Autocar Reviews the JCW Works S

They are supposed to be reviewing a JCW and they don’t like the sport button. I can’t listen to anything else they say. =(

I haven’t gotten mine or driven one yet so I can’t argue first hand. However, I use Gabe’s review as well as the GP owner’s review as a base against other writers. If you don’t like the car before you even drive it you can’t give an unbiased opinion.

Did this car have the suspension too?

“‘Sport’ buttons that artificially increase throttle response are not necessarily appreciated by all “enthusiasts”. Many, including myself and everybody I’ve discussed them with at Porsche and BMW club track events, consider them useless gimmicks that do not lend themselves to smooth, controlled throttle application at the limit exiting a turn.”

WHA??!!! Are not all modern engines managed on the software level at some point? so no matter if an engine has the sport button engaged or not (or for that matter has one at all) the software (ECU) plays a major role in the performance of the engine. All the sport button does is alters the engine software for increased performance, it doesnt ADD software control to the engine that it didnt have it before.

Hmmm, Alan, are you disavowing your own comment?

All the sport button does is alters the engine software for increased performance…

Absolutely not true. Performance as defined by the maximum horsepower produced by the motor is not altered with a ‘sport’ button. Flat out is flat out regardless if the ‘sport’ mode is engaged. What it does is increase throttle response, which as I explained above is not necessarily a good thing, and therefore not universally appreciated by “enthusiasts”.

If you like it, that’s great…but don’t assume those that don’t aren’t “enthusiasts”.

Throttle response has to be artificially managed in a drive by wire car.

Obviously. However, the default of DBW cars with ‘sport’ buttons is designed to mimic what most consider conventional throttle travel, with ‘sport’ artificially increasing response to make a car feel faster. There is no performance benefit.

Nor is there a performance benefit with heavier steering. In fact, racers would consider both a detriment.

With all due respect, Gabe…I realize this is your house…but there is no performance benefit to having the throttle re-mapped so that all of the power is summonsed within the first fraction of pedal travel. If you want full throttle, stomp on the pedal, and it’s there regardless of the mapping.

As I said in my first post above, hyper-quick throttle response is not what you want at the limit of adhesion while exiting a turn and feeding in throttle (preferably on the track…nobody should be at the limit on public streets). I’m surprised you can’t “wrap your head around” that concept…it’s pretty basic track stuff, especially in a front-drive car like the Mini.

As for steering, of course you want comfortable weighting, but heavier is not necessarily “correct”, and weight isn’t as important as feedback. The writer of the article felt that the sport button sacrificed some feedback for heft…a fair assessment. Again, using the example of exiting a turn at the limit, feedback is crucial to a fast and safe exit, with lighter steering preferred to fine tune your line…too much effort can lead to too much steering input.

It would be interesting to see the “mapping” of the two throttle modes. I would say the “sport” mode throttle mapping is more like most new cars not just sports cars. I think the standard mode is actually detuned from what a normal throttle would do. In my quick testing this morning it seems that only the first part (1/4 if that much) of the throttle is different. After that it’s very close to the same. It’s very subtle sometimes. I parked and revved to a constant 2000RPM, then quickly floored and released the pedal. If anything the non-sport mode got to a higher RPM which is not what I expected. At 5000 RPM in 2nd, punching the throttle made no noticeable difference. “Sport” mode may make it a bit easier to heel/toe downshift with the quicker revs just off idle so I could see that as a performance advantage for some. Otherwise in a performance situation I don’t think either would make any difference.

The standard steering is good enough and the sport steering heavy enough to be a preference with no advantage to either. There’s a unique ideal weighting and feedback for everyone. With the electric power steering system I’m not sure those have to work against each other though typically they do. Maybe the lack of feedback by the reviewer was a too quick an assessment based on his previous experiences? It doesn’t sound like the reviewer was all that rigorous in comparing the sport button on and off.

Wow! What a can of (off topic) worms. Hey why the debate? R56 HAS a sport button. Like it or not it’s not going away so press it and drive,sheesh!

What we should be seeing here are comments of who’s gonna shell out the $ for an order or upgrade. I did, Gabe did, but all I hear from MF land is crickets.

Greg, as for the money, JCW has never been a big “bang for the buck” (with the possible exception of the suspension upgrade), so I doubt there will be a serious discussion on this (I’m not critcizing the JCW; I have it on my R53, and that was serious price gouge).

The JCW does give you warranty coverage and a well integrated package; on the R53 it was smoother than any other aftermarket concoction, but at a substantially higher price. I suspect the same will be true on the R56. I’ve seen horror stories on NAM of people tweaking their cars with poorly thought out and poorly integrated mods to the point where they actually made the engine performance worse than a standard S, so with any mod you have to be careful and know what you’re doing (there are a few easy no-brainers–reduction pulley and exhaust come to mind–but beyond that you have to be a bit more careful). Personally I like the security of the JCW route, but many don’t want to pay the premium, and thats understandable.

This will be a much more interesting discussion when more aftermarket tuning options are available for the R56….

No doubt the aftermarket offers more “bang for the buck”. However, I don’t trust the concept of a “Frankenstein” Mini that has parts that are not perfect together and may go south taking the warranty with it.

Besides, I’m no gearhead. With JCW theres no worry and there’s a bit of prestige to that badge as well as better resale.

The sport button activates the overboost feature though, does it not?