edited (pointless)

 

RE: injectors. You would buy them for the AM stuff. They are included in the price of the JCW. Agree with you on the BBK. But to be fair to JCW, they do not claim for their brake kit to be for the track. So for street application it should be plenty.

As a side note, I feel this topic has been flogged more than a shoplifter in Taiwan. Obviously, there are two competing opinions on whether it is worth it or not. I will stick with my non-comital view. If it is going to be a trouble free daily driver and you can afford it: go JCW. If you have competitive goals and are not worried about warranty and reliability issues: go AM. Now if new board members would just use the search feature, we would not have to rehash this endlessly. <img>

 

AGREED. But alas, it never happens

 

Again, chows... even though you have it, I think you're still missing the point of the JCW.

It's meant to be a streetable car, not a trackable car. Different design goals.

Complaining how the JCW brakes aren't as good as the Brembo's... it's a ridiculous complaint... again, different design goals.

Complaining how the AM stuff is MUCH cheaper... but neglecting to mention worry-free warranty and servicability by any MINI dealer, nationwide... again, different design goals.

Sounds to me like you made a mistake in buying JCW, and you're kinda upset about it... your goals were not the same as the intent by JCW. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. (thanks Dennis Miller)

So do me a favor, stop complaining about it. It's quite possible to make reasonable recommendations to newcomers without trashing JCW's cost. The first thing you have to ask is... what are you looking for? What are your GOALS?

And THAT, my friend, is the point. For some, JCW makes sense. It did for me. For others, less so... and apparently not for you.

 

Edge, I started a long response but got tired.

No, I'm not unhappy ... disappointed or deceived from the JCW sound bytes, yes.

If you want, we can talk about it Sunday if your at the dragon mtg

 

Mongrel???

I guess thats like if you own a dog without being AKC registered its just a dog?

ROFL

 

Caught it before you deleted it!

Coulda fooled me!

Why? Sounds good to me - it's not a V8... the sound of my Mustang, THAT I love... but for a 4 cylinder car, I like the sound just fine! WAY better than all of the fart-can mufflers that on hideous Honda Civics all over the place. Seriously, what kind of sound can you expect from a 4-cyl car?

You felt deceived? Sounds to me that the "impulse buy/didn't research it enough" statement proves that you weren't deceived at all. JCW never made claims that they were the fastest thing on the block. They simply said you will get "these performance gains" for the price, and that it is backed by a full warranty. I don't think they were being deceitful in any way. They meet their design goals.

Yes, but were those modified cars, or factory stock? And how did you drive them? The rules change when you go aftermarket, especially if you stress parts of the car more than intended. Of course, it's dependent on just how "wild" you go with the AM stuff. Plenty of AM stuff won't hurt a darn thing, that's true.

I don't know about you, but once the engine is warmed up, I tend to thrash the s**t out of my cars... I buy them with performance in mind, so I like to drive them that way. Maybe "thrashing" is too harsh a word - I don't dump the clutch at high RPM, but needless to say, my car's engines see redline far more than the average car. For that reason, the warranty is a huge benefit to me.

Then you shouldn't be complaining about the cost... the point can be made just as effectively (probably even MORE effectively) if you simply and calmly ask the prospective JCW buyer: Are the full dealer warranty and the "cache" style points worth the extra $X,XXX to you?

And that one solitary question summarizes the decision. JCW works (pun not intended), nobody can say it doesn't "work". It's just expensive. Justification is relative.

 

Edge, like I said, we can discuss this Sunday since it IS all a pointless discussion and I shouldnt have gotten myself wrapped up into it.

Very quickly:
I wasnt deceived by the HP ... but by the "sound bytes" (I should have known better)
Yes, many were stock. Porsche was heavily modded. (Driving style ... at one time I had way too many tickets so you can figure that one out).
Your right about the Question (is the warranty worth it?).

"cache style"? You mean the "pedigree papers"?
LOL, they are worth $6K LOL ... go figure why so many people take the badges off

Lets talk Sunday

 

I don't personally care too much about the "style points" or "cache" myself, I didn't buy the car to show off, I bought it to enjoy for myself. That being said, I was just pointing out that some people like the "cache" that JCW brings... the same way that the M3 & M5 add that to the BMW 3-series and 5-series, or AMG adds to Mercedes vehicles.

The pedigree papers/mongrel discussion wasn't me. But a point could still be made - in the long term (like 20+ years), a JCW car will be recognized as a "special" thing, and an AM car likely won't be. Do I care about that? No, I'm not a "collector" and don't plan on ever selling my MINI.

I bought it more for the peace-of-mind warranty. Since I had it installed before I even took delivery (2005 model, before it became a factory option), I get the FULL benefit of the warranty with JCW inclusive.

I agree, lets talk Sunday.

 

EDGE, those were great posts, the kind I wanted to make but didn't have the patience or time.

 

edited

 

Damn, missed it.

 

I'm being good

Its my New Years Resolution

 

You're over 3 weeks early.

Sounds more like "backing down".

Should make Sunday interesting, provided we have enough time after the Dragon stuff!

 

Back down ... nah.
Taking a deep breath and thinking before typing ... yeah

 

wow, you guys sure get worked up. thanks for the report. i didn't expect the stock jcw to get 0-60 in the 5's. i think my car is going to be deliverd next sat. can't wait to break it in. it's my first mini. i ordered the factory jcw for peace of mind. i guess peace of mind is only one side of the equation. thanks to all of you.
rbrauser

 

Would you believe everything you read or what come from the manufacturer? Or both? Just wondering.

 

chow, i hope it's true, but you are probably on track with your question. i'll just have to wait and see how my jcw mini runs out.
thanks rbrauser

 

The reason I say that is just pick up a bunch of auto mags, pick the exact same car, and each one will have a different 0-60 time. Which one is right and which one is wrong? For example, I think Car & Driver times were always faster than Road & Track times.

Now throw in anyone one of us measuring with some aftermarket widget ... how do you even know its calibrated correctly? So which one is right?

As they say,

"a man with two watches never knows what time it is"

AnonAs long as your happy, thats all that matters

 

guys
my mini arrived just before we left for mexico for the hollidays. the dealer deliverd it by truck right to my door in san luis obispo. south bay mini in torrence have been great to do business with. with only 250 miles of driving i can tell you i am happy with the jcw pgk. runs much stronger than any car i've driven on any lot. the low end really pulls. the sound is terrific. i will be trying to do my best to break this car right and stay under 4.5k but it's hard. it just wants to go. thank you all for your responses and thank you south bay mini.
rbrauser