3rd Gen JCW The Differences: F56 JCW vs. Cooper S

Discussion in '3rd Generation: 2014+ F54, F55, F56, F57, F60' started by Ryephile, May 4, 2015.

  1. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    I was wondering what the exact differences were in making the big price jump from a Cooper S to a JCW 2-door hatch, so I dredged through the official press releases and found all the differences, both subtle and significant. Here goes:

    Body
    *Length: Cooper S = 3850mm, JCW = 3874. The JCW is 24mm longer
    *Engine Oil: Cooper S = 5.0 liters, JCW = 5.25 liters. This accounts for the added oil cooler on the left side of the car and why the JCW can't have front fog lights
    *Unladen Weight (DIN, which is "wet" or ready-to-drive, but no fuel): Cooper S = 1160kg, JCW = 1205kg. I understand this is Euro-spec, and here's where it gets tricky. MINIUSA puts the Cooper S = 2785 lbs and JCW = 2845 lbs. This is 68 lbs and 29 lbs respectively more than the Unladen EU weights, which is ready-to-drive with >90% fuel and +75kg for driver and luggage. So, are the advertised USA weights really "EU + additional NHTSA-mandated equipment"? Just a guess.
    *Aerodynamic Drag: Cooper S has a Cd of 0.31, frontal area of 2.09 square meters, for an effective total drag of 0.65 m^2. The JCW has a Cd or 0.34, same 2.09 m^2 frontal area, and a total drag of 0.71 m^2.

    Engine
    *Compression Ratio for the Cooper S = 11.0:1, and JCW = 10.2:1. This easily highlights the new pistons in the JCW. It also meshes nicely with the additional [unspecified] boost the JCW runs.
    *Obviously the added power and torque, but interestingly, the torque curve is advertised as being 50 RPM wider in the JCW, 320Nm from 1250-4800 RPM. Very nice.
    *Revised Turbocharger, "high-temperature" material, likely a ni-resist or inconel turbine housing, but not strictly specified
    *JCW factory "sports" exhaust. This is different than the JCW dealer accessory exhaust that has the bluetooth key-fob to control an exhaust flap. This factory JCW exhaust, from all indications, is a non-active, however my salesman insists otherwise and claims it's an ECU-controlled exhaust flap. Time will flesh this one out for sure.

    Transmission
    While both the Cooper S and JCW use the same basic gearbox, the ratios and final drive are quite different. The Cooper S uses a 5.2:1 ratio spread, whereas the JCW has a wider 6.2:1 spread, meaning 1st is shorter and 6th is taller. Specifically:
    Cooper S vs JCW
    *1st gear: 3.923 vs 3.923
    *2nd gear: 2.136 vs 2.136
    *3rd gear: 1.393 vs 1.276
    *4th gear: 1.088 vs 0.921
    *5th gear: 0.892 vs 0.756
    *6th gear: 0.756 vs 0.628
    Final Drive: 3.588 vs 3.824

    Multiply the gear by the final drive and you get total ratio from engine to axles. This new ratio set is presumably why the manual trans JCW is taking longer to bring to production.

    Suspension and Brakes
    *The Brembo front brakes are the big ticket item here. They're 4-piston fixed calipers with presumably larger diameter rotors, however I have not found any exact measurements yet. The rear calipers are "painted red" and likely to be essentially Cooper S carry-over parts.
    *Sport suspension: The $500 option on the Cooper S is standard on the JCW, which claims to be "30% stiffer", though it doesn't explain if that's spring rates, sway bars, dampers, bushings, or combinations of each.
    *A curious nugget in the press release says that the JCW uses a model-specific front knuckle, what BMW calls "swivel bearing". MINI parts via RealOEM.com shows there are currently 3 pairs of swivel bearing part numbers, with factory, +0.5°, and -0.5° of camber. Time will tell if the JCW is simply using the -0.5° option [just my guess], or if it's something entirely different.

