I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading my suspension since I bought my R53 a year ago. The Godspeed Maxx coilovers I have are so harsh on the street it’s a very rough ride. I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while and just yesterday I decided to go with ECS coilivers.

My mini must have read my mind because I heard a big thump on my way to work and found out the rear left coilover sh*t the bed.

Here are some photos:




ECS are back ordered until July. Any stop gap suggestions to stay on the road until July?

 

Just curious - Did you happen to have PF rear upper mounts on those struts?

 

Yup. The yellow variety. You can barely see a little yellow in the first picture.

 

Video when I first started investing… not a good sign.

 

Sorry to see that happen...again -
I remember watching a youtube video about the PF rear upper mounts causing the very same damage to the poster's R56.
I had the rear upper PF bushings/mounts still sitting in it's package when I installed my B14's and decided to install the TRQ black, solid rubber bushings instead.
I'm glad I did. They are great even after a year.

Again, sorry to see this happen to you.

 

 

Thanks for the advice and good to know. I’ll grab a set of TRQ blacks when I install my new coils.

 

So let me catch up here....
Is the thought that the PF yellow bushings were giving too much or too little support? The OEM bushings are foam and very soft correct? The PF yellow are poly which would give a stiffer feel?
What about the TRQ black makes them different/better for the strut from the Power Flex?
Eventually I'm to upgrade my rear suspension (including the rear trailing arm bushings and struts) and I was planning on PF for the rear upper mounts???

 

Interesting question (I hope I know the answer) - Powerflex yellow are 80 D-shore (?) polyurethane (very solid/stiff) while to the best of my knowledge, the TRQ ones (I have) are solid,very dense but slightly flexible rubber (not foam rubber) = firm but w/less cushion than "foam".
I remember sometime beforehand that there was a discussion/debate here on NAM with respect to rear strut bushings and some advice was mentioned to avoid going with too stiff of a compound. Thus - pwerflex maybe too much "support"/"restrictive" (?). Opinions vary.

I don't recall if rear bushings were provided with the Bilsteins B14s included in the set I bought. If they were, I didn't use them.
During the installation of my Bilstein B14 adjustable coil overs - I had in front of me and compared three different sets of bushings: Powerflex yellows, OE factory equivalent and TRQ brand.
From my own personal observation:

• The powerflex yellow upper rear strut bushings; however very dense, indeed felt superior opposed to the factory ones without question. But just seemed a bit too hard/rigid for my taste/ride quality.
• I also had a pair of new OE rear upper strut bushings which were nothing more than densely compressed foam. (ie: sure to flatten and clunk within a year).
• I had purchased a TRQ strut/suspension mount kit (front strut top bearings and rear top hats w/rubber bushings) off Amazon years before. (I only installed the front strut top bearings = lasted about 2.5 years @ 25K)

So I still had those unused black rubber TRQ rear top hat bushings to compare with the OE and Powerlex.
For me the rigid but flexible rubber TRQ made sense as I didn't want to wind up with too stiff of a ride by going with the powerflex. On the other hand, I certainly didn't want to be replacing those crappy foam rubber OE ones in a year or so.
While I'm not trying to sell anyone on buying TRQ - I've only had the TRQ rear strut bushing in combo with the B14s for about a year. So far, so good...no clunks and the ride feels firm but otherwise great.
If a denser rubber compound vs polyurethane is something you might consider, I image there are a few reputable performance brands also offered on the market.

 

All right - Well I couldn't find my old receipt for the TRQ strut mount & bushing set I ordered years ago which included the rear top hats & (black) rubber bushings.
I couldn't come up with that particular set in any of my internet searches either.
But here is what I came across that looks very similar to (TRQ) what I have installed with my rear B14's....


https://hardraceusa.com/products/hardrace-q1135

The rear bushings advertised on their site are not as pricey compared to the powerflex yellows but the site also does not state whether the bushings are rubber or polyurethane.

But IIRC the appearance seems to be consistent with the TRQ brand bushings I had installed on the rears.
They do, however, look rubber imo.

EDIT: Well, I found the vendor; 1Aauto, from Amazon where/when I had purchased (circa 2021 - before I joined NAM), the TRQ strut mount & bushing kit
1Aauto.com is also "code" for TRQ. 1Aauto inc = TRQ. They sell cheap parts cheap. They list the Mini Cooper Rear Upper 2 Piece Strut Mount Kit TRQ SKA34425 as - out of stock.
I've since learned a lot about choosing good and bad quality parts since joining NAM.