Upgraded JCW Brakes Due for 2008
One of the more subtle but appreciated upgrades MINI made to the 2007 MCS R56 was the addition of the JCW brake kit as standard. Sure the calipers aren’t red and don’t feature the JCW logo, but they are indeed the same caliper size, pads and rotors. The addition allows for more stopping power and increased fade resistance at the track.
But what of all the R56 Cooper S owners who want an OEM upgrade? MINI currently only has a slotted and “drilled” rotor that fits into the OEM front brake set-up. All things considered it’s just a bit of window dressing if you ask us. So in an answer to this, MINI will be releasing a redesigned (and much improved) JCW brake kit. The kit will consist of larger calipers, more aggressive front and rear pads, and (wait for it…..) larger front rotors.
Larger has downsides however. The kit will be getting 17″ wheels to actually fit over the larger calipers. MINI will release a light-weight wheel made specifically for the kit. However there’s a chance some current 17″ and 18″ MINI wheels may work. But due to the size don’t be surprised if most if not all current 17″ OEM wheels won’t work with the kit. And the kit fitting R95s and R105s isn’t quite guaranteed either at this point. However look for a MINI to address this situation in another 2008 product release. We’ll have more on that tomorrow.
Costs are still being determined but expect the kit to be available worldwide in the first half of 2008. No other technical details are known at this time.
Is there any chance that Mini will consider offering a complete JCW upgrade package that includes the engine Kit, suspension kit, and now the upgraded brakes?
Also – since that area of the car is so technically similar between Gens, will this upgraded JCW brake kit be officially retrofittable to 1st Gen MINIs?
Is this likely to be standard on the factory JCW stage II car?
if these fit under my current 17s, I’ll have them by the first track day in 08.
Ah, so maybe 2 piston front calipers????
Good news, should make the JCW brake upgrade worthwhile again. Would bet on these breaks making it to the factory JCW. Will look forward to these, as for the lightweight wheels should be interesting to see what they come up with. Look forward to hearing the additional news tomorrow.
It will be interesting to see just what they consider to be “light weight”. For the current and previous generations it was pretty much a joke. A bad joke!
Sounds great! But in reality not necessary unless you’re a big track person. The current brakes are very good. Now for the stage 2 JCW these make sense. Hopefully part of the package. Hope the package aero kit stays subtle (sorry, off topic).
I think I took a snapshot of the new JCW brake on Saturday at the Ring. You can see it here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/philiphubs/1732020951/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.flickr.com/photos/philiphubs/1732020951/</a>
The caliper was really big and just barely fitted underneath the standard 17″ rims.
Can you imagine what BMW will charge for a package including the brake upgrade and lightweight wheels?! I say $2000 minimum.
Very interesting picture Philip, thanks for sharing
That’s soo sick…4 piston calipers!!! Wonder if they’ll fit under the 17″ web spoke wheels?
There is currently an expensive JCW brake kit on the online configurator as well as the slotted rotors option.
Is the kit currently on the configurator this same kit?
>Is the kit currently on the configurator this same kit?
The one currently on the configurator is the one mentioned above in this article. It’s the same one that’s been around for 3-4 years now and is actually the stock set-up for the Cooper S.
And fyi, you’ll read about the new brake kit here at least 6 months before it’s on the configurator.
>That’s soo sick…4 piston calipers!!! Wonder if they’ll fit under the 17″ web spoke wheels?
It comes down to how the spokes are shaped. I’m guessing not.
>Also – since that area of the car is so technically similar between Gens, will this upgraded JCW brake kit be officially retrofittable to 1st Gen MINIs?
I would guess so… but you’ll probably need R56 brake lines.
>Is this likely to be standard on the factory JCW stage II car?
What JCW Stage II car???? 🙂
>Sounds great! But in reality not necessary unless you’re a big track person. The current brakes are very good.
Completely and totally agree. The current set-up are great for the street and even for the track. I spent two solid days at a high performance driving school (passing everything in sight) and had only very moderate fade at the end of both days. That said these brakes will be ideal for track days with better performance under extreme conditions.
