+2
Really what are you guys in freakin kindigarden.

Mr. Jim

 

Well, i apologized as i was being immature..

 

Don't you mean imMINIature?

 

exactly... bad days bring the worst out of you and i just felt like going off on someone.... I am sorry it was a fellow mini enthusiast

 

Don't sweat it. We all have those days.

 

tires will help.
driver control will help more.

I am running a 16% sc pulley and a 2% crank pulley. With DSC on the electronic nannies make me look like I can't drive stick. With it off (which it always is unless I forget) I can, if I so choose, break the fronts loose in 1, 2 and if the road or tires are cold 3.

I have driven fwd most of my life with the only regular exceptions being a 74 FuryIII (318 not the 400 ) and a 78 Monza V6 when I was a hooligan teen. Its best to just think of the gas not as either on or off but more like a dimmer switch. (flip on the bathroom light in the middle of the night-bad unless its gradual)

 

I've got a 2006 stock JCW. Stock S suspension, stock JCW brake kit, 18" R95 wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 2.
I wasn't happy at all when doing corners, the front slipped to the outside of the corner. 1st problem.
When acceleration full throttle the front wheels used to lost grip. 2nd problem.
When trying to enjoy winding roads, hill climbing, tracks or so, the brakes started doing fade very quickly. 3rd problem.

Solutions:
To the 1st problem:
1- Moved to 17" rims, a great change.
2- Bridgestone Potenza RE050A. Awesome tyres! 205/45/17.
3- Not just a mere spring set change, but a whole suspension change. Now I got KW V2 suspension kit, missing tho front camber plates. Sure, they'll be KMac or RDR (Helix's). Not sure if I can fit the KW ones. I'll check.
Now the car is a stick-to-the-ground-corner-taking machine.

To the 2nd problem:
It's a matter of throttle touch. Once you get it, you won't lose grip and will know when to push it hard.

To the 3rd problem:
I didn't know what to do but I hated JCW brake kit (1st generation, tho). So, I changed them for a Wilwood BBK. I wasn't quite happy with it. It's difficult to get a really good bleeding. The brake pedal touch wasn't what I expected... So, I started thinking about something, in my opinion, better like AP Racing or Brembo. I'm not saying Wilwood is bad, just I don't like it. I had good days with them tho.
As soon as I saw the new Brembo JCW BBK, which is a really BBK. I bought it. Actually I fit it 2 days ago. In town the brake pedal touch is much better than the Wilwood one. On Sunday, i'm going to a track day, so I'll let you know how they behave in such a situation.

To sum up:
a- 17" wheels with good tyres, or even 16"s. I, personally met the John Cooper Motorsport chief engineer, Tony, and he and the mechanics told me that a JCW or a S behaves much better with 16" wheels. I suppose people don't agree with it or won't fit them because of 'look' matters.
b- A good suspension kit and brake kit.
The car is just another.
Hope it will be helpful for you all.

I'm not talking about adding power to my JCW because in Europe is hard to find long straight roads, it's more a matter of losing weight for improving the car handling.

 

The wilwood brake kit is actually really good... when warmed up! I think i need to upgrade my rear brakes though as I KNOW it will make the workd of a difference when I do... When cold the wilwoods are terrible!