Hi everyone, my first post! First off I will state that I am NOT a car person at all. Cars have never been an interest to me which is probably understandable since I am a woman. HOWEVER, mini coopers have always caught my eye! I know, I know - some of you are gonna hate me saying this, but they are just so CUTE!! LOL

Anyway, I am SOOOOOO EXCITED (my family and friends are baffled that I am excited about a car!!) I placed my original order on Friday Night and 12 hours later tried to change the color and couldn't as it was already in production! The dealer agreed to accept it and let me order a new one in my desired color.

I order in Production is:
MCS
PW/B
Lounge Redwood leather
Anthracite Headliner
[FONT=Verdana]Convenience Package[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Premium Package[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Sports Package[/FONT]
Xenon headlights
Park Distance Control
Rear Fog Lamps
Navigation System
White turn Signals

Pretty much loaded...

However, I didn't realize the Sports Package was added until I got home Saturday night. I had only wanted the 17" wheels and the DSC NOT the suspension. Anyway - I emailed my MA right away and of course, they are closed Sundays and he received my email this AM, but the order was locked and could not be modified.

Now after spending HOURS on this forum (I am addicted) I am afraid that I will hate how it drives with the 17" tires and the sports suspension!! What exactly do you all mean by a "stiffer" ride? Is it something I will notice? I really don't have a choice because I can't change or cancel the order, but can the suspension be removed once it arrives? I also see that the 17" tires are probably a mistake too - but I know for a bit of $$$ they could be changed.

Hopefully you all can offer comfort or a solution!

 

If I understand the sport package correctly the sport suspension shouldn't actually make the ride stiffer. I believe the sport suspension just changes the anti-sway bars which only affect the handling by giving you sharper turning (less body sway) and controls the side to side motion.

The sports suspension is kind of a misleading term. In most cars a sport suspension would update the springs to a stiffer rate, the shocks to a stiffer rate and thicker anti-sway bars. In this case the springs/shock absorbers are the same as the non sport and those are the 2 components that will primarily determine how stiff the ride is over bumps etc (controls the up and down motion). Basically even if you got the non sport suspension the ride quality wouldn't change as far as bumps in the road.

As far as the 17" wheels, it may have a thinner tire sidewall than the 16" which could cause for a bumper/stiffer ride but I test drove a car with the 16" wheels and no sport package and it still felt rough to me due to the run flat tires which have very stiff sidewalls to allow you to drive 50 miles with no air in the tires. I'm very accustomed to stiff sports cars and this was pretty comparable.

My best advice is to keep the sport package/suspension and change the tires to conventional non run flats and it should give you a very reasonable/comfortable ride.

 

I have the sport suspension with 17" wheels and I think it drives fine. I was worried about it after I ordered it because of all the people putting it down. I was suprised when I picked my car up last wednesday and I think the ride is great.

 

Best advice at this point. The runflats have very stiff sidewalls and make the ride much harsher and noisier then normal. If the ride is still stiff after that then you can always swap out aftermarket and try to sell your sports suspension parts here.

But who knows, you might find the setup as is to your liking . You can always test drive one to satisfy your worries prior to delivery.

 

Hi Cosmo! You sound just like I did last summer. Until MINIs came along, cars were just a practicality for me. I ordered Scoop last summer. Now. . . obsession, personification and love are several words that come to mind!

Anyway, I have the sport suspension, and LOVE it! The ride is more like a Euro sports car and NOT a large American sedan. The only drawback is when I sing in the car, my voice warbles horribly with every bump on the road, but again, I like the sensation. Once the tread is gone on the runflats, I'll consider what to do next, and may well go with runflats again, except for the cost. They ARE pricey.

I'm sure others will chime in with their own opinions as well. I just spent Sat afternoon with a guy who replaced his runflats as soon as the tread went and likes the regular ride much better.

So there you are! Nothing definitive whatsoever!

Welcome to the MINI world!

 

Oh I'm WAY beyond car crazed, cars have always been more of a toy and less transportation to me. The Mini S would be a practical, heavy luxury cruiser to me. My current cars include a 1,900 pound Lotus Elise that came with 100 treadwear R compound race tires, 2,100 pound Miata and S2000 (revs to 9,000 rpms). Previously had a RX-8 that also revved to 9,000 rpms and a BMW M3 sedan.

 

Well thanks! Cosmo, your explaination is VERY helpful! Certainly, I am sure that my hubby thought just this and is the reason he told me to cancel the sports suspension (more bumpy ride). I am breathing a sigh of relief and think I should be fine and at least I know I have options that I can make the ride "smoothier" by changing out the tires. I can hardly wait... !

 

Having installed a 19mm H-Sport rear sway bar on my 2007 MCS with standard suspension, my experience has been different. With the bar set on the medium setting, it made the rear ride significantly harsher on rough roads. It will affect the ride stiffness whenever the bump under the right wheel is different than on the left. Only when each wheel encounters the exact same size bump will the ride be unaffected.

