Hey guys! I have been wanting to order a Mini for a long time and that time will soon be here hopefully! I cant deside whether or not to get the MCS with or without the JCW package! Everyone has been great in answering my questions but I believe I have been asking the wrong question! I keep asking why I should get the JCW package and how good is it but I think I should have been asking why I should get the regular MCS! What are your guys opinions? Ever find yourself wishing you had just a little more power? Is the power enough in the regular S? Any opinions would be great! I am reallllllly torn between these two!

 

There are countless threads debating the JCW products; A JCW car is definitely very special and more valuable than an equally modded MCS. I believe most people say the only good valued JCW suspension upgrade is their big brake kit. I know the JCW show car at my dealer has the JCW suspension and the car's stance looks just like any other MCS there; I personally would just get aftermarket lowering springs for 1/5 the cost.

 

Not true. The JCW suspension is a good kit. They are built to work with each other and for your car's weight. To just get springs is only convering one part of a harmonic thing which is suspension work... Sure, you may think you are handeling way better because your ride is stiffer, but in truth you are only a little better off. Besides, you will kill your dampers if you go with lowering springs.

 

Agree ! Mini is only 4 years around. I should say ther is no companies has done the complete R & D of the aftermark product, including JCW, but JCW is have a advance that all the technical data is come from BMW direct. Personally, I will change back to JCW, if my KWV2 is older enough to change. I think it a bit comfore compare to my existing setup.

 

i mentioned on your first thread, but JCW was not available when i bought
my MCS. MCS with my mods isn't particulary FAST or torquey but it's a
quick car and very balanced. i haven't done too much mods on it;
just worked on areas that i felt BMW compromised. i don't miss the JCW
kit, but if i was gonna buy a new MCS, i'd get the JCW package.

 

So far, I have about 3000 mi on my 06 MCS. I think it has plenty of power for the car and how it handles. I would however have gotten the JCW had I the money when I ordered. I have it now, but to put in JCW after production doesn't make any sense financially because the price, in the bay area anyway, is just obscene. I will go aftermarket when I hit 10k (just to be safe). You can always get a JCW and then if it doesn't have enough juice for you you can still add mods to that. But to get to the original question, I feel more than happy with the power from my stock MCS. It's not gonna dust an M3 on the highway but you can definitely give it a run for it's money in the twisties (depending who's driving)

 

regular S is more than enough power . If not you can add a pulley for like 400 installed. Big deal! :D

 

The base S is a great deal. The Works S is a great car, but not a great deal.

 

NOOB DISCLAIMER: I am in no way an expert in MINIs. I just got here myself. I'm just trying to relate some of the questions I asked myself going through the same decision over the last few months. I provide my answers to these questions as merely my point of view with all inherrent lack of qualifications only having driven my MCS for 1700 miles carries with it

1) What kind of car are you coming from? Are you happy with the power you have now?

This could make a world of difference in how much power will be "enough" to start out with. So far I have been pretty damn surprised at how much grunt the stock MCS has. In my brief experience so far, I really haven't felt power starved at all with the engine above 2K RPM coming from an AWD car with around 700 pounds more weight and a naturally aspirated engine with about 70 more hp and lb-ft. I could deal with a slighty sharper brake feel, but the stock brakes certainly aren't deficient for my uses. I can imagine some point down the road when I'd feel like I wish it had more power. I should have plenty of options open to juice it up a bit if I so choose.

2) Do you plan on driving this car as a commuter or just a weekend/event car?

My MCS is the only car I own at the moment. Alot of people can handle really fast cars as commuters, I am not one of them. It can feel pretty frustrating to me to have to drive the speed limit for an hour to an hour and a half at rush hour every weekday when my car and driver could safely go over 2.5X the speed on the same road in track conditions. Going to jail, even for a few hours, is no fun. Getting hit by a semi while you're travelling 130+mph would probably be alot less fun than that.

If this MINI wasn't going to have to pull double duty for me, I think I would have had to have had the worst test drive ever in the JCW MCS to have resisted it.

3) If the regular MCS doesn't quite do it for you in the power department, do you plan on doing most of the maintenance, repair, and engine modding of this car yourself or have friends/relatives you can bribe with beer and/or pie to do it for you?

I don't. One of the attractions of the JCW kit for me was the service department friendly nature of it. Since I had no choice but to pay for it, I'd like to enjoy my warranty and scheduled maintenance as hassle-free as possible for a while.

4) Is it worth it?

Never having driven a JCW or otherwise modded MCS, I am in no position to offer a qualified opinion on this. I will say that the $130-150/hour rate the area dealers seemed to want for installation of other options, the JCW kit would be a bit pricey to me as a dealer install. Getting it from the factory definitely seemed like the way to go if you know you're going to want it at some point in time. If I had the courage, patience, time, and workspace to attempt mods like a pulley, injector, and head swap on my own, aftermarket offerings would look a whole lot more attractive to me.


The only actual advice I would give is if you have decided you can afford your ideal spec JCW, test drive them both back to back, then figure out which suits your intended use of the car best. However you decide, you will be getting yourself one heck of a fun car.

