Does anyone know if the JCW suspension kit for the R56 includes an uprated front anti-roll bar? :puzzled:

P.

Yes it does. Saw the whole kit screwed to the wall at the motor show.

Yes it does. Saw the whole kit screwed to the wall at the motor show.

I've ordered the JCW suspension kit for my R56 S and intend fitting it myself to save more than a few quid. I've got the tools and the experience, so fitting the four new struts/spring unit's is going to be reasonably easy.....sorry for sounding a bit big headed :redface:

But, the front anti roll bar looks as though it could be a slightly more difficult job? Does anyone know if once I've removed both front struts and undone the four bolts that hold the front anti roll bar to the subframe, will the bar slide out from one side?

P.

don't know if you've seen this install guide: http://motoringfile.com/files/JCW_suspension_R56.PDF.

It doesn't help regarding your above questions, but it does detail the parts, and also the alignment settings for the new lower suspension. Don't forget mini do a full 4 wheel laser alignment when they fit the kit. Will you get this done at an independant garage or do it yourself?

Id be really interested to hear how you find the suspension when you have it fitted - its so very difficult to find anyone with it for their opinion - ive gt it ordered on my JCW, but am worried it might be too firm.

don't know if you've seen this install guide: http://motoringfile.com/files/JCW_suspension_R56.PDF.

It doesn't help regarding your above questions, but it does detail the parts, and also the alignment settings for the new lower suspension. Don't forget mini do a full 4 wheel laser alignment when they fit the kit. Will you get this done at an independant garage or do it yourself?

Id be really interested to hear how you find the suspension when you have it fitted - its so very difficult to find anyone with it for their opinion - ive gt it ordered on my JCW, but am worried it might be too firm.

Thanks for the info' Rogan 200.

Id be really interested to hear how you find the suspension when you have it fitted - its so very difficult to find anyone with it for their opinion - ive gt it ordered on my JCW, but am worried it might be too firm.


Gabe on Motoringfile has reviewed it for track and street use.

MotoringFile » Archive » MF Review: JCW Suspension at the Track (http://www.motoringfile.com/2007/08/29/mf-review-jcw-suspension-at-the-track/)

MotoringFile » Archive » MF Review: R56 JCW Sport Suspension (http://www.motoringfile.com/2007/08/20/mf-review-r56-jcw-sport-suspension/)

Thanks for the info' Rogan 200.

When do you expect to have your kit fitted and tested?

When do you expect to have your kit fitted and tested?

I've decided to seek professional help..........and get the JCW suspension fitted by a BMW dealer!!!

The JCW suspension is being fitted this Thursday morning, so I'll have a report by Friday afternoon, that's if I don't end up in a ditch!!!! :biggrin:

P.

I've decided to seek professional help..........and get the JCW suspension fitted by a BMW dealer!!!

The JCW suspension is being fitted this Thursday morning, so I'll have a report by Friday afternoon, that's if I don't end up in a ditch!!!! :biggrin:

P.

Probably quite wise!! They should get the setup bang on with their KDS alignment system, and i reckon having the geometry right will make a big difference.

Can't wait for your review - it will play a big part in my decision to get it or not - no pressure!!

How did the suspension fit go? Can't wait for your review of it!!!

How did the suspension fit go? Can't wait for your review of it!!!


Had the JCW suspension fitted on Thursday, but I haven't had a chance to give the car a good test drive yet. I only drove the car back from the dealers and it was raining all the way back.

But I'm doing the run in The Cotswolds this Saturday, so I'll be able to do a review when I get back.

P.

I had the JCW Works Suspension fitted to my car last week, this is what I think of my new suspension set-up.

And I'd like to start by giving you all a bit of background info', the car is a 2007 R56 Cooper S JCW Stage 1 tuned. The car is fitted with JCW 18" R105 wheels with 215/40 R18" Yokohama Prada Spec' 2 tyres running at 2.5bar and an Alta 22mm rear anti-roll bar set on the softest setting. And the car was originally fitted with the factory Sport Suspension set-up.

(Please note that the following is only my opinion, nothing more).

How the car looks.....

The car now sit's a lot lower than expected, the brochure states the the JCW suspension lowers the car by 10mm, it's now closer to 20mm lower? And the amount of negative camber on the rear wheels is also increased.

Driving the car.....

The JCW suspension is slightly harder than the factory Sport Suspension, but not the "track only, too hard for normal roads" suspension that I have read reviews about.

On long straight roads like a motorway etc, there is no great difference between the factory sport suspension and the JCW suspension, although the JCW suspension does react faster to dips in the road, the ride is flattened out quicker.

