Buying a new car then selling it after 3 years is just burning massive amounts of money, no matter how you slice it. If lowering that burn rate by a few percentage points makes you feel better, then definitely avoid the JCW.

 

Another misconception here... LSD is an anti-safety feature. It allows a relatively less skilled driver to put more power down coming out of a corner. Not safe. An open diff is a natural safety valve for spilling off power during overly aggressive cornering. Much safer on the street, especially for less experienced drivers. Like a more powerful engine, LSD is a peformance feature which makes a car inherently less safe.

 

I would agree Yes, I've spent a bunch of cash. Yes it may not be worth as much at resale, but I didn't get the Mini to resell it. I wanted a really fun and spirited car to drive. And I keep my warrenties For better or worse, that's the price of addmission. IMHO

I don't regret for one second the purchase of the Mini, the JCW engine kit, JCW brakes, or even the JCW strut brace. This is the only car I've ever owned where I wish for NOTHING else.

 

Haha.. 30 years... you maybe right...

 

Like I said in my first post.. I believe the JCW is a well engineered kit, but overpriced IMHO. Another thing to consider about the aftermarket... they never stop engineering and developing new products which often are more efficient and provide better performance. Where as the JCW kit was developed years ago with no new development effort...

 

Yes.. I have driven an 05 JCW... which is why I felt I needed to upgrade mine :(
I took my car to the mini dealer yesterday for a club gathering. I handed the keys to the local club president and the MA who sold me my car. The MA was totally impressed and could not believe how quick it was. He drives JCW's all the time and he was totally impressed at my new found power... he had me open the hood to be sure I wasn't hiding anything... Maybe I just got a quick one..

 

and i agree with you.... I bought and modded my car (and continue to do so) because I like to......I have no plans to sell the car ever......that is the only way to get your investment out of a car...... drive it and love it

One more point about modding these cars....at some point things start to get torn up and integration of all the performance parts is not a given.... the JCW cars are very balanced...power/handling/brakes etc. i see alot of cars modded with the emphasis on power and not stopping or handling particularly stopping.....had a conversation with a retired CA highway patrolman who said if more people understood that good brakes let you go faster.......etc

 

lets see "That car over there is worth $2,050,
The JCW car over there ... $2,200."

LSD is an anti-safety feature. It allows a relatively less skilled driver to put more power down coming out of a corner.

While a LSD, like Positraction", was sold for the boy racers for the drag strip to get more traction, it was also marketed and employed in the north as a safety feature to allow one slipping rear wheel in the snow result in the second rear wheel gaining traction ... hence a means not to get stuck in the snow

I remember that from the muscle car era

 

I don't doubt that your MINI is quick... but my point was about smoothness. Now, every aftermarket-modded MCS is different... but generally speaking, it's very hard to engineer an effective aftermarket solution that is as silky-smooth as the JCW. Power, on the other hand, can always be made... I'm not trying to argue that.

 

You laugh, but I sold my last Alfa at 30-years old for more than 4 times it's original MSRP, in nominal dollars. That would put my car at about $100,000 in 30 years.

 

As much as I love to hear people opine about the virtues/detriments of the JCW kit (of which I am the former). Hasn't this particular topic been beat to death in myriad of other threads? Wouldn't the search feature be just as helpful as continually plugging away at the "$6300 for 39hp is outrageous! - You can do way better aftermarket for way less!!!" argument?

I've personally become a huge fan of the search feature (searching far more than posting or reading new posts) strictly for the reason that there's such a tremendous backlog of information, why not exploit it before throwing another log on the fire?

sorry for ranting - you can have the thread back now.

bill

 

If we didn't throw any more logs on the fire it would just go out, right?