    Features & Aesthetics
    *JCW Aero kit as factory standard, including the front and rear bumpers, side sills, and rear spoiler, the latter which is claimed to generate downforce "at high speeds".
    *JCW-specific wheel arches with the little tiny extension, allegedly to vertically cover the factory wheels, which sounds nebulous. Some states have laws that require the wheel to be fully covered from above, however you can get all but the Race spoke on the Cooper and S, so this tidbit might also be subtle aero without actually saying so.
    *Standard LED headlamps
    *JCW "Sport" seats with integrated headrest. I hope everyone is within their design target for body size, whatever that is!
    *JCW-specific badging and extras and tidbits throughout the car, including gauge bezels, gear lever, stainless pedals, steering wheel, anthracite headliner, side scuttles, entry sills, key, etc. No shortage of JCW branding here.


    As a comparison, if you equip a Cooper S with JCW Exterior and Interior packs, LED headlights, 17" Race spoke wheels [a $0 option on the JCW], a Cooper S "JCW-clone" would cost $28,700, yet would be missing quite a bit. For the $31,450 JCW base MSRP, or $2,750 more, the JCW model adds:
    *revised turbo w/more boost pressure
    *JCW ECU tune with 39 more horsepower and 29 more LbFt of torque
    *revised low-compression pistons
    *JCW factory exhaust
    *Transmission ratios
    *JCW-specific front knuckles
    *Brembo front brakes and red rear calipers
    *Additional oil cooler
    *JCW Sport seats
    *JCW gauge bezels, gear shifter, exterior badging of course

    In my eyes, this amounts to a solid value-added for the dollar amount. Of course it's not all gravy. Fuel economy isn't rosy. According to FuelEconomy.gov, the Cooper S manual is rated at 24/34 (27 combined) and the JCW manual is rated at 23/31 (26 combined). You also can't have front fog lights on a JCW, or an exterior chrome pack [good!], but those things are not missed by me.

    More to come!
    Ryan
     
  2. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    Some other things worth noting:


    *If you equip a Cooper S with the JCW Aero kit, the coefficient of drag and thus total drag numbers will likely mirror the JCW model, and as such it can be inferred that highway fuel economy will suffer slightly.

    *The JCW will most likely get equivalent, or only slightly less highway FE than the standard-body-kit Cooper S. This is a speculation on my part, deduced from the taller 5th and 6th gears, so the engine will be operating at a lower RPM for the same speed versus the Cooper S. So, the lower engine speed usually means improved FE, but the higher aero drag means it'll wash out. Based on my knowledge of EPA FE testing, MINIUSA very likely did not push the ECU calibrators as hard to perfect the JCW's highway number, knowing the figure is not as important as the high volume selling Cooper and S for CAFE and also because the target demographic isn't as concerned with the FE numbers.

    *Sifting through BMW press releases, I found the BMW 218d Active Tourer, which is a platform mate to the F55/F56, has the exact same ratios for its 6-speed manual except for the final drive ratio. This means BMW already has most of the JCW-manual in production, just not the final drive gears. Regarding the JCW Automatic, it appears to be identical to the 218i Active Tourer's 6-speed automatic with the exception of the final drive.

    *The JCW's engine compression ratio of 10.2:1 is identical to the BMW 225i Active Tourer's, meaning it's entirely likely the engine would have no problem matching its 350 Nm (258 LbFt) peak torque at 1,250 RPM, and peak power of 231 HP from 4750 to 6000 RPM, given the appropriate ECU tune.

    *It's entirely likely cooperative dealership parts departments, or aftermarket vendors, will generate a kit to retrofit the JCW oil cooler onto a Cooper S. I see this as a valuable addition for those that HPDE/track-day their Cooper S.

    *More research is needed into the part numbers for the suspension pieces in the JCW. It'll be interesting to see how different the front knuckles are. Also if the verbiage in the press release talking about the rear suspension having "a larger proportion of highly rigid steel types" is just marketing gloss or if the rear lateral control arms are indeed unique.