On twisty roads, this is where the JCW suspension really makes a huge difference! Steering accuracy is improved, the car turns in quicker! Body roll and pitch is greatly reduced, particularly driving through consecutive S bends at vastly inappropriate speed like I did on the Cotswold run on Saturday! Bumps and dips are flattened out much faster due to the faster rebound setting on the JCW struts! The car doesn't nose-dive under heavy braking and unweight the back end anymore!

And if your brave or stupid like me, it's a lot easier to induce "controlled lift off" over-steer when you want to!

It depends what you want out of your car, but if you're like me and like to have some serious fun in your Cooper S driving down twisty A and B roads, hanging onto your steering wheel with white knuckles and an insane grin on your face, then get the JCW suspension. Yes you do sacrifice a bit of ride comfort, but the JCW suspension turns the R56 Cooper S into the car it should have been from the factory!

Hope this helped?

P.

Paul looking good! It looks like you kept the Alta rear sway bar, did you install the front JCW sway bar? Do you have the JCW rear sway bar?

Paul looking good! It looks like you kept the Alta rear sway bar, did you install the front JCW sway bar? Do you have the JCW rear sway bar?

I had the JCW suspension installed by the dealer, glad I did as the front anti-roll bar was a pig of a job, they had to drop the front subframe out to remove the original front anti-roll bar. And then they had to do the laser alignment at the end. Took the dealer seven hours to do the install and they didn't have to fit the rear anti-roll bar!

Yes I do have a brand new JCW rear anti-roll bar for sale at a really cheap price.....£25.00 plus postage. :aargh:

And I would just like to add that the ride quality is better with the JCW suspension and non run-flat tyres than with the original Sports Suspension and the 18" run-flat tyres.

p.

Thanks for the write up Paul, your car looks stunning in the flesh!

We spoke at the Cotswold run on Saturday, I was the guy looking to upgrade to a factory JCW, so thanks for the insight and advise.

I can certainly verify the route gave plenty of opportunity to comment on different road surfaces with loads of twists and turns. :aargh:

Your car looked much lower than I expected from the JCW set up, getting rid of the huge arch gap without looking too low. Any issues with speed bumps thus far? I guess your planning more track days with the new set up?

Just my 2nd post on the forum so hello again!

I also have the JCW suspension & LSD fitted to my R56 MCS, I agree with Pauls on road findings, it makes the car great fun on A & B roads. I use my car to travel from south to north Waes quite often and it is the perfect for the job. It has something of the old school Impreza about the way it handles. Far from being too stiff, I think the way the car remains comfortable and yet so controlled is part of the magic.

As you can tell Iam a fan of my daily driver MCS.

I also like the Motoring File track review of the suspension kit and agree with their assessment. I took my MCS to Llandow circuit this weekend and had a great time (video in a thread in the General Section if you are interested, giving a 7 a like a hard time). The lack of body roll and dive under braking was impressive. Being able to let the back end take up a degree of attitude also means double apex corners, like the Bus Stop at Llandow, can be made one corner. Even on a very wet track the throttle could be burried on the exit of fast sweepers, and there were no problems at all with standing water - maybe a some slight feedback through the wheel but nothing stopping getting the power down - the extra weight in the steering provided by the Sport button helps too. The LSD also helps pin the apex.

Being really silly and entering corners way to fast (there were only 7 cars on track) also proved the suspension works perfectly with the DSC, which quickly reigns in even the most overambitious entry speeds. With the DSC off avoiding understeer requires delicate throttle use. Mild lift off oversteer is your friend, especially in the wet allowing a degree or 2 of slip to help get the car through the apex. If that is all too much trouble just leave the DSC on, its probably just as quick and the electronics sort it all out for you.

For OEM this is about as good as it gets imo. Looks like a good forum with some sensible discussion about things people might really want to do, good stuff.

Thanks for the write up Paul, your car looks stunning in the flesh!

We spoke at the Cotswold run on Saturday, I was the guy looking to upgrade to a factory JCW, so thanks for the insight and advise.

I can certainly verify the route gave plenty of opportunity to comment on different road surfaces with loads of twists and turns. :aargh:

Your car looked much lower than I expected from the JCW set up, getting rid of the huge arch gap without looking too low. Any issues with speed bumps thus far? I guess your planning more track days with the new set up?


I've dragged the nose a couple of times on a few speed bumps, but just the ones which look like a giant squashed tortoise.

Track days? Don't tempt me, I love to but my "sensible chip" won't let me....too much fun for me to handle!

P.

Just my 2nd post on the forum so hello again!

I also have the JCW suspension & LSD fitted to my R56 MCS, I agree with Pauls on road findings, it makes the car great fun on A & B roads. I use my car to travel from south to north Waes quite often and it is the perfect for the job. It has something of the old school Impreza about the way it handles. Far from being too stiff, I think the way the car remains comfortable and yet so controlled is part of the magic.

