Help choosing a Cooper s Please

[Ferengo]

Ok. Went on my first run the other day and it was amazing. Only problem was I feel I need more power to keep up with some of the runners (You know who you are;)) Anyway, I may be moving out of Dundee when our flat sells which means will will probably need a second car. Great excuse to get a cooper s I think.

Only problem with this is I don't really know that much about them. I won't be going for one until at least the start of next year but with any luck no later than the summer.

What I need is some advice. What model is best? What is a must to have on it? What to look out for? What mods are there to make it faster:D? Basically the more advice you can give me the better. Even which are the best places to buy and which are not?

I am ballparking for around 9000 so it will obviously be a used one.

So let free, tell me what you think and advise.

Oh and what makes a JCW cooper S? I mean I see kits that give you a badge, so does this kit make it a JCW or does it have to be ordered from the dealer as a JCW? Something I read to about 160mph on the speedo.

Cheers guys:thumbs up:

[Neil and Lorna]

Ferengo.

To me a proper JCW is one that has had the full kit added, IE cylinder head, exhaust,Air box,new map etc.:thumbs up:

Kits are available that give you the airbox and exhaust you also get the badge.:eyes up:

The 160MPH on the speedo is a feature of the new factory JCW,:D

Hope this helps.

Neil.:D

[Ferengo]

Ah I see. So you can actually buy a standard cooper s, put the jcw kit on and it then becomes a jcw cooper s? This is what I have though but never knew if it was right or not. Cheers:thumbs up: That's one essential mod noted.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Ferengo.

To me a proper JCW is one that has had the full kit added, IE cylinder head, exhaust,Air box,new map etc.:thumbs up:

Neil.:D

Neil are you talking about an R56 JCW Upgrade from a dealer? 'Cos I can't see Ferengo's £9k budget get him an R56 Cooper S, JCW or not.

If you're talking about an R53, there's no R53 Cooper S JCW upgrade that only gets you an air box and exhaust.

A.

[Craig]

I would go for a facelift car. (54 plate onwards generally) Also go for one with the chilli pack on it as you get air con and xenons (among other things) as I see these as essentials. :thumbs up:

multi function steering wheel for me is a must. ;)

as for mods - well the sky is the limit!!! :cool:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Ah I see. So you can actually buy a standard cooper s, put the jcw kit on and it then becomes a jcw cooper s? This is what I have though but never knew if it was right or not. Cheers:thumbs up: That's one essential mod noted.

Ferengo, the full R53 Cooper S JCW upgrade is as Neil says, cylinder head, remap, exhaust, new supercharger and air box. However, if you bought a cooper s then decided to add the JCW upgrade, budget around £3,500 for this.

If you really want a JCW Cooper S Your better bet would be to try and source a Cooper S which already has the JCW kit added. As the JCW kit is effectively an accessory, it wouldn't hold anything like the full value of the kit when traded on. = Much cheaper to buy.

A.

[AndyP & Lenore]

I would agree with Craig. Chilli pack is a must have.

The rest is down to personal preference.

A.

[Ferengo]

Test drove and 03 plate today. It had the chilli pack and panoramic sunroof, 35000miles. Was at a mini dealer for £8795, but I do see a couple of JCW on ebay for around my budget. I agree the aircon is a must so the chilli would be an essential. So would passenger height adjustment (If my wife drives it then I don't want my head hitting the roof) and trip computer.

Facelift model? What different about it?

Cheers:D

[MrMischief]

I'd say if it's only for a second car & being used for runs then the sports suspension plus is a good option, not sure if it came with the chilli pack or if it was an option of the R53's, although it's on ours. Also, the JCW bucket seats (the Sparco ones, not the Recaro's) are brilliant - I see you work just along from me at Medea (I'm at Wright Cottrell), if you want a gander at ours feel free to pop along. - hang about the car & I'll soon be out :hand:

If I was buying again I'd go for a proper JCW kitted S (cylinder head, supercharger, LSD, intake & exhaust) as there's a few going quite close to your budget - hope to make a little extra on your flat & don't re-invest it!! If you could stretch a little *ahem* further, go for a GP :thumbs up:

The facelift have slightly different gear ratios, a different fuel/ignition map (allegedly 5bhp more :Whistle:) and obviously the revised front & rear lights. Think they also have a slightly different design to the dash too (less seams).

Choose wisely ;)

[Neil and Lorna]

Neil are you talking about an R56 JCW Upgrade from a dealer? 'Cos I can't see Ferengo's £9k budget get him an R56 Cooper S, JCW or not.

If you're talking about an R53, there's no R53 Cooper S JCW upgrade that only gets you an air box and exhaust.

A.

