Because I'm Army stationed overseas, dealing with the Euro to $$ exchange rate ($1USD = €0.71 ) and cannot part with my S-lite rims, I have selected the JCW brakes as my BBK upgrade path and have some questions for the experts. Looking at RealOEM, I've noticed on the dealer's kit that there are two different rotors, vented or slotted. I didn't realize that there was a choice or am I looking at that diagram incorrectly? I know that drilling, slotting and venting the rotor is not necessarily a good thing (besides the bling factor), is there a notable performance difference between the two? Or is this a less filling/tastes great issue? Also, when I was talking to my German dealer over the phone, I asked if the kit is for the front and the rear calipers or only the front. He assured me that it was for both. Now, I'm going to go in to see what parts list he's looking at (maybe its this one) but I wasn't sure if the R56 rears would work on my 06R53. What say ya'll? Can I use the R56 rears? I >tried< the search function here, however, there must be a real trick to using it, obviously. However, what is a reputable online source, that ships USPS, for braided brake lines (front and rear) for this project? Again, stationed overseas, I've gotta bring the parts to me. Finally, what about a quality one person bleed kit for this job? Any suggestions?

I appreciate ya'll's help with this and apologize in advance for any common rookie mistakes!

Cheers!!

 

Technically all your front rotors are VENTED. That is they have an air gap in the middle- look at the rears, they are not vented.

SLOTTED has to do with the surface treatment- slots, holes, dimples, whatever.


The rotor shown in the first pic is vented but not slotted. As for the R56 rears fitting I'm not sure but without changing the calipers also if the R56 rotor is even any bit larger the old caliper won't fit- they must be paired for proper radial mount.

 

Cool, thanks for that info, todd. New question: As I'm locked into my S-lites and JCW are the only (barely) BBK that'll fit under them, is it even feasible to swap in the rears, too? I'm more interested in the safety of a BBK for the autobahn speeds and spirited driving, however, once I rotate back to the States, I'll probably start autocrossing. Thanks, again for your help.

Cheers!!

 

I don't have data on the R56 rear rotor size as far as the OD goes, however...I believe that only the rear rotors on the R56 cars with JCW four pot fronts are any different than what's been used all along. That aside I don't know of any rear rotors (oe) that are vented...thus the change in OD alone won't play a roll in how it fits under the wheel; the caliper is the same only out on a larger disc. Can't see any reason you'd have a clearance problem with any rear disc and oe caliper combo.

FWIW you can also fit my Caliper kits under the S-lite too. The body overhang is nearly identical (a bit less) than that of the oe iron caliper. So...you could look at the 294mm disc of the older JCW parts or even the newer 320mm part. *The 320 might be pushing you luck a bit to the spoke curve.

 

I thought the JCW upgrade kit included PADS for the rear... and that's all.

2 internally ventilated brake rotors 294mm x 22 mm.
2 coated red floating brake calipers with the John Cooper Works logo
Brake pads
Rear pads
Hardware required for installation
Customer information with permitted wheel dimensions
Information sticker that the car has been retrofitted with the JCW Brakes

 

Paul, that's what I was thinking, until I saw this at RealOEM.com. Remember, there's a language barrier I'm working through over here.

Thanks, I was just curious about the rears. Now, which kits would those be for the S-lites?

Cheers!!

 

Those would be the Caliper Kits:

http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...s.pl?record=13

Working with such items however I'd advise against the fit of a rear kit with only this being a 294mm front rotor.

 

Just to clarify - the R53 JCW brake kit was only front calipers, plus rear pads. The R56 rear calipers are a bit different, per the RealOEM link you posted. While I'm not aware of anyone who has tried to fit them on an R53, I *suspect* they would fit, but don't know that for sure.

 

I about to pull trigger on R56 JCW for my R53 GP.
R56 JCW Rear brakes are a PITA for R53s, they require some drilling, for lines to fit. Or you can upgrade to R56 rear aluminum trailing arms, then no issues with install (GP no issue) As for fronts you will need R56 lines and cut or remove dust cover. Oh and you'll need 5-10mm spacers for JCW/Brambos to fit front. If I was in EU though I would get some Euro R53 JCW Sparco seats or the R56 JCW Recaros seats. These seats are hard to get in the States, while you can get the R56 JCW Brake Kit for $1500 here.

 

Cool, thanks for that info. AZMINIMAN told me the same thing about the seats. I've still got 15 months here so I might be able to score those before I rotate. I'm curious to know what the R56 trailing arms would give besides mount points for the rear calipers.

Cheers!!

 

Pretty significant weight savings in unsprung weight in the rear suspension. I think about 12 pounds per side.

There is a full writeup in the NAM Alliance issue one, which you can download here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...wnload.php?m=1

 

If you're moving to the 320mm fronts and want larger rears to go with it you may consider my 11.75 rear with relocation bracket kit. Just an option and I don't know of any hassle issues with making it all work.

 

I was under the impression that rears were 280mm and fronts were 316mm on this kit, which rears do fit on mine cause I have the R56 aluminum trailing arms. B4 I get kit I need some R56 Goodrich SS Brake lines, Studs and Lug Nuts, preferably black, and maybe 10mm Spacers.