I ordered a clubman S with everything coming to about 36k on the build a mini site. When I was deciding between that or the JCW version the price was 45K. Like I said the JCW is a monster in its own class, if I had the money I would. But I wouldn't want to settle for a base model JCW with none of the packages I would like, because that's all I would be able to get before hitting 36k.

I skipped the sport suspension because my buddy who works at a shop can get me a sweet setup and install it at the fraction of the cost of a JCW. I know the JCW was built by mini for the mini, but there are other great brands out there that also work just as well. Not to mention the FMIC, downpipe, CAI and not a penny spent on labor. The biggest kicker is waiting for them to crack the ECU so the 2012's can get tuned. The JCW tune is really good, but Jan from RMW recently came up to Seattle and tuned a bunch of cars at our local mini club. And the numbers...

And why would you want to spend money to modify a car? Isn't that what mini is about? Individuality, making the car yours. Some people want driving lights, others want stripes. I love it. And actually those engine mods (and tune) will cost less that 6K with outputs equaling the JCW hp if not exceeding it (not by much probably ). I've driven a JCW before and it is a beast. But I drove an RMW tuned S...wowza! Felt like I was in my buddies 2010 SS Camaro with the amount of low end torque it had.

And I could buy an S and spend less that 6K to make like a JCW. I would just order the JCW emblems and put them all over the car

 

This is a great thread that a lot of folks on this board can relate to - decisions....decisions. There are many days I wish I had spent the extra $$$ for a JCW, but then again that's a lot of extra $$$.

At this point I am thinking I'll get more real world, day-to-day enjoyment out of my MCS by upgrading suspension with new springs, rear sway bar and Koni Yellow shocks, than by trying to add HP, and I can do all that for less than $2K. Braking is pretty good now, but would no doubt would be better with a Wilwood upgrade, once my original rotors and pads need to be replaced. Finally, there is always the hope that the "Techies" will be able to crack the ECU and produce AP for the 2011 and beyond MCS.

If a JCW were in the picture, I'd wait until 2013 and a JCW with the N18 based motor.

I just have too many places I want to spend discretionary money, such as my Porsche restoration project and a new sailboat. There's never enough $$$ for everything. As I said, decisions....decisions.

 

I decided to jump on it. Ordered today, should be built first week of March, huzzah.

You only live once :P.

 

 

NICE, soooo a JCW then?

 

Yep- PW/CR, cold weather and tech w/ navi, adaptive xenon, Recaros, JCW leather dash, chili red dash line. Yay!

Now the wait.... Week 10 cannot get here soon enough for the build.

 

NICE! That chili dash is going to pop! That's what I went with and every picture I see of it only makes me more excited to see it.

 

Hey, not bad at all. I ordered back in the 3rd week of January and my build week (I think) is also Week 10.

 

The JCW brakes are worth the price of admission by themselves....stand on them at 80+ and see what happens, you'll be amazed!!! and then do it repeatedly with NO fade what so ever. I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. Best stopping car I've ever owned...period!

 

Car is in production, huzzah!

 

..bringing this thread back up,

as I am in the same boat as the original poster.

I have a 2008 MINI S.
I've added custom wheels, tires, clear bra, Cold-Air-Intake, Carbon Fiber parts, Helix Intercooler, JCW Aero Kit (installed at the dealership), all leather interior, w/ armrests and dash custom done in leather. ....plus more. In fact my car even won a "People's Choice Award" (3rd place overall) in a car show (there were about 50+ cars that entered). Because I have several cars and I work at home, I only have 9,500 miles on my 2008 MINI.

So, now my car only has $3000k left of payments on the loan ...BUT wish I had the upgraded Turbo, JCW Exhaust, Brembo Brake kit, ...and JCW Recaro style seats. ....i figure w/ trade-in I could get a new JCW and only have less than 10,000 give or take in payments. ....is it ridiculous to want to trade it in? Am I being silly? Should I just enjoy what I have and slowly over time continue to do little upgrades here and there???

i do love my MINI and love driving it. I love that it doesn't look stock ...it is a bit faster than most MINI's ....to JCW or not is the question!! ..funny thing is, i'd get the same exact color and interior options ...just in a JCW.

So should I????

 

Out curiosity, does this hypothetical article miss some vital detail (forgiving the seemingly optimistic HP numbers)?

http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...e-aftermarket/

I ordered up an S with the sport package, jcw performance package, and sport suspension and intend to add better brakes, more suspension upgrades, and more performance upgrades down the road. I've always been in the "buy a solid foundation and mod the heck out of it" school of thought. My last car was a K04'd FSI GTI with tuning, downpipe, control arm bushings, rsb/endlinks, upgraded pads and lines, high PO brake fluid, sticky summer tires, etc. (The list goes on). Stronger internals with lower compression set aside, is there some feature aside from the built as JCW allure that I'm going to be missing...assuming I'm willing to throw down the cash for parts and put in the wrench time? This thread has me worried.