Was talking about an r53. Realise now the sound kit is only for the Cooper.:thud:

N.

[stoney]

well i would say get one with the jcw kit on it if thats what you want or you could go for a standard s and get loten or gtt to tune it for you the list is endless as for air con i have it and dont use it !!!! it takes power away as much as 7hp i have been told and it uses more go go jucie i would not have it if it was not already in the car just adds whaight

[Ferengo]

I'd say if it's only for a second car & being used for runs then the sports suspension plus is a good option, not sure if it came with the chilli pack or if it was an option of the R53's, although it's on ours. Also, the JCW bucket seats (the Sparco ones, not the Recaro's) are brilliant - I see you work just along from me at Medea (I'm at Wright Cottrell), if you want a gander at ours feel free to pop along. - hang about the car & I'll soon be out :hand:

If I was buying again I'd go for a proper JCW kitted S (cylinder head, supercharger, LSD, intake & exhaust) as there's a few going quite close to your budget - hope to make a little extra on your flat & don't re-invest it!! If you could stretch a little *ahem* further, go for a GP :thumbs up:

The facelift have slightly different gear ratios, a different fuel/ignition map (allegedly 5bhp more :Whistle:) and obviously the revised front & rear lights. Think they also have a slightly different design to the dash too (less seams).

Choose wisely ;)

May just do that, cheers. I'll need to find out where that is though, I'm really bad for direction.

Buckets seats... The wife was sayong we need them as she was getting thrown around the car by my driving on the run last sunday, but from what I see they are quite pricey.

Cheers.

[Ferengo]

well i would say get one with the jcw kit on it if thats what you want or you could go for a standard s and get loten or gtt to tune it for you the list is endless as for air con i have it and dont use it !!!! it takes power away as much as 7hp i have been told and it uses more go go jucie i would not have it if it was not already in the car just adds whaight

I agree with getting a car with a JCW on it. I can get one for my budget, but I guess it doesn't need to be a JCW just really fast:D. At least something that will help me try and keep up with you lot:p.

AC is a must for me. Never saw the point in it until we got it on our R56. It's a godsend in the summer, takes all that humidity out of the air in the car. Would also like the sunroof but from what I can see a JCW with a sunroof is hard if not impossible to come by.

[Gismo]

as for air con i have it and dont use it !!!! it takes power away as much as 7hp i have been told and it uses more go go jucie This is all strictly true :yes nod: though, not really on topic, if you don't use you're air con you're in danger of leaving yourself a costly repair if it fails. The system needs "purging" and i would advise you to use it wen you're not in a hurry ;)
You'd have to be on the very limit to notice the lack of BHP (7bhp seems high to me) and the weight reduction, just my opinion of course, i've never seen you drive :Whistle:

[Gismo]

I agree with getting a car with a JCW on it. I can get one for my budget, but I guess it doesn't need to be a JCW just really fast:D. At least something that will help me try and keep up with you lot:p.Well, i'm gonna say it, why not spend the extra money you'd pay out on the JCW kit on some driving lessons at Knockhill :thumbs up:
John proves time and again it's not the car that makes you fast.
I remember one very embarassing run where a certain S owner reckoned he wa sfaster than him :blush:

[Ferengo]

Well, i'm gonna say it, why not spend the extra money you'd pay out on the JCW kit on some driving lessons at Knockhill :thumbs up:
John proves time and again it's not the car that makes you fast.
I remember one very embarassing run where a certain S owner reckoned he wa sfaster than him :blush:

Not a bad idea. John who is it? Are they on here? Do I need to bring my own car or is there one provided? I did a track day in a cooper s on Donnington, that was fun. So yeah I'd do it again.

Could do the above and with the cash left over put a NOS kit in:p. Nah, only joking, my insurance company would love me for that:D.

Cheers.

[Crombers]

John proves time and again it's not the car that makes you fast.
I remember one very embarassing run where a certain S owner reckoned he wa sfaster than him :blush:

Love it :thumbs up:

& I also recall a certain Cullen Run where an 'S' could not keep up with a Cooper on a 'challenging' section of the countryside ;) (& this 'S' was not hanging about either)

[ianking]

Or what about on Sunday there when Rob and I went ahead for a rather spirited full on drive.
My Cooper was right behind his JCW S. It was a very very tight section of road. My car was stinking at the end of it mind.
I recon I can put my R50 Cooper harder round the bends than my R56 S.

