Based in rainy Scotland
with terrible roads

hence the plan to switch out for better dampers / springs

 

I have heard stories about the horrible road conditions in England and Scotland before but wasn't sure if they were true. Sorry to hear that they are that bad to blow out springs so quick like you describe. I live in the communist state of New York which is the highest taxed state in the country. However, most roads are in excellent shape but by god one pays a HUGE price for that in every tax imaginable. I won't go into the billions and billions of dollars that are siphoned off by the blatant political corruption which is the worst out of all the states in the US here in NY.

 

I contacted koni directly today. They have advised me that I should go with Sachs original springs or lesjofors, advising that they are both oem standard. Didn’t really answer my question, but they appear to have ruled out febi.

imagine the surface of the moon, that would be close to our roads here in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

my local dealer has said that new suspension isn’t actually needed as yet, which I find surprising at how many miles the car has done.

 

All Koni will probably tell you to do is use a stock-height, OEM or equivalent spring with the special actives.

I'm confused about what you're saying though. If the roads are that bad, I would have expected your OEM struts to have been toasted ages ago. I replaced mine at 65k because - at least in my mind - they weren't damping properly. OTOH, I'm still shocked that your springs are bad at 80k. I can't recall anyone replacing the stock springs because they were sagging. I'm sure it happens, but still...

 

Yeh so I can feel the suspension underperforming and it feels like it bottoms out over the slightest bump now

however when ur was in at the dealer I had all / every bush replaced

when I said about the rough ride the dealer said it’s most likely worn dampers, however did not feel these required changing, despite them testing the car

the car was always crashy, but now it can be m jaw breaking

hence I fancy the flashy koni active struts and am just undecided on what springs to go for

my thinking is, if I’m going to be dismantling the struts, I’m going to replace absolutely every component, hats, bump stop, washers, ✏️ etc with bmw where available or equivalent. So basically building new struts. Given bmw springs are back ordered I’m stuck between Sachs or lesjofors to pair with the koni dampers

 

I'm curious. Are they visibly sagging? Beyond that, I don't know how to diagnose worn springs. The mini has very little suspension travel to start with. I could see a lack of compression damping allowing the car to bottom out on big bumps, especially if the bump stops are worn out (not sure if that's possible?) - the car basically corners on the bump stops because of the design. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in. When I had three people in my car (including me) on stock springs and worn dampers (with worn lower rear shock bushings), the rear tires would just barely kiss a protruding portion of the inner fender on big dips.

Another point. There are a bunch of OEM spring part numbers depending on the suspension option and the car's weight. For example, a sunroof car should have different springs than the equivalent slicktop. There's a thread floating around somewhere about it. When I ordered my R50, the sport suspension was standard, and I had the option of the stiffer sport plus. AFAIK, all R53s came with the sport plus suspension as standard.

 

I have an r52 cabrio full spec factory installed jcw car.
As for the springs… no broken coils, but they are visibly corroded, the surface finish has completely diminished and are flaking with rust., just not enough for it to fail inspection

I don’t think the springs have “failed” or are failing as such, it’s more a case of I feel the dampers are no longer performing and my plan is to change to koni active. My bump stops disintegrated a long time ago. As mentioned it is a case of while I’m in there, I want to completely rebuild the struts from new parts.

I don’t want the harsh ride or the sport plus package that came with the car, hence I’m looking for a stock/ softer option to go with my koni dampers. The goal being to reduce the crashy nature of the car.

My car came from the factory with a very tight / but rough ride. While the new bushes have returned the handling to factory spec and the car is again very tight, the car has become more and more uncomfortable on uneven road as the miles have crept up. I believe this is entirely down to being on original dampers.

I will never sell the car, so am not worried about not getting jcw springs, I’m getting a bit old for the JCW setup and my aim is to have at least some of the smaller bumps absorbed.

 

Ah. I kind of forgot that rust is a thing.

I was under the impression that there was never a JCW suspension option for the R52. I have also heard that the wrong springs will sag in the rear of the cabrio because of the weight, but I don't know much more than that. Looks like I'm not much help

 

My jcw cabrio is 1/33 in the uk
When I ordered the car you could spec the suspension from the factory think there was a few options even on the cab

I thought I wanted a race car at the time lol

 

Installed KONI Special Active Front Strut on 2006 R53.

I just received these new KONI struts from Way Motor Works (fast shipping thanks). My question is the directions are very limited but they show some kind of washer that was supposed to be included and installed on the to of the strut piston, between the top pf the strut plate and bump stop. There was only the nut and the strut in the box so am I missing something or will it be OK. The original strut had no washer. I also put a new strut tower brace on the top since my originals were beginning to crack. Just curious if I need this washer before I put the other one on tomorrow. Should I go out to Lowes and look for a nylon washer that fits the shaft. Just curious. Thanks, the installation was pretty easy since I live in Charlotte and no rust.

 

Don't mean to hi-jack Buggy's thread.
Yesterday I was presented with a tantalizing offer for a pair of brand new / still in box front Bilstein B6 strut/shocks. The guy brought them in today.
When I tested the compression and rebound rate; Compression was super firm on both shocks. However, The rebound rates differed drastically.
R passenger side rebounded quickly within 2 seconds.
L driver side rebounded slowly - took about 12 seconds.

Not questioning his integrity.
Is this common behavior for a pair of brand new strut / shocks to rebound so differently?

 

Rev9 adjustable coilovers... why ?
I got them because I wanted a adjustable coilover that could exactly replicate the stock suspension and from all my researching these were the ONLY ones to allow for stock ride height and firmness ( lol I installed them at their top most and go atleast 3/4in above stock lol )..but they're fully adjustable up and down and they have adjustable dampners so you can reaallllllllly get it set exactly where you want it.
I got them because I was worried about fitment issues if I were to lower my car BUT needed new suspension. So I figured for their price WAY NOT? then I have the ability to adjust my height according to what tire/rim combo I am chose to run.
I know you said you want stock but why not get something that will do stock BUUUUUUUT have the flexibility for down the road.. it's a mod too that most don't frown upon when buying used.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hyper-Stree...-127632-2357-0

 

Hmm. I think all of my gas-charged dampers have extended at about the same rate, but I really can't say I've paid super close attention. I'll hazard a guess and say that the slow one might just need to be cycled a few times.

 

That was my thinking as well.
BTW: 'waiting on other parts to come in: front top hats/strut bearing, sway bar links...and went with your choice of strut tower plates - M7. M7 plates just seemed that they covered more of the strut tower real estate. ' Made more sense to me.

Thanks!

 

It sounds like you have quite a bit of suspension work ahead of you. I believe my thoughts were similar; I like the M7 and WMW plate designs better than the Cravenspeed. If anything, the large area gave me a guide while I pounded my towers back flat. I probably would have gone with the WMW plates, but I got a deal on the M7 plates. I'm also pretty sure the associated WMW tower brace doesn't quite clear the lower hood of the R50. Or maybe the battery box. Or both. I can't remember for sure at this point.

 

I bought a set of the Feal 441 coilovers from RMW. I ended up needing different length strut cartridges and Feal was amazing to work with over the last couple of months. The struts fit great and after limited driving my setup is ideal IMHO. Completely rebuildable, swift springs and available with different valving. Granted this is my only non stock experience so maybe there are better choices. Ymmv

 

Shouldn't be too bad. My limited budget finding affordable (budget) shocks have been the toughest part. The installation should go pretty smooth. The front suspension had been completely re bushed, mounts, control arms & new ball joints 30k mi ago. New rear (OEM) shocks and sway bar links - 20 months ago. The only thing needed to do is install the rear adjustable control arms and alignment.

 

Hi,

not sure if dealer pricing of struts are standard across all dealers. I just ordered a drivers side strut for $254 $US, for R53 Cooper S does that seem typical ?

Thanks

Anthony

 

Generally, the guidance is always to replace struts in pairs. Helps to keep the suspension predictable side to side.

Most here would be looking at aftermarket struts line Koni special active or Bilstein B4 or B6 or Sachs. All would be less than the dealer per strut price.

If this is for some super low mileage show car where originality matters then yeah, dealer is your best option. What are your goals for replacing the strut?

 

Hi

thanks for your response, I’m pricing one in the US because I’m travelling and my passenger mount has cracked I didn’t replace the shocks back home in Canada because my drivers side isn’t available back ordered for months, but I discovered the local dealer in Charleston can get the part which I ordered and will take it with me home to do both as the passenger side strut is the one I can get at home which is more worn than drivers side (already replaced mount b it didn’t do the shock as it wasn’t available)

so my question was CDN pricing vs US pricing both similar $258 CDN but was charged $254 US after conversion costs me $100 more , I didn’t go after market since I have the sport suspension and want to keep it the same since I’m not replacing the rears yet

I’m original owner of 2005 Cooper S 153K Km in very good condition did the valve body in 2012 and is still solid invested too much to get rid of it anytime soon

Thanks

Anthony

 

Are you able to order from a dealer using their online store in Canada?

In the US, there is a site. Minipartsdirect.com that sells dealer parts at a discount. Not sure if that will work for you. Significantly less than $245.

 

Hi

Thanks for the link not sure I haven’t heard of that but if the price they are charging is a dealer price that’s ok as long as I can get it home with me. I know they’re always more expensive and that the shock I need is the sport +

31316780469 and 470

realoem lists for $151.34

 

Hi

i checked the MSRP should be about $194 not $254 not sure why they charged me that



thanks

Anthony

 

I’m going to do both shocks when I get home as long as the mount on passenger side holds up ,I don’t understand what is between the crack and strut what is holding it in place will the strut poke through if it cracks all the way around ?

 

I recently put Bilstein struts on my duaghters R52S, so I'm trying to recall how everything fit back together.

If I recall correctly: No, if the mount cracks all the way around the strut will not poke through. There is a shoulder on the strut below the threads, and the upper spring perch (Part 7 in the diagram below) rests on that. So, if that mount cracked through, the spring perch would bang away on the bottom of the upper strut mount (it would probably make a heck of a racket and your handling/steering would be less than ideal - to say the least).


Buy by your picture - yeah, it's definitely time to replace those upper stut mounts, too. I replaced the upper perch and the rubber spring seats, top & bottom, too. Next Spring I'll put new Bilstein shocks on the rear, as well.