--Matt

 

I had a 2011 MCS for 8 months - I traded it for a 2011 JCW....the JCW is a beast!....the breaks and suspension are awesome - it is a totally different car and worth the money paid!

 

HA, 27 HP for an exhaust and what did he say like 15 HP for a CAI??!! WTF?

I think i am sticking w/ my Cooper S, -as according to the article i have waaaay more horsepower than I need!! (I've done those mods and more).

No in reality, you could just spend $900 and get an ECU upgrade on an S and be at about the same horsepower as a JCW.

The things I like about the JCW that you don't get w/ the S,
-larger turbo
-higher performance exhaust manifold + complete exhaust
-JCW tune
-JCW/Brembo brakes

...those 4 things are worth about $5k-6k or more in the aftermarket.

At the time I purchased my MINI S, they told me the JCW's were no longer in production. ...which I think was true at that time for that year. (I do remember they took the JCW off of the MINIUSA website). However about 6 months after I ordered my S, the JCW's became available again.

All in all, I am very happy w/ my S. I like that it is a bit of a sleeper. It is currently about as fast as a JCW, -the dealer took it for a test drive when I brought it in for service and he said mine was faster than the new JCW's ...so that made me happy. ...i plan on getting an ECU tune and it will be a true sleeper!

Doing it again i probably would have gone for a JCW ...i think they are a better deal than purchasing all the mods individually.

 

get the JCW or better yet a GP

 

Yeah, that's why I said "forgiving the seemingly optimistic HP numbers". They're obviously over estimating on that side. I'm happy to replace the turbo, exhaust, tune and brakes on my spare coin down the road. It looks like the aftermarket has better than JCW equivalents on all of those anyways. So I'm not missing anything magical here? The sport package includes the dynamic stability control option, which seems to have been a JCW exclusive in the past.

What I'm worried mostly about things that I can't bolt on down the road. Is there anything like that on it that I'll be kicking myself for later?

--Matt

 

Except for limited N18 ECU programming currently.
Remember, with the factory JCW, you're getting a higher baseline to work with.
That's including the engine package (with all the trinkets) that you don't tear into when you're doing just "bolt-ons".

The N14 engine that's in all the R5x factory JCW's have more aftermarket support and parts currently than the 'S'-model N18 variant.
ECU programming on the N18 requires ECU removal from the vehicle which adds a serious risk factor involved; the N14 doesn't reqiure such.

Sure, you can build a "better" vehilce than the JCW, but it'll take more money and time than grabbing a factory JCW and then taking it to the next level.

- Erik

 

Thanks. That was the response I was looking for. I ordered the S when the estimated production start date for JCWs was out in November, since it was too far out to deal with. I'm not sad at all about paying more overall than I would pay initially for an out-of-the box JCW, which I'd most certainly mod as well. Mods are the fun part for me and, if I were to strive for the best I can get category by category, I'd be out more overall in the end with a JCW anyways. I'm sure, given some time, the N18 will be supported as well as the N14 is now. It's just a matter of time, especially since the JCW will be going N18 ways.

In the end, as far as I've read at least, big power numbers will require upgraded internals on a JCW block just like they would on a standard S. Correct? It's anyone's guess if I'll be desiring more power than the stock block can safely provide at this point, but I can cross that bridge when I come with it. I'm guessing the 207hp from the JCW Stage 1 kit will keep me busy long enough with brake, tire, and suspension upgrades for tuning options to catch up.

--Matt

 

This is very interesting. So are you having them add the JCW Stage 1 Kit when you take delivery? If you don't mind me asking, how much $$$$ did they charge you for it? When do you expect delivery of you MCS or are you driving it already? I would be very interested in hearing your experiences. I am thinking of adding the JCW Stage 1 Kit in a few months to my 2011 MCS.

 

Does your 2008 have the mechanical LSD option? If so, I would keep it and get the JCW Tuning Kit on top. You could never get the LSD on a JCW R56. And the LSD was a rare option on the MCS R56. And the JCW Tuning Kit was a still rarer option. So to have the both of those performance options on the same car makes it a pretty special (and FAST) car.

It's really puzzling and disappointing that they never offered the R56 JCW with an LSD...

 

Yep, the plan is to have it installed when I take delivery. Mine should be born today, so I'm guessing it'll make it to the states around the end of the month, and they're going to install the kit when it gets there. I believe the price I was quoted is ~$2600 installed. We were hoping to have it installed (less expensively) at the port, but apparently they have to do it at the dealership.

--Matt

 

JCW Tuning Kit = 197hp

 

Aah, indeed. I'm sure we can break that difference without too much effort ;-)

--Matt