I did a search and couldn't find the info I was looking for. I think the term might be too generic.

I've been looking for a '05-'06 JCW but haven't had much luck with it. So I'm expanding my search to the same years for an S.

Is it safe to assume that all S cars have the sports package as standard? What exactly is in the sports package by the way?

Trying to figure out if it's worth getting an S for less money, but modding it and hopefully getting the same kind of power and reliability out of the car as a factory JCW car.

Thanks

 

Sports is not standard on all MCS.

If you aren't worried about the stickers, then it is pretty cheap to match the JCW performance with a modded MCS. Get a 15-17% pulley (greater than JCW offers), Borland or similar exhaust, CAI, colder plugs and you are most of the way there.

With a new head/cam and a tune you would exceed a stock JCW.

 

A "factory JCW" would be a MCS built November 2005 or later with the following two packages ...

3AL - JCW Package



ZSP - Sport Package

 

when I ordered my S, I did the sport package A-LA-CARTE ...
cost me about $500 more...but i got 16 x-lites (very light for OEM rims) with all season tires..better for potholes NE roads.....car was delivered x-mas eve...and even in 2004-2005 we knew the 17 s-lites were HORRIFYINGLY HEAVY...
So I got the DSC, Xenon's with washers, and then it meant I had the seats that I found to be more comfortable, in the cloth I wanted...
The packages do not make the car...so many were custom ordered, sometimes they got the packages, sometimes they had other combo's...what counts is how the car has been driven, maintained, and what is left of its USEFUL life...it is a 10 year old car now...find a good one...
the difference in the suspension is minor...and on a 10+ year old car I HOPE it is not the original struts....if they are, the car has been neglected!! The JCW was lowered about 3/4 of an inch..maybe closer to a HALF....

 

I'm not so hung up on the stickers really. I just figured a JCW had all the go fast goodies I wanted to do already so I wouldn't need to do them myself (sans swaybar). JCW would have more power, "bigger" brakes (late '05+), and the LSD! I'm just at the point in my life where I dont have much time to mod the car myself.

So the sports package really just consists of wheels and traction control? (the other items I don't consider 'sports' related items). That's kind of lame. I would have expected bigger wheels and some additional suspension tuning I guess.

So traction control is an option? The MCS I have my eye on doesn't have any options except for the Xenon headlights. I like that it's pretty barebones. But this means no traction control too? Ugh, would be nice to have it for day to day type of driving whereas on the track you can turn it off.


10 year old suspension nothing. I would say 9 out of 10 sellers I've contacted about Minis they have for sale have not changed the waterpumps! Some of these cars have well in excess of 100k miles too!

 

I thought the sports package also came with the uprated springs... or is that just the sport suspension?


but yes regardless, don't worry about the packages, get the car that feels right to drive, and its the color you want, everything else can be changed, and the JCW power is very easily surpassed. the LSD is very nice, but when you replace the clutch you can pop in an LSD or some non JCWs did come with one, you can look it up with the VIN check

 

Dsc was an "upgrade" over the stock ASC+T..a more basic system...
Thec jcw kit WAS nice, but at the $$$ added 30%+ to the price of a car...some have been beaten to heck as weekend track cars by track rats, look carefully....even very low mile versions.
As the gen1 cars have aged and transitioned to lower priced cars, many have moved onto first time owners, who have tried to save $$ and do diy projects...sometimes with less than full success.
Do look carefully...but good deals can be found if you can undoo other folks messes...
Do consider a cabrio S...BUILT on the same r53 motors and chasis till 2008, and usually not tracked, and weekend driven, garage stored cars with 50,000 miles do pop up...for me a cabrio was a no go..too noisy on the highway top up...but in some climates, they can be a good deal.

 

ah yes, the great mythical SPORTS package ... yes, wheels and headlights and DSC over ASC

DSC basically added a lateral component to the ASC system ... which many people HATED. I know one guy who to this day blames DSC for his totalling his first S "I could have controlled the slide but DSC took over and game over"

The sport suspension package was a totally different beast.

 

woah woah woah! let's here more about the sports suspension package! Details please! Did it come standard in JCW cars? or options for all Minis?

