thanks for the comparison Ethos, however your comparison between the C4 and the MINI is a bit skewed. The Corvette has been mostly viewed socially as a "Muscle car" more than a sports car. The Corvette team tried very hard with the C4 to shift that image to a worldly sports exotic, hence their enthusiasm about the vehicles handling capabilities. Their failure was not in the vehicles dynamics, it was in reading their customer base. A '67 454 'vert is not the same type of vehicle as a '84 with t-tops. It took society almost 20 years to accept a "high performance Corvette" in the form of the current Z06, which is now accepted as the pinnacle of Corvette design.

The Mini's heritage dictates that its' forte' resides in uncompromised handling. Since many MINI-bandwagoners do not capacitate this uncompromising goal, they are quick to point out their own ignorance by complaining about the ride-harshness as a fault in the vehicles dynamics. It is very nice that MINI is willing to cater to these new customers, but is it appropriate to alienate the Mini-mantra? The Corvette is still available in a convertable, just like the 1953 pioneer. It would be tragic for MINI to across-the-board ruin the MINI's legendary handling to satisfy a few non-purists.

 

There is only so much you can do about harsh riding with a car having a short wheelbase.
I'll keep the stiff ride, but what about later, when my shocks need replacement? Will the crappy soft ones be my only alternative? I smell aftermarket opportunity here! MINI, do you want to sell replacement shocks to your existing owner base, or have someone else make all the money?

 

FYI:
At 97.1 inches, the MINI's wheelbase is quite average for today's sports cars, and it's positively long for a compact car. The Porsche Boxter has a 95.1" wheelbase, the Corvette 104.5", the WRX is 100", the Miata 89.2", the GTI 98.9", and the BMW Z4 98.2". Wheelbase has little to do with overall ride quality; suspension geometries, spring rates, shock valving are the key players.

Interesting new point terrysreed about what will be available for OEM replacements! I would hope that we will be able to purchase both pre-May '03 builds and post-May '03 build, depending on our ride quality preferences.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

I can understand (although not agree) with a complaint about the standard suspension. It makes no sense to apply their logic to the sports suspension - anyone who deliberately orders stiffer suspension has no right complaining that it is too harsh. Maybe a compromise would be to let MINI make the change on the base suspension but keep the sports setup the way it is now.

 

270. post to complain about soft shock issue My MCS is due Mid August I have been waiting since March 9, 2003 the dealer MINI of Towsen is placing my order the end of this month and now you have decided to ruin the very reason I am buying this car, a car that handles, you are making a very BAD call on this, I want a car that handles not some watered down want to be cute car. There is still time to cancel my order, damn I'm MAD about this. People that don't like a firm supension should have to pay for a soft one, now it seems I will be the one paying to get back to what I thought MINI was providing a firm taught supension.
And I will be calling the dealer and MINI North America about this asinine decision by a company that can't produce cars fast enought to keep-up with the demand for them, are they afraid they are going to lose sales. Something is wrong here and that someone is in management at MINI, oh hell we are just the gear heads the car nuts and I'm just a buyer of a vision predicated on the feed back from all you fortunate owners with the real sport suspenstion.

 

You put it very well, moorlocks! There is nothing I can add to your rant except some exclamation marks after each sentence. I love everything about my Mini, handling, power to weight ratio, appearance...everything.

 

Quoting from the bottom of the petition:

"MINI of North America should either offer to change back to the original configuration on cars built/being built after May 1, 2003."

Whoever has edit access to it should delete the word "either" since there's no "or" alternative following it. Hate to be picky but after all, we're all picky about our cars' handling, and for good reason.

For my comments on the petition I said I was glad I bought a used 2002 MCS that was built before they screwed it all up.

