I understand the JCW has larger Brembo brake calipers.
But are the cooper-S brake calipers different from the standard cooper or are those the same?


From MINI usa website:

“All Mini Cooper S models feature oversized brakes in the front for optimal braking. These top of the line brakes help provide excellent stopping performance, outstanding grip and incredibly short braking distances. And just like our standard brakes, they come standard with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution(EDB) and Cornering Brake Control (CBC) to further enhance agility and handling.”

 

S and non S are the same.

 

Yes, S and Cooper brakes both use exactly the same calliper (and brake hose) - the only difference is the calliper bracket (or carrier) and the pads themselves. Well, and the larger discs, obviously!

If anyone has a Cooper, a fairly simple way to upgrade the brakes is to switch to S discs. Here in Yurp, my SD diesel model inexplicably comes with only Cooper brakes, so I made that switch, which is very quick and easy. Here is a photo guide to it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ihdtuu6l2...r_S_Brakes.pdf

 

Oh wow, that's interesting.
So it's hard to tell for which one the piston strength was designed for though more likely for the cooper and retrofitted to the S. It makes me wonder if the master cylinder is the same . . . probably.

I guess they decided the Cooper S would not fit any wheels smaller than 16" while the Cooper was designed for 15" (more common in EU). That's the only explanation I could think of since I cannot believe the cost would be that much more in just more material for the caliper holder and rotors.

It's probably fair to assume the pads are the same but located further out. Am I right? or do they have more contact surface area?

 

All the parts are the same unless you have the JCW brakes.

 

If you are building hundreds of thousands of a car, it's worth even the tiniest cost saving on each one. But I bet being able to fit 15" wheels was the main reason for not fitting the larger 294mm discs to the Cooper. Plus there's a 0.9kg (sorry - 2 pounds in American money) per corner unsprung weight saving, so ride comfort is marginally improved.

And to be fair to Mini/BMW, I can't imagine more than 5% of Cooper drivers would ever want more brakes than it already has, as 95% will never drive the car to its limit. On my previous justa-Cooper, I found the 280mm discs poor but just adequate - it's only with the extra torque of my current SD diesel that they become inadequate.

The Cooper and S do not use the same pads, even though the calliper is the same. The bigger disc has a wider swept area so I think the pad size is different, plus I don't doubt the pad material is also different to suit the greater leverage. The master cylinder is the same for both.