Hi all,

I am in the market for a Mini Cooper S or JCW convertible. JCW's are harder to find and limit my options for colors/options etc. I'm thinking it might be better to find a nice S convertible and then either have the dealer install the JCW kit or find an aftermarket option that gives me similar HP... Please help educate me.

Happy 4th!

Thanks.

 

You know the jcw kit is like 7k right?
For that you could have a wicked fast mini
Ask big howe.
Call tuners see what they say.
Alta RMW mini corsa. or helix they all have great soulutions to your umm problem?

 

+1 aftermarket.

The thing I liked about going aftermarket is that it allowed me to take baby steps and really take the time to figure out exactly what I wanted.

 

aftermarket drivetrain and suspension are the way to go.....unless you're concerned with warranty issues and resale. as silversmoke stated, for the amount of money you'ld pay for the jcw powertrain and susp, you could do better in the aftermarket world...and have money to spare. personally, i've enjoyed my modquest as it's been fun and educational. one more thought would be "what am i gonna do with the mini?" if it's your daily driver/not much track/autocross and you might prefer the jcw. one word of caution....the mod route is a very slippery slope!!! good luck

 

Most here are going to tell you to go aftermarket. Not that it is right or wrong, but most here have gone that route and that's who your asking. Those who go the JCW route have no complaints about it that I know of, but it is expensive and depending on what aftermarket route you take it's probably not going to perform as well. That being said it not only comes with the 4 year warranty but every aftermarket upgrade you make will void that particular items warranty.

If you like to work on your car and do things yourself then go aftermarket. If you want to buy it off the lot without having to do a thing and can afford the additional cost go JCW.

 

Aftermarket is another option as long as its does not void warranty... which is important to me

 

One reason other than "warranty" to go JCW - AUTOCROSS!

If you have any interest in the possibility of autocrossing your car, note that most common aftermarket mods (especially pulley) immediately catapult you into the uber-insane street mod class, where you're likely to be shredded by folks with special-purpose cars... whereas JCW cars run in more "sane" classes and can be quite competitive.

But, if you have no interest in autocross, you get WAY more zoom per dollar aftermarket... no contest. As has been said, ask big_howe.

 

i agree, save for: "depending on what aftermarket route you take it's probably not going to perform as well." i've driven my exact ride in jcw (down to the sidewalk brg) and would'nt trade!! of course, you can screw up anything!!

sorry, just couldn't let it go.

 

Yeah well what do you plan on doing to the car.
Thats always a good question.
personaly im not an autox person i like road racing.
So open road power works for me. and if you read my sig im well on my way to getting there.

 

Thanks for all the responses... I new it was a bit of a loaded question when asked in this forum. No plans to autocross just want a little more umph over stock. Is there an obvious upgrade to the cooper S that gives it the power equal or better the JCW? I would be quite content to have HP in the low 200s. Anyone know if there is a decent Mini tuner in Atlanta? Thanks.

 

Atlanta - Way Motor Works

HP in the low 200's - depending if you're talking BHP (which is what MINI reports for the stock and JCW cars) or wheel HP. Pretty easy to top 200 BHP - have a 15% pulley, intake and exhaust (or one-ball mod) installed and you're probably there. 200 WHP takes more doing... cam, header, custom tune probably. Big power comes from a custom big-valve head - but relatively big bucks to do that (though you could do ALL of this for less than the premium a new JCW car costs - and have MUCH more power than JCW)...

 

the jcw has a 11-13% pulley (sorry, don't remember the exact number) so with a 15% pulley you've got an advantage right away. add a cai (i have jcw) and an exhaust (i have milltek) and a tune (search "jan") and you will pull on any jcw and have money for some nice ultra high perf non runflats

grassroots garage http://www.grassrootsgarage.com/ is kinda near you. they're well respected and have been very helpful when i've had questions.

opps, forgot about way. they're top notch too. i got type faster to beat blimey to these questions

 

As said before it pretty much comes down to whether you want to worry about the warranty. If you don't mind the possibility of something going wrong and having to pay out of your pocket for it then go aftermarket. The other advantage of JCW is that the parts in the kit are engineered and balanced together.

 

ok I came across this JCW today and spoke to the sales guy. It looks like I can get it for 29K. Seems to be in nice shape and fully loaded.

http://fletcherbmw.com/am/listings/l0103.html

Please let me know what you guys think. I may try to pick it up tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

 

I have that leather- +1!

An 05' for 29K...that seems like a lot at first but I KBB'd it an it came out to be around $28,500 so yeah, that seems like a good deal! It must be the JCW that makes it seem so expensive.

 

1. It is absolutely certain that you can get more performance for your dollar aftermarket. But that assumes that you have planned the add-ons or swap-outs as a designed system. Without that you'll have driveability issues and thrown codes to deal with. Also plagueing the aftermarket world is that some of the performance parts are designed in a garage without the benefit of professional engineering. That said, there are plenty of qualified aftermarket parts manufacturers and tuners, but if you are asking this question, you have no clue who.

2. The JCW mods are a guarantee that it all fits together in a way that is supported by the car manufacturer and meets all federal and state emissions requirements.

3. I opted the JCW route, but if you note my sig, even I couldn't resist a bit aftermarket tweaking.

4. The resale value of a JCW modded car will be far superior to that of an aftermarket modded car. Looking on eBay, heavily modded cars receive lower valuations than stock, where JCW cars will fetch a premium (certainly not the full additional cost). I notice that many folks on this forum who are selling their cars, strip off the mods and try to sell them separately. You never see that happen with a JCW car. I keep my cars for an average of 15 years each, so resale value really isn't a consideration for me. If the gen 1 car ever becomes a collectible, the JCW premium will be enhanced.