 

Sport Suspension Plus was standard equipment on Cooper S models. There was also a dealer installed JCW Sport Suspension which lowered the car about 10mm. The JCW Sport Suspension was only standard equipment on the 2006 JCW GP.

 

Find a nice 06 R-53, or an 06 JCW if you can. As stated by others, you can make your 06 R53 similar, but if you can find the JCW for the right price,do it

 

Ideally I'd find an '06 JCW with no sunroof, sports suspension (given up on that as I've never seen a Mini advertised with this option), and the instrument cluster package. I don't want/need any other options.

Barring that, I'd like to find the same options on a '06 S, plus LSD!

The thing here on the west coast, the delta between an '06 S and JCW is easily 3k. So the question becomes is it worth it for the JCW or not. Admittedly, I'm at the point in my life where I don't want to modify things. Just want it to work!

 

IMO the later sports susp' package only brought a late GEN1 to early GEN1 suspension specs ....

The early 02's were HARD and immediately the factory started softening the suspension ..... GREAT news to the companies selling stiffer sway bars!!!!! (complaints from the soccer moms who bought the majority of the inventory ....)

 

The shock change (oil viscosity and valve structure) was effective with May 2003 builds.

I think the OP is referring to the dealer fit JCW Sport Suspension.

 

On my 07 MCS, the Sport Package and Sport Suspension were both separate options. Neither was standard equipment, and the Sport Package did not include Sport Suspension.

Both are highly recommended, BTW. Mini, incomprehensibly, deleted the Sport Suspension option in 2016.

 

Ah yes the old school MINI packages. Those days when 5 grand kits were on the list.

 

We're talking about 1st Gen MINIs in this thread

 

If you can afford the JCW , buy it. By the time you do Mods Plus the LSD, you would be well ahead of the curve.

 

Came across this thread in my search so I'm bringing it back from the grave. I wasn't really looking for a JCW, but I've come across one for sale on the internet. 2005, one owner. I've inquired to the build date. It looks exactly like a "regular" S with the exception of the "Works" emblem on the back and the "works" on the intercooler surround. I guess I was expecting more bling to tell me this was a JCW. Looking at the image above, is the intercooler surround specific to the engine upgrade package? Was it included with the JCW sound package as well by chance? Thanks for any info.

 

50% of "JCW" gen1 cars that are advertised are simply an S with a sticker or ONE part...
A 2005 s JCW should have the 210 HP kit...so if you look under the intercooler, the injectors should have BLUE on them, not yellow/light brown....
The main thing is "JCW" was a collection of dealer kits...most folks are looking for the performance kit that Added HP....but you could get a JCW steering wheel (not part of the jce power pack) and then some folks might add a JCW intercooler diverter....and it would look pretty good, but be 100% fake.
A real JCW came with a certificate, signed by john cooper, with a kit number....

 

Thanks for this information. For the mileage, it's priced pretty much as an MCS, which is more confusing to me. If I just bought it as is and it was a plain jane MCS, it would be a fair market deal probably. I'll update once I hear back. I'll have them take a photo of the injectors before and ask about certificate before I venture all the way there. I've been expanding my search radius for a second MCS so this one wasn't local to me.

 

Trying to CSI the photos a little more, it looks like there's a "Works" logo on the top of the airbox as well as where it typically says Mini just to the left of the coil. We'll see.

 

The JCW airbox is no guarantee that the car has a JCW Engine Tuning Kit, as it could be purchased on its own. Each tuning kit had a number and it should be on the plaque to the left of the coil.

JCW Tuning Kits and Factory Models - The MINI Wiki

 

+1 what maniac stated.

Also more info

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nt-03-jcw.html

 

Many folks fall into the trap of seeing "JCW" on a part and fail to negotiate as hard, thinking it is a hidden gem....
Reality is, car is 10 years+ old....condition rules....folks can buy old JCW parts. And bolt them on...heck since 2003, its been possible to have a car that has more power than a JCW for 20% of the cost.... So the $$$$ package was rare...but rare dies not mean valuable, remember that. Rare cause it was the lazy way to get the extra HP and keep the factory warrenty if $$$$ was not an issue...often the cars were weekend toys, and had the living snot best out of them on the track cause they competed in the "stock" class rather than modified like a s with a pulley.... So look closely....noting is more $$$ than a MINI that had 50,000 track miles.