All,

While waiting to replace my Run Flats I started to make some changes to the tire pressure and the it helped quite a bit. On my MCS Clubman it was 38PSI all around and I keep tweaking and got it to 36 PSI Front and 35 PSI rear.

The ride is more comfortable and better traction overall with the OEM ContiContact SSR RFT. For now anyway!

 

HMM.. does the MINI sport suspension do anything in terms of lowering the ride height of the MINI?

 

I think harshness is extremely subjective. It's probably better to do a comparison. Have you driven a car you consider too harsh? Too soft? I'm sure people here have driven plenty of cars in common with you.

Examples for me in increasing perceived harshness:

Lexus RX400h - Holy crap feel like I'm going to flip the car and die.

Audi A4 - Not bad, but can't feel the road very well and really disconnected.

BMW 128i w/ sport susp - Very smooth ride, decent bit of body roll, still a little soft for me.

JCW w/ sport susp - Bit harsher than the 128i, handling is much sharper with almost no roll. Highway feels very smooth, I could still go stiffer.

STI on RCE Yellows + lots of other suspension mods - I seriously have to crack my back maybe every 30 minutes. This is my upper limit, but I still enjoy driving it.


I know people who say the 128i with sport is way too harsh for them, so yeah, to each their own.

 

Nopes doesn't change it.

 

I have the sport suspension plus on my MCS without runflats and it is a joy to drive on my 60 mile round trip commute. I was originally worried about the comfort of a stiff suspension on some of the crappier roads in the area, but a few test drives on different roads put those concerns to rest. That's basically the only way to make sure the ride is something you can live with.

 

I have a 2011 JCW without the JCW suspension. I love the way the car handles, but last fall during MSSD when I trying to keep up with a modded JCW on the Dragon, I had really bad understeer on a couple of curves. Since then, I have added the HSport 19" rear sway bar on the middle setting. The car is now much more neutral, and I can even induce a bit of oversteer now which I really like.

As a comparison, I drove a 2002 S2000 for a couple of years. The primary reason I got rid of that car was that the ride was way to harsh and noisy for a daily driver. It was a very fun car when you were out for a drive, but I really hated it for commutes.

I love the brakes on my JCW, but I did cause lots of head jerks when I first got the car. Now that they are broken in and I am used to them, I really like the control and feel of these brakes. I had a Justa as a loaner when my car was in for its one year checkup. I felt like I had to push my foot through the floor to stop the first couple of times.

 

Did you do the $500 sport suspension upgrade from the dealer and is that still available for 2 years old car.

Thks

 

The sports suspension is a factory installed option (vs the JCW suspension that is dealer installed). All of the parts can be bought from the dealer and are a moderately easy DIY install, except the front sway bar. A lot of people will say don't install it but IMO it cuts down the front dive in corners which makes the car more responsive.

 

Same year, same suspension, same issues. Are you still running the runflats? I'm thinking Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Koni FSDs, and a RSB too. Any reason for going with the 19 vs 22 RSB? I'll be doing a few autocrosses.

Dave

 

There also is a 20 mm bar that Whiteline makes. Without other major suspension changes (coilovers, camber plate, etc) to balance the car, the 22mm bar is probably too much for what is basically a stock car. The problem with the 22 mm bar by its self is that it can introduce radical oversteer at the wrong time like in the in the middle of a turn. That oversteer will get worse when you lift off the throttle. There are a lot of posts on this subject that you can find by doing a search.

BTY I tried the FSDs for autoX and didn't like them. They didn't react fast enough with what was going on which effectively made them too soft. Komi sports would be a better option.

 

I got my MCS used around 2 months ago (it's an '06), but the suspension is listed on the original options list.