These would have to have 17 or larger wheels?

 

Generally yes, there may be some after market 16" wheel that would fit, but i do not even think all OEM 17" wheels fit over the 2nd Gen JCW calipers.

 

That would be the factory JCW brakes, aka Brembo.

I know r104 and r90 along with challenge fits. My pace spoke does not.

 

Just did this on my 04 the other other day. Sadly they were from a wrecker and when they shipped them they did not wrap the calipers. Needless to say they were chipped to hell and back.

I had to refinish them. No luck finding a JCW template to put the logo back on. Looks like I will have to get creative.

 

Are those the R56 JCW rotors?

 

yes

 

Professor - Sharp looking car! Did the R56 JCW rotors bolt to the same mounts without modification? How did you locate the used calipers? I am on the fence regarding a new BBK or trying to do what you did.

 

Yes everything bolts up just fine. I was able to locate them using a junk yard parts finder. www.car-part.com is great to use. Just make sure you ask for images of the parts or a better descriptions just in case they catalog the items wrong.

In fact I just picked up a JCW airbox for 90 bucks shipped to my door from a yard in Florida.

 

Sorry for bringing this back from the dead......but I need to know if the R56 JCW caliper and rotor will simply bolt right onto a gen 1 car? Any modifications needed.

 

the front one yes straight bolt on...the rear u will need to get the R56 handbrake cable/hose in order to fit them on...

 

Question, curious if folks are still able to monitor this thread after 10+ years! :-)
I have R52 S, about to do the R56 BBK install having gotten the calipers from 2nd hand.
I want and have already bought 316mm rotors for the front, 280mm for the rear.

A friend of mine is telling me that if I'm going to do the 316mm, I'll need mounting bracket extensions. He points out that the Brembo big brake kit includes them (which they do). But no matter what searches I do, I can't seem to find any indication that I need them.

So question is: do I need to do anything different for the R56 BBK kit if I'm using 316mm rotors on the R52?

Thanks!

 

I used the R56 upgrade BBK and it came with 316mm rotors and everything needed for a bolt on install. I don't think you need bracket extensions.

 

I am collecting parts for this upgrade. Everything I've read says the R56S calipers use 294mm rotors. Can you confirm you're using the R56S calipers? Thanks

 

TLDR: R56S calipers use 294mm rotors. This thread is about the JCW Brembo’s which use 316’s.

R56 S caliper with 294mm rotor


________________

Some confusion often comes up due to the various brake systems from the first two generations, especially when referring to the “poor man’s JCW upgrade” for a 1st gen.

The first gen came with 276mm front rotors and the upgrade available was the JCW kit with bigger front calipers, bigger upgraded front pads, 294mm front rotors, and upgraded pads only on the rear. The regular 2nd gen came with calipers the same size as the first gen JCW’s, but only with 280mm front rotors. The S came with the same calipers, but with different carriers/brackets to fit the 294mm rotors.

This is where the main issue lies with many of the brake upgrade threads. People often refer R56 brakes when they really mean R56 S (not you ). With R56 S calipers you should be using 294mm rotors. Unfortunately, some people end up with regular 280mm R56 brakes because of the leaving off the “S” part, and getting a separate set of carriers to make them work with 294’s can be almost expensive as getting “S” calipers in the first place.

This thread is referring to the 2nd gen BBK upgrade which are 4 piston Brembos and use the 316mm rotors.

There used to be a really thorough thread here on NAM, along with the same info on a separate website page where a member posted all of this info in detail and lot more on the various stages and options for upgrading MINI brakes, but unfortunately it’s gone now.

 

Yeah I should have been more clear mine was the R56 JCW upgrade with 316mm rotors.

 

I have a thread going on the rebuilt Brembos that you can get cheaply in Europe - look for the Budweg thread in the R50/R53 forum - a lot of part numbers and info in there.

 

+1 the jcw four pot is a huge upgrade, if you are a gen 1 MINI period correct person the single pot works but you will not feel the big difference like jumping to the four pistons. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-calipers.html

 

Folks,

Got the calipers and all installed, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to install the parking brake cable onto the caliper.


How to fit a round peg through a square hole? 🤣

It would seem to suggest I may need an R56 parking brake cables?

 

Folks,

Got the calipers and all installed, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to install the parking brake cable onto the caliper.


How to fit a round peg through a square hole? 🤣

It would seem to suggest I may need an R56 parking brake cables?

 

Yes or i think you can also notch the round post but it might not hold tight.

 

Can you swap the cable bracket from the old calipers?

 

I notched the new brackets to hold the old brake cables. It's worked like that and held tight for as long as I've owned it.

 

Yeah, I went ahead and notched it, but then the cable geometry is such that it bends towards the shock strut, brake line, end links .... not exactly a good solution.



So I said "forget this ..." and went ahead and bought the R56 cables. I've done everything else as I should, so why should I take shortcuts on this one too ... 🤔



Fits just right, bends just right. (... that's what she said. &#129315

 

Here I go dragging up this thread again. Quite a helpful one by the way.

Many of you will call me crazy, but I like big brakes and I cannot lie ... I want to put GP2 brakes or the equivalent 135i performance brakes on my 06' JCW. I haven't found much relevant info online apart from putting them on a non-GP2 R56, and I'm not sure if anyone else has done this swap, but I'm still curious if anyone has any insight.

Based on the "standard" R56 JCW 4 piston calipers being effectively bolt on with some new brake lines and maybe an e-brake cable, I'm assuming that the GP2 6 piston setup would be similar. Since I would be trading 2 piston calipers for 6 piston calipers, it would probably also make sense to upgrade the master cylinder. Is the R56 master cylinder backwards compatible with R53, or are there any decent upgrades out there? It would be my first instinct to use as many factory OEM GP2 parts in the conversion as I could. Also, it appears that R112 are the only OEM 17" wheels that will fit over GP2 calipers with potentially a need for a spacer for spoke clearance. Would anyone know if R95 18" would fit the same way? I know it sounds stupid with me wanting to put GP2 brakes on my R53, but I like the look of the R53 parts better and don't want to have to use R112 and rather a wheel that came with the R53.

I know that's a lot in the hypothetical. Thanks for anything you might be able to share.

 

I Don't know of anyone that has done this but If there was anyone it would be posted within two very, very modified mini Cooper groups I'm in on Facebook
One being "modified mini Coopers" the other being "R53/52/50 NOS, Larger Supercharger and Turbo Builds"

Lots of people in there that are still active and some insanely talented and experienced people in there.

That's where I basically learning everything I know about building a mini and now have the opportunity to drive a 359 blower driven mini Cooper r53s that I built myself.