I am thinking about installing a BBK in my 2007 MCS. I have been to a number of Cooper tuning sites and most of them seem to offer the Wilwood BBK. I do not know much about Wilwood. What kind of reputation do they have? Will they be better than the JCW BBK set I have now? One thing is I have talked to a couple of people about my JCW BBK set and there are two kinds. One is just the normal Mini brakes but painted red and a JCW logo slapped on them which I think are the ones I have. The other is the Brembo Style.
The only other compainies that I have found to offer a BBK for the Mini are Stop Tech and JCW. Are the JCW Brembo style just Brembo brakes with a JCW logo? Both of these are pretty expensive almost 2000, but the Wilwood are about 1/2 the price, so does that make the Wilwood a lower performing brake system as compared to the JCW and Stop Tech?

Next question is the model of Wilwood, there are two, Race and street and the race version has an option of two sizes of rotors 11.75 and 12.2. The other option with the Wilwood is Black caliper and SS pistons and Red non SS caliber. So what are the differences, advantages of these options.

I would like the race version of the Wildood but are these okay for everyday driving?

I am attaching pictures of the brake I have now.

Thanks

 

Although I think your question belongs in the suspension thread I would suggest this;

http://www.apracing.com/info/product...F%3E_2748_2718

It's AP Racing which have quite a good name when it comes to brakes... They also deliver the actual brakes for the mini challenge cars, those are completely different form these though!

What I've read Wilwood en Stoptech are basically the same brake packages only put under a different brandname with different logo's... So I would not go for them, but that's personal!

 

Wilwood is one of the biggest names in aftermarket big brake kits. Good or bad, they're very popular with aftermarket tuners, muscle car builders and hot-rodders.

But if you seek perhaps the most truly reputable brand name, then Brembo has to be the one. Many high-performance cars come from the factory with Brembo brakes, or at least offer them as options. Subaru WRX STI, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Chevy Camaro, just to name a few. That HAS to count for something!

You pay for pedigree, though. Brembo kits are perhaps the best, but are also some of the priciest kits.

If I personally were in the market for an aftermarket big brake kit, I'd likely go with a Wilwood kit, because they're a good bang-for-the-buck solution. They're relatively inexpensive, but give you a solid brand name.

 

Thanks for the info.
Looks like the Wilwood are are a good choice. I looked at the AP but cannot find a price. I realize Brembo is the best choice but like you said they ar the premium choice and you pay for that. These reason I brought up Stop Tech is they are or used to be the prefered brand used I the SCCA World Challenge so I figured they can't be all that bad, right?

So if the Wilwood is a good bang for the buck please help me understand the differences between the Race and Street versions. I ask this because I plan on doing some SCCA Solo events and some track time (Auto Bahn in Joilet, Blackhawk Farms, and Road America). Not much but want the confidence of being able to slow the car down and not frying the brakes. But I also drive the car everyday. If the race version id fine for the street what advantages or disadvantages are ther from the 11.75 to the 12.2 rotor size.
I did some tracking when I lived in Germany at Hockenheim, Norschleife and Spa in my 2006 MCS. I just had standard Cooper brakes. I really did not run into many problems but usually towards the end of the session my brake pedal became long. I was there for 3 years and during that time I had 1 complete brake replacement (Pads and Rotors), bought a front set of ATE rotors and EBC pads fried them, Brembo Cross drilled rotors and EBC pads fried them and last replacement back to OEM pads and rotors, fried them at Spa.

 

Could see if Alcon has anything too, they're in the same league as AP. My brother has Wilwoods on his track prepared BMW 2002, they're quite nice. Could also consider the TSW kit.

 

The brakes you currently have should suit most people just fine if you just change the brake lines to stainless steel and replace the fluid with a good one (ATE Blue / Motul / etc. ). If you have already tried this and you are set on changing to a BBK, i would suggest two options in no particular order: 1) Todd at Tce (Willwood supplier for Mini specific kits) and 2) Texas Speed Werks ( In-house design Mini-specific BBK's that have great reviews)

Both are approved vendors here.

