This post from Tweedbean https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-with-ddc.html reignited my interest in installing Koni Special Active Shocks & Struts on my 2019 Mini Cooper S with DDC shocks & struts. The fact that BC Coilovers offers a kit for the F56 Mini’s that came equipped with DDC lead me to look into what it would take to install the Koni SAS shocks & struts on my MCS.

So I decided to look into what it would take to install Koni SAS shocks & Struts on my MCS.The first place I looked was RealOEM.com. to find the part numbers required to make the change. Their exploded diagrams listed part numbers but it was a little confusing about which parts are required. The next place I looked was on the MiniPartsDirect.com website. Their exploded diagrams were much easier to read so printed them out.

The next step was to go talk with AJ Smith at AJ’s Superior Automotive an independent BMW/Mini Cooper repair shop near where I live to find out about doing the install of the Koni’s. With AJ’s help I was able to put together a list of parts that are required to order from MiniPartsDirect.com. One good thing about AJ is he was willing to let me buy all of the parts at the best prices that I could find, something most repair shops won’t allow you do. Although his labor cost was a little on the high side but I saved about 40% of dealer prices on parts.

One thing you should not do if order the parts from MiniPartsDirect.com is give the your VIN number because these parts will not match up with the parts required by the VIN on your car. It took 2 emails and 2 phone calls to them to get this point across to them. In the end they finally shipped me the parts I ordered online which was at a substantial saving over what I would have got from my local Mini dealer. By the way MiniPartsDirect.com is actually Flow Mini of Raleigh,NC, something I discovered from mu phone calls to them. The reason for new upper shock & strut mounts is the DDC shocks & struts have a 12mm outer diameter on the thread and standard shocks & struts have a 10mm outer diameter on the thread. To do the install right you need the correct matching parts.

After the install I got the following fault codes but no warning lights on the instrument cluster.
482E85 EDC: Valve coil, rear left, open circuit
482E89 EDC: Valve coil, rear right, open circuit
482E8D EDC: Valve coil, front left, open circuit
482E91 EDC: Valve coil, front right, open circuit

So much for the hardware requirements for the up graded shocks & struts, what are my driving impressions? Well first of all the ride quality is much improved. The Koni SAS’s take away most of the harsh ride of the DDC shocks & struts without losing any of the handling control. The ride quality is night & day better. It’s like having a new better riding car although my MCS only had 5607 miles on it when I did the upgrade. I now have had the Koni SAS’s on my car for just over 700 miles with more than half of those miles were on twisty mountains road with very enthusiastic driving pushing the car in all of the corners. I wished I had done this shock & strut upgrade a lot sooner. Actually I wished I had not specified the DDC shocks & struts when I ordered my MCS to begin with. But I was under the impression that the DDC shocks & struts could be set softer than the MID setting, but I found out that in the GREEN the DDC shocks & struts felt about the same as in the MID setting. After the upgrade there is no doubt about it my MCS is much more pleasant to drive and ride in.
One thing I would like to add is with the mounting hardware I have listed you can upgrade to any standard shocks & struts available for the F55/56 Mini.

Cost to convert
2019 Mini Cooper S from Dynamic Damper Control to Koni Special Active Shocks & Struts
Koni Special Active Shocks & Struts @ Tire Rack $496.84
MiniPartsDirect Shock & Struts Mounts $383.53
Parts required for installation
MiniPartsDirect.com
Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
31-30-6-884-184 Strut Mount $90.78 2 $181.56
31-30-6-864-551 Top Cover $5.16 2 $10.32
31-30-6-864-550 Cover Cap $5.71 2 $11.42
31-30-6-868-240 Strut Mount Gasket $7.96 2 $15.92
33-50-6-791-706 Shock Mount $63.19 2 $126.38
33-50-6-863-445 Top Cap $3.12 2 $6.24
Installation Labor @ AJ Superior Automotive Grass Valley,CA $660.00
Plaza Tire Grass Valley,CA 4 Wheel Alignment $109.99
Total Cost $1650.36

Edit 9:21 PM 11-10-19

 

Thanks for the post, it was helpful to me. Maybe I'm stoned but found it a bit hard to get through, possibly consider paragraphs next time?

You really have a hard time finding a mechanic to install parts you ordered online? That seems crazy. How many hours for the install? For $600 you should have been able to get them installed as well as an alignment and corner balance. Although I realize you can't corner balance your setup. I thought my options were limited but Grass Valley must be very limited in your choices.

I'm surprised you think the DDC doesn't ride well. While I'm not a fan of the handling out of the box, I thought the car feels great over rough and broken pavement while going straight. Just got back from my first road trip with the car and thought it road beautifully on the freeway. So effortless to pass in 6th gear, car just eats up pavement.

 

holyspirit56 Thanks for response. I did try to edit my post to make easier to read. Also the shop I used uses the same standard number of labor hours for the job as a BMW/Min dealer at a lower cost per hour.
Ron S

 

Did you stay on stock springs? Did you change sway bars?

 

The Koni SAS shocks & struts pretty much require that you stay at stock ride height for best results. Read through this thread for more about https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ve-shocks.html. I do have a NM 22mm rear sway set at the softest setting. I put on the NM rear sway bar only bar only about 300 miles before the Koni SAS's.were installed. I did try the NM rear sway bar on all three settings for about 100 miles each before the Koni's were installed. I liked the stiffer settings but there was too much rear wheel hop over bumps at the stiffer settings so went back to the softest setting. One thing I did notice was the rear wheel hop was more pronounced with DDC shocks and struts so there was improvement there as well as the ride quality improvement with the Koni's.

 

I'm a little bummed that you can't do lowering springs but getting the improved ride quality is a huge plus for me, especially with back issues I have. I wonder if there's some way to prevent those fault codes... open circuit? There has to be a way! Maybe time for me to learn more about electrical stuff. Anyway, awesome write up and super appreciate the parts list... I'm seriously very highly considering doing the change from DDC to Koni SA's. But I will miss the coolness of changing it on the fly. :(