Check this out!
They are made by Brembo, and still keep your warranty? Yea, that's what I said they are a little more expensive than the JCW Brakes but look better (ie the slotted rotors).

Just found it interesting!
Mikey

 

I don't think you'll receive the MINI warranty with any Dinan part unless things have changed.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that they are quite large too. At 320 MM they are almost 13 inches. You'll probably need some new wheels to fit them.

 

The dealer honors the MINI warranty.

Dinan honors the Dinan warranty.

The only thing that separates Dinan from all of the other MINI after-market part sellers is that Dinan has had a relationship with BMW for a long time... selling the Dinan parts in dealerships. The dealer simply made the determination on who owed how much for a warranty repair and billed the correct party... thus elmimiating the hassle for the consumer on trying to be an intermediary between the after-market manufacturer and MINI.

Dinan or not, if you get a service advisor who wants to be a PITA, he/she can refuse to play the intermediary and you will have to argue your case with Dinan and MINI to get the service paid for. This is not the way it usually works out, but the whole Dinan/BMW link is one of convenience... not anything binding. The link gets even more tenuous with MINI / Dinan as the official mod supplier for MINI is JCW...

 

Sorry, I misunderstood your response.

 

That's a good way of looking at it. MINIUSA does not have any relationship with Dinan despite what a few folks "might have heard". The Dinan warranty (while a nice bonus for an aftermarket product) can still invalidate your factory portions of your MINI warranty. MINIUSA has even sent an internal memo out to parts departments specifying this.

That said they look like some pretty sweet brakes.

 

My dealer though, dreyer and reinbold of indianapolis who is an official dinan distributor, said that they will still keep the factory warranty on a MINI if it has Dinan parts on it. Every dealer is probably different in this case, I just happen to buy my MINI from a dealer who does this. They look like some pretty sweet brakes. Don't know if they'll fit my R90s or not but they still look sweet, I'd say it's a toss up between these and the JCWs.

Gabe, you said it was a large difference between the JCW and stock on the track in your Phil Wicks Article right?
How big of one was it?

Mikey

 

They stopped the car much quicker and seemed to have no fade after quite a few hard laps. I've also had the chance to drive a JCW car with the brake kit back to back with a regular MCS and can say first hand that they really are noticably better in stopping power than stock and feel fantastic. Are they as powerful as the Brembos? I can't imagine they are. But the level that you'd have to be at to really feel difference would probably be fairly extreme. And then there's the fact that they are only $900 (with MINI Club discount) at most dealers compared to $2200.

BTW sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread.

 

Yea, I forgot about that!
I say JCW!
Don't worry about hijacking the thread, I still think they look cool but maybe I'll just go with the JCW!
The thing that's better about the JCW is they are reccomended over the Dinan and they also have pads or "linings" as they call them in the back, the Dinan is strictly the front only.

These are pads right?

Thanks Gabe!
Mikey

 

Everyone says this, but what is the difference? Is the pedal firmer or something?

Man gabe I have your pic of your MINI cornering at the PWDS and I can't stop looking at it, blk/blk with the JCW wheels look awesome!

Mikey

 

For what its worth you can often get Dinan stuff for less then MSRP. Call around to various dealers, also, if you are a member of the BMWCCA, some places give a discount for that.

 

If I was going to sack up for a big boy brake kit I think I'd go for the Stoptech, not the Dinan. $.02

 

I just want something that performs awesome and looks awesome (ie JCW Sticker), but I do not want to pay an arm and a leg for it. I thank gabe for bringing the price to my attention, I swore I looked at it the other day and it said it was like 1056 or something like that. I think the JCW is the answer.

Mikey

 

IMHO the only thing aesthetically pleasing about brakes is knowing that they mean business. A grand for an upgrade which still utilizes a single piston caliper? Meh.

Otherwise, caliper paint is about $40 and as visually appealing IMHO.

/$.02

 

I don't disagree with you Mark - but my thought is this: when or where would you ever really need more than what the JCW kit offers. Obviously that's a personal question that there really is no one answer for. However for the vast majority of us I think it hits a sweet price point while performing very well on both the track and the road. Of course there's no question that it's not technically as impressive as Stoptech, Brembo etc.. but at what point are we all just throwing money at a problem very few of us really have?

The JCW Brake kit retails for $1056 but can be had for 10-15 and even 20% off MSRP if you shop around a bit.

And for the record... if money was no object in terms of brakes, I'd buy Brembos

 

I really don't understand Dinan's price position. A Dinan/Brembo front brake kit is listed at $2,195.00 and the Brembo kit for the same stuff is $2,109.00 why bother with Dinan Doesn't make any sense to me

 

I definitely see your point. I think I'm having the same problem seeing the difference between the JCW setup and the stock calipers. They're essentially the same setup. Does the JCW kit even allow for a much larger rotor for superior heat dissipation?

To me a real big brake upgrade will allow a giant rotor for superior resistance to fade, and a stiffer, multi-piston caliper for superior feel and repeatability.

$800 for color and a sticker sounds a bit steep to me.

 

Actually it is a larger caliper and 30% larger rotor. It's quite a bit more than just a sticker You can read a full review here: http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/04/...ake_kit_review

 

I guess with a 30% larger rotor it is a decent midpoint for the $$$.

 

I agree with your earlier suggestion. Paint the calipers with the G2 product if you just want looks, because there is not a 900.00 difference between the stock and JCW kits. If you want real increased performance step up to a better kit with all the trimmings. Let us know what you decide

 

I think for the price of the JCW kit I would go with one of Todd's Wilwood solutions. They look and work great and offer excellent value.

But it's not my money and for these who have to have the JCW sticker there's no alternative.

 

I'll second that, the Wilwood kits are a graet value and definitely worth looking at in the JCW price range (even if they most are a bit more). I've never experienced them first hand but the specs look solid.

 

Gabe,

I read your review of the M3 SMG it was very informative. I used that along with eval and loki's information and I am going to start test driving them next year (going used..new is too rich for me!).

My apologizes for hijacking the thread.

 

And then there is always RLMINI's big brake kit - a vendor (local to DFW area) here on the NAM store. We have several local members who track on his brakes and absolutely love them. And, they are available in kits that will fit 16" and another for 17" rims. $900 front/$900 rear and still better priced than more recognized names. Those that are tracking with them go with fronts only and swear by them. When I get my MCS and get it setup for AX that's the route I'll take.

 

that's right, I forgot about RLMINI. They used caliper's made by Outlaw. I love that name!