2nd Gen JCW 2011 Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works vs. The Aftermarket

Discussion in '2nd Generation: 2007+ R55 through R61' started by Nathan, Jul 7, 2011.

  1. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    #1 Nathan, Jul 7, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2011
    The following was published by Winding Road on July 7, 2011

    By Brandon Turkus

    If you are buying a car for go-fast reasons, there currently seem to be two avenues. On the one hand are the manufacturer-backed tuning divisions, known by a seemingly random assortment of letters. M, AMG, F, IPL, JCW, SVT, and others deliver some serious performance over the standard models while still offering a manufacturer-backed warranty should anything go wrong.

    On the other hand, nearly every car from the Toyota Yaris to the Ferrari 458 Italia has a dedicated aftermarket that can deliver equally blistering performance for quite a bit less coin, but without the protection provided by a warranty. Component companies like Borla, Magnaflow, Brembo, Injen, and HKS offer individual parts, while full-scale customizers like AC Schnitzer, MTM, Roush, and Saleen can deliver fully modified vehicles to any customer that has the cash.

    With the arrival of a 2011 John Cooper Works Mini Cooper S in our test fleet, and representing the manufacturer-backed side of the speed equation, this is the perfect time to see if the price premium for our JCW can be bested by the aftermarket.

    Factory Born Performance

    What happens at the factory to make the JCW the fire-breather that it is? For a start, lighter seventeen-inch wheels shield four-piston Brembo brakes and larger 12.4-inch rotors to help with stopping and handling. The suspension is the same $500 Sport Suspension option that can be had on the standard Cooper S.

    In terms of engine mods, the JCW features reinforced pistons, a lower compression ratio (10.0:1 versus 10.5:1 in the Cooper S) and more boost (1.3 bar in the JCW, 0.9 bar in the Cooper S) from a larger turbocharger and exhaust manifold. A larger cold-air intake and mass airflow sensor are also fitted to improve throttle response. Finally, a reworked exhaust system produces a genuinely mean sounding note, that barks and burbles on overrun. All that mechanical nonsense means there’s 208 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque (207 pound-feet during overboost) at the disposal of your right foot.

    All that added performance is going to tack $6100 on to the $23,700 base price of a Mini Cooper S, for a total of $29,800. Optioned out as our tester was, you’d be looking at cutting Mini a check for $34,550. The question is, can you do a better job in the aftermarket, for less money? That’s what I’m hoping to find out here.

    Modding

    To start, I need to figure out just what parts I’d plan on modding in my hypothetical JCW-beating Cooper S. Obviously I’d need to match the JCW on power. That means adding 27 horsepower and 30 pound-feet of torque to the stock motor. I also need to upgrade the wheels, tires, and brakes. Unlike Mini, I won’t be ignoring the suspension tuning, in an effort to tighten the Works car’s already sporting ride. The key is going to be keeping the price under $6100, which means we’ll be aiming for bolt-on upgrades that can be handled in a decently equipped garage.

    Power upgrades will actually be the easiest to perform on our hypothetical MCS. Based on my experiences in the Mini aftermarket, I’d opt for a downpipe-back Milltek exhaust. This stainless-steel piece weighs in at 95 pounds, and is good for about 27 horsepower at the crank. It is also one of the most popular aftermarket items in the Mini community. The next step would be to improve breathing. That means a cold-air intake and a smoother and larger boost tube. Again, these simple upgrades can be handled in the span of two to three hours. At the same time, they are good for roughly 17 horsepower. That means we’ve already bumped our 181-horsepower output to 225 horsepower, easily eclipsing the JCW’s 208 horsepower.

    The great thing is that these mods aren’t terribly expensive. Go to a reputable site like Detroit Tuned or OutMotoring, and you can be out the virtual door for under $1300. If you aren’t a wrench-turner, figure in about $200 to $300 for installation.

    Moving on to brakes. You can actually pick up the same Brembo brake kit found on our JCW for about $2000. On the other hand, a full brake kit is available from Detroit Tuned for under $1400, and also features four-piston front calipers and 12.8-inch rotors up front. The kit also includes braided stainless-steel brake lines up front, for improved brake feel. Again, with the exception of the lines, swapping in this brake system can be done fairly easily.

