2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: JCW or S

Find a low milage Gen 1 r53 S or JCW. (Years 05 or 06)

 

I can only speak for me. JCWs are cool cars. If buying new I'd say for me they are not worth the premium charged. Buying used changes that. Buying one with 40 or 46 on the odo gets you close to the end of the warranty. Me I'd buy the newest MINI I could get even if that meant getting an S over a JCW.

The JCW has more pony's than the S. Driving in the real world it really does not matter. Put them on the track then yes it does. Tough choices.

 

:cornut: I agree( with Crashton not Dave. Dave wants you to buy an R53 with a Stupor Charger as opposed to a modern R56 with a Turbo Charger). A (perhaps)more easily understood comparison would be to substitute Mustang GT (for MCS) and Shelby Cobra GT 500(for JCW). A cheaper low milage GT or a more expensive higher milage Shelby Cobra(King of Cool). Cool always costs more but, cool is important to many people. One can mod the MCS to approximate the factory JCW. One will start a big fight around here if one says that a MCS can be modded to equal a factory JCW(different pistons, connecting rods,perhaps head polished a little..............on and on) as opposed to a dealer JCW(made JCW by adding a kit to a MCS Better air cleaner and filter, up graded computer tune, better cat back exhaust). I hope that this helps. Me I bought a new 08 R56 MCS and had the JCW kit added by the dealer(I happen to like Cool/Steve McQueen. He modded his 65 or 66 Mini Cooper). Also there were no factory JCW in 07 and 08. So if you are buying an 08 then it must be a R56 MCS/JCW and not a factory JCW. (The guys around here will correct me if I err in this) GOOD LUCK!

Jason

I just saw your question about 08 vs 2011 MCS. I would go with the 2011 MCS as it has the newer N18 engine which May Be Less Prone to intake valve carbon build up problems than the N14 engines in the 07-09 MCS/JCW inclusive. Things can be done to prevent that but, that's another lecture.

 

Personally, I'd stay away from anything with a N14 engine. Such a **** engine...

 

I'm just lucky like that. Happy Motoring!

 

Well.....personally I've had 3 MINI's with N14 engines. Change the oil every 4,000 miles, keep up to date with changes and upgrades, drive it like you stole it and I haven't had any issues. BTW, 2 of the 3 have been factory JCW's.

 

Just sayin'.....if you have a bag of apples and find one that's rotten, you can't assume that all the apples in the bag are also rotten. I'm convinced that some of the issues that we hear about the N14 are brought on by the people who own them.

 

Agreed Jason. Nick though is not new to MINI. He's been hangin' with the MoM group (save his soul) for the past year and a half getting his ears filled.

 

Well I won't sit here and ***** back and forth about it. I know that I kept my MINI maintained extremely well, and I still had to have my tensioner replaced 3 times within 60,000 miles. So yes, I think that the N14 was ****. End of story.

However, I ALSO agree with you. Not all are affected. But having that one that was affected made me aware enough that I wasn't going to get back into one.

You've got your opinion, and I've got mine. Both that have facts to back them. Glad your MINI's didn't have the issue. It was a ***** to deal with, and NOT cheap to fix either. Among that issue, my electric steering module went out. Over $1,300 to replace, water pump, oil line to the turbo leaked, and other little ****. Personally I believed mine was just possessed. None of those things (except maybe the turbo line leaking) should go out before 60,000 miles on a well maintained vehicle.

 

On second thought, since I have had 3 N14's I should at least get sympathy votes from you two in the November MINI of the Month Contest
Dark Helmet...Dark Helmet...Dark Helmet

 

WOW. Dar Helmet=NICE! Great looking Coupe!:cornut:

 

DAMN... Now I feel lucky! Lol

 

I'd take the supercharged over the turbo anyway, any mileage! Just saying... Why do you think I ordered a Countryman Justa

 

Well my one S with a N14, 60,000 miles later with three timing chain tensioners replaced with in that amount of miles is unacceptable. Oil changed every 4-5k.

Not looking to piss anyone off or hurt anyone's feelings, just being honest and putting out my outlook on that engine. There's some that have over 100,000 miles that haven't had the tensioner changed once, but there's a lot that have that problem, and it's not cheap on your wallet.

Much like Jason said, I'd go with the N18 and upgrade it with the JCW kit. I traded in my R56 S with the N14 in on an ordered 2012 MINI Cooper S which comes with the N18, then had the JCW kit installed because even the 2012 JCWs still come with the N14.

The N18 pushes 181 HP and 191 ft lbs torque. N14 171 HP and 177 ft lbs of torque.

With the JCW kit on the N18 your looking at 198 HP and up to 207 ft lbs of torque. To me, having the newer better engine and adding the JCW kit was smarter, than ordering a factory JCW.

 

:cornut: Me Too but I also took other unmentioned precautions that prevented this problem(I refuse to start that fight again). I think though that if he's new to MINI and we don't warn him about the N14 intake valve carbon build up problem, then we would be poor stewards of MA, YES?

Jason

 

I AGREE! But a new buyer must be warned of possibilities and ramifications. "Hey!, are you a new and uninformed buyer(tee hee:devil? Then no there's never been any controversy about the N14 engine. Yeah buddy, go ahead and spend your last dollar on an N14 engine but make sure that you have access to $3k-$5k just in case.":fingerscrossed:

Jason

 

Nah, there's more that DIDN'T have the issues than the few that did. Unfortunately the ones that did, seemed to have more. One of those stupid things. Might have been the fact that I was dumb and got a very early build 2007. Lol. Oh well. With all that said, just letting the other party know what I went through and what to look out for. Most of the 09-10's didn't have many of the issues the 07's did.

Happy Motoring also!

 

:cornut: Thank you! How were we to know that he was official or unofficial MoM? But yes now that I/we know this, it sheds an entirely new brighter light on his questions and the answers given. Again, thanks.

Jason

 

:cornut: Yeah Buddy, Boy Howdy here's Margi's list- Right axel seal, Computer engine module, engine electronics computer module(yes they are different and separete), head gasket, thermostat, timing chain oiler tensioner, recalled turbo water pump, engine water pump and I can't remember the rest.........................

Jason

 

Wow this has gotten off track quickly...

Anywho, if I were in the market for another MINI '08+ S, I would definitely go with a 2011 + with the N18 engine. It is a whole different beast than the N14 in S trim. It only has 10 more horsepower but pulls way stronger with the double vanos system. However the downside is the ECU is locked for now on the N18, so if you are planning on doing a tune, it will be tougher, but not impossible (requires pulling and sending out the ECU). The downside the '08+ S vs JCW is I am not sure how much extra horsepower the Prince engine can take in S form. The JCW engine and transmission have been beefed up even more than the S. So if you think a lot of modding is in your future, the JCW may be the way to go.

I tend to agree with Chuck, that I would probably go with the newest I could afford to get as much warranty as possible.