I had my MINI in for her annual oil change on Tuesday and I was given a 2011 Justa with 15" wheels and non-run flat tires. The difference in the ride was remarkable...the Justa was a much, much smoother ride than my MCS.

First question: is the stock suspension on the MCS and Justa the same? I don't have the upgraded sport suspension on my MCS.

If it is, that means the difference in ride had to be the wheel/tire combo. So is there really that much difference in ride between a MINI with 17" run-flats and one with 15" non-run-flats?!? Is the difference more the wheel diameter or the tire? Can I expect the ride to improve that much when I swap out my run-flats for non-run-flats in the future?!? If so...awesome!

Thanks for any insight!

 

The spring rates vary from MINI to MINI depending on what options they have so I doubt that the S and non-S are identical, but I wouldn't expect major differences in ride.

Both the height of the sidewalls and the type of tires account for the more compliant ride. There are many, many threads here discussing the pros and cons of replacing run-flats with regular tires.

 

I have a slightly different question for you guys. People have mentioned that the MCS with the sports pkg and 17" runflats deliver an astoundingly harsh ride. On the other hand, the 15" non-runflats with the std suspension on the base Mini Cooper deliver a relatively soft ride.

What about the base Mini Cooper with the 16" runflats and sports suspension? Is the ride quality ride in between the earlier two options, or is it very similar to the MCS w/sports suspension?

 

Can't tell you with base cooper, but I just recently went from my 07 MCS with 17" to a new 11 MCS with 16". about 2 years into owning the 07 I changed out the runflats for non-runflats and was very happy. Now I have the new one with 16" runflats and it is an even nicer ride that the 17 " non-runflats. I am glad I decided to go with the smaller wheels as our New England roads are not exactly the smoothest.

 

My car came with the 16 inch runflats. I changed those to 16 inch
non runflats. My spine thanked me.

I got a set of 15 inch non runflats (with stock wheels) for cheap that I
will eventually use for winter tires.

The smoothness of the ride is a lot more, but the handling is not
quite as good.

 

Two weeks ago I immediately took off the 205/45/17 inch runflats on my 2011 MCS and there was a noticeable difference in ride quality on uneven roads (some noise improvement) going to 215/45/ZR17 non-runflats.

Last week I added KONI FSD shocks, a 19 MM Hotchkis rear sway bar, and a NM Torque Arm Insert. There was an even more pronounced improvement in ride quality over uneven roads and with the other improvements to handling the car is so much fun to drive.

 

IMHO any size good non-RF tire beats the cast iron, mega $$ RF's in ride and handling.

 

I have the sport suspension on the base MINI. Any additional harshness added by runflats would not be welcome.

Also, one's perception of suspension harshness can depend heavily on the condition of the local roads. Ours are quite good.

 

Also, one's perception of suspension harshness can depend heavily on the condition of the local roads. Ours are quite good.[/quote]

I agree with this comment. Some folks are fortunate with their road conditions and the non- runflats would make less of a difference I imagine. In my neck of the woods the roads are usually in some state of disrepair.

 

I think the FSDs are great shocks that ride well even on rough roads.

Why did you chooe 215/40 17 tires? They are smaller than OEM 205/45 17 and they can be a little harsher because of the skinner sidewall.

 

Typos, typos the bane of my existence. Thanks much, I edited the original post.

 

I have a MCa with standard suspension AND a 2011 MCSa with Sport Suspension. SS is much more harsh.

On the 2011 MCSa I have 215x45x17 and love them! The speedometer is right on the money and the ride without runflats is better.

The 2009 MCa, typical low powered Cooper, really benefited from getting away from the runflats in ride quality AND when I went to 205x50x16 the gear ratios were better for more ZIP around town and on mountain roads.

Bottom line, ditch the runflats. If you don't have a spare then get a Slime Kit and a 12vdc tire pump (comes in the good Slime Kit).







S.

 

"I agree with this comment. Some folks are fortunate with their road conditions and the non- runflats would make less of a difference I imagine. In my neck of the woods the roads are usually in some state of disrepair".

Aww..... C'mon now, our roads are great here in Ct.
Where else can you get a car airborne, and sliding sideways at the same time? Gotta love some of those expansion joints.
I swapped the RF's for Hankook V12's and dropped the pressure about 3psi. Much better ride.

 

I have the 15" non-runflats and the ride is cushy compared to runflats. It also came with a spare tire and the slime kit under the trunk area.

 

Yes the springs are the same for all models - unless you op for the sport suspension. The thicker Justa seats also adds to the comfort level.

As for those who worry about not carrying a spare and chucking the run flats - The Chevy Cruise comes with no spare and a compressor and slime.... and no run-flats apparently.......

http://consumerist.com/2011/05/chevy...lator-kit.html

 

I also test drove a new justa with 15s vs an mcs with 17s, both 2011s. I ended up with the justa as I preferred the na throttle response and the ride on the mcs was horrible. I couldn't believe the difference. I did not feel that the handling difference, if there was any, was worth the noise and punishment for a commuter car. I am sure Mini has lost many customers when they test drove the "top of the line" model and had a similar experience!

 

I am just as "sure" that MINI has made customers that preferred the MCS for its ride and did not find it noisy or punishing. It is different strokes for different folks. I am curious. Do you take corners aggressively hard at all, look for twisty roads to blast through?

 

I got the Sports Package in my MINI, but I don't think that included the Sport Suspension. Also, I coulda swore the Justa I was given had Sport seats installed...

 

I was coming from a 1991 miata so expecting a pretty significant ride improvement. I did not take the mcs on an extended test drive, so I am sure there could have been handling nuances I missed with the larger wheels. However the reason I was giving up the miata, which I dearly loved, was because I needed a slightly more comfy car for long trips up to Los angeles. I felt the 15's in the mc gave up nothing substantial to the 17's on the mcs, and provided a significant advantage in ride. Different strokes for sure, but my tastes are on the harder side of normal, so I was very surprised that the mcs was so rough.

I felt the same about a 2006 boxter i tested with 19's. I felt they ruined the car, frankly. I do not understand this recent obsession with low profile tires!

 

^^ this!

And you ain't kidding about "mega $$". This snippet from Tire Rack says it all...



EVERYTHING about the RFT's in that comparison above sucks A$$. Look at the reviewer's ratings! MASSIVE difference, with the RFT's being absolutely horrendous (and no doubt near the bottom ranking for all tires in this size) and the fraction-of-the-price non-RFT's having an excellent score. And 100 points better treadwear rating (though those numbers don't necessarily compare meaningfully between brands, but you get the idea).

 

First time we drove a Justa it was a loaner, since a non-turbo car was never on the radar. Easy to get the Justa ride in an S by simply dumping the run flats. No MINI is going to ride like a Cadillac, not even the bigger heavier CountryMan.