I'm curious. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the JCW brake kit over the brakes that come standard on the Cooper?

From not knowing, the advantage I see is that they look sporty and attractive to the eye but for the high price, they would have to do much more then that if I were to buy them. Something I truly hate about the stock brakes is that they make a mess with all the break dust. Now that I'm well deep inside of winter, break dust on my rims is really the least of my problems.

Also does this brake kit have "steel brake lines"? I heard from an NEMINI person that this would be a must if one were to take one of these on a track. This is something I may eventually like to do but not in the forseeable future.

 

If you are worried about brake dust the JCW brakes are not for you. The performance is worth the price tag.

 

JCW brakes do not come with SST lines. However, that is an easy upgrade as several aftermarket vendors offer SST lines, and they even have a few colors.

Most who can't stand the brake dust install ceramic pads as they are generally much cleaner. I have Hawk ceramic pads with my JCW brakes and they work fine with much much less mess. I have even had it to the track with these pads and while they will not offer as much grip as the OEM messy pads or especially better performing aftermarket pads, they performed plenty good enough for my limited driving skills.

 

I drove both..on the test drive I drove the MCS and the brakes were good..I purchased the JCW and there was not one on the lot when I purchased mine...the JCW Brembo brakes are some of the best I have ever had. The reviews for the track are just as positive.

 

It sounds like from what you guys say here that the JCW breaks have more stopping power then the stock breaks however more stopping power = messier breaks. On the other hand the ceramic break pads have less mess but they're not so good for the track. Is that about right?

 

I will take good braking and dust over poor performing brakes and no dust

 

Brake dust is always a side effect of pad material. The harder compound used in performance pads always gives off more dust and makes more noise than soft quiet pads for most normal cars. It comes down to tempature control. Soft quiet pads do not handle high heat so for normal driving they are nice but a few high speed stops and they will be gone.