MINI JCW Accessories – Real-Life Photos
We’ve not been shy about our excitement about the new F56 JCW. Equally we (along with most of you) have not been shy about our dislike of the standard wheels that come with the car. Luckily MINI does have an option that manages to look fantastic – almost as nice as the NM Engineering RSe 12s we’re currently running on our long term Cooper S. However until now we haven’t had a chance to see them actually on a car and in the flesh. Along with this, MINI also has a number of JCW accessories that (potentially) enhance the look and performance that have been hard to find at best.
Do they all work? Perhaps the vinyl is a bit much. And the carbon fiber hood scoop may be overly expressive given that the hood scoop itself is non functional. But those wheels. For our MINI these are the best OEM wheels we’ve seen adorn the F56.
Thoughts? Hit up the comments below…
<p>Better, much better. I like the reduced ride height with the larger wheels. Still don’t like the fact that the wheels have to be convex due to brake clearance. IMO they look like hubcaps. The black tail light trim somehow makes them look just a bit less gigantic.</p>
<p>That looks almost like the red is a matte finish. Does anyone know if the little rubber strips on top of the rear spoiler can just be added by themselves without having to go full new spoiler. Also looks like it’s got the pro front splitter, and rear diffuser. I like both of those.</p>
<p>Very interesting how proper wheels allow for a completely different (positive) take on the design of the car.</p>
<p>Exactly. Even at 55 I will admit to being a bit of a wheel whore, or maybe being a graphic designer I am just a bit more visually inclined.</p>
<p>Alex – the ‘proper’ wheels for my next new MINI will be the ones that I choose from the long list of factory available options. Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing :)</p>
<p>You act like wheels are permanently fixed to the car. You could easily buy a set of decent wheels and then sell them separately instead of trading it in with them.</p>
<p>The factory wheels offered are just aftermarket wheels officially licensed by MINI. All of them are made by popular aftermarket wheel companies, only in extremely conservative sizes and with a hiked price tag.</p>
<p>Wheels really make or break the new F56. For some reason, even 18″ wheels can look too small. This never was the case for the R53 or R56. Even my Cooper S with the JCW Pro Exterior kit looks (to me) like it has tiny wheels. Maybe I need to lower it a bit ;o)
I do love the aero kit, though. And I went with the JCW Pro roof graphic only, instead of the side checkers. Of all the MINIs I have owned, this has been (by leaps and bounds) my favorite!</p>
<p>My feeling is that it is actually the shape of the wheel arch. The F56 openings do not hug the tire outline but instead flare out at front and back… more elliptical than round. Compare the profiles of an F56 and an R56 next to each other.</p>
<p>The JCW should have been released with these rims. Looking much better</p>
<p>So do you guys think it looks better with R506 in 18″, or what it’s being released in Australia with as standard the last 2 pictures?</p>
<p>I prefer the first one above personally.</p>
<p>I think I do too.</p>
<p>My brother just ordered the JCW in Australia as pictured above (Rebel Green with red roof and mirrors), and I’m trying to negotiate the R506 – 18″ JOHN COOPER WORKS CROSS SPOKE as replacement for the standard Cup
Spoke Two Tones at no extra cost. I still haven’t heard from the dealer.</p>
<p>Are they 7″ wide, or 7.5″?</p>
<p>7″ only, on F56 Hatch</p>
<p>Look at the dead-on rear view photo from the gallery in the full size view. WHY WHY WHY the the center of the rims stick out further than the rubber and the wheel arch? Why wasn’t a wider rim and better/more aggressive contact patch used? This is the visual oddity that detracts from the look of the F56 for me. It was “bad” on my Cooper S, but it is even more pronounced on the JCW, when it should look more aggressive. You’d think these were low-rolling resistance tires or something!!</p>
<p>It’s to clear the large JCW front brakes.</p>
