Aloha,

It's time for brakes. I want to do front and rear. I've got a factory JCW 3/06 build. I thought there was only one JCW brake kit for Gen 1 but have been confused by what I've seen online. Attaching a bad photo that does at least show the kit I have. For some reason my rotors aren't slotted/drilled like I've seen on others.



I'd really appreciate some feedback in the below areas and links if possible:

• Factory MINI JCW rotors up front or is there something better?
• Regular rotors in the rear or something better there, too?
• Recommendations for pads?
• SS lines worth it?
• Fluid recs?

Most of the time this is just a daily driver but I am a "spirited" driver and the car will see some mountain runs and/or autocross.

 

RealOEM doesn't list slotted rotors for a March 2006 build ...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=34_1533

 

Factory rotors are not drilled or slotted...
They are/were simply bigger, heavier disks....

 

One tip...drilled rotors can fatigue and crack...that's why they are used for show...
Slots can cause some pad materials to wear faster, and often makes a whirring sound when you apply the brakes....
Quality solid rotors are best for most IMO.
Centric makes some nice premium high carbon premium rotors.... Just slightly more $$ than their regular premium ones...many vendors also sell various versions at different price points.

 

Here are the genuine MINI slotted and drilled JCW 294mm rotors:

https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2006-...16A/ES2586595/

Really expensive and mostly for looks, but if you're not tracking your car, they should be fine. (The holes are supposedly part of the casting, and not drilled so they might not be prone to cracking like other rotors.) If you're OCD, you might not like them because there's no left or right and the rotors will look backwards on one side. Some aftermarket rotors are directional.

StopTech/Centric or Zimmerman solid rotors would be a great choice, although I went for StopTech slotted front and rear. Lots of pad choices... I went with Akebono ceramic pads. I also went with ATE 200 fluid and StopTech stainless lines. There is also the brass slider upgrade for the rear calipers. Fronts are only available for non-JCW calipers. I was told the JCW/R56S calipers have an updated design and they're not necessary.

If you're looking for the parts online, you should be able to look up front pads and rotors for the 2007> R56S since they might not list the JCW brakes for 2006. Watch out for the front stainless lines, though. I think the JCW calipers still use the same fittings as the standard R53 brakes. A lot of the threads you'll read are for the "poor mans" JCW conversion and actually use R56S calipers and tell you to buy front lines for 2nd gen calipers.

 

Thanks for the mention. Some people did not get the slotted / drilled option when they got the brakes.