Just my experience with my R53, my OEM pads and rotors lasted a long time, but the front pads didn't seem to really stop the car all that well and at 75k miles, my rear brakes and rotors were the only things that I had to replace (the fronts were not nearly as used up).

I made certain to have the Mini Dealership replace the brake fluid evey two years, but the front brakes were always spongy feeling to me. I would rather down shift my R53 than rely on the brakes to stop me ...

The brakes on my JCW and my CM both feel very solid and of course that was the first thing I looked at when I bought them. Believe me, it puts a BIG smile on my face to feel how well they work!

SIDE NOTE: I don't know about anyone else's experience but I love how my JCW brakes lock/hold position for approx. 2 seconds after release to allow time to engage the clutch so I don't roll backwards on an incline at a stoplight.

No other car I have driven even compares to the Mini!

 

That's where I'm at right now: I do waaaay more downshifting in my Mini than I ever have in another car.

Anyone have any good ideas for where to buy R56 calipers? Or is the dealer my only option? I'm afraid I'll pay through the nose, and then some, such that I might as well buy Brembos.

 

R56 calipers show up pretty regularly in the marketplace when folks get jcw kits or bbk kits for the r56...like stated before, add new brake lines, pads, and if the owner installed the brakes within a few hunfred miles of taking delivery, you might even get rotors for a good deal!!
the thing that has stopped me is it limits rim choices to one that fit jcw gen1 brakes....so any 17, and just a few 16's....15's (i uses a set for winter rims) will not fit.
a few threads are around with the info...the calipers can be found on some websites new, just be sure you get the bracket(carrier? ) for the caliper...

 

Ya know Applesauce...I was thinking...

The 11.75" R56S brakes are a good upgrade for your current 11.45" R53 situation. Adding SS lines to the system would be good too. As said elsewhere, the R56S brakes are the same as the R53 JCW system.

You might find the whole system available as a takeoff somewhere cheap but if not then it could get pricy. Before you actually lay out big bucks consider this...

The R56S calipers are going to cost you close to $150 each used or over $300 new. The rotors are like between $200 and $250 new for the regular solid or like $350 pair for the big cross drilled babies, add an additional $110 for SS hoses and you are looking at over $500 for used parts to over $1000 for all new. And you still only have the R56S brakes.

If I was in your position I would look at one of the various kits available that use the excellent Willwood 4 Piston Calipers like these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150630406774...#ht_2324wt_905

or maybe these: http://www.fastmini.net/wibigbrkitfr.html

And if you don't want to go upto 12.5" or 13" then maybe these:http://www.ebay.com/itm/150603293374...#ht_2480wt_952

Like I said...Just thinkin

 

Well, that puts a damper on that plan. I have R84 wheels, and according to the research I did, reports are fairly consistent that they don't fit, with one exception where they guy mentioned that very thin wheel balancing weights were used. Swapping in 17" wheels and tires puts the price of the conversion just a smidgen out of my price range.

Hopefully new pads/rotors, stainless braided brake lines, and new fluid flushing the system out will suffice to perk up the brakes a bit.

C ya,
Dutch

 

Check any of the 16" Mini wheels that come on the R56S, they'll fit. They show up pretty cheap on NAM.

 

You guys know you can use R56 Cooper non-S brakes right?

The R56 justa, R53 JCW and the R56 S all have the same caliper.
The R56 cooper has a different carrier for a smaller diameter rotor....hence you can have the upgraded brakes (larger piston and better feel) and still run 15" wheels.

If you want R56 brakes and want to run a 15" wheel, this is the way to go. I ran this setup on my car for a while, then moved to the big rotors and carriers for track season. You can even keep your R53 stock front rotors and run the R56 Justa setup over them with no issues.

 

The X Lites (R-84) will in fact work with the R-53 JCW brakes. The way it's done is to use half-height weights with careful placement.
A good tire shop will be a able to do it for you with out issues. Plenty of NAM members have or curently run X Lites.

The other way is to get a set of used Bridge spokes as they were the 16 inch factory option wheel in Europe for the R-53 with the JCW brakes.

I ran the Bridge Spokes (R-94) on my car prior to my current wheels because they were more available at the time.

There are also some 16 inch R-56 MCS take offs that will work.

Hope this helps...

 

Good news! Thanks!

I guess I'll need to keep my eyes open for some R56 front calipers and mounts for when I get around to upgrading.

Anyone know if the stainless braided brake lines for the rear of the R56 are the same as the ones on the R53 or if they're also different like the fronts? It'd suck to have to buy two sets and toss out the fronts from one and the rears from the other....

C ya,
DUtch

 

A plug for one of the venders who frequents this site (really helpful too).
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/mini/kits-16/
He lists different kits for the two cars. Don't know if the rears are the same, though. He would probable do a set to match your intended combination if you ask. His kits have front and rear rear lines for ~$100; maybe a little more if he has to mix and match. Anyway, he would know what you would need. I would ask and go that route.

 

Thanks for the info. Tax time isn't *too* far away, so hopefully I can scrape together the $$$ for the parts to do the swap then.

C ya,
Dutch

 

On the jcw gen 1 kit, only the fronts were changed...
Swapping out the rears, you might be in uncharted territory...

 

I'm not planning on swapping out the rears. I want to upgrade to braided lines in the future and I'd like to upgrade the calipers and upsize the rotors. If I swap in the R56 front bits, I need R56 lines up front and R53 lines in the back, and there's the issue of there being early ('02-'03) and late ('03+) to deal with as well. I assume that a macro photo of the line where it connects to the caliper should help the place selling the brake lines sort that out.

I need to see if the tire shop has the half-height wheel-balancing weights first, though, before I bother with finding the R56 calipers and mounts....

Tomorrow: new polyurethane control arm bushings (finally!) and an alignment!

The brakes are ok for now. The pads the dealer installed have a lot of meat left on 'em and I can get the ABS to give me a foot massage if I really want to, so hopefully they'll keep until tax time.

C ya,
Dutch

 

JCW used brakes for sale.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...?product=22288

 

Good price. The HPS pads are a bit better than stock, with less dust.

 

didnt get a chance to read everyones response but brembo bbk is 2000 dollars yes. but you know that willwood has a bbk for only 1000 dollars. half the price and they still look good. just throwing that out there

 

Been there, done that. The Wilwoods are fantastic and fit some of the stock 16" wheels, unlike the Brembos which need 17" and will only fit some at that.

 

Just changed my pads all the way around last night. Found a great deal on eBay for TexTar Ceramic pads, $89 all four wheels. The stopping power seemed to be much better with these new pads. They also claim to produce less brake dust as well.

 

MINIs have excellent brakes. My fleet alternatives are a 10-year-old mini van and a 40-year-old BMW so I'm always delighted when I press the middle pedal on the MINI.

Check all the brake system components and your tires, per posts above.

 

If you are able to lock up the tires then the brakes are doing what they are supposed to do. Your problem seems to be that the tires are not doing their part.

What you need are stickier tires, not more aggressive brakes. More aggressive brake pads would just make the problem worse. It is normal that snow tires do not brake as well as all-season or summer tires. All tires lose some traction in cold weather, that is normal.

Before you change anything in the braking system consider better tires.

 

Where the rubber meets the road. Ultimately it comes down to the physics of the coefficient of friction between the tire and the road under the conditions (wet dry dirty off camber oily bumpy). Any time the tire spins or slides you have exceed the 'physics' of the this coeficient of friction and road surface at the speed you are traveling.

Frankly for many drivers it is very easy in modern cars to just out drive the tires.