F57 Observations + Upgrade Advice

shifter_ said:

I hope this is the right place to post as I didn't see a specific F57 forum. I just got a pre-owned 2019 Cooper S Cabrio F57 John Cooper Works with 20k miles. I've put some miles on it over the past week and had some observations and was looking for advice. So far I've enjoyed driving it and happy with the purchase, but there's a few items I've noticed that I'm wondering might be addressed by some recommended upgrades to really take the car to the next level. A little background, my last Cabrio was a 2015 911 TTS, so as you read my comments below, keep in mind I absolutely may have unrealistic expectations and feel free to slap me around!

Brakes - The brakes feel rather squishy and slow to decelerate when braking from high speed. Is that a known issue that they are undersized or maybe I just need new pads/rotors? I saw there's an aftermarket Brembo upgrade package. Is that or a different upgrade package recommended for better performance?

Suspension - I like that it corners well, but at the same time, you feel every little bump and pot hole on the road. Is this normal or maybe my shocks are just shot? Are there any recommended suspension upgrades to provide a smoother ride while still maintaining solid cornering?

Steering/Suspension - When hard acceleration or hard braking the steering feels squirrely and sketchy. This may be suspension related, as it feels like a weight distribution issue - the nose dives down on braking and pulls up when accelerating. This is odd because as I mentioned above, you feel every bump on the road, so it seems the suspension is tight enough to avoid diving. Just wondering if others have found this same issue and maybe a suspension upgrade would handle it or maybe there's something I need to look into deeper with my specific car?

Steering - Just driving down the freeway, it feels like it doesn't just like to drive in a straight line. Feels like I have to constantly correct back into the lane, which is just a bit fatiguing when driving 50-100 miles on the freeway. Also, it feels like I have use more force than expected to turn the wheel to change lanes or make a turn. Almost like the power steering is a bit weak or the tires are stuck down to the road and don't want to turn or something. Anyone experienced anything similar?

Tires - I'm pretty sure it has the stock Pirelli on there, but at 20k miles, I can only imagine they are going to need to be replaced soon. It has the 17" wheels. Is there a different set, maybe Michelin, that is recommended for better performance? How many miles do people usually get out of their stock tires?

Power - It's nice and peppy, but just curious if there are any common bolt-ons or tuning upgrades available?

Thanks for any and all advice and comments!

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For squishy brakes I'd recommend a proper brake fluid flush/bleed first. My 2018 JCW bought new needed this after just a year or so.

Feeling every bump and pot hole is a combination of rather small diameter tires -- a pothole I didn't even really feel when I drove over it with my car with 20" wheels felt like I dropped into the Grand Canyon when hit the thing in my JCW and the impact ruined a tire -- and the stiff suspension which delivers the cornering you comment on favorably.

Shocks don't really make for a softer ride. Rather springs and to a less extent tires (more sidewall) do. You will not get Lexus ride out of a JCW if that's what you are after.

Have to add that my experience with my Boxster was it had a rather soft ride compared to my Cayman S and later my Turbo. Part of the reason was the Boxster had 17" wheels/tires while both Cayman S and Turbo had 18" wheels/tires. But another factor was the Boxster was a roadster (the Cayman and Turbo hardtops) and my experience is roadsters/convertibles are more softly sprung.

Now I believe in the case of my 2018 JCW the run flats made the ride harsher and yet didn't contribute anything to (in fact I think subtracted from) the handling. I didn't own the car long enough to have to replace the tires. Had I needed to replace the tires I might have ditched the run flats. But the JCW was my commuter car and I liked the peace of mind run flats gave me.

In my Hellcat -- my other car at the time -- had a flat. Had to stop and use the tire repair kit then drive 4+ miles to the dealer and get new tires installed. After the pothole ruined a tire on the JCW I just drove the car 10 miles to the dealer for new tires. Not having to fuss with a tire repair kit was nice. And likely with a tire suffering from a pothole leak vs. a nail leak the tire repair kit would probably not have worked.

Steering feel of my 2 JCWs (my 2018 and now my 2023) and between then a 2022 S was/is good. But in all cases I made sure the tires were properly inflated and by on the road feel and observation of lack of tire wear sign the alignment was good. But all 3 cars were bought new.

But with a used car I'd have the alignment done just to be sure it was right. Best to do an alignment with new tires fitted. With used tires I was advised the alignment results might not be as good as if done with new tires but I had the alignment done and the results were quite satisfactory.

With my Boxster it came with Pirelli high performance tires. While the word was Michelin tires were far superior the Pirelli were fine and the Michelin tires had a hefty price premium. After some years and some sets of Pirelli tires finally I had a chance to run Michelin tires. I didn't notice any improvement other than maybe a bit less tire noise as the tires worn down close to the wear bars. If the price was the same I would go with Michelin tires. But in my experience Michelin tires didn't bring that much more to the table to justify paying a premium for them. Understand both the Pirelli and Michelin tires were sanctioned by Porsche for use on my Boxster. Had I just randomly selected and fitted some Pirelli tires then Michelin tires who knows how the two brands would have compared.

Left my 2018 JCW stock. And have no plans to modify my 2023 JCW. So I can't offer any guidance regarding what performance upgrades you can do.