Hi:
Ive heard that the new JCW Suspension is available for my '05 Cooper w/ Sport Suspension (Not the Plus)?
This is great as I have had some regrets at times about forgoing the SS+.
Has anyone had the JCW Suspension put on a Cooper (non-S) ? And what are your comments? Drastic change to ride ? I still have the original 15" wheels on my Cooper - and have kind of been getting the feeling (from various forum posts) that an upgrade in suspension should be accompanied with an upgrade in wheel size ...

Any comments on any of this would be great and appreciated.

Tradefox

 

I just had mine done Friday. 03 Cooper, sports suspension (not plus). In theory, I think the JCW suspension upgrade for a non SS+ Cooper is supposed to include the SS+ swaybars, front and rear. I did not get the swaybars done. The service department said something like "you've got the sports package, so you already have the big swaybars" which is not true for a Cooper. But, since I already have an aftermarket rear swaybar, I didn't really need another one. And it was cheaper to not do the swaybars too.

Anyway, as far as handling goes, it is not a drastic change. Drastic changes came from getting super-sticky tires (Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position or Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3). I think going with a larger rear swaybar (Helix / RDR 22.5mm) produced a more noticable change than the JCW upgrade too, and that's much cheaper.

I upgraded the springs / struts to the JCW kit because I have enough miles on my Cooper that the struts were bound to fail in the near future, and I've started to autocross / track the car.

I'll give more insight onto the suspension upgrades effects after I get it in the right environment. Autocross this coming weekend, and track time at the end of the month. On the public road, you cannot find the limits legally.

What I do know so far, it still understeers if you push hard enough, but you have to push harder to get there. I've only gotten understeer by doing parking lot type turns at spirited pace. Taking normal road turns / highway on/off ramps would require dangerous speeds to get understeer. There's less lift-throttle oversteer (or reduction in understeer, if you want to be picky) than there was with the stock springs / dampers.

No reason to upgrade in wheel size because of the suspension. If you need bigger brakes, then you need to increase wheel size. If you're getting too much sidewall flex with small wheels, then you should increase wheel size. Otherwise, light is good, and small is light. I'm running 16" wheels in the summer.

 

Oh yeah, the sports suspension on my 03 Cooper came before they (MINI) softened the suspensions across the board. So, my SS was stiffer than your SS. I don't know that that matters that much, though.