I loved your report. I think that some of the car magazine authors could take a leaf out of your book.

I know it is now over a year since you wrote this review and I don’t know if the thread is still active, but here is my question.

You talk about the JCW suspension kit and how you really like the way it improves the road holding and even seems to make the car ride smoother, but also said the increased stiffness makes bumps like frost heaves more noticeable.

Your comment about probably not opting for the JCW suspension if you still lived in Massachusetts was of particular interest because that is where I live. My new 2006 Cooper S will be arriving in the next week and I am still undecided about whether to get the JCW suspension.

Having driven your car for over a year, would you still say that the JCW suspension is something that you would avoid if you still lived in Masachusetts?

The other question I have is that the standard sport suspension on my 2002 Cooper S tramlines quite badly on uneven road surfaces. Does the JCW suspension help to eliminate this problem?

Many thanks.

all this for the sum of £18400….. so you might consider your BMW deal to be a bargain!!!!

The news of the success of the Mini in the states is reported here with some amusement, since most of your fellow citizens seem desperate to burn more petrol than is strictly required for fun and frolics. The popularity of the wee car must be counter to that no-doubt exagerated stereotype. Do you feel like rebels? I look forward to reading more about your thoughts. Regards from the greatest motoring country in the world.

Alistair aberdeenshire, Scotland UK

Thanks and Have a Great Weekend!

Yep, they’re very good in rain. Don’t just take it from me though, look at the survey results here at Tire Rack (note this is for the non-runflat version, but the tread pattern is the same). Of course, as Sean said you might end up with Pirellis or Goodyears, but I expect they will be similarly designed tires.

I scanned all the comments but did not see what you paid for this beautiful total package…lots of individual costs…

willing to share this info?

Here’s what I plan to do, and this might provide some perspective, Wayne, if you’re as gung-ho about the best tire performance.

I plan to ride out the remainder of winter with the SP9000s. Fortunately I have a very short commute (approx. 5 miles), and living in the Wash. DC area, the snow doesn’t get THAT bad. However, for next winter, I plan on buying some good SNOW tires (not all-season or Mud&Snow) such as the Pirelli Winter series, and put them on the Web Spokes. Then, by Spring 2006, I’ll buy a set of the JCW 18s, and use those as my “3 season” tires.

Best of both worlds IMO, keeping the 17″ web spokes for winter use, and the 18″ JCWs for everything else.

Yeah, it might mean I toss the SP9000s early… but if they really are still in great condition, I may keep them for Spring 2006 and not get the JCWs until they wear out.

Or you could order the web-spokes, swap the tires out when you get the car with some all-seasons, and just have a spare set of tires. I’m sure you can invent some kind of scenario where this sounds reasonably practical. :-)

The tires that came on mine are Dunlop SP Sport 9000. MINI uses various tire suppliers for the 17″ wheels including Dunlop, Goodyear, and Pirelli so it really depends on who’s delivering tires to the factory that day. But I’d say when you specify 17″ performance tires, you stand a better than even chance of getting the Dunlops.

BTW for info like that generally the best place to start a search is the search bar at the top right of the page. I’d say at least 60%-70% of questions asked in the comments area have been answered previously. Don’t mean to single you out Wayne… it’s a good question and I’m sure there were others wondering too.

BTW they’re 22.3 lbs :)

… and yes they are only available with summer tires within the sport package. If you ordered them seperately you could have any tire fitted.

Frank, it sounds like based on your driving style and your location, you can probably get away without it.

On the other hand, it’s only $500 and it’s nice to have it there if you ever need it. If you aren’t too concerned about zipping out of corners at Ludicrous Speed, then you’ll probably never miss it.

Hell, I can see it both ways in your case. This one’s up to you. :-)

I agree completely – it’s such a big difference that people are considering trading in their existing MINIs just to get it. I think it will help retain the value of the car longer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up as one of those “big” options down the road when trying to determine the value of a used MINI.

But again, since I only have an “armchair” opinion on this, I’ll defer to Sean, if he catches up with the topic! :)