I have a March 2003 R50 with about 55,000 miles on it so far. It has the
Sport Suspension Plus option, so the shocks/struts/swaybars are the same
part numbers as on the R53, and the springs are almost the same as the R53,
except for accomodating the slightly lower weight of the R50's front half .
I still have the original shocks/struts, and they actually haven't softened up
a lot yet, but eventually they will, and the question will be what to replace them with.
These are the old style, stiffer shocks, before MINI changed to a softer version later in 2003,
and I would prefer something at least that firm, so the current replacement
oem shocks/struts would be too soft for my liking. I would also like to keep the
original ride height, so lowering springs are not in the equation.
I run max performance summer tires most of the year, and winter tires in the winter,
and prefer a firm, controlled ride, but not too harsh like a setup designed for the track.
My wife passenges often and drives sometimes, and is happy with the current setup.

There seem to be only a few options, so I figured those who have done
this already could comment on the pros and cons and their experiences.
Here's my take on things so far.

Koni Sport (Yellow) - firmer than stock, adjustable rebound, fixed compression, requires enlarging
the mounting perches, rears require some unassembly to adjust on a MINI.
Has anyone had problems with perches rusting out where they were drilled out?

Koni FSD - supposed to be good for stock height, but will I find them to be too soft?

Bilstein - only made in SP (no HD for R50/R53). For some cars the SPs are firmer than the HDs,
and for some cars, they're the same valving except for ride height design. Not sure how Bilstein
valved the MINI ones in this regard, so they may be a little firmer than I'd prefer.
Some report they're a little oversized and hard to install in the front knuckles, and they're designed for lower springs.

JCW spring/shocks - only 10 mm lower than stock which would be close enough to stock ride height to be acceptable,
but probably not the most cost effective route for my goals. Not sure how the valving compare to the other options.

Most coilovers don't adjust upward to stock ride height, and also not very cost effective for my goals.

 

I have an R53 and have been running Koni Yellows with Dinan springs. It sits just under stock hight (probably 1/2" lower) and rides wonderful. Much better than the stock SS.

No problems with the drilled out caps in the rear. And for adjustment, they are pretty much set and forget. I have not changed the settings since they were new and I am pretty picky about my suspension.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

RealOEM lists only one part number for the front strut from 3/2002 until 11/2006. It does not list that one part was ENDED then replaced. Are you sure that they changed the part to be softer? This concerns me because I probably only have 20,000 miles left in mine. I would never dream of going softer. Linear rate springs and stiff dampers for the win!

Chances are that when I go to replace mine, they will be so worn out and "soft" that even the new OEM ones, if they are infact softer, would seem very stiff by comparison, the showroom feel of the car lost over 8 years.

 

MINI changed the viscosity of the oil in all of the shocks and struts around 5/2003,
which resulted in softer shocks from then on, but the part numbers remained the same.
Here is a link to an old thread from around then that explains it better.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mediately.html

On another note, has anyone seen shock dyno graphs for the Koni FSD's?
There used to be some on Vwvortex a few years ago (for VWs, of course), but they've disappeared, and can't find on the web for any make or model.

 

if your not going to do lots of hpde's, koni fsd's are fine. at least for me. I've had them on the mini for almost 40k miles. plus IE fixed plates. and stock springs. soaks up the rough stuff better and seems to maintain better grip through the same as well over stock. Some have disliked the "wallowing" the fsd's can promote, but i'd take that so I can have grip when road conditions are not glass smooth through the turn, and not kill my kidneys at the same time.

GRM has had FSDs on their old project r50 with great results in autox.

maybe true choice has dyno graphs on file. tire rack did a comparo between FSDs and Yellows on their test track. not much difference in lap times.

Unfortunately, my r&d budget is zero, so having a set of bilstens to test is gonna be a long while. the sp's and the pro-mini h&r springs are supposed to be a good combo.

 

One thing you can do to allow adjustment in the rear if you install Koni Yellows is: drill holes above the rear shock top in the sheet metal. Then to adjust the firmness pop the rear panels and reach in to adjust. You will need a 4 or 5 MM socket(forget which), a short extension and a thumb ratchet. This will only work if you don't have the Harmon Kardon as the amp is in the way on one of the inside panels with that option.

 

PM'd the members on vwvortex that had published dyno curves for Koni FSD, Sport, and Bilstein shocks (pics have dissapeared from the threads) but no luck.
Got some FSD and Sport stats from Koni for the 1st gen MINI applications but it's kind of limited:

"Raw data as follows
8741-1440l sport (front yellow)=700N bump and 1250N rebound at 75mm stroke, 84rpms, .33mm per second
8745-1012l (fsd front)=280N bump and 1750N rebound
8041 1293 sport(rear yellow) 600N bump and 1500N rebound
8045-1232 (fsd rear) 450N bump and 1550N rebound"

.33 mm per second sounds like an awfully slow velocity for testing, maybe that was a typo.
Also, with the FSDs would really need numbers at both slow and fast velocities like on a shock dyno curve
or graph to illustrate how they work.