Hi everyone!

Well after years of being jealous of Mini drivers I have decided I am going to go ahead and join in on the fun. I am looking to buy a Cooper by the end of the year and was hoping for some advice. Off the bat I know I want a hardtop S or JCW. But between those two choices I am a little stuck. I would love to buy a brand new JCW, but being a gearhead I am not sure how well that will go for me. I do not like to have a car that I cannot have a current "project" for. Which leads me to the choice. Should I buy a JCW and continue to upgrade the vehicle, or buy an S, save some money on the cost of the car and upgrade that. I did not find a whole lot of information on Cooper builds/upgrades when searching the web so I am a little fresh on what is available.

I also have thought about buying used since most upgrades I would apply to the vehicle would negate the warranty associated with that component/system anyway. Although, I would much rather be the 1st owner of the vehicle, as I keep my cars for a long time.

In the past I have built an 86 Mustang GT, 02 WRX, 89 Daytona Turbo, 90 CRX and a 92 Civic. All of these had either motor swaps or major performance upgrades all done by myself so I am quite familiar with the work involved (I am currently repairing a 97 328 that was in a front end collision).

I expect to hear some great info as I have browsed through other threads and forums and really like the feel of this site.

Thanks in advance!
Ron

 

Opt for the S model over the JCW. If you plan on lots of mods, then you could quickly add more performance for less money and out-run the JCWs (IMHO).

 

IMO
I would get the JCW for the looks and motor. Yes u can get an MCS and mod it to beat a stock JCW. But u can also mod a JCW to the same or better results.
Some examples of what is different.
The JCW is the only way to have black gauges.
Better brakes and tune from the start.
The JCW is going to start off better by already having a better motor and better clutch. ... IMHO
I'm sure someone can chime in and list all the details on these differences.

I'm giving my opinion based on you voiding the warranty on either one.

 

I wish I had a dealership around with a JCW in stock so I could compare it with the MCS. I travel for work so I will be looking for dealers around the areas where I go.

On the warranty however, I would probably not seriously mod the car for a year or so as I do have my other vehicles that I am not finished with so it is not too big of an issue for me.

I was not aware the JCW had braking upgrades, anything special?

 

As far as the brakes.... JCW comes with Red Brembro brakes. Wheels will be 17" and designed to fit the calipers. Not all wheels can fit over the larger calipers.

The black gauges and small red hint of stitching is almost worth the JCW brand for me. Also knowing that the motor and clutch will hopefully take my beating & mods... better is assuring. The N14 motor has been around for awhile and hasn't been messed with like the MCS motor... which tells me BMW likes the N14 motor results. IMHO

Jackson

 

Check out this blog post by Winding Road. It details the differences between buying a JCW vs doing aftermarket mods on a Cooper S. http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...e-aftermarket/ You'll probably find it useful in making your decision.