<p>I do understand why the wheels are bowed out, but why not create a wider rim altogether so the aesthetics are better? They just look so funny/odd to me.</p>
<p>Not sure having the wheel/tire stick out of wheel-arch would look any better.</p>
<p>What they should do it move to 215/40/18s (and 7.5″ wheels) and use slightly wider plastic arches to accommodate them. It would also visually distinguish the JCW further and immediately look more sporty and serious.</p>
<p>Yes, give it some 1M DNA.</p>
<p>For those of you interested in knowing the price of the complete wheel set, it is $3,195: <a href="http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/1392/R506---18-JOHN-COOPER-WORKS-CROSS-SPOKE-COMPLETE-WHEEL-SET" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/1392/R506—18-JOHN-COOPER-WORKS-CROSS-SPOKE-COMPLETE-WHEEL-SET</a></p>
<p>I was at a Media event where a manufacturer of ultralight wheels donated a set to an auction for a scholarship fund. Carbon fiber spokes, forged aluminum rim, about $2k a set. $3200 for those wheels is a total waste of money. To put it in perspective, that’s about 10% of the cost of the whole car!</p>
<p>Margins are really lean on the car itself. Dealers make tons of money on options. Wheels like this for over $3k are a perfect example of this.</p>
<p>And they are only 7″ wide. The tire is a 205/40-18. I’d definitly spend my money differently……</p>
<p>I think the reason the aftermarket has exploded is that cars are looking more and more the same and very few manufacturers are taking design chances any more. Aftermarket wheels are one of the most obvious ways to set your car apart. Obviously the results are not always pretty. For my old R50 and R53 I went with used 17″ R90 wheels. For autocrossing I had a separate 16″ setup.</p>
<p>Agree with everything you said. Those wheels may have more $ profit than a base cooper hardtop @ msrp.</p>
<p>Aftermarket can get lighter, more styles, more sizes, for cheaper.</p>
<p>Just bought a set of Sumitomo HTRZ2 in 205/40ZR17s on some closeout wheels, with TRMS installed, mounted, balanced and delivered from Tire Rack for the wife’s Fiat for just under a grand.</p>
<p>Highway robbery. That’s approaching fully custom 3 piece wheel sets. That’s getting close to BBS LM pricing.</p>
<p>You forget that the expensive 18″ tyres are part of the price…</p>
<p>and pressure monitors. still expensive.</p>
<p>So, the majority here think these wheels are great-looking? I will take the minority view. They are ridiculously gaudy and complex, unlike the simple profile of the car itself: totally out of sync. For the fastidious: keeping them attractive(?!) would be a nightmare.</p>
<p>I agree with you, not a fan at any cost. Now those NM Engineering rims are the cat’s meow…</p>
<p>The ride height looks good. I assume it’s the JCW Pro suspension. MINI really should have a “track pack” to get the JCW Pro suspension + a mechanical LSD on this car.</p>
<p>Please no mechanical lsd, heavy weight, losing some driving pleasure fun (inconvenient stiffness which occurs on the steering wheel), not being much more effective unless you’re doing timed laps on a track</p>
<p>But there are problems with the electronic functions that rely on brakes. They really cook the inside front pads on corner exit as they shift torque to the outside front wheel (same really is true on rear and all wheel drive cars.) So when on a track, with a mechanical LSD, the brakes are cooling, the ediff car is still putting heat in. That’s why track drivers prefer a mechanical LSD.</p>
<p>Yes, but the Mini is not a track car, it is a car for at most a few sessions per year, and most of the time to enjoy the B-roads, corners etc.</p>
<p>Eric, you don’t get it.</p>
<p>I’m guessing the “flap” I see in the right side exhaust tip is the one controlled by the remote. Yes/no?</p>
<p>Yes</p>
<p>Other than the photos above, does anyone have photos of the current 2015 F56 JCW with the R506 – 18″ JOHN COOPER WORKS CROSS SPOKE wheels?</p>
<p>Other than the photos above (and the ones I’ve attached below of an S with the JCW Concept Kit), does anyone have photos of the current 2015 F56 JCW with the R506 – 18″ JOHN COOPER WORKS CROSS SPOKE wheels?</p>