 

Sorry to open "old wounds" with my JCW or not question. I'm just excited about the idea of ordering my Mini and just started here on NAM. I'll make more use of the search feature next time around. That said, I still find some value out the this thread. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

 

you might be interested in reading these articles.
Civic and GTI Beat the JCW MCS in R&T



http://motoringfile.com/2006/03/23/c...jcw-mcs-in-rt/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1

 

You're right, great article!! I read the article just after I ordered my JCW and all it did was vindicate the reason that I ordered it! Just as fast as the NEW contenders, fastest time and best handling around the track by a landslide and 10 out of 10 points for fun to drive category.

The only reason that the other two beat the JCW was because of utility for the most part. The article clearly stated that the JCW was for the true car enthusiast.

 

4 times origingal price, inflation adjusted?

See http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl In other words, if it sold for $5K new, and $17K when sold, then its probably sold for original price (or less).

 

But then you'd still have to drive a civic.

the GTI is pretty cool though. heavy, but cool.

 

I don't think so....

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0&postcount=14

Thats a 15% pulley, milltek and intake..

 

Mikem53,

I agree.

I think one of the bonuses of the JCW kit is that the ECU is re-mapped to take advantage of the mods and I guess that is where this perceived smoothness could originate from relative to cars equipped with similar aftermarket mods but no re-mapping. I think many owners are quick to bolt-on aftermarket parts without considering or realising the need for re-mapping.

Not wanting to flog a dead horse, but I frequently drive my wife's '05 MCS and it really isn't all that disadvantaged compared to my '06 JCW. Would I go the JCW route again? Certainly. Is it worth the $$? Mmmmm, possibly.

 

You just hit on the magic words. Many ppl DO just throw parts on their car to see what works and what doesn't. If you enjoy tinkering, its a good hobby. If you'd rather have it OEM and supposedly meant to work in harmony, go JCW

 

Hey, I only report what I experienced. BTW, I noticed you have a lot more on your car than a 15% and CAI. Just out of curiosity, how much money have you put into your engine/exhaust/software enhancements?

BTW, I really like your wheels

 

Let's see: (based on avg prices on the internet, your $$ may vary)

LSD, if purchased w/vehicle (which is part of the JCW package) - 500
Unichip (Ramp 5) - 800
Alta CAI - 260
15% - 120
Milteck cat-back - 700
Wilwood BBK - 900

Total - $3280 + install (if you are mechanically challenged as I am )

So, the question really comes to is $3000 (or less if you want it installed) worth risking your warranty on a new car? And you can't finance the aftermarket equpment into your car loan. For me, the difference between no JCW and with JCW was about $75 per month. For me, that's not a big deal, but for some it may be and the aftermarket may be the way to go and you can build your car up over time.

Hope this helps, people on both sides of the fence are obviously very passionate about their particular set up. It really is an individual choice. That's what makes the Mini so cool! I wanted the performance right out of the box (and didn't want any warranty issues), and paid a little premium for it (call it peace of mind). Some people want to buy a Mini as cheap as possible and build onto it as they can afford it, and thats great too.

 

Good numbers, but don't forget resale. A factory JCW should fetch at least $2k more in the near term versus a comparable non-JCW S. And you will likely have to back out all your non-JCW mods before selling the car, which will cost time or $$. You might get $0.50 on the dollar reselling a used exhaust, BBK, CAI, etc. but you'd have to invest quite a bit of time to do so.

You really can't make a financial argument for modifiying a car to achieve JCW specs - you just do it for the love of modding. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Interesting--I recently drove an '06 MCS stock at the dealership. I was very impressed with the power delivery! My highly modified '05 MCS is not *all* that much more powerful, especially pulling in a straight line. It is slightly different in every department, and so feels very different as a whole unit. But...my brakes and suspension mods really make it a different feeling car. *Those* were the biggest differences I felt, and would not be present on a JCW car let alone a stock MCS. JCW brakes and suspension are very minor mods over stock, compared to what is available after market.

cheers,

 

I think you may be correct, though for me the base suspension on the S is wholly adequate. I could not justify the cost of the JCW suspension for the kind of driving that I do, although I may look into something like the Koni FSD's when the stock shocks wear out.