    Wheels and tires are a more personal choice, with decisions heavily influenced by style and price point. For example, if your heart is set on looks and brand cache, and you can pony up the $780 per wheel for a set of BBS REs, than more power to you. The same goes for tires; if you can afford $312 per tire for Yokohama’s Advan A048s (the same, near-slick tires found on the Lotus Elise), go for it. Personally, I’d opt for the lightweight Enkei RPF1 wheels with Yokohama Parada Spec-2 tires. At 14.6-pounds per wheel, the Enkei’s are extremely light, and at $225 per wheel, aren’t unreasonably expensive. When it’s all said and done, the sticky Yokos and lightweight Enkeis will cost you $1288, not counting mounting and balancing.

    Finally, we get to the part of the modding process that Mini seemed to neglect: the suspension. As with the wheels and tires, suspension upgrades are a deeply personal process based heavily on what the driver wants. If looks are more important than outright handling prowess, a set of lowering springs could be the ticket. If ultimate handling at the cost of road comfort and price is tolerable, then a full suspension overhaul could be the right path.

    For our Mini though, I’d opt for a do-it-yourself suspension, featuring new springs and a stiffer rear sway bar. In terms of springs, NM Engineering’s coils give an attractive 1.2-inch drop at all four corners (something the JCW sorely needs, in my view). Besides improving looks, these springs also deliver a stiffer, more responsive ride without compromising overall comfort. The most cost-effective handling mod for our Mini though, would be a new rear sway bar. A new rear bar can radically alter the handling of a car. In the case of our car, it would eliminate the sensation of understeer that is programmed into a stock Cooper S. The car feels more neutral and sure-footed, due to the lack of lateral weight transfer. That being said, a rear sway bar upgrade also makes an already quick-rotating car rotate even faster, and can quickly catch an inexperienced driver out. The cost of our suspension work would total about $550 for DIY-ers.

    The Final Product

    The final tally for our Mini mods comes out to $4538 for shade-tree mechanics, while the cost to have the work done will likely be a bit more. Compare that to the $6100 price premium of the factory car, and the aftermarket seems quite appealing. But there is an elephant in the room, and it takes the form of the manufacturer-backed, four-year, 50,000-mile warranty that comes with a JCW Mini.

    You see, modifying your car is a great way to void the factory warranty, should something go wrong because of your modification. Therein lies the appeal of the JCW, in that you can get a great deal of performance, with the security blanket of a warranty for less than $2000 over the price of the aftermarket car we just built here.

    That leaves potential buyers with a decision: are you a car tinkerer that doesn’t mind voiding your warranty, or the type of person that just wants a quick Mini with protection straight from the factory? If you find your self in the former, start modding. If not, then the John Cooper Works Mini Cooper S is probably the perfect car for you.

    Source - Winding Road | Blog: 2011 Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works vs. The Aftermarket
     
  2. WolfGTI

    WolfGTI Active Member

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    Guess that car went past 88mph ;-)
     
  3. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Whoops...

    Fixed.
     
  4. minimark

    minimark Well-Known Member

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    ROFLMAO..


    .....never mind.
     
  5. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    MINI Cooper S JCW vs. The Aftermarket

    We’re getting to be bigger and bigger fans of the chaps over at Winding Road. We recently featured their rather good comparison between the new Fiat 500 Sport and the MINI Cooper. They’re back, and this time with an in-depth look at what might happen if you pitted a factory Cooper S JCW against a [...]

    More...
     
  6. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    LOL......we crashed MF!
     
  7. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    An R53 owners take...

    Somehow to me it seems a bit more satisfying to build a car the way you want it, warranty be damned. Our local dealer has been very mod friendly & that helped. I chose to build what to me is a bastard JCW. I could do it a bit at a time when money allowed. Is it a real JCW? Heck no, but it is a whole lot more fun than when it was stock & it was a whole lot cheaper to build than buying a JCW. Works for me. :D
     
  8. Way Motor Works

    Way Motor Works New Member

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    Start with the JCW then mod it. :Thumbsup:
     
  9. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: That's just what I did with Margi(08 R56 MCS JCW manual).:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  10. flatlander_48

    flatlander_48 New Member

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    #10 flatlander_48, Jul 14, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2011
    I'm confused...

    MINI Cooper S with a JCW kit (what I think you mean)

    or

    a factory JCW MINI?

    Your terminology is what they used in the article, which is incorrect. But, I think WMW was referring to starting with a factory JCW, which brings the uprated cylinder head, uprated pistons, bigger turbo, etc.

    And yes, I have been to Sherman, though not recently...
     
