Seems like most of the modifications here are about improving performance and handling. Of course we all know that most Sport upgrades have a cost somewhere else, ie. sports suspension usually means a worse street ride.

What are some modifications people have made to go the other way? Smoother ride, quieter engine, more comfortable interior?

 

Well, I have seen people put more sound dampening in, that definitely helps with the sound levels. Also seen some custom done interiors (leather, suede, tweed even) In my opinion this is more of a "luxury" mod.

A lot of people claim that coil-overs while being a "sporty" mod, can also take bumps better.

I can't really think of anything that could quiet down the engine much more, the stock intake and stock exhaust do (IMHO) too good a job at keeping quiet. Maybe more well placed sound dampening would lower it even more.

While the MINI is consider a premium compact, the sporty aspect of it is the whole point of the car. It is made to be fun, addictive, maybe even a little naughty with a harsh ride and loud engine.

 

If you want a softer vehicle then why bother buying a MINI at all? There are better choices if you want a vehicle with a bias toward comfort vs sportiness.

 

Koni FSD Strut/shocks could improve ride (and handling) -- they are just better strut/shocks).

 

10" rims with huge tires.

 

I think it's a mistake to say that the point of a MINI is to be sporty. From what I've seen the brand stands for much more. Individuality, minimalism and aesthetic design. I've looked at other cars and the designers dumb down the aesthetics to appeal to the masses. IOW, I like the look of MINI, especially the Mayfair.

It drives me crazy when people say, "Why would you pay that much for a MINI when you could buy a BMW for a little more". I don't want a 1 series, or even a 7 series, I want a nice MINI.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I'm surprised that getting rid of the run flat tires wasn't the first thing that was mentioned. Aside from that, you can dynamat the interior. Another member has a writeup on a full dynamat-ing of their car (Robin Cassady I think?). I would think that the noisemaker delete would also help as the only purpose of the noisemaker is to bring some engine noise into the cabin.

 

Yeah, I think tires will be my first change. I'll look into the noisemaker. Thanks

 

From what I can tell there's not a noisemaker on a Cooper. All the delete kits I see are for the Cooper S.

 

ah...wasn't sure if you had a Cooper S or non-s

 

Tires would be my only suggestion, in this scenario.

The engine is not loud, at least not to me, so I couldn't imagine making it quieter.

This is a first thread like this I see...

 

agree with the tires first. from my stock 15" continentals (non-runflat) to Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S really cut down on the road noise and improved performance as well as comfort. IMHO, the engine/muffler don't add much noise. It's the wind noise that drives me crazy.

 

I read some Dynamat posts and it seems like it can make a big difference on sound. I don't think I'll go that far for awhile, but it's nice to know my options.

I know most people don't get it, but I love the idea of a Luxury Mayfair Cooper. IMO the Mayfair already goes in that direction.

 

Honestly there really isn't a lot to do to make you car quieter, other than the Dynamat. If you're looking to not do anything performance to your car, then there wouldn't really be anything you can do for handling, due to it being a performance upgrade. Tires would be a great start to make your ride smoother. A set of strut bars lower and upper would be good. Also control arms and sway bars would work as well to make your ride a little smoother. As far as the interior mod's there are a lot of sites to look at that do make upgrades for it or you can do the total custom way and have one of your local shops do it for you or make the parts so you can put them in yourself. But most people do buy Mini's to have fun with them and do more of the performance/sporty upgrades to them. Even with "luxury" cars performance is a huge part of them. But good luck with what ever you decide to do with your Mayfair.

 

It's not to say that I don't want the car to perform well, that's ridiculous. I'm just saying I'd be willing to trade some of the performance for comfort. For example some really soft shocks.

What set my thought process of was the Rolls Royce Mini. I was listening to white roof radio and DB said something like "I bet that will have a sport suspension" to which Todd responded "Actually, I bet it's going to have some super soft suspension like a Rolls" (I'm paraphrasing of course).

Anyway, good suggestions so far. Thanks.

 

I know what you mean. But even with comfort come performance. If you want that of a Rolls Royce then look into getting a custom interior done.

 

If you have a Cooper with the sport package and runflats you could switch the suspension to the stock non-sport setup and 15" wheels. The loaner I drove recently was like that and I thought it drove like a BOAT. But the expense of doing that would most likely be well more than selling your MINI and buying a different one.