I have an 02 MCS, with as of yesterday 100,000 miles on it. I have owned since around 65,000 miles. My question is when should the struts and shocks be replaced? 50K miles like most other vehicles? The car rides like a rock and the wifey is complaining about it .

Does anyone have a suggestions on where to get some OEM replacements that will not completely break the bank? I would love some performance models but I can't afford $1k and up on this repair.

Thx,

~Wiseguy

 

Check the marketplace, they come up at reasonably low miles from folks who are upgrading, lowering, or going to coilovers. You'll want a set from an '04 or newer, since they're supposedly a lil more supple. I got a set of struts that way, but I'm keeping my spares when my car reaches about 50k!

 

Tell your wife the MINI is not a luxury car.

If anything, the ride should get softer with worn struts. Have you always remembered it to be this harsh?

Do you still have the runflats? These make the ride very harsh.

 

If you have Runflat tires on that MINI, repklace them with some standard radials and you'll feel the difference. I'd recommend the Potenza RE series if you're a spirited driver. I think they handle as well as RFs.

 

Shocks/struts control the compression & rebound characteristics of the springs. Worn struts/shocks make for softer (faster) spring compression but do not control spring expansion (rebound) well, which makes the ride bouncier. Tracking corners and twisties at moderately to fast speeds is trickier too.

OP: Most shocks/struts don't last longer than 50k. I would look into replacing them along with strut mounts and other suspension bushings (if necessary). And like other said, toss the runflats if you still have them.