I just finished a 5 hour drive to see family and my back is killing me - I need to find some way to make my MINI more forgiving on long rides. My thoughts came to either new shocks (maybe FSDs) or a new seat (something like a Sparco EVO). I suspect the shocks would make a bigger difference. Thoughts?

Current suspension:
TSW V3 springs
Helix camber plates
Rota Slipstream 16x6.5 wheels
Falken 912 tires
Alta 19mm rear sway
H-Sport control arms

 

I think a set of 15" wheels & tires with some tallish side walls would be the easiest fix. When I put the 15" snow tires on my MINI the ride is vastly improved.

 

I have two sets of rims I run with my JCW Suspension.

18" GP rims 18x7 with Pirelli Pzero Nero 215/40/18 all season non runflats

And

16" Enkei ES6 16x7 with Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids in 195/55/16's non RFT.

By far I get the smoother ride with the 18" GP rims. So switching to 15 or 16 inch rim is not the total answer to your problem. Not sure why I get a smoother ride with the 18 inch rim, but MAYBE it is the tire's rubber compositon of the Pirelli Tire ? With the Grids, ( a VERY popular Cooper S tire ) I do get a much harsher ride and my back is very sensative to that sorta stuff too.

For long trips and occasional back pain try a bottom seat cushion made from a piece of memory foam, same stuff they make beds with. It works awesome and sometimes they come with a fleece side for winter driving.

 

I use the Koni FSD strut/shocks with NM springs & 225/45R17 tires/wheels and the ride is better than stock with 15" wheels.

 

This may be the best temporary fix to get me home this evening pain free. I'll have to see if I can find a bed bath & beyond type store around here.

 

New shocks ditch the springs

I've done 8 hour drives on both stock sport springs and TSW springs. I prefer the stock ones for cruising comfort. the TSWs are definitely more fun for aggressive driving but can't have your cake and eat it.

 

If you decide to ditch the springs, I'm in the market for some TSW's.

 

Not gonna happen - I threw out the stock springs so that'd mean buying new (to me) springs to downgrade Plus shocks play a bigger role in ride comfort than springs.

Just got home from the 5 hr drive back, those FSDs are looking very tempting now.

 

Actually the springs have more to do with comfort than the struts do. The struts simply try to dampen the spring movement. The springs are much harder to compress than the struts are.

 

Based on one of my graduate level courses (Vehicle Dynamics) I'm going to have to say you're not exactly right on this. I'm not attacking your knowledge, but a lot of people don't exactly understand how suspensions work. Dampers affect the entire frequency response, springs only affect very low frequencies which are not involved in ride comfort. Effectively springs hold the car up and dampers translate speed of movement of the wheel into a force to the car (so high frequency movement = high speed = high forces).

 

To be honest, it's both....

Generally shocks do contribute more to ride comfort.

BUT your shocks need some bump travel to work with....lowering any amount on the Mini severely impairs this as there's hardly any bump travel left even at stock ride height. So it's not the spring rate itself that makes lowering springs impact ride quality, it's the drop.

Stiffer rate, zero drop springs would probably ride really nicely.

- Andrew

 

While shocks play a large role in comfort so do springs. Stiffer spring rates equate to quicker spring movements in response to road irregularities. Suspension travel plays a role also but I don't agree that a stiffer rate, zero drop would be any better than what he has in the TSW springs.

We've had this discussion before.

Good luck on your search.

 

Dude save money get oem non-sport springs they're softer. Get both FSDs and oem non-sport springs, if you got the benjamins. Even FSD with TSW V3 springs will be kinda stiff. Since TSW V3 springs are linear design, you might fare better with a progressive spring like H-Sports (oem non-sport still softer though). TSW V3 springs are great because they are a fairly firm spring. Also, 205/55-16 tire size with a slightly lower psi in them.

 

eh...

On the '03 MCS we have FSD's, stock springs, IE Fixed plates (basically a HD OEM mount), 205/50-16 GSD3's, 19mm RSB... The ride is... tolerable... but not really much different than when the car was stock w/ 17" RF's... nor any better than our '07 Cooper 'vert w/ stock suspension and 205/50-16 Star Specs.

The MCS does ride a lot better when the 15" snows go on for the Winter...

IMHO, with those springs and especially the Helix camber plates, you're grasping for straws...

 

This is like what I use, but mine has a simulated sheep skin fleece on one side....http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...i_sku=10105194

THis one would fit in a MINI seat a little better though........and it comes from Staples, would check to see if it is returnable if it is not good quality.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MS70GQ/...SIN=B001MS70GQ



This one is stated as being orthopedic, and therefore may be better quality....denser material with a better memory effect. Only few dollars more.

http://sitincomfort.com/bumefosecu.html



Wish I knew who made mine. It lost it tags and has lasted 2 years!


FOUND IT!

Here is one I have....awesome. Not sure why they call it a gel cushion, except it appears to be a mem foam/gel pads together, and the cushion unzips and is washable. A good buy
http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/Pers....cfm?XS_Item=2

 

Also I think the Sparco EVO seats will make matters worse, not really meant for comfort, but to keep you in place through high G's, for better road feel, reduced weight, and safety. Also some camber plates have like a urethane that makes for more smoother ride.