Which should I get? I'm planning on doing another JCW mod soon and wanted to know what you thought. Should I get the JCW suspension installed for $1495 or get the JCW sport brake kit? the kit is $1600 for the parts not sure about labor yet, probably be about $2000 installed.

My original plan was do suspension first and brakes later because I still have about 25k miles left on my current brakes. However, I just picked up a set of the JCW R112 Challenge wheels and the jcw brakes would look awesome behind those.

Any opinions?

 

I vote for the JCW suspension. It really transforms the car IMHO.

The standard suspension is a poor compromise (had to go...) while the stock brakes are actually pretty good.

 

Sorry to add a competing opinion to the mix but brakes!! They do look sweet behind the R112 wheels - I catch people staring at mine every so often (even once overheard someone say "what the f*** are such massive brakes doing on such a tiny car?!?") plus I believe the brake kit comes with drilled+slotted rotors.

They brake like crazy, too - not that the standard MCS doesn't though. I guess you can't really go wrong

 

Standard MCS brakes are pretty good. I would go for a suspension upgrade first, myself.

 

The brakes aren't THAT much better for everyday driving. Where they help is in less fade during spirited driving.

I've had both. The suspension is by far the better bang for the buck out of the two, it's not even close. The suspension is reasonably priced for what it is (I upgraded to KW V2's, but the JCW suspension is darned good for the money, and is a significant upgrade which you will notice immediately).

The brakes are way overrpriced. You can get a much better kit for significantly less. Drilled and slotted rotors? Bling. There is a reason no one runs these on the track--they're prone to cracking. The painted calipers look nice, but performance wise you will notice a little improvement, but nothing that's going to knock you socks off, like the suspension will.

So if it's bling, go for the brakes. If it's performance you're after, get the suspension.

 

I agree with the suspension being a better daily bang for the buck improvement over stock. An intermediate step to more controlled stopping is to add better brake pads such as Carbotechs.

Regarding drilled rotors for the track, I have a different opinion. I have used them on the track without problems but on Porsches and Lotuses. It may be the quality of the JCW drilled rotors that may have created this problem.

I still know people who run slotted and/or drilled rotors on track on Minis without issues (for the entire 2009 season) but they use high quality rotors such as Brembo etc along with the bbk.

 

How is the ride quality on the suspension? Is it too harsh for a daily driver? That is my main concern because the stock suspension is stiff to begin with. I'm worried that the boss (wife) will not like the ride.

I'm leaning toward the brakes because you can never have too much stopping power, and it would be better in a real world situation. Ahh, decisions decisions....

I know they may be pricey, but I'm keeping my car oem, no aftermarket parts. Just my preference.

 

QZ,

If you can find someone with the JCW suspension, perhaps your local Mini club or your dealer, see if they will take you out for a spin for you to get the feel of it.

For street driving (and somewhat the track), the stopping power of your car is generally limited by your tires, not your brakes. So you will not necessary stop faster with the bbk but you will get better brake modulation.

 

Get the suspension for sure. It's supposed to be way better and not that bad for ride either. In the mod forum it's often said that a suspension upgrade (JCW is a good one but there are others) gets you the most bang for the buck at the track. $1500 sounds pretty good, I've heard of people paying $1300 for just the parts.

 

As long as you are not left foot riding the brakes or tracking the car (causing over heating) the stopping power and distance would be equal. Why would do believe that the OEM S's brakes are incapable of "locking up" (of course anti lock modulates this) the wheels?


I agree with everyone. Suspension for performance and then if you want buy the brakes for the looks.

 

If you want better stopping power, just get better brake pads. I doubt the JCW brakes are that much more powerful. More fade resistant, probably, but not worth 2k. If you want those, look for a used set I'd say.

 

Question

Are 2nd generation brakes better than first generation brakes? My 05 MCS has lousy brakes. I get false antilock pulses all the time. Stopping power is not so good either. I know many others with the same issues with 1st gen MCS. I thought my M3 brakes were really good. The 09 JCW brakes are amazing, night and day better. Makes the M3 feel like an SUV.

Smoke05S

 

Yes, the R56 brakes are basically the JCW brakes from the R53. They are much better than the standard R53 brakes.

 

suspension!!! people are right about the r56 brakes being good. when I test drove both cars, I didn't really notice a difference except for the added "pinch" of the jcw brakes.

I have stock suspension and it sucks *****. I've had my car for about 8 months now. The only thing I hate is the suspension. I just ordered springs, sways, and camber plates. Can't wait to put them on.

 

Yes, those rotors are drilled differently than the JCW rotors. But you pay a price for the slots, with less mass, they heat up quicker. It's all a tradeoff; I use either plain or slotted rotors.

You brought up a good point about the tires--your brakes are only as good as the tires; if you're upgrading the brakes, to get any appreciable benefit, you'll need to get better tires. I agree it's much more cost effective to simply get better pads, especially if this is just for a daily driver.

As for the R56 brakes: The R56 brakes on a standard R56 MCS are the R53 old JCW brakes, but not painted red. The R56 JCW brakes are a significant step forward--they're 4 pots, a significant step up from the old R53 JCW brakes.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll go with the suspension, it costs less and gives more performance it seems.

Thanks for all the brake info, i think I'll skip the jcw bbk and get better pads. I like the look of the jcw brakes though, so maybe I'll just paint my calipers. That will cost much less.

 

The ride is very harsh with the JCW suspension and the stock run flats. I switched to non run flats and it is more tolerable as a daily driver but it is still a bit harsh.

 

I already ditched the RF's and noticed a much better ride and better handling. Thanks for the input, definitely something to consider.

 

Suspension!

 

Here are my faux JCW brakes. Also just so you don't think I'm a total charlatan here are my brakes on my last car.

 

Thanks Julien, they look good.

 

It was fairly easy and only took about 3 hours work (not counting drying time). I used Duplicolor system. Here is a thread about painting the calapers.

 

suspension

 

Do the JCW Sport Brake Kit first and don't forget to add the SS braided brakelines. Then get the BILSTIEN HDs to dial in the ride.

 

Well, if you're going aftermarket for the suspension, you might as well for the brakes too--you can get a better brake setup than the JCW's for significantly less money....