    *The wheels on the JCW allegedly are different part numbers than the JCW wheels offered on the Exterior Packages for the Cooper and Cooper S, though I don't have those numbers just yet.

    Anyone else have insight into the specifics of the JCW that I missed?
     
  3. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    You guys will get a kick out of this. It's a graph charting the force delivered to the tires contact patch on both the Cooper S and the JCW. This highlights the notable difference in torque output from the engine, but also how gearing affects the torque to the ground along with speed ranges in each gear.

    Since the entire drivetrain is usually an underdrive, even in top-gear, torque is multiplied. In 1st gear, the JCW's 15.0:1 total ratio multiplies the engine's 236 LbFt and [in conjunction with the torque radius of the loaded tire] transfers 3,616 Lbf to the pavement from 6 to 22 MPH in 1st gear at full load. This is a huge amount, way more than most small cars I've owned. As perspective, a Subaru BRZ only puts down about 2,100 Lbf in 1st gear, a Fiat Abarth 500 puts down about 2,500 Lbf in 1st gear, and some of you might remember my white Lotus Exige S, puts down about 2,430 Lbf peak in 1st gear. This means that despite the Cooper S having excellent 1st gear torque, the JCW will positively ROAST the tires to oblivion. :lol:

    The JCW's super-overdrive 6th gear means it'll feel fairly average in terms of top-gear acceleration, but also at 70 MPH the engine will only be casually turning at 2,404 RPM, compared to the Cooper S's 2,716 RPM at the same speed.

    [​IMG]16970683377_da9097e92b_o.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr
     
  4. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    What's your track toy now? You gotta have something! I thought you sold the Lotus--did you get another one?
     
  5. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    Welcome back, Ryan. We don't see you much anymore.
     
  6. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    I have a turbo 1st gen Miata as a project/restoration. You might've seen it at MOTD this past weekend. :biggrin5:

    Thanks :) I still love the MINI community and I've learned a LOT in the past few years in other marques that hopefully can translate here.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    RealOEM.com just updated and now has the early JCW builds. Here are some of the changes:

    *The engine for the JCW is called B48A20B, whereas the Cooper S is called B46A20A
    *Piston is now #11258618503
    *The cylinder head, cams, valves, and springs are identical to the Cooper S
    *The turbocharger/exhaust manifold is listed as the same part number. hmmmm.

    *Manual trans flywheel is #21208600213 (auto trans flexplate is the same)
    *The clutch is #21208631870, and has a note of being 228mm, likely the diameter.
    *The manual trans is #23008617543 and called GS6-59SG - TBFN, the last letter being different than the Cooper S
    *The automatic trans has a few part numbers depending on options, but they're all different than the Cooper S



    *The Radiator is now #17118603089 and the Intercooler is now #17517617600. It'll be interesting to see what the functional differences are vs. the Cooper S.
    *The exhaust downpipe [#18327634633] is the same as the B48 Cooper S. The B46 engine uses a different part number.
    *The center muffler is now # 18308616390, and the rear muffler is now # 18308615431


    RealOEM hasn't yet updated the front suspension part numbers for the JCW.
    *The rear suspension arms appear to be identical
    *The rear dampers and rear sway bar are identical to the Cooper S Sport Suspension, as promised.

    I missed something from the engine. The JCW injectors are listed as a different part number, but with a note that it's already "ended", with no new part number. Strange.

    Also, the charge air ducts to and from the Intercooler are new. Either improved airflow and/or different terminations to the Intercooler, given that's new too.

    The turbine and exhaust manifold are one casting on the F56, and the part number is listed as the same according to RealOEM at this time. Personally I think it makes sense in order to get the same 1,250 RPM boost threshold, but it is counter to the glossy verbiage in the press release.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------

    The Brakes are a big change!

