It's time for brakes. Never had any huge complaints about the stock calipers/rotors with Hawk HP+ except the dust and noise, and seeing as it's about $470 to do good rotors + bobcat pads, I'm just going Wilwood +3b kit from here:
https://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/mini-07-13/kits-40/

Anyone have anything to offer regarding installation or living with the kit on a daily basis I should know? BP-10s planned to start, as a baseline, then maybe BP-20s or Poly Hs.

I'm a highly competent mechanic, just curious if there's any experiential knowledge not easily found through searches someone may have.

Will post pics when done, should look good on a BRG car!

Gratuitous before pic, in her natural state, playing near Mt Rainier on an obligatory sprinkle day just after running down a Cobalt SS through twisties

 

Subscribing to this thread, because I'd like to give some Wilwood love to my car next spring.

I'm considering the TCE 6-pot front caliper kit - the kit that uses the OEM JCW 316mm rotors.
https://www.tceperformanceproducts.c...07-13/kits-40/

 

also subscribed

 

There always seems to be a downside with performance pads for daily driving. I've tried Hawks on an other car and they were too slow to heat-up imo. I've used Stoptech sport pads and they're a lot better at temperature range. Downside, a bit dusty.

So far for the MINI I haven't had the need for better breaks but I'm always curious...

 

I have also used the stop tech pads and been happy. Low dust and good stopping power.

 

I had installed a Wilwood kit (4 pot) back around '05 or '06 in my '04 MCS (R53), and was very happy with it while I had it. I loved the ease of changing pads, which I did once. I'm planning on doing the same to "Rooster" ('14 R59 S) when I need new pads/rotors, which will hopefully be next year. Not yet decided on which kit though.

 

I have the 13" TCE kit on my R56 S and have put ~20k miles on it. The kit has performed admirably so far, I'm running the same rotors that came in the kit and have done 2 track days on them with Poly B pads then swapped back to BP-10's for street use.

They brake just as good as the OEM setup for daily use but no better. I don't really notice an overwhelming increase in front brake bias to OEM and the rear doesn't swing around on me under heavy braking, so far. A common misconception with BBK's is that suddenly your car is going to stop on a dime, that's not why these exist. A BBK is going to increase your resistance to brake fade or the effect of stepping on the brakes and not slowing down due to the heat of continued heavy braking causing the pads to off-gas during braking and preventing the pads from making contact with the rotor.

You will however notice an increase in noise; going over bumps the pads bounce around in the caliper, lightly applying and releasing the brakes in stop and go traffic results in some tapping due to the slots in the rotors moving the pads in the calipers when not under braking pressure. They do however hold up to heavy track abuse much longer than the OEM setup, so if you track the car frequently well worth the investment.

BBK's also incur higher maintenance costs, my costs are: HD Rotors (thicker, more heat dissipation capacity) ~$200ea, Rotor Hats ~$180ea, Pads ~$138 for Carbotech 1521's / $197 for Carbotech XP10's. I included Carbotech's here as I've had better results running their pads on the rear and that's what I'm replacing my fronts with next.

Edit: Added a few pics since you were curious what they look like on a BRG car.


Oh I forgot to mention, the other thing to consider is caliper to wheel clearance. In order to fit this kit I had to ditch the OE wheels and also run custom wheel spacers to maintain hub bore alignment and clear the calipers due to my chosen wheels offset. Even with the RP01's above I still have to run a small wheel spacer to clear the calipers. You could go with the 6 pot caliper vs the FSL, which is apparently much more wheel friendly, but you forego the easier pad change (this should be a negligible consideration unless you're tacking frequently) and some of the increased brake fade resistance as the pads are thinner as well. Oh and due to the spacers and wheels I had to swap out to an extended wheel stud kit too. Little things add up.