Just purchased a GP2 with 67,000 km (42k miles). The front struts are making noise. Reading up on the forums, I see this is common theme at this mileage.

#1. I see a rebuild service available in the UK. Is this something anyone has had success with in North America?

#2. Are all R56 JCW stock replacements compatible with the GP2? I don’t really want to go the coilover route, looking to just replace with stock springs. Any suggestions for non-OEM replacements?

Thanks, Rod

 

You can replace the front struts only if you want to keep it oem. 31306858041 and 31306858042

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/31306858041/

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/31306858042/

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ver-issue.html



Or go with these that are the closest, bilstein : https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bilstein...47-139060~bil/



bilstein developed the GP2 suspension with MINI so its was this version and then they changed things to tune it up while testing at the "ring". Hence its own part numbers

Seen below testing

https://www.autoblog.com/photos/mini...#slide-1788729

 

Thanks for the great information, much appreciated. Will read through those links.

Any idea how the PSS10 would fair on this car with stock springs?

 

Welcome, I would run the PSS10 on the springs they provide. I think those GP2 springs are tuned to the GP2 dampers.

 

The GP2 springs are stiffer (70nm all round), especially in the rear. As stated previously, the GP2 shocks are essentially B14 (PSS) which were revalved for the stiffer spring rates. You can theoretically run the standard R56 PSS10 with the stock GP2 H&R springs. It is not a total mismatch, but the lower rebound settings will struggle to control the spring, so you effectively will lose the lower 3-4 settings.

However, you should replace the springs at the same time. The original springs are now over 10 years old, and are probably not in good shape. If it was me I would just by the standard R56 PSS10 kit. That way you get all new components, plus adjustable rebound. The performance is not dramatically different from the stock GP2 setup, especially on the street

 

Thanks, I may give these a try both ways. Not sure where I will start though!

Thanks! Do you know the rate of the PSS10 springs? To be honest, I didn't really like these on my 2012 JCW, the ride felt very bouncy. However, after doing a bunch of research on this, I found that maybe the tires I was running was causing a lot of this issue (a very soft sidewall winter tire). In fact, I can see the car bounce a bit if I just shove it from the side while standing beside the car! I just removed the PSS10 from the 2012 JCW as I'm selling that car now. With new B4 Bilstein shocks and original springs, the 2012 JCW is now no longer bouncy at all, even with same tires. Perhaps the softer setup is absorbing all the bounciness of the tires?? I've only driven the GP2 around the block a couple of times as I'm waiting to sell the 2012 before I insure the GP2 and get it on the road. My initial impression (ignoring the clunking on sharp bumps), is that the ride of the GP2 did not have the bouncy nature that my 2012 did with the PSS10. Of course, that is with a different set of tires, so not apples to apples.

I did have this issue many years ago with a 2007 STI that was fine in the summer, but the winter tires drove me crazy as they were super bouncy (and I vowed never to buy Hankook tires again, haha).

The Gp2 springs only have about 65,000 KM on them, I doubt they have lost much of their spring, but I will have a look at them. If there is corrosion, I will look at replacing them.

Thanks for the input! At this point, I'm thinking GP2 springs with the PSS10 might be the first thing I try out. They had plenty of range at the top end, so even if I have to run them a bit stiffer, I should be OK.

Again, if you happen to know the PSS10 spring rate, let me know. I have them off the car and I didn't see anything that indicated a rate, but will look again.

Rod

 

It's been a long time since I did all the suspension work on my R56 and GP2 race cars. However, my recollection is that the PSS10 kit was around 60n/m compared to the GP2 at 70 (front). My recollection is that the PSS10 was softer in the rear, maybe, 50?, whereas the GP2 was the same as the front 70.

 

I find your comments here interesting concerning the bounciness of the B14 setup... I currently have the B14s on my Clubman, and when paired with my winter tires, (you guessed it) the car is very bouncy on undulating roads. The car was great with my summer wheels, but the winters... Ugh. Glad its not 100% due to the Bilstein set-up, because if it was all the time, it would drive me nuts.

 

Thank, I’ll do some searching on the part numbers and see if I can confirm that.

Thanks for responding! I appreciate that. I wasn’t sure if I was just over sensitive, but that shows there is something to it!

