My 08 Cooper (Non-S) with the factory sport suspension needs replacement front shocks. Car is driven fairly aggressively, but not tracked or autocrossed. It has the 16" wheels and fairly aggressive tires with close to autocross spec alignment.
I'm looking for a slightly less harsh street ride without compromising the handling.
Recommendations?

 

If you are not lowering the car, many positive responses here from Koni FSD's. The koni Yellows are adjustable, if you want a tuning feature.


It is also the time to install different strut mounts in the front, if you want more negative camber. I've got no complaints about the Ireland Engineering fixed plates on my car.


Have fun,
Mike

 

You can check out the shocks we recommend here in our parts catalog. Bilstein are great upgrades to go with. Upgrading the shock verses doing a coil over application will definitely be better with comfort driving on the street. We have Koni as well, but don't see them listed in the catalog. The Koni streets are popular and will be good for spirited street driving as well. A bit more expensive than the Bilstein shocks though.

-Luccia

 

+1 for bilsteins

 

Thanks for the responses. I've used Koni's many times in the past and they've always performed acceptably. I definitely want to check out the Bilsteins as well. I don't really need the adjustable rebound damping the Koni's provide, as the car is not currently raced. Don't need more negative camber for the same reason- I got enough for my needs by removing the pin on the strut tower. Installing JCW springs down the road is a consideration, so the Koni FSD's are not the best choice for that application.

 

Quick question. Is the R56S suspension (shocks, springs, sway bars) direct bolt onto the non-s?

I'm pretty sure this has been asking before :P

 

Yep. Just be aware that sport suspension is an option on non-s models as well. The easiest way to check is to look at the shocks, they have a label on them that says something like 'cooper S' or 'Sport'. You can also measure the rear sway bar diameter. Bigger bars are used with the stiffer suspensions.


Mike