As you can tell Iam a fan of my daily driver MCS.

I also like the Motoring File track review of the suspension kit and agree with their assessment. I took my MCS to Llandow circuit this weekend and had a great time (video in a thread in the General Section if you are interested, giving a 7 a like a hard time). The lack of body roll and dive under braking was impressive. Being able to let the back end take up a degree of attitude also means double apex corners, like the Bus Stop at Llandow, can be made one corner. Even on a very wet track the throttle could be burried on the exit of fast sweepers, and there were no problems at all with standing water - maybe a some slight feedback through the wheel but nothing stopping getting the power down - the extra weight in the steering provided by the Sport button helps too. The LSD also helps pin the apex.

Being really silly and entering corners way to fast (there were only 7 cars on track) also proved the suspension works perfectly with the DSC, which quickly reigns in even the most overambitious entry speeds. With the DSC off avoiding understeer requires delicate throttle use. Mild lift off oversteer is your friend, especially in the wet allowing a degree or 2 of slip to help get the car through the apex. If that is all too much trouble just leave the DSC on, its probably just as quick and the electronics sort it all out for you.

For OEM this is about as good as it gets imo. Looks like a good forum with some sensible discussion about things people might really want to do, good stuff.

I forgot to mention that I also have a LSD fitted, but no DSC. I just have lots of talent and experience..........NOT! :biggrin:

P.

Track days? Don't tempt me, I love to but my "sensible chip" won't let me....too much fun for me to handle!

P.

Lol, get it on track you know you want to!

Lol, get it on track you know you want to!

I did my first track day last December at the Palmer International Race Course in Bedfordshire and I loved it, way too much! Although the brakes and tyres on the mini were not too keen on the idea......:biggrin:

P.

How are you getting on with the suspension Tara&Paul after a bit of time to live with it - still love it?

I have confirmed it on my car but am still really concerned i may find it too hard!! Im sure the handling will win me over though!

How are you getting on with the suspension Tara&Paul after a bit of time to live with it - still love it?

I have confirmed it on my car but am still really concerned i may find it too hard!! Im sure the handling will win me over though!

Still loving the suspension and now It's settled in, I've really got used to the way the car handles. But the new suspension is leading me into temptation, I keep pushing the car closer to the limit on corners and roundabouts and I think I may come unstuck in the near future?

The ride stiffness is only very slightly harder than Sport Suspension, but the Works Suspension reacts a lot faster and body roll is significantly reduced.

In my opinion, you are wasting your money if you buy a Factory Works Cooper S and don't spec' it with the Works Suspension because you will not be able to use the full potential of the new Factory Works car without it.

My R56 Cooper S is producing a verified 208bhp and having the Works Suspension fitted has increased the "fun factor" about 1000%.

You won't regret it, but get rid of the run-flat tyres as soon as possible!!!!

Paul.

Good to hear you still like it! I am definately getting it on mine now. Unfortunatley i can't afford to change the tyres immediately with all the other bits i'm puting on the car, but i do plan to do it as soon as i can - i guess i'll secretly be praying for an irrepairable puncture to force my hand!

Good to hear you still like it! I am definately getting it on mine now. Unfortunatley i can't afford to change the tyres immediately with all the other bits i'm puting on the car, but i do plan to do it as soon as i can - i guess i'll secretly be praying for an irrepairable puncture to force my hand!

Not only does the works suspension make the Factory JCW car, the car it should have been from BMW, but it drops the ride height about 12mm and gets rid of the ugly gap in the wheel arch!

Good decision Rogan200, you won't regret it!

P.

can you get just the springs? because i want to lower my cooper - but was only thinking of 15mm because of the speedbumps by my house (they are the biggest ive ever seen!) so 12mm sounds perfect....

yes! - in fact the JCW kit doesn't come with the springs, and they have to be ordered seperately with a different part number.

I think they come in 3 spring rates dependant on what options you have - i tried to get my dealer to give me a choice over this but they basically get told which springs you can have/need based on your VIN.

spoke to the dealer today and said MIN wont do them seporate as they cant say that they will fit on the standard struts :S

spoke to the dealer today and said MIN wont do them seporate as they cant say that they will fit on the standard struts :S

Give chris at woodmans BMW a call - im sure you'll be able to get them - in fact im sure people on here have put just the jcw springs on their cars.

spoke to the dealer today and said MIN wont do them seporate as they cant say that they will fit on the standard struts :S

I've learnt never to trust what Mini dealers say :D Maybe worth trying some others to see if they say the same if you really want them. However its best to buy matched springs and struts if you can.