I wonder if it may be worth trying *gasp* runflats *gasp* to ensure the tires are super stiff??? I actually liked the PSS10 with that one exception…. I actually jacked my tire pressures up, just to see if some of the bouncing went away, and it did improve slightly but was still bad on the winter tires.

Also, I decided to swap insurance over to the GP and got a good drive in it today. It has Michelin winter tires on it, and it’s not bad at all. I would have thought the spring rates were softer than the PSS10, not stiffer. It did have a slight bounce, but more normal and nothing that would deter me from liking the ride.

P.S. I LOVE this GP2! Today is the first time I’ve really driven it. Compared to my 2012 JCW, it is much more refined inside. Power seems the same, but I think the throttle on the GP2 is not as touchy as the 2012 in sport mode. It’s stiffer than my 2016 JCW for sure, but certainly feels more nimble. One thing that the 2016 has over the GP2 is the exhaust sound. My 2016 is so much louder, I can barely hear the GP2 in comparison. Only issue is this clunky suspension…. The shocks feel fine, I’m going to get the wheels off this weekend and see if there is play in the swaybar bushings and endlinks. Fingers crossed, as I’d like to get some seat time with the standard GP2 suspension, before changing anything, if possible.

edit: not sure how, but the stereo is way better in the GP2 than my 2012 JCW. It is actually livable, where as the 2012 was not worth even turning on. I’m not saying it’s amazing, but it was a nice surprise.

 

Just an update, I installed the PSS10 with stock springs and the noise is gone. Ride seems pretty much the same as before with shocks set to 4. No issues at all with bouncing, ride is firm but not jarring. Actually feels amazing, I’d be surprised if the stock GP2 off the showroom floor was any better. Of course, this was just a 15 min ride, so will have to get more seat time for a good assessment.

I measured the stock front shocks at 235mm from the centre of the attachment bolt to the spring seat. However, the PSS10 instructions specifies 230mm max for this setting. This resulted in a slightly lowered ride height. The stock springs are thicker/stiffer for sure and are stamped 70n/m. Still not sure the exact rates on PSS10 springs but will do some digging when I get a chance.

I just did the fronts and went for a drive to ensure the noise was gone, and to do a quick assessment of the ride wth the stiff springs.

Will do the rears tomorrow. As mentioned, ride was great, so I’ll stick with the stock springs for now. They seemed fine, as did the upper spring perches, so I won’t bother changing them out at this point.

Cheers, Rod

P.S. at this point I’m feeling like the overly bouncy ride I experienced with PSS10 on my 2012 JCW was the winter tires. The other 2 factors are the stiffer springs of GP2 vs PSS10 springs and of course GP2 vs JCW.

 

Not exactly like for like but I run the B16 bilstien PSS10 on r59 on my roadster and I’m very happy with them.

 

Thanks, I have had the PSS10 installed on the GP2 for a while now, with stock 70n/mm springs f/r. The springs that come with PSS10 are not as thick, but are not stamped, so not sure what rate they are.

I feel that the ride is better with the gp2 springs, which surprised me. However, this was not back to back on the same car, with same tires.

PSS10 on my 12 JCW never felt right. I may have had an install issue. Installed on a stock JCW results in a significantly lower car. I wonder if I had issues because I didn’t reset the ‘stress’ in the bushings. Therefore, they would be slightly “loaded”, wanting to return to stock height. Not sure if this caused the suspension not to feel right. Also, my 12 JCW had bad winter tires. Car felt better with summer tires on that car…

The ride height didn’t change much (if at all) when installed on the gp2, so maybe that’s why they feel better, even with stiffer springs?? Plus, the tires are also a factor, but not 100% of the issue, se below.

I do have to have them at 3 minimum on the gp, so they are definitely stiffer. But feel good!

One side note: they are terrible at -30*c! In fact, I feel they are poor at anything below -10*c. I wouldn’t run these in winter (in those temps) if you are using the car as a daily. Once temps are around 0, they feel pretty consistent.

As a comparison, I just drove the ‘12 JCW (up for sale, but not sold yet) at -20*c, stock suspension and flimsy sidewall winter tires and it was WAY better than gp2 on PSS10 and performance winter tires. The 12 JCW was a GREAT winter car in stock config. My GP2 was torture.

Long story short, PSS10 and Canadian winter = not recommended. Freezing and above = AWESOME!!!