I am a contributor to BMW Car Magazine and former contributor to Go MINI, and I own a September 2001 Cooper.
As I wanted to fit the
JCW kit to improve my own cars ride and handling after testing Mike Cooper's personal car for BMW Car's Jan 2006 issue, I put this question to
JCW directly.
JCW say there is no difference in the suspension mounting points from May 2002 (when Cooper S was launched) to the present, so the statement implying that the suspension mounts on late 2004-on cars are somehow different is a red herring.
The mods made in April 2002 were done to overcome a problem that occured in some (not mine!) cars, which caused them to pull to one side down cambers. The revised suspension struts feature a new top mount and anti-roll bar drop link as the position of the roll bar mounting point was changed on the new style strut.
BMW are not daft so there is no expensive sheet metal change on the bodywork. Thus, all you need to do to use the Mk 2 suspension on an early car is to buy the new style top mounts, bolts and anti-roll bar drop links from your local BMW dealer. Total cost is around £80 including VAT.
Hope this puts the myths to rest once and for all.