[stoney]

Or what about on Sunday there when Rob and I went ahead for a rather spirited full on drive.
My Cooper was right behind his JCW S. It was a very very tight section of road. My car was stinking at the end of it mind.
I recon I can put my R50 Cooper harder round the bends than my R56 S.


yep thats right we had some fun doing that and ian was doing well in the coop but as ian said he was having to push his coop hard to keep up :thumbs up:

but i think i can put my s hadder in than i could my old coop as i have the know that if i need a bit more power to pull me out of a sticky i have it

but as others have said jhon can make a coop hold an s on roads un less its a straight line :rolleyes:

[stoney]

You'd have to be on the very limit to notice the lack of BHP (7bhp seems high to me) and the weight reduction, just my opinion of course, i've never seen you drive :Whistle:

manky thrash 2 times :eek:


Well, i'm gonna say it, why not spend the extra money you'd pay out on the JCW kit on some driving lessons at Knockhill :thumbs up:
John proves time and again it's not the car that makes you fast.
I remember one very embarassing run where a certain S owner reckoned he wa sfaster than him :blush:


i think i may have been behind jhon on that run it would be last years manky thrash

i was having trouble keeping up i must say but i did not know the roads :p

[Ferengo]

Regarding the seats. They come with a black plastic backing don't they? Is it all of them or just some? Also can it be removed? Just not to my taste. What would those Sparco bucket seats set me back used and new that MrMischief mentioned?

Regarding MrMischief suggestion of a GP. Not for me. I'd need the 4 seats. Nice car though but I like the styling of the standard s and works better.

[john]

Well, i'm gonna say it, why not spend the extra money you'd pay out on the JCW kit on some driving lessons at Knockhill :thumbs up:
John proves time and again it's not the car that makes you fast.
I remember one very embarassing run where a certain S owner reckoned he wa sfaster than him :blush:

Manky thrash, MINI ONE seven;)

Who needs JCW:thumbs up:

[stoney]

Manky thrash, MINI ONE seven;)

Who needs JCW:thumbs up:


parklane was it not ??:shut up: or was that the 2nd year ???

[Ferengo]

What's the tax on the S?

[stoney]

225 i think but due to go up soon ish

[Burple]

but as others have said jhon can make a coop hold an s on roads un less its a straight line :rolleyes:

Or ask Colin about us behind him in my One on his last run on the twisty bits ;)

..and that was before the Bluefin ;):p:D

slightly off topic, but I chased an M5 a couple of years ago on REALLY twisties.. he only got away on the straight bits. by the end he was getting really twitchy so I backed off and let him go.. not to say that my ol' Cooper was as fast as an M5.. A lot depends on the driver and more depends on who is the one in front! The guy behind ALWAYS has the better deal - he (or she) can judge the breaking points better, gets a better outlook on the road layout by watching the attitude of the car in front, and has more warning of traffic! ;):D

[Gismo]

And all performed on a dedicated race track :Whistle:

[Burple]

And all performed on a dedicated race track :Whistle:

Of course..private roads!:D:Whistle:

[MrMischief]

Regarding the seats. They come with a black plastic backing don't they? Is it all of them or just some? Also can it be removed? Just not to my taste. What would those Sparco bucket seats set me back used and new that MrMischief mentioned?

Regarding MrMischief suggestion of a GP. Not for me. I'd need the 4 seats. Nice car though but I like the styling of the standard s and works better.

I think JC's did a quote recently for a set of the JCW bucket seats, around £2100 IIRC :eek: Check the JC section. Best bet is to make sure the car already has them, we were really lucky :D It's just along from Medea, past Blindcraft - although I won't be there for the next two weeks :eyes up:

Fair play with the lack of the rear bench, I used to have 2 seaters & it can be a pain sometimes.

As for all the driving stories....bhp doesn't make you go round corners, it's purely down to driver skill and/or whether they're willing to push it that bit further. I don't see any reason why a Cooper can't keep up with an S in the bends, they both handle very similarly (with the same suspension), and lets face it a Cooper S isn't the fastest car in the world - waits for the flames :popcorn::D

[Ferengo]

I think JC's did a quote recently for a set of the JCW bucket seats, around £2100 IIRC :eek: Check the JC section. Best bet is to make sure the car already has them, we were really lucky :D It's just along from Medea, past Blindcraft - although I won't be there for the next two weeks :eyes up:

Fair play with the lack of the rear bench, I used to have 2 seaters & it can be a pain sometimes.

As for all the driving stories....bhp doesn't make you go round corners, it's purely down to driver skill and/or whether they're willing to push it that bit further. I don't see any reason why a Cooper can't keep up with an S in the bends, they both handle very similarly (with the same suspension), and lets face it a Cooper S isn't the fastest car in the world - waits for the flames :popcorn::D

I saw your place today but your post explains why the S wasn't there.

Still not set on the idea of plastic backs on the standard seats so I would have to go for buckets or something else.

So far I'm getting a good shopping list for what I want on a 2nd car next year:D

Cheers guys.:thumbs up: