Both OEM struts are leaking oil on my 2004 R50 w/Sport Suspension Plus. I’ve decided to replace struts and shocks with Bilstein B4s, but not sure about front bump stops and rear shock bushings.

I like the way the car handles now, and didn’t want to experiment with other than stock size front bump stops. Would PowerFlex bump stops be more durable than OEM? I understand the PF bump stops are the stock 60mm length.

Similar question about PowerFlex rear shock bushings. I’ve spent hours reading previous posts on the topic, and they seem to fall into two categories:
(A) PowerFlex bushings are more durable, less prone to clunking noises, and better handling than OEM.
(B) MINI rear struts are subjected to high side loads. Restricting the strut shaft neck from pivoting creates bending stress upon the shaft and subjects the piston to lateral stress, which it was not designed to tolerate. Softer is better for this application.

It seems there are more posts supporting position A, but want to make sure I’m not missing anything.

Thanks for any experiences you can share.

 

I had recently (8 months ago), replaced the factory compatible (foam), rear top shock mounts with powerflex due to an irritating clunking noise while traversing over uneven, bumpy roads at low speeds.
Happy to say I no longer hear my rear end clunk and the ride is not harsh or any real noticable stiffness.
I don't have much to offer in regards to bump stops. Although I've replaced them with new OEM equivalent foam (came with the struts), I really didn't notice any major discernible degradation of the old ones.

 

I've seen that argument about the upper rear mounts before, and I'm not sure how much weight I give it. It's not wrong in the sense that the bushing has to flex to allow the shock shaft to pivot about the upper mount as the rear suspension cycles. I can certainly see where going to too stiff of a bushing would be an issue, but I don't know how significant the change to the yellow Powerflex bushings is. I'm currently running Powerflex there, so I guess I've never been too concerned about it, though I am running Koni Yellows, which have an oversized shaft. So far so good on my end. I actually need to pull them sometime to soften up the rears, so I'll given them a quick check for anything amiss at that point.

I don't really have any input on the Powerflex bump stops. I'm running the shortened 5X Racing bumps on my car because I'm lowered, but I wouldn't run a shortened bump stop on a stock height car since they're integral to the suspension design, i.e. I agree with staying at the stock length.

 

Here2Go, deepgrey, Thanks for your input..I was leaning toward Powerfllex rear shock mounts (yellow), and your experiences clinched the deal. I'll try the Powerflex bump stops as well. Thanks again.

 

I have them installed on my KW V2's. No noise, rattles or added stiffness from what i've noticed. I recommend them.