    *The new Brembo front brakes are 4 piston fixed calipers using 2 bridge pins and a retainer spring to locate and quiet the front pads. The JCW pads appear to have much more volume and area than the Cooper S pads. This is good for brake torque and thermal capacity. The pads will also be very quick to change, meaning a swap from street to track compounds can be done quicker than the time it takes to unbolt the wheel.

    *The new rotors are 335 x 30mm, versus the Cooper S's 294 x 22mm. That's a big increase in both diameter and width.

    *The rear brake rotors are still 259 x 10mm, same as Cooper S, however the calipers and mounts are new part numbers, perhaps because they're painted red.

    *Given the much larger front brakes, it's not surprising the Master Cylinder is different [#34336868997]. The proportioning and/or bore size is likely changed to maintain hydraulic balance. Interestingly, the ABS servo is the same as Cooper S. The Vacuum booster aka Servo is also different, now #34336869016.

    *The wheel part numbers are still not updated.

    *The body skeleton is the same part number, meaning no fundamental changes to structure or strength.

    *Of course, the wheel arch plastics are new part numbers:
    51777387889 & 51777387890 front no PDC
    51777403264 & 51777403265 front w/PDC
    51777387893 & 51777387894 rear for both
    The rest of the black plastics appear to be the same as the JCW Exterior Pack on the Coopers S

    *The JCW emblem on the front grill is not listed as a separate part number, however there is a "chrome line" [#51137368129] and "Chili Red" [#51137393456] grille.

    *This page shows the air duct for the "AMOeK", let's see if we can figure out what that means. The oil cooler on the JCW is listed as identical to the Cooper S, so that doesn't appear to be it. A quickie Google shows that most current BMW's also have an "AMOeK", whatever that is. hmmm...

    The JCW seats are interesting. The headrest is fixed, but there's still a headrest restraint bar that's mounted the same way as the normal seats, it's just not adjustable due to the upholstery style.

    Check out the upholstery page here. All seats are mostly Dinamica [a brand name for a faux suede], and then either have cloth [standard] or leather [$1,950 option] trim. The Dinamica is black on the cloth trim, and red on the leather trim.

    The Chrono "paket" gauges are online. The gauges are #62109363125, the LHD bezels are #65509347442 & #65509347446.

    Finally, the A/C condenser is a new part number, likely as part of the new radiator and intercooler stack-up.



    Cheers,
    Ryan
     
  7. rkw

    rkw Well-Known Member

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  8. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    ^^^That makes perfect sense, as the JCW and 225i Active Tourer have the same PS ratings in EU. Curiously, the JCW ECU tune has 22 fewer LbFt, so bringing it up to 225i levels would be "what the BMW factory intended"
     
  9. rkw

    rkw Well-Known Member

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    Detuned to leave room for the GP? Nah, they wouldn't do anything like that.

    And what's with this "active tourer" nonsense? Let's call it the station wagon that it is.
     
  10. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Still can't fix ugly.....
     
  11. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    #11 Ryephile, May 5, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 5, 2015
    :deadhorse:

    Nathan and I were talking about how there were an incredible amount of F56's at MOTD this year. Whether you think they look good or not is irrelevant; they're here to stay. Car manufacture is about making money, not appealing to enthusiasts, however tough a pill that is to swallow. If enough people agreed with you then the platform would be a failure, however at this point the sales figures don't agree with you.
     
  12. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Sales Figures are BS because they did not sell crap last year.
    It's hard not to have great numbers because 1 over zero is 100% sales gain.
     
  13. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    Year - MINI Brand U.S.A. sales

    2002 - 24,590
    2003 - 36,010
    2004 - 36,032
    2005 - 40,820
    2006 - 39,171
    2007 - 42,045
    2008 - 54,077
    2009 - 45,255
    2010 - 45,644
    2011 - 57,511
    2012 - 66,123
    2013 - 66,502
    2014 - 56,112
    2015 through April - 18,253
     
  14. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    That would be a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of ~68,000 at the current pace.

