JCW Sport Suspension Official Information
This week MINI has officially released the JCW Sport Suspension and we have some exclusive details on what makes up the kit. The timing could not be better as our first review of the kit was also posted today and already there are questions surrounding it. It’s the official details that are in demand. So we’re here to comply. Here’s the official release from MINI USA:
>Aftersales is pleased to announce the release of the John Cooper Works Sport Suspension for
the MY07 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S hardtop.
>The John Cooper Works Sport Suspension for the 2007 Cooper and Cooper S is designed to give ambitious, sporty drivers an exciting, yet safe driving experience. The tighter sporty chassis tuning combined with the lower ride height of the car creates a fantastic feel behind the wheel. To create an optical effect distinguishes the suspension tuning, the coil springs have a red finish.
>The Sport Suspension kit includes four McPherson strut shock absorbers, two stabilizer bars and the required mounting parts. The coil springs need to be ordered separately, depending on the options installed on the individual vehicle.
>Sales features/Benefits
>The targets for the development of the John Cooper Works Sport Suspension have been:
>- Increased cornering
>- Improved traction
>- Reduced roll angle in corners
>To achieve these targets, stiffer springs are the heart of the sport suspension kit to lowering
the center of gravity. The shock absorbers are customized for these stiffer springs, with a
shorter piston rod and a special control valve assembly. This combination allows improved
road holding in combination with enough ride comfort for the day-to-day driving.
The excellent coordination between the front and rear axle damping, combined with the
stabilizer bars, reduces lateral roll of the vehicle body and provides a more dynamic and
sporty driving experience.
>The shorter and tighter coil springs lower the car by 10mm compared to the optional MINI
Cooper S sport suspension. The reduced ride height is obviously visible, giving the car,
especially in combination with the JCW Aerokit, a significantly sportier and aggressive look.
Why only 10mm lower? The John Cooper Works Sport Suspension has not been developed for
a smooth racetrack. It has been developed to deliver enhanced cornering speed on different
road surfaces, like twisting mountain roads. That is the main reason why the car has been
lowered by just 10mm. As the main development targets, it was important that even with the
improved road holding, the suspension had to deliver an acceptable amount of comfort. The
John Cooper Works Sport Suspension also harmonizes perfectly with the MINI DSC system.
This is another unique feature of this suspension kit. Cars with aftermarket suspensions with
extremely lowered ride height may lose traction on uneven surfaces which can lead to
interruptions of the smooth operation of the DSC system.
>To improve the steering response and get even more precise handling, we recommend the
combination of the sport suspension with 18″ John Cooper Works Wheels. In addition, the
large wheels together with the lowered ride height deliver an impressive custom look.
>Depending on the option a customer has chosen for his/her MINI, the weight differs from car
to car. Given these differences, there is a benefit of the JCW Sport Suspension Kit over most
aftermarket kits: The possibility to use different springs to adopt the suspension to the MINI,
depending on the actual weight of the car.
>Parts Information:
>(ITEM PART NUMBER M.S.R.P.)
>- John Cooper Works Sport Suspension 33 50 0 429 708 $ 875.00
>- Coil Spring front (1) 31 33 6 782 728 $ 105.00
>- Coil Spring front (1) 31 33 6 782 729 $ 105.00
>- Coil Spring front (1) 31 33 6 782 730 $ 105.00
>- Coil Spring rear (1) 33 53 6 782 731 $ 105.00
>- Coil Spring rear (1) 33 53 6 782 732 $ 105.00
>- Coil Spring rear (1) 33 53 6 782 733 $ 105.00
>(1) Part number is for one spring. Two front and two rear springs are required for a
complete installation.
Related:
[ MF Review: R56 JCW Sport Suspension ] MotoringFile
Good details, and a nice explanation of the positive attributes of a factory suspension over an after market fix. Should be interesting to see how this feels, to me any suspension upgrades are either a good or bad thing by getting some drive time with a car using it and relating that to my driving style.
This was posted on the other thread, but I think it got lost in the mix:
my investigation on suspensions part numbers offered from MINI show that the factory MINI S sports option has the same sway bars and dampners as the JCW kit. I basically have to conclude that the factory sports suspension is essentially the JCW kit without the JCW springs.
My dealer has also given me individual part #’s for the JCW kit and all but the springs matched what I see on RealOEM for the MINI R56 Sport Suspension (which I allready have). That’s not to say that the dealer is not giving me the wrong information (likely IMO)… but it would be nice to know of someone (Gabe) who could be trusted enough to delve deeper and confirm or deny with MINI.
If it’s true, this info could be very important for those spec’ing an R56. If it’s false, it really needs to be blown out of the water quickley and recognized as bad information.
>My dealer has also given me individual part #’s for the JCW kit and all but the springs matched what I see on RealOEM for the MINI R56 Sport Suspension (which I allready have). That’s not to say that the dealer is not giving me the wrong information (likely IMO)… but it would be nice to know of someone (Gabe) who could be trusted enough to delve deeper and confirm or deny with MINI.
As I said on the other article’s comments, the components in the kit are clearly labeled and are different than the stock MINI parts in either suspension. Furthermore the car feels dramatically different than either the stock or sport suspension equipped cars. And it’s not just the springs.
>If it’s false, it really needs to be blown out of the water quickley and recognized as bad information.
You’ve said it. It’s pretty clear (to me at least) after seeing the components and driving the car that we’re dealing with an entirely different set of parts.
BTW it’s worth noting that MINI typically doesn’t release the part #s for individual components for kits like this (as seen above). I’m guessing that the guy behind the counter may have been confused.
Too bad they don’t develop a suspension that adjusts automatically(or could be adjusted easily manually from the driver’s seat).
If the car didn’t detect a lot of steering or throttle movement, it would automatically soften the ride.
The R56 cries for a tighter suspension to deal with all the available torque, but not at the expense of a jarring ride.
“…to deliver an acceptable amount of comfort…”
sounds ominous.
>”…to deliver an acceptable amount of comfort…”
>sounds ominous.
Believe me… it’s not.
Nice comparison between Standard, Sprt and JCW suspensions in WWR#178. Thanks.
Does anyone know how thick the sway bars are on the JCW kit?