  11. k-huevo

    k-huevo Club Coordinator

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    So, the article writer is a politician. A claim of 27hp gain at the crank for the exhaust, then stating a 17hp gain with all modifications applied; that's a generous 63% drivetrain loss, and no mention of the percentage of exhaust gain from the number. A claim of stiffness increase for the springs with no loss in comfort, but also says handling comes at the expense of comfort later. Larger boost tube? What the heck is that? If he is referring to the inlet tube from the air box, there's no boost there. At least the word "hypothetical" is written a few times in the article, he should also have a few winking emoticons sprinkled among the text.
     
  12. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: Thanks Keith! I always hope for your comments when things like this come up.(And, of course, it has nothing to do with our both being Texans on a Yankee Ohio site:lol:) When MINI Margi needs the big fixes(engine rebuild, clutch/plate/bearing replacement, post warranty power upgrades,etc), I'm headed 'tord Sanantone.'( north of the Mason Dixon, that's pronounced 'towards San Antonio).The parts that Keith will use,I'll buy from our M/A vendors ,of course.:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  13. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: Correct me if I'm wrong but, when Margi(08 R56 MCS/JCWm) was built in Dec 07 and delivered to me in Feb 08, There were NO FACTORY JCW being built. All of the early R56 JCW were dealer kits so.......differentiating between existing(dealer kits) and non existing(no factory made JCW) is superfluous. She is an 08 R56 MCS/JCWm. It was ~ 09 before factory JCW became available again as in previous JCW/GP R53s. Margi is a proud Lady and the best available at the time.:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  14. Motormax

    Motormax New Member

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    You said it Bro !


    This is a good article and definitely gives one pause for thought ! But lets take a closer look at this article and read between the lines on this slightly eschewed point of view. Another words as good as this article is I give it a c- on being a full accurate comparison. There is a little bit of apples and oranges going on here. To his credit the writer described the JCW upgrades accurately and so lets directly quote him

    "JCW features reinforced pistons, a lower compression ratio (10.0:1 versus 10.5:1 in the Cooper S) and more boost (1.3 bar in the JCW, 0.9 bar in the Cooper S) from a larger turbocharger and exhaust manifold."

    Then he builds up his mock cooper to match or surpass the added power gains of the JCW with his mock bolt on Mods which is cool. But they are not the same mods as the JCW mods... The JCW modifications are far more significant then a bolt on intake & airflow pipe upgrades, and a reworked exhaust. The JCW upgrade was Pistons, lower compression ratio, and a larger turbo and a larger exhaust manifold ! WOW... lets face it these are not bolt on mods they are actual engine upgrades. To have these done after market would be thousands of dollars and only the more advanced home mechanics could even think about attempting to do them. For the less accomplished, like my self, it would be thousands more in actual build time & labor cost. Just a manifold upgrade (swap) alone in the Honda mod World would be between 2-4k. Subaru even more then that... & MINI if such a thing was even available in the gen 2's would be pretty pricey ! And all of the JCW true engine upgrades all together would be far far more expensive after the fact. The JCW engine upgrades in actuality are an absolute bargain. Think about it .. To take a "S" and reconstruct the pistons, buy and install a larger turbo, remove, purchase, and the install a larger manifold, tuning to a lower compression... and we're not even including a true Brembo brake upgrade! No it's easy to see that it would be far more then 6k no doubt, no debate, about it.

    Now like anything in this world it all comes down to price and I guess that was the over all message of the article. However I think it would have been less, lets say disingenuous, if the writer didn't make the article read like an "either" "or" situation or choice. Yes, and it is awesome, that with some bucks labor and time you can make a "S" have the same or even more power gains then a stock JCW. However, to make it seem that by just adding these bolt on power gains is somehow truly equivalent to a JCW is just not correct in reality. IMO
     
  15. cockney

    cockney New Member

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    Winding Road has some interesting ideas ...... especially if your warranty has expired
    I'm not much of a mechanic, any ball park on how much this would cost to get done? What might be a great idea is a company that sells you the parts, you do the work under their guidance at their shop (for a fee) ...... i would get experience, enjoy the process, but not cripple my MCS. Suspension mods are always interesting when you drive a convertible.
     
  16. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Or you can start with a 05 / 06 (1st Gen) R53 and forget about the silly Mini warranty.

    1. You can still get a good one cheap.
    2. You will have more money for better mods.
    3. Your insurance will be cheaper.
    4. You can make 250+ Real HP
    5. The first gen looks better
    6. No carbon problems
     

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