the engine as your just giving the engine more of what it wants OXYGEN as the ECU will readjust as fuel to air ratio to account for more air flow. However some cars will gain more power if they are naturally aspirated or either turbocharged/supercharged but the gains have to be 10% and above to be felt. On older cars there is noticeable difference as the air flow management didn’t play a significant part in the car’s production therefore often is pre 1990 era cars will see significant gains in power across the rev range as well as MPG gains.
The interwebs tell us cold air intakes and pod filters actually work but more cases than none all they do is actually make the car sound better rather than producing more power. But like always on the internet your butt dyno or armchair mechanic status doesn’t count and we want videos and dyno sheet read outs.


This is where the guys from Might Car Mods have tried and test multiple intakes and filters to see what actually benefit they make using a variation in cars etc. I have been a mighty car mods long time fan since I saw their Turbo & Temples feature film which I stumbled across when I was looking at R34 GTR videos (remember I am from the ‘Playstation Generation’).
Here is the video in question

I was abit wary of the AEM Intake given I had watched these informative videos a long while back as modern exhaust and intake modifications bring no gains and only bring more noise than stock as the ECUs are not calibrated with all components attached around the engine performance. I personally know this is true after I installed a 200 cell catalytic converter on my JCW and saw no real gain in performance and just a smoother power band and with no flat-out at the top. However the JCW does sound biblical on the overrun and pops & bangs are now artillery fire which is why I back off going past any Prius : p
It was another trip down to MINI specialist Lohen for this fettling as there are only two places who I trust my JCW with and Lohen is one of them. Lohen supplied and fitted this kit to my JCW which will house perfectly in near OEM fitment after my factory JCW airbox is removed. The AEM Intake system was designed is a DIY kit – instructions, pdf file and video installation are available on their website.

This install took about around 2 hours as injunction with having the AEM strut brace because JCW strut no longer fits around the AEM airbox. I was impressed by OEM likeness of the kit as it fitted within the engine bay like it belongs and the heat shield fits perfectly over the turbo along with the air scoop fitting snug under the bonnet. I loved how the colour of the strut brace and intake tube matches the colour of my JCW  #ColourCoordinated.
Sadly at the time I couldn’t get my JCW on Lohen’s dyno as it was out of action but first impressions sounded good as the JCW exhaust burble at idle was little different with a blip of the throttle giving a sharp induction noise with more audible dump value noise. On the way home I noticed the better throttle response along with more power & free revving engine at speed with a noticeable difference at the top end. My JCW definitely felt like a different car after the install as the journey home from Lohen on the motorway is 30 minutes. The pick up is just ballistic as this newly added power makes the temptation to go even faster on public roads ever so easy.

On the strut brace front there wasn’t any more stability compared from the AEM strut brace to the JCW one but its competitive priced to the OEM option so the no comprises have been made.
Sadly at the time I couldn’t use their dyno as it was out of action for maintenance. But that said they have all my previous dyno runs on file so it will interesting to see what she is making as my JCW is due a long-awaited trip again for some more mods…
All the data proved by AEM along with other certified sellers confirmed the performance gains
AEM – 2010 Cooper S – 14.14 Bhp gain

Lohen – 2012 JCW – 21.4 Bhp gain

Looking past all the gains what does it sound like? How has it been to live with? Any pros and cons?
The induction noise is a welcomed one as I am sucker for loud noise which adds to the aural sensations of speed. I had the intakes installed in December 2013 and driven 15,000 plus miles in that time which no real issues to the intakes besides losing two bolts from the metal housing frame of the airbox which was down to engine moving. This issue was solved with washers and locktite and AEM kindly providing me with some spares for free after an email.
During this time I haven’t seen the air filter get visual dirty or anything get stuck in the air box. My JCW is my daily driver so whether it has been a bitter winter or blazing hot I haven’t felt any drop in performance from the intake. Another question I have been asked a lot has the intake sucked in water? Simple answer is no as I have driven my JCW to London which is about 2 hours away in torrential downpour at cruise control guided speed of 60 mph only to find the filter and airbox bone dry which still amazes me to this day.

Another benefit of this filter that is used in the intake a dry flow air filter meaning it’s not oil based meaning no maintenance of reoiling etc. Most modern cars including MINIs have a Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor it is best to use a dry air filter as the oil based filters cause damage to this sensor resulting in malfunction with increased emissions and damage to the catalytic converter. Oil based filters are only better at maximum flow passing through to dry but don’t give a better filtration than a dry filters. The filter used in this kit is actually a K&N filter so there are no worries on the quality of the filter.

On a maintenance side I haven’t need to do anything to any of the intake parts or filter minus the missing screws on the airbox which minor grumble in the grand scheme of things. You might wonder when do I change the air filter? There is a filter minder indicator which has 3 colour zones of green, yellow and red indicating the life of left in the filter. As this is a K&N filter all that is needed to clean the filter is K&N filter cleaning spray and warm or cold water at around 50,000 miles. There is an optional filter wrap available for dusty or muddy regions to prevent any dirty etc clogging up the filter with little affect on the restriction.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/shYSbwdFMno] A very strange but welcome benefit of the intake has been in the increased MPG with long runs easily taking my JCW into the 50 mpg range again at cruise control guided 60 mph (I tend to cruise and let my JCW do its thing whilst I relax to music playing on my HK system all racecar like in my Recaros).
The only negative I have ever seen of this intake is in hotter climates where the heat from the engine and turbo has been reflected which resulted in the value cover melting but this has been insulated cases with wrong installation with the stock heat shield being completed remove. Another one was with a tuned S doing track days in high heat which is another case for debate as tuned S will always give off more heat that stock. If you are that worried you can always take off the AEM heat shield and protect the air duct by adding on engine heat reflector wrap on the duct to stop the plastic from melting (that’s just my two cents).

I have tracked mine with the intake installed and experienced any of the above problems but the UK climate is a lot milder and my JCW is running its stock with just a sports cat. On a side note I have installed the GP2 front undertray which actually cools the engine bay temps but at some point I will upgrade to a bigger intercooler for added cooling.
In summary I can not fault AEM’s Cold Air Intake given the quality of item and increased performance gain from such a simple means with a need for drastic modifications or fiddling with the ECU. The AEM does exactly what it claims with no down side besides the cost as the time of my install the whole kit along with strut brace cost me £430 but since then prices have increased. The kit could be at £200 for the N14 engine and strut brace at £200 but prices are £340 which is a big jump of 70% in the space of 1 year which makes it hard to justify given you can get your ECU tune for that price. However in my opinion a guy with a laptop doesn’t know better than a full team of engineers who have tested the car and its capabilities in every conceivable type of driving, weather conditions and climates to give you the customer the best driveable car that starts every time.
Review Score: 9/10
The AEM Cold Air Intake delivers on claims of increased performance in OEM like quality & fitment in a DIY Kit form
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The post AEM Cold Air Intake Review appeared first on JCW Adventures.