 

DEHAWK,

Take a look at this link: http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...s.pl?record=13

It has great info about Wilwood and Todd is very helpful and knowledgable.

Usually for heavier track use, the larger rotor mass would be better. But unfortunately, when you move from 11.75" to 12.12" to 13" or larger (and thicker) rotors, there are some extra issues with rims you will have to deal with.

I finally decided to get TCE's plus 3 kit with the 13" directional rotor and .92" wide.

 

Nobody has mentioned the most important thing to remember: Brake Cooling.
You can have the trickest brake setup in the world, but it won't work for squat if it overheats.
Before dropping lots of $$$ on a BBK, I might suggest trying a set of good track pads, hi-temp capable fluid, stainless lines and a good ducting system.
And forget the drilled rotors. Slotted yes, drilled no.

Jim

 

Don't forget the Detroit Tuned BBK and the TSW Big Dirty Mother! I don't know how those didn't pop up in your search.

 

good track pads-buying- Carbo Tech
stainless lines- buying Way Motor Werks
hi-temp capable fluid- buying Motul
good ducting system- Have it

Thanks for pointing that out though. You are right if you do not have these then a BBK is worthless.

 

Thanks for all the info, I think I am going to go with the Wilwood. I know the system I have now is fine, but I am just hard on brake and that is from everyday driving. Try to have as mush fun on the street as I can

 

It is much easier to buy the bbk as an entire kit not try to build one piecemeal.

Rotor Mass is critical for cooling. That is why there are different widths and diameters that you could buy. With a 13"rotor, your brakes will be working much less hard than a 11.75" rotor or a 12.19" rotor.

Please look at the tce link I posted above before doing more. There is a great deal of good info there.

 

Texas Speedwerks deserves a look--

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...h-its-big.html

http://www.txwerks.com/servlet/Detail?no=132

 

All you really need are drilled rotors and these:

http://www.calipercovers.com/_e/dept...ly_S_model.htm

 

This is scary advise for someone who consistently fries his rotors and brakes on the track.

 

I run the big 13" Wilwood kit, slotted and drilled rotors BP-10 pads. I have run them for almost 3 years now. Road and weekend track.
Excellent performance. Only downside was a softer pedal feel over stock.

 

How faster do these BBK's stop than the factory mini brakes? I know the stock mini's 60 to 0 is like 117 ft, what do you think it is this these?

 

The limiting factor for stopping is more the tires than the brakes. BBKs generally help braking consistency in highly stressed environments such as track where failure is disturbing. There are some differences in longevity of the pads as well with the large BBKs having much better pad life.

Some people just like the looks.

 

Honestly better pads/fluid/lines are good enough for most applications, but a BBK has larger/thicker rotors which increase the surface area (extra useful if slotted which reduces surface area) and cooling capacity. More pistons equals more distributed braking force and usually you have larger pads.

They'll probably stop faster, but even if they don't stop that much faster, they'll last way longer on a track and would probably be more confidence inspiring. They're also sexier than stock.

 

Yeah! That 13.1 kit looks pretty good! It should fit my O.Z. 17' Rims. I also believe I have pretty good tires, Yokohama Neova AD08

 

That Wilwood FSL (Forged Super Light) is a fantastic 4 pot. The calipers are forged and so it is not only light but strong.

In the plus 3 kit, you can get 13" rotors in .81" or .92" width. The 13.1 kit gives you 13" rotors with 1.1" width. Be careful about rim fit with the plus 3 and plus 3.1 kits.

Good enough for use with r-comps.

 

I got a question

Is it possible to mix and match different brake kit?

I have the first gen JCW brake kit and want to get JCW BBK by Brembo.

Is it possible to put the first gen JCW at the back and have the 4 pot JCW Brembo in the front?

Thanks

 

Generally it is OK. There is a slight change in brake bias but not significant.

 

What do you mean in brake bias? I don't understand.

 

I have not had a problems with wheel fitment. The profile of the FSL is very low. I have been surprised at the range of wheel that will fit.