Gonna zombie this thread…. I have found this to be true as well. The R53s that I saw at the track, that were fast, were heavily modified. I managed to be faster than most R53s (not all) with my stock R56 S on street tires. It wasn't even a JCW. My new F56 JCW would leave my R56 in the dust on a track even on the run flats. Honestly, the MINIs seemed "neat" but never held my interest until the R56. I preferred the turbo to the supercharger (unless it's a V8 drag car, but that is a whole other beastie). I liked the tech that it came with and the handing was tight without the suspension feeling like a kid was punching me in the kidneys from the back seat. I wanted a fun car to daily drive that I could autocross and be competitive with minimal, if any, modifications. My R56 certainly did that. With my F56 JCW I wanted that small (yes, despite the bizarre disdain from R53 owners saying its "too big") car that gave me that same FEELING. I wanted a JCW because it is the "top of the line" and I am in a place in my life where I can afford that. It's a better MINI in every way than my R56 was. My purpose has changed a bit. No more track days (so far as I can tell) and maybe the occasional autocross. I have another hobby that takes up a bunch of my time. I still want a car that will haul booty, get good gas mileage, and be a blast to drive. The F56 JCW fits the bill. My observations are different from Ryephile's though. I may give it a full week and then I will do a write up on what I think about my 2018 F56 JCW…
Well.....I am and will always be a R53 guy. Each gen is different and some of it just boils down to personal preference. The R56 and R53 are a close match. Look at the Gen 1 and 2 GP times. The GP1 ran the ring at 8:41 and the GP2 did it in 8:23, 18 seconds faster. Don't forget the GP2 came with basically race tires and coil overs. Use the same tires and that margin would be much less if not even. I have an R53 and a R58, my wife has an R57. I like all 3. The R53 is visceral and is great when you rap it out on the redline. There is nothing like the sound. Its no slouch , she just likes to be rung out. The Helmet well...I love that car. The torque comes on early and just begs you to push hard. It is just more civilized about it. The Helmet is going to get me in trouble. I am glad my wife bought me a V1. The Helmet being an R58 is a different animal then other Minis even my wife Gen2. So in a way its harder to compare it to the R53. My wife's R57 is a better comparison but I don't get to drive her car, she has seen how I drive my cars. Go figure! I don't want to start the Mini wars agin.........I am kind of sick of it. I like them all they each have something that sets them apart. Besides the driver makes up 80% of it. I will say the Gen3 cars have a very nice engine in them. I really thank someone should mod the crap out of one and see how much power it can really make. Now I think of it I know of a guy that just got a JCW...............I wonder when he will start modding it?:devil:
Oh and don't say your not modding it, thats called denial. Its the first sight of a modding addiction.
I'm not trying to start a "MINI war". Just explaining my point of view. It just so happens a bunch of that was with my old R56 on the track. As far as modding goes you can search this forum and see what mods I did to the R56. Which is basically none. I upgraded tires, fluids, brake pads. Necessary upgrads for the car to endure track conditions. I never tuned the engine (evrn though I was accused of that by many a Corvette and Evo owner at the track). Never had a CAI. I did put a different muffler on in Texas because I enjoyed the sound. There was no performace improvement. The F56 JCW has a really good sounding exhaust and runflats have improved drastically since 2010. I will probably swap to grippy non-runflat tires and more aggressive brake pads when the OEM stuff wears out. That is about it. If you want to see what can be done with the 2.0t engine watch the JCW teams in the Continental Tire series. Those are actually the same engines with better fluids and some SERIOUS tuning.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztZI2aLQ9Sw"]Edwin Starr - War (What is it good for) + Lycris HQ!! - YouTube[/ame]