I have owned my 2009 JCW for just about a year now and the road is tearing my car apart. I live in Richmond, VA; and if anybody knows about this little city, its got big pot holes. I lived in Boston Mass for a while and at least up there they work on the roads and make them smooth at some point. But here, we have potholes and "fixed" potholes (which are more like inverted potholes that act like highway speed bumps). No repaving happens here, just patch jobs with brutal road transitions. The rear bushings just got replaced at 25,000 miles and now parts are literally falling off. Most recently one of the plate light covers just jumped out when I closed my hatch.

So here is my question, what can I do to my suspension/tires to loosen up the ride a little bit and make the life more tolerable?

My current setup is 17" factory run-flats, JCW suspension, front stabilizer bar, with 30,000 miles. These have been the changes I have been thinking:

-ditch the runflat tires with standard ones that are 215/45R17
-replace the suspension with a softer coil-over setup

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

Tires first. You will feel immediate relief. To do again I would of done tires and ran the stock suspension longer. Koni FSD's made little difference in ride quality before we ditched the run flat rocks.

 

Agreed, ditch the run flats.
That'll help a little.
JCW's are going to have a stiffen suspension anyways so
you won't get a Caddy ride anyway you go.

 

I have the JCW suspension too, and just ditched the runflats.

The only way I can describe the change in harshness is imagine that with runflats, each big bump you hit hard is like a sharp jarring peak. But with non-runflats, each big bump is more like a rounded off peak.

 

We had a Justa for a loaner during the Koni install before changing tires. The Justa's 15" tires and thicker seats make a world of difference over even just an S.

 

15" wheels and non-run flat tires! Big sidewalls to absorb that energy!

 

I have R81s and R95. The ride difference is huge as you can expect. Want a softer ride, go with 15s.

 

Remove the FSB as well. Stiffer sway bars are murder on rough roads. Agree with the tire change as well as taller sidewalls, if you're ok with the look, and if the roads are THAT bad then I'd do adjustable dampers, like Koni Yellows, set on the softer side.

 

I live in the Richmond area as well (Short Pump) and drive a JCW Clubman into downtown everyday for work. There are definitely some areas where the pavement isn't very smooth . I would imagine your run-flats are toast as mine were done at 28K miles.

Your rough ride is probably due to a combination of the run-flats and the FSB. Based on my knowledge of front sway bars, they improve the handling but at the (large) expense of ride. Unless you are a serious auto-xer or do a lot of track days, you should probably ditch the FSB. I wish the JCW suspension was available for the Clubman, but it's only available on the other models.

DO change tires! I switched to Michelin Pilot Super Sports 215/17 all-around from Tire Rack about 6 months ago and LOVE them . Crown MINI did the mounting and balancing and then just rotated them for me for the 1st time around 35K miles. Nice smooth, quiet ride now with plenty of grip . Just be sure to have a spare or an emergency plan of some kind should you get a flat .

 

Another option is a new run-flat the Bridgestone just released; the Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. It their Gen-3 design that they've been talking about for a couple of years and it was released last fall.

My wife drives our MINI a lot and I don't want to risk her being stranded with a flat, so for me the conventional tire option and flat fix just wasn't an option. I was going to wait until they came out with a performance summer tire with this new design but like you couldn't take the abuse any longer. So I got a set for my 09 JCW Coupe and it's hard to beileve that it's a run-flat tire. It rides like a conventional tire and the difference is night and day. It's an all-season verses a summer tire but still has excellent handling, quick turn-in and is really quiet. And the ride is excellent. I've actually been driving over some of the half inch high "road hazards" on my commute that I normally try to avoid crashing into just to experience what people with out run-flats take for granted. Really, they're that good; even with 17" wheels, Eibach springs and the factory sport suspension.

There's a fairly extensive review on the TireRack site:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e+Position+RFT

 

Hmmm... I will have to follow the TireRack reviews on that one. You should post up a thead on those tires...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e+Position+RFT

 

As far a tires go, I have been looking at the Continental Extreme Contact DW. A buddy of mine put them on his GTI and says they are pretty nice around Downtown Richmond, even with his lowered ride. My run flats are warped and pitted so new tires will come really soon.

I had not thought of ditching the FSB to improve the ride. That is good advice! I am going to start there and see what benefit I get. I'll report on what I find!

Thanks for all of the advice everybody!

 

Just disconnect the end links from the FSB and drive it like that for a few days and see how you like it. If you don't then you can quickly reconnect it. Saves you from dropping the subframe unnecessarily

 

Previously had a MCS with 15" wheels, run flats, and base suspension and it was killing me. Just purchased a JCW with sports suspension, 18" wheels and summer tires and was worried about how much worse it would be... surprise. the JCW is soooo much smoother and livable. Those run flats should be banned!

 

Quote of the decade right thur!

Life with your Mini begins when you divorce the run-flats.