Hey everybody,

Picked up my second 1st Gen Mini pretty recently, went from a brg/w 04 justa which just passed 100k miles, to a brg/b 05 jcw. Had a hard time deciding between r53 and r56 but finally pulled the trigger when I found an affordable r53 jcw with 22k miles! Although I am still on the fence in terms of what I really wanted, I do enjoy the rare times I get to open it up on the road. Had a 15% pulley installed and opened the air box early on, because of reading these silly forums! now I am about to take the next step and install a new header, camshaft, injectors, and an LSD, along with a possible ecu tune. Still have my justa, trying to teach my step-daughter how to drive stick so she can get around. Honestly I feel like the justa is funner to drive in some ways, throttle response is better, I guess the sc takes the first chunk of oomph to get going, and the power band is more linear which to me is a more intuitive power band than the all at once in your face rock and roll of the super charger. Happy motoring to all from the East Bay Northern California. Well northern-ish

 

Welcome to NAM, anandastar and congrats on your new MINI. I don't think you'll have any issue moving from your Justa to the JCW model, good choice. I get your comparison regarding the Justa 5-speed and the JCW. I had a Justa 5-speed as a loaner recently and though to myself that the shifting was smoother. A lot of that response could be the difference between the non-turbo verses twin scroll turbo engines. After just one day with the loaner, I found it a little difficult to get back in the groove with my Cooper S shifter response. Post a few pics when you get a chance. We just love pics here at NAM. Happy motoring and please don't forget to promote the MINI wave.