    The cars are selling.

    M/A is inclusive. If you can't be, there are other places for you.

    Now back to the Ryephile discussion on the F56 model differences.
     
  15. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Feel free to delete my post about the worlds gift to MINI Motoring World.

    I Don't Care as I will NEVER own one.
     
  16. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    The 2014 figures are artificially low too, due to recalls.

    I'm not an F56 fan, but Ryan and Nate are right, it's here to stay. And I'm guessing that there are still a few enthusiasts in the F56 crowd, maybe not as high a percentage, but there are still some just as enthusiastic as we are. Let 'me join in. We grudgingly accepted the R56 crowd way back when, and that ended up turning out pretty well. For the most part....:)

    F56 bashing was funny for awhile, but people are just tired of it, it's like watching too many Adam Sandler movies in a row--juvenile fun at first, Chinese water torture by the end.

    When it gets to the point that we're taking people as enthusiastic as we are and taking the fun out of it for them, it's time to take a step back.
     
  17. GokartPilot

    GokartPilot Well-Known Member

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    ^^Agree^^ I am not a big fan of the F56 but hey, it’s good to see people driving around in MINIs whatever they happen to be.
    There is something to be said about the newer MINIs that are hitting the streets though; they are actually on the road. I bet if there was a survey you would find that most are daily drivers, not parked for the occasional sunny weekend drive, MINI event or making track cars out of them. They are getting groceries, picking up the kids from school and going to work in them every day.
    I get asked at least once a week how I like my MINI, I can honestly say every time I answer that question I have a big smile on my face and tell them that it is the most fun car to drive that I have ever owned. The next question is how is the gas mileage? Uhmm? Thinking about it I might be at fault for helping with the increase in MINI sales.
    I guess the byproduct of these sale “increases” could lead to bigger and “better” things, maybe the fruition of the Rocketman or Supereleggera. I guarantee if that happens I will be visiting a MINI dealership taking a few test drives.
     
  18. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    And, while it pains me to say it... MINI sold more 2nd and 3rd gen cars in 2014 than they did 1st gen cars in 2006. By far.

    Ryan, this is GREAT stuff. Thanks for all the work putting it together.
     
  19. Ryephile

    Ryephile New Member

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    Very well reasoned. :Thumbsup: It all comes down to economics in the end. As most automotive CFO's will say, if they make enough money on the bread-n-butter cars, then they have the opportunity to make a fun car to appeal to the few of us enthusiasts that buy new. I envision the 4-door hardtop being a big seller and will poach sales from "typical" 4-door hatches like the Focus, Mazda3, Golf, etc, as buyers see the MINI as the fun and personable alternative where in the past with just the 2-door they couldn't convince their spouse a 2-door plus a rough and loud ride would be a wise idea. If a bunch of people buy 4-door hardtop's and Countryman's, then that improves the likelihood of continued 2-door JCWs and hopefully something unique like the Superleggera.

    So, this isn't a situation where we're defending or shilling the F56. It's just calling it out like it is; a business decision. It's still a free market, so if you're going to buy new, you have every right to choose whatever car you want.

    I met a pair of very nice guys from MINIUSA at MOTD that had brought the new JCW hardtop. It was of course an automatic since they haven't started production on the manual trans yet. They were kind enough to hand over the fob and let us climb around, start it, rev it up, and poke under the bonnet. The exhaust note sounds very nice. It has a reasonably aggressive growl to it without being immature, which is a difficult balance. It's an exhaust note that you can appreciate from day one, yet grow into and not get tired of or annoyed with it. A nice addition to the lineup.
     
  20. Zillon

    Zillon Well-Known Member

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    I'm coming around to the F56 - I still don't like the massive underbite of the front bumper, though.

    Reminds me of this:
    [​IMG]

    I'd love to see a base Cooper bumper on a F56S.
     

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