I own a 2006 MCS, with JCW brakes, and have grooved up the front rotors to the point where they need to be replaced. I do 6-8 HPDE's a year, and given how poorly the stock JCW rotors held up, I'm looking for a better rotor that will fit the JCW brake calipers. Is there anything out there, or am I going to have to get OEM rotors again (Or just start over with the Wilwood 11.75 BBK-it would have to fit my 15x7 track rims)?

 

What pads have you been using on the OEM rotors?

 

if you are ripping up your rotors then i would say that your pads might have a lot to do with it. i have been running carbotech pads on my r50 and r56. the r50 see street use mostly but the r56 is auto x and tracked. both cars have rotors that look better then new. so i would look at getting into some new pads if you call carbotec / auto x cooper they can get you new rotors and pads

 

Yeah what pads for JCW brakes?

 

Carbotec,'s and Hawks will work with JCW brakes. I'm working with Todd at TCE--I'm probably going the 11.75 Wilwood route, hope to iron out the details tomorrow...

Props to autoxcooper though--sent me a nice email, and if I was hanging on to the JCW's, I'd do what he recommended--go with carbotechs for the track, and something else for the street...

I am truly amazed at what the JCW pads do to rotors. Partly my fault, I was pretty hard on the brakes last year, but still....If you're tracking your car, and using a lot of threshold braking, and sticking with your JCW's, I'd definitely get a different pad for the track. And consider a different one from the street too....

 

dba apparently has rotors for the jcw brakes and the r56 according to their website.

 

i have an r56 that has the same breaks as your r53 jcw and i would recommend that you save your money. the mcs is not a heavy car and dose not need a bbk. keep your breaks you have put carbotech on and you will not grind up another rotor. there pads just dont do it and they still stop like mad. run there 1521 or ax6 for street then put xp8 on for the track. if you run there pads street and track there is not a need to clean rotors between changes just bed them like they say.

just this week end i auto x with the porche club and i could out break them all day and i run the ax6. most of them were on oem or hawk and thouse cars come with bbks. so i help that helps

 

Why not just let MINI supply your pads and rotors as long as you're under warranty? I've been through one set of each so far, no charge.

 

So, back to the original question - are there aftermarket rotors available for the R53 JCW/R56 MCS? TSW was supposedly going to have some, but I don't see any on their site and haven't heard any further news from them.

bluminiboy - dba?? Who is that, and where can I find info?

My JCWs are going to need pads soon (they're starting to make noise), and they could probably use a set of rotors at the same time, at least up front.

 

if you call carbotech they have rotors/pads instock for the jcw brake number is 877-899-5024 ask for danny or mike. talk to them and tell them what you are doing and they will get you in to the right stuff

 

DBA = Disc Brakes Australia
While they don't specifically list the 06 JCW cars they do have a part listing for the R56 S. If you use RealOEM and lookup part numbers you will see that the part number for the R53 JCW rotor is the same as the R56 S rotor.

 

The rotors are grooved, not ruined, but bad enough not to track them. The pads have plenty left on them. Bottom line is the dealer isn't going to replace them. I'm moving on to the Wilwood kit/rotors--its better for what I'm doing; pad changes are a ton easier (the JCW's aren't terrible for changing pads, but the Wilwood's are light years easier).

The JCW rotor is just too soft. I'm sure it would be better with the Carbotech's, but I can't believe how badly grooved the rotor is--I'm not really excited about running it on the track again. It's probably better for autox than the track, or on a short track without heavy braking, but at Road America, there is a fair amount of threshold braking (glowing rotors are fairly common). The Wilwood's will be a ton more convienent for switching back and forth between street and track pads, and supposedly have less fade, which was definitely a problem with the JCW's at Road America (although they did fine on shorter tracks).

I almost kept the JCW's and got new rotors, and bought new pads but events transpired to make the Wilwood's an attractive alternative, to the point of when you add up the cost of new pads/rotors, it was worth it to me to sell the JCW's and buy the Wilwood's. Not economically the most sound strategy, but probably the best for what I'm doing.

 

Thanks! I'll give them a call.

 

Thanks for the link, and the additional info.

 

That's great news Carbotech has the pads for our JCW calipers as I find the stock pads dust a lot!!! My dealer also mentioned the R56 slotted rotors are interchangable with the JCW's. Is anyone using the Carbotech bobcat 1521 pads currently? What's your impressions? Is CT1204 the correct part # for the JCW's? It doesn't seem like you can order direct from Carbotech online?

 

yes i use carbotech pads on both my r50 and r56. the 50 has 1521 and the r56 has there ax6 witch is there auto x pad. both pads work really well for what they where made for. 1521 makes no sound and it is almost dust free yet still stops the car well. now the ax6 is a diffrent animal it does make dust you will hear it but omg does it stop the car fast like 55 down to a dead stop in about 15 feet. carbotech pads really kick butt i would sugest you get some. call them they will put you into a pad that will work for you

 

You can here, http://www.autoxcooper.com/ctbrakes.html

 

I just got off the phone with Danny and apparently they don't carry the rotors at all, just pads.

 

Got the same response. I ordered pads, though. I am also talking to Grip Force about some dba rotors, but still checking for info on those. Mike there is supposed to call me back tomorrow. dba shows solid, slotted, and drilled/slotted rotors for the R56, which is correct for the JCW brakes. I'll update when I hear more.

 

I've been in touch with Greg at bigbrakeparts.net, he spoke with DBA and said that although they have model numbers for our cars, their rotors are not in production yet. He is speaking with some of his oem replacement sources and getting back to me today, hopefully. He's been very helpful

 

The stock Brembo's are a lot harder than the OEM rotors are. Or you could go for a set of powerslots.

To the OP, are you running R compound's?

 

 

No--but I got bumped up to intermediate this past weekend (some HPDE's won't allow novices to run R compounds), so when my track tires (Azenis) go, I'll move into R's.

I have the plus 1 Wilwood's from TCE--Todd is fantastic to work with, they're going to be installed on Monday. Should make pad changes a breeze, so I can run a dedicated track pad and switch back to street pads quickly and painlessly. I'm going to see how these workout; I might punch out the foglight and make some home made air ducts if I still have significant fade, but I think this setup should last me awhile, while I continue to climb the HPDE learning curve...

 

The R's will definitely req some kind of brake upgrade. Glad you got it worked out!

 

Greg from bigbrakeparts.net emailed me back and apparently the dba rotors are now in production but nobody has them in stock yet. Looks like there is hope for us in the near future!