Hi ,
When I got my car I was given a free set of JCW front brakes because my car was delayed for so long. When I got this car the factory JCW didn't even exist so i know I don't have the brembo JCW brakes (also I have seen the massive brembos). My question is What brakes do I have?
I need new pads soon but everywhere I look i can only see the Brembo JCW pads or stock S pads. Do I just have a tarted up version of the stock S brakes? If so do I just get S pads? I was thinking Hawk HPS, I only drive on the street but hard.
Thanks.

 

Looks like Brembos too me. Those do not look like my stock S brakes.

On another note can you edit your post and put the second picture below the first one so that it is easier to see your post? Thank you.

 

thanks Porthos, sorry about the pics.
i got my car in january 2008 so the JCW car wasn't even around so i don't think they would have had any of those kits. i have seen the jcw brembo up close in the past and i think the discs are slightly bigger and the calipers a fair bit bigger than mine. im thinking mabye they just stuck on a JCW kit from a r53???

 

Those look like the brakes from an R53 JCW, which are the same as the R56 S brakes. These are really good brakes for the street and needless to say, look sharp. Personally, I would go with the Hawk HP Plus. More bite and heat tolerance than the HPS. A little bit of squeal when stopping but I didn't mind that. The HPS are a bit better than stock brake pads and a little less dust.

 

thats what i thought, thanks Eddie07S. i will grab those pads too thanks.

 

Those are R53 JCW so that means R56 MCS pads will work too. I really like the CarboTech AX6 pads, they stop as good as Hawk HP PLUS (better stopping than HPS) but give more modulation, less noise, less dust and less brake fade.

 

Running Carbotech X10 Front and X8 Rear. All i can say is wow. Can you say stopping power. The trick now is learning not to over brake and take off more speed that you intended. They are very noisy on the street and low speeds when not hot. Sounds like you need a brake job. I am pretty hardcore but thought about putting the stockers back in for the winter. Well just for a minute anyway. Once you have all that stopping power it is very hard to go back. Buddy went for a quick drive after we swapped them out. He didn't belt up and hit them hard to test them out. Meet the
windshield. His response " I have never been in a street car with that much brake". The JCW stock brakes were actually great at the track all stock. When you add sticky tires you start seeing much higher temps and the upgrade is big improvement and pretty much track ready.

 

My only caution is that I would not take the AX6 pads on the track. I know people who have tried them on the track and had significant problems with them as they tend to overheat. These are intended for autocross and have a high cold friction which makes them nice for the street but they don't have the temp rating for the track.

I ran the XP 10/8 combination on the street, track and autocross and liked them a lot, but on the street they are noisy. However, I think the HP Plus were a little better for the street when cold (the XP 10s need to be warmed up to be fully effective) and they were a bit less noisy.

 

thanks Eddie. It turns out I have the JCW sport Brake kit which is just the red claipers, slotted discs and harder pads than standard r56 S.

 

Turtle...I know this is not part of this thread, but by your signature I see that you have done a lot of mods aimed at engine performance and a little aimed at suspension. I would guess you might like to see a simple suspension change that will greatly improve the handling and steering response. Check this thread out:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ustment-2.html
See post 44.
If you do this, you will need to have the toe-in reset. Other than the cost of the alignment, this is the best mod for the money (free ) that you can do to a Mini. I had the dealer do it when I had them do an alignment, but it is definately a DIY.

 

Yep I got some XP12 fronts for track days and I keep AX6 rears on, but I don't think OP does track days. That's why I suggest CT AX6.