I bought my 2003 JCW with only 44,000 miles last month and I'm loving the car. The brake light came on from the rear sensor and I need to know if my car has the same brakes as all the other r53s, or if the JCW cars had something different. They are not red. I've noticed in other threads, the minimum wear of the rear rotors is 8.4, but it looks like the stamp on my rotors says 8.6.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

 

Rears are the same as all others. Remember, the caliper pistons must be screwed back in to retract, not depressed like the fronts. Unusual that the rears would require replacing so soon. The fronts usually go first. Doubt you need rear rotors unless deeply scored.

 

Thanks. Will the fronts be the same as well? I checked the rotor thicknesses and they should be fine for another set of pads. I've read the sticky on changing the pads and saw that the pistons need to be screwed in. Thanks though, I wouldn't have known otherwise. The pads still have quite a bit of meat on them, so I'm not going to stress about changing them immediately unless the sensor could score the disc.

 

brakes!

 

Doh! Somebody corrected me improperly once and those wires in my brain have been crossed ever since.
Thanks.

 

All in good fun.

I have both a literature and an engineering degree. It's easy to find things that drive me insane.

 

Congrats on the new car!!
The front JCW BigBrakeKit (BBK) did not become an option till 2005....so unless it was changed, it is the same as stock S on the front... Rears are all the same.
One tip...while the JCW version is red (front), many folks installed used r56 s gen2 front rotors/calipers...Same as the gen 1 JCW, just lots cheaper!! Just no red paint or stickers.
The most reliable way to identify them, other than measuring the rotors, is to look at the pad retaining clips... They are different from the gen1 stock to the JCW/r56s. The pics are in a few posts...
Wish it was a sticky!!

 

Thanks Zippy,
For my purposes, the stock set up is fine so far (my previous car was a 1970 Mustang with drum brakes and no power assist, so the Mini brakes feel pretty good). I don't think I'll be upgrading anytime soon, and I'm quite sure the previous owner didn't upgrade anything like that (he was a very hands off, dealer maintenance only kind of guy). I might keep my eye open for a cheap set of R56 calipers though for when the front rotors need replacing.

 

what broke on your brakes that make to think you'd make them break?

 

Exactly.

 

Yes Zippy is right the 03 JCW didn't have bigger brakes unless they were added in 2005 or later by the customer.
If you post a pic we can tell you for sure.

But if you just need pads check out the EBC Redstuff they work great and are much less dust.

 

I've been reading many posts on the forbidden site about EBC RED Stuff pad failures. What is the latest news on that??? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

The posts I found were old, hopefully an isolated batch? Had that exact thing happen with a set of Porterfield pads on my A4... front material came free from the backing plate and slide down so you could see they were off w/o even removing the wheel... under street driving, safe enough I suppose but certainly not fun. Never happened again though.

 

If the OP or anyone else is interested, there is a set of R56 calipers from a 2010 that had 22k on them on ebay right now for $130 shipped.

Item # 380716642939

Having done the upgrade myself on my care recently, I can tell you that is a fair price(I actually had a tough time finding a junkyard that had both calipers so I ended up having to buy them individually).