 

Well I think it is obvious what is happening here.Obviosly people who matter like Jack Pitney listen to the Ken and Barbie crowd.The people who buy cars because they look cute ie.the Beetle with fake flowers mounted on the dashboard.Ohhh the beetle is such a cute car maybe we should get one honey.You're right,Barbie,but we can't get the turbo version because it's to expensive to fix if it should ever break.Oh,Ken, thats why I love you so much, you always are thinking, besides who needs a turbo anyway.Hey, how about buying a Mini, it's cute too and I hear that they are going to soften up the ride now.Dear,why do they even make cars that have a harsh feel to them anyway,who likes to feel every bump in the road,I know I don't.....These kind of buyers are our worst enemies and further frustrate us people in the know.

 

First, Barbie and Ken are fine, God-fearing Americans and are not deserving of this kind of unprovoked personal attack. Second, they and their plastic friends have little influence on the after-market, which is where you can find a wide array of extremely stiff shocks and springs if you so desire them.

 

Thanks XAlfa, my thoughts as well. I should also point out that Ken and Barbie buy an awful lot more cars that "we" (whoever the heck "we" are anyway... :smile:

_________________

Bring Out the Scoops!

 

I'm late to this post but my Aug. 03 build MC with standard suspension rides just fine. Am I supposed to be pissed because my fillings haven't fallen out yet while driving on the rough-a**ed, pothole filled roads in my area? I certainly haven't noticed any soft Crown Vic like ride qualities in my MINI. Of course I haven't driven a MINI with the super-hard suspension.

If I wanted an extremely hard ride and wasn't going to get it I think I'd get mad and cancel my order. :evil:


R.E.

 

My first post on this topic was last May, and I now feel I should temper my comments over any hard criticism of the suspension system change. I have the sport suspension and yes, it feels quite harsh at times, especially on bad pavement and where expansion joints are spaced as close as 20 ft. apart. The ride is just fine on good, newer asphalt highways. The ride handling needs no further elaboration.

Truth be told, most people --in fact, the great majority of them -- wouldn't even notice the difference in handling with the less viscous oil in the shocks, and it is the preferences of the great majority that harken to BMWNA's design engineers.

Sometimes I think all this talk about stiff suspension and ride handling is like a blind tasting of good California wine as compared with premium, established French wines. You all know about preconceived ideas of the alleged superiority of French wines, but the blind tastings have repeatedly shown that California wines (or wines from other areas in the world) have come up with gold medals too. Much to the chagrin of European sommeliers.

 

I have an '03 S with the Sport package etc., and the 17" runflats, and the ride doesn't bother me a bit. It reminds me that when I had my first Mini 32 (!) years ago, I could feel the paint at the crosswalks....what's missing here in all this hysteria is the answer to the question, "How much softer is it really?" also missing is the notion that all cars go through refinements, and doesn't anyone believe that the engineers can integrate SLIGHTLY softer shocks (to appease the complainers) into a handling package that is better? Nothing stays the same.....all that said, it does seem clear that MINI will be shooting themselves in the foot if they alter the basic feel of this car. We need real data and experience with the new shocks to know what's really going on....Bruce in Santa Monica

 

are sales hurting because of the ride or will they be hurting when they make a different car than what has been offered till now. i like my sport suspension and the ride is tight and controllable. mcs

 

>>are sales hurting because of the ride or will they be hurting when they make a different car than what has been offered till now. i like my sport suspension and the ride is tight and controllable. mcs
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Don't think so. Many owners are seeking a halfway solution by replacing their stiff run flats with non run-flats. It's partly a weight thing, which translates into a little more responsive handling, and partly a ride thing. To each his own.

 

The ride's no worse than a Jeep or anything, I like it, and am used to it, as I've only driven Jeeps and a New Beetle as my cars before this one. If people can't deal they can go buy a Honda or something, ehe.

 

Well, I have an Oct 03 production MCS and it rides plenty firm. I can feel every crack in the pavement and every line on the road and I love it! I can tell no difference from the cars I test drove at the dealer so it surely must be a very subtle change.

 

maybe they can concentrate on a CD player that doesn't skip on
each bump than change struts...