Ha, our club just ran through the twisties in Salem, Clarksburg and surrounding areas today. Drove about 165 miles doing that!
I'm going with the FSDs for sure. One member on here mentioned letting a local shop change them out rather than a dealer? What do you think?
Thanks.

 

Well, I don't trust any local guys here in Gainesville farther than I can throw them. Town full of college kids, I'm afraid of 1. Being ripped off, and 2. Crappy work, just like all the other crappy services this town "provides"

At least at a dealer, I KNOW it'll be done Right the first time, and if something goes wrong, they'll fix it no questions asked

Also figure, if I ever do sell this car, it'll look pretty good to have had 100% of my work done by Mini.

 

Is a good point. Brakes maybe, but the struts are a whole other animal. Mini of Pittsburgh will bring me a loaner, take mine approx. 150 miles to the dealer to get work done for fifty bucks.. That's cheap in my book. Then they return mine the next day. They will install MY parts and only charge labor. Maybe best to go this route, eh?

 

Hey, can't beat a free loaner!
And he'll, I drive 135 miles to Orlando just for my oil changes!

 

As long as the shop is reasonably comptant, they should do fine. I would stay away from the local shade-tree guy who thinks anything without a ford or chevy badge is evil, with the pickup with "farm use" painted on the side!! The brakes, and the suspension is pretty standard....a STRONG spring compressor helps lots on a gen2....but on a gen1, a regular one is fine.
Those back roads are a blast...had a honda back in the day....i could almost keep up with some of the miata's driven by some of the guys from Japan in Salem.....kinda funny how in the middle of nowhere you will suddenly find a church big enough for 6 people....fly around a curve, cross a one lane bridge, then zip up a hill to find another tiny church!!
good roads though, even in the middle of nowhere!!

 

I am a service advisor at the new Mini of Wesley Chapel in well, Wesley Chapel fl. I can tell you that yes you will pay a little more at the dealer. But you also get more. I can tell you that our guys are master certified MINI/ BMW techs. They have to go through extensive training and testing to be able to get their certifications from MINI. Sou you have guys working on your car that specialize on these cars. You also get 2 years unlimited mileage on parts and labor as a warranty. Don't know of too many independent shops that can offer that. You also get alternate transportation wether its a shuttle ride to the local mall, home or work. And if needed a loaner vehicle can be arranged. Not to mention an awesome state of the art building designed by and for mini. If you have any questions in regards let me know if we can help.

 

Yep, we found the same thing. We did a covered bridge tour today and for some reason, I kept hearing dueling banjos in those woods!

 

this is Exactly why I let mini do ALL of my work. I had an issue with my pulley at one point, and it was fixed, free, no questions asked! Thanks Mini!

 

Pushing down on your corners as in the old days is not a way to tell on our cars and will only put dimples in the bonnet of the 1st Gen MINI....

If you have 80K miles on it, yes struts are done. Worn struts will only result in tower mushrooming and strut mount cracking......

These struts are gas charged and unlike the olden days of oil shocks the signs of escaped invisible gases and worn valving cannot be seen or felt until you run into pot holes......

I went with the JCW suspension's moderate drop of 1/2 to 3/4 inch to maintain proper drive line angle for the front axle so I didn't experience issues of premature driveline wear and axle vibration.

If you go with springs, you would need struts which are designed for operating with lower springs. FSD's are not in this category. Bilstein sport and some Koni's are designed to operate in the travel area restricted by lowering.

Pick up 6 strut mount bolts if keeping your stock mounts.

Alignment afterwards, preferably by a MINI dealer as you probably already know is also crucial no matter what you decide here.

 

How many hours labor to replace stock shocks on all four corners with Koni FSD's (2005 Cooper S Hatchback)?

How many hours additional labor to replace rear sway bar at the same time?

Working with an independent shop and would like some measure to gauge reasonableness of charges.

 

With limited tools and just jack stands I did all four corners in about 4 hours. If I did it again I could probably pull this off in 2.5-3 hours. Sway bar is a good call as you need to remove the rear shocks to do this anyhow. That job should only add about 30 minutes.

So probably between 2 to 3 hours for a competent shop would be fair.

 

Evidently I have been hosed on labor charges. Independent shop charged 5 hours to replace front and rear shocks, 2 hours for rear sway bar install, 5 hours for front and rear brake rotors and pads, and 2 1/2 hours for an alignment. No issues, everything was bolt on. Maybe I should have gone to the dealer.

Not really feeling game right now for having them do a 17% pulley, as was the plan for the next step.

 

Wow dude. Sorry about that... Sounds like you were hosed. You can always get quotes from the dealer before you even walk in the door.

 

You paid over 1,000 in labor and another 1,000+ in parts cost? Yeah kind of got worked over.

Sorry to hear that. Most places charge 1 hour labor for the pulley + you need a new belt. So $300 +\- all in including the pulley.

Where are you located?

 

Just did mine in about the same time. And agree about the "next time".. lol had a dealt 1/2 inch impact and cordless dealt jobbie for the smaller bolts. Easy as can be.
Also spring compressors are a must.

 

Haha. I'm still sportingl my stock struts at 91k! Not even worried if anyone thinks I'm insane please, give me enough cash for a set and ill glady get a set megan racing coil overs.

 

Ha...there's nothing to be worried about but changing out the shocks that are very likely worn out with that mileage will just improve your overall satisfaction with the car. Less bouncing when you hit bumps, less diving when you break.

I personally hear a lot less squeaks and rattles now with the new shocks installed...

So to each his own....

 

The next time for me was figuring out the top hats on the rears had a directional setup to them meaning they would only fit correctly one way..although you could get them in the wrong way and the bottom wouldn't bolt up. The left side took me an hour in the rear fiddling around. The right side took me 20 minutes. I changed out all the bushings at the same time.

Oh well....not that it will be necessary anytime soon (hoping for 40k miles) but at least I know what I am getting into.

 

Despite getting worked over on the installation cost, the Koni FSD's are a great improvement. The Alta 22mm sway bar helps to remove the built-in understeer, although the car still has some initial understeer on turn in.

 

What was the labor charged you for replacing the shocks? Was a front end alignment required?

 

A front end alignment was recommended and done - don't know if it was required or not. Labor bill was not itemized, but the total for everything was about $1600. I know, I got hosed.

 

I have 83k on my 04 MCS. Rough ride around town, highway is fine. What is the difference between shocks and struts? Same thing? Koni FSD all the way?
Brian

 

Still love the Koni FSD's. The ride is firm but supple. Great suspension control under aggressive circumstances.