Mini R53 Brake upgrade

[E-bmw]

I have searched and can't find the answer to this so please forgive me if I missed something.

Just bought an R53 Cooper S & have heard about the brake upgrade of fitting R56 294mm discs & calipers.

I am struggling with the calipers & need your advice/help.

Do I need the slider/mounting bracket also or does the R56 caliper fot on the R53 mount?

I am able to buy new/reman R56 calipers but all seem to just be the caliper & no mount.

[GiveItSomeWellie]

You will need the R56 carriers too, but I think all 2nd gen carriers are the same (I could be wrong).

[E-bmw]

Thanks for the heads up on that, although having looked into it further from your pointers it appears that there are 2 different carriers (Cooper S & others) & 2 different calipers (R53 & R56+) and then the obvious Works ones which are different again.

So it looks like I need the R56+ (any) calipers, the R56 Cooper S carriers with 294mm discs and R56 Cooper S pads!

[smn159]

Yep, that's what you need. I did mine last year and while the calipers were easy to find, the carriers were a real struggle. So much so that I ended up getting mine from the US!

Well worth it though. I went with yellow stuff pads, grooved disks (can't remember which brand) and braided hoses all round. The difference between what I have now and the standard set up is considerable...

What I also like about this conversion is that you can still fit 16" wheels, which I much prefer to the hefty 17's that it came with.

Edited by smn159 on Wednesday 1st February 21:07

[CarsOrBikes]

Definitely requires the R56S carriers, they're identifiable by lugs top and bottom, mine will be sold soon, only done 500 miles since fitment last Feb, all new parts, Brembo discs and OE pads, as I have an R56S JCW kit available, a few older sets come up on ebay, often painted and sometimes not looking great.