Looking at the part numbers, I’m not convinced that the standard brakes on the R56 are in fact the same as the JCW brakes for the R53 for the bulk of its production. There is a period from mid July 06 when the part numbers for both align but this was when R53 production was winding down. So while it is technically correct to say that the R56 standard brakes are the same as the R53 JCW brakes, I think it should also be pointed out that the JCW brakes for the R53 from mid July 06 production are not identical to those produced up to that point and therefore there are differences (though probably subtle but likely extending to pad compounds and disc composition) between the two.
>I’m not convinced that the standard brakes on the R56 are in fact the same as the JCW brakes for the R53 for the bulk of its production. So while it is technically correct to say that the R56 standard brakes are the same as the R53 JCW brakes, I think it should also be pointed out that the JCW brakes for the R53 from mid July 06 production are not identical to those produced up to that point and therefore there are differences (though probably subtle but likely extending to pad compounds and disc composition) between the two.
When buying replacement pads for the R56, the dealer computer actually calls them JCW sport brake pads. The part numbers may have changed but they are identical components and compounds.
That would stink if they made the calipers fit the crown spoke wheels like in the above picture but not the web spokes since both are from the sport package, and oem wheels.
<blockquote>The part numbers may have changed but they are identical components and compounds.</blockquote>Like I say, I’m not convinced. I can’t see how they would be prepared to have owners of the standard R56 brake package experience the harshness that I sometimes experience through my R53 JCW brakes – harshness which I’m prepared to put up with as the trade off for better brakes but which your average joe wouldn’t be prepared to put up with on a stock set up.
I have just confirmed with Mini parts at my local dealer and they assure me that even the part numbers for the pads themselves are different. There is even a $162.80 difference in price between the R53 JCW pads and the R56 stock pads. They may well be the same size and shape etc but I reiterate the point that I believe that the compounds/compositions are most probably different.
Ugh. I just can’t stand Mini’s dealer-installed approach with regards to JCW parts. Make them a factory option so that they are legal in stock competition classes, and so that those ordering new cars aren’t wasting so much in raw materials (exhaust, springs, and now brakes) and having to pay incompetent dealers to dismantle what ends up being a very expensive Mini!
No, I don’t want the nasty body kit and (I’m sure) mandatory sport package along with standard DSC that will be on the 2009 factory JCW car.
>I have just confirmed with Mini parts at my local dealer and they assure me that even the part numbers for the pads themselves are different. There is even a $162.80 difference in price between the R53 JCW pads and the R56 stock pads. They may well be the same size and shape etc but I reiterate the point that I believe that the compounds/compositions are most probably different.
In the US they were the same exact cost when I bought replacements for both.
Alan. I too am a bit afraid of what the factory stage two JCW will look like. I hope it’s not a tricked out ricer look. The current JCW aero kit is pushing that image IMO (rear end-uhg!)so I passed.
I have an R53 S, JCW engine kit/suspension/brakes. A couple of wishes:
1. Make it very easy to swap out pads–some of the BBK’s are disgustingly simple where it can be done literally in seconds. The current set up is not impossible, but too much of a pain to do at the track–it could be much, much easier, and if these are going to appeal to the track crowd as opposed to some of the other aftermarket offerings, this is almost a necessity. I seriously doubt this will happen though. It could make the difference between me getting these or going aftermarket.
1a. Multiple pad offerings–3 would be ideal: street only, mixed (occasional track use), track only. Although street only and track only pads would be fine too. Not an absolute necessity, as aftermarket tuners will be quick to come up with a good track pad, but it would be nice for an OEM track pad.
2. Easy to bleed.
3. Gotta be a way to get more air to them (Didn’t the GP have brake ventilation specifically for that model?). Although not specific to the brakes themselves, hopefully there is something in the pipeline–those huge holes in the JCW aerokit certainly aren’t for looks are they?
I had problems with brake fade at Road America (where its not uncommon to see glowing rotors on some of the faster cars), but not on shorter tracks. One of the other MINI owners there had knocked out the front fogs, put a coffee cup with the end sawed off in its place, connected this to some flexible tubing the same diameter as the coffee cup, and ran that back to the brakes–it worked remarkably well. But I’m hoping for something a bit more sophisticated from MINI’s engineering team.
I hate the thought of getting rid of my R53, but if they get the stage 2 JCW up to about 250 HP and corresponding gains in torque, throw in these brakes, I might be getting an R56 sooner than I thought.