 

Ya, but i drove 150 miles more than you and you had a quarter tank less than me after we went on that back road... Like you said, you had your foot planted most of the time, whereas my car, with the 15% and CAI, was only 50% to 70% throttle most of the time... I paid $260 for that.

 

1nf3rn0:
Are you saying that your MINI gets better gas mileage with the 15% pulley and the CAI than before? One can have their cake and eat it too? I've been looking for some rational to get a pulley (I'm satified with the power now). I drive mostly highway at cruising speeds - if I can get increased MPG AND more consistent power through the rpm range, I'd jump on a pulley.

 

I realize we are all different. Things that are important to me may be trivial to someone else. I sink thousands of dollars into my hobby and you sink thousands into yours. There is no right or wrong when spending money on something that you enjoy. But since you are asking our opinion, here's what I think:

Here's a couple different ways to look at it. According to miniusa.com, the JCW package is $6300. Doing the math, that comes out to about 30% of the MSRP. If you take the difference in HP of the MCS and the JCW (approx. 44), that comes out to about $143 per horse. Of course you have the suspension and whatnot to figure in there as well.

I was advised by a couple of armchair quarterbacks at work to get the JCW (not to mention that it was MY money they were spending). I told them that if I were going to spend well over $30k (w/taxes and current options) on a souped up car, I would be looking at a different car. That's quite a jump from a MSRP of 21,900.

I think the MCS has exceptional power and handling. I'm not knocking anyone that has a JCW. Actually, I'm a little envious. But for me (and me only), those numbers were just not practical.

I used to race go karts. I'll never forget what was said to me when I first got into it. "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?"

 

i choose to go with the non-JCW. The MCS has close to enough power for me out of the box, and i like to tinker a little anyway. I have already added the ALTA CAI, i am working out a deal on a used exhaust and i'll add a pulley once the weather gets a little warmer. For around $1000, i get a healthy jump in power. (of course, i should mention that i do all my own work - so i save on labor) - Plus, i really did not want to jump to 17" rims. I am also happy with the brakes & suspension of he stock car as well.

I think that the JCW is a great set up, it's just a little bit too expensive for me and doesn't exactly fit my needs. I'll be very pleased with what intake/exhaust & pulley can get me. (my exhaust is for sound mostly!)

good luck - i know i spent many sleepless nights running numbers, pouring over posts, etc.

-jac

 

This debate is like religion and politics no one has the monopoly on being right.
So much of this is personal, the JCW is a great option because it comes with a factory warranty, goes like stink and can be serviced at your dealer. However price is an issue for many.
We have seen on this forum so many drivers have put their own stamp on their cars to make them truly individual and they go from bone stock to thousands of dollars in upgrades.

My suggestion would be to take both cars for an extended test drive or ask your dealer can you borrow the vehicle(s) overnight. Drive the *#*@ out them so you can determine which one you can live with.
Once you decide then do what we all do here, enjoy the MINI experience and have a blast.

Good Luck

 

Every time I wish I had a little more power, I get very excited about the 7,000$ still in my account.

I love the base MCS, so much so that it is still stock (except for a JCW intake) after 27,000 miles!

To be honest, I'm still considering the JCW kit, and a DINAN package, and the best bang for the buck package: 15%, ecu, exhaust.

Drive both and decide witch you need to have.

mb

 

We have an 06 MCS with nearly 3000 miles on it. When we took test drives, the MA put us in a dealer modded car (with I think MINI Mania stuff) with nearly 230 HP (some dealers will install and warranty these non-OEM mods for you). That car was a lot of fun, but it was a bit twitchy and the exhaust was way too noisy for our taste. It was more than we needed and more than we were willing to pay. Bottom line: TOO MUCH.

Then we drove a non-S MINI. Nice car, not enough GO for our tastes. It offered less than we wanted and we were willing to pay more. Bottom line: NOT ENOUGH.

Then we test drove the MCS. Bottom line: JUST RIGHT.

Test drive all of them, back to back in one session. Then think about your wallet. Then you'll know what to do.

 

I looked at the JCW before getting my 05 mcs. I asked myself, '' Do you want another speeding ticket ?'' I sold a Lotus turbo esprit to get the mini. If I needed speed, I would have kept the LOTUS!!! That said, I do understand the speed and thrill of driving a high performance car to its limits. But, for the same money , I added a teardrop trailer ( 640 lbs.) It towes at 65 mph, sleeps two with comfort, (with Schnauzer a bit cozzzzy) . When I trade in the mini, I will still have the trailer value...not so with most addons & mods. Now I do mods to the trailer not the car. My wife likes my driving better. my son has my fuzzbuster and the grand children think the trailer is a great place to watch T.V. when its parked in the garage!!!!! The JCW is a blast... but so is the teardrop... DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS.

 

Couldn't have said it better!!!
The Works is 33% more $ than an S.

 

In harder driving situations, yes. I dont need to be at WOT as much to get the same power as a stock S. On the freeway, if you are careful of the gas, you can theoretically save fuel... The problem is that i dont drive very slow...

 

me like car