My recommendation would be to go with the stock suspension and get the default 16" wheels. The factory wheels are rather heavy. If you want 17" wheels for the look, you can get aftermarket wheels for less than the factory upgrade, and the can be lighter. A lighter wheel will give a better ride and better performance. If you want the 17" just for the increased tread width, you can do what I did and get 16x7" wheels and put 205/55-16 tires on them. Same tread width as the factory 17" but with more sidewall for a softer ride. Many racers go with the smaller dia. wheel because they are lighter weight. So, the larger wheel is mainly for looks.

Check with your MA, but I think DSC is standard on all 2009 MINIs. You may want to ordder DTC, which is an imporved traction control. However, it would be more important on an S than a standard Cooper. Also, it may not be available until December.

 

If you don't mind sharing what are the factory sway bar sizes front and rear? Is the H-sport an aftermarket or factory bar? Did you get a larger rear swaybar to help get the car to rotate for autocross (change the balance) or just for flatter cornering? Did you also upgrade the front bar or just leave it alone?

My experience is that sway bars alone will not affect ride stiffness, that is controlled by the spring rate and shock absorber compression and rebound settings. The only thing anti-sway bars do is act like a lateral spring to control side to side motion not up and down.

 

It's a 2008 and on order, so no turning back and at this point I can't change the order to even have the standard suspension or 16" wheels. I have a car coming with the sports suspension AND 17" wheels.. too late to change.

However, if Cosmo is correct - it sounds as though I don't really have to worry about the suspension, however - if it DOES indeed cause a rougher, bouncy ride can the installed suspension be removed?

Too late with the wheels as well, and I picked them because I liked the "look" and I didn't realize "after-market" could be done! As mentioned - cars were never "my thing"!! LOL I would hate to waste my money on new rims, even though it does sound like (from this forum) that the 16" would have been a better choice as far as a "smooth" ride. However, it also sounds like swapping out the run-flats to regular would help - even on the 17" wheels. Correct me if I am misunderstanding anything.

 

Increased diameter sway bars will create a slightly rougher ride. They cause the suspension to react differently, due to decreased deformation of the sway bars, at least this was how it was explained to me over on a subaru board.

The 17's are slightly stiffer too. So, overall you might have a slightly bumpier ride, however I doubt you'll even notice it, depending on the roads you drive on. I have stock suspension so far, and 16" wheels, and there's been some roads that I absolutely hate to drive on. The car is constantly bouncing up and down, back and forth, while other sedans are cruising without even realizing that the road sucks.

From my experience, getting non-runflat tires will make a much larger difference in the stiffness of your ride then the combination of what you have ordered. Just make sure you carry a fix-a-flat can, since your MCS won't have a spare.

 

Exactly, the tire will make a much bigger difference than the sway bars. I doubt the average person could tell the difference between sport suspension and not with all things equal.

I would reccomend getting a tire plug kit and a small compressor that plugs into your cigarette lighter instead of fix a flat. Fix a flat is nasty and can sometimes ruin the tire when it could have otherwise been repaired.

A plug kit and small compressor will get you back on the road in minutes and you can drive on it for days or weeks before you get it formally patched from the inside at a tire shop.

 

Slight correction to my earlier post. . . Cosmo: you must think I'm an idiot! My eye slipped, and I thought YOU had just ordered the car. With a Lotus Elise, Miata and BMW, you are definitely an aficianado WAY out my league! 2 Saturns and 2 Chevys are my car history before MINIS!

I thought you were Tinker! Oh well, with 2 kids hovering over the computer and a ferret nipping at my toes, I have 3 excuses!

Tinker~ Unless you have back problems, the ride is not that bad if your roads are pretty good. Tire changes will work wonders to smooth the ride. At the worst, since the car isn't legally yours until you sign the final paperwork, and if your deposit is refundable, you could always cancel your order and re-start the process. (Probably not something you want to do, but if the sport suspension is a huge deal, it's something to consider.)

If there is a local driving club in your area, send out an email and ask if a local MINI owner could take you around. Or ask your dealer if they have any cars with the different options that you could test drive. Try for rides both with and without the suspension or tires. Good luck!

 

Haha no problem, I'm actually not a mini owner...yet (getting pretty tired of holding golf clubs in my lap when the g/f and I go play) . I was actually doing a lot of research on my own as I'm a die hard autocrosser so handling and performance is very important to me so I thought I'd chime in on my thoughts based on research/test drives. I'm 90% sure if you're unhappy with the sport suspension a change to a normal performance all season tire would immediately fix the problem. As is the case even with my Lotus, the factory sport package is VERY harsh due to the tire that comes with it. With a replacement sport tire with a softer sidewall even that car is pretty bearable.

 

You don't have to take that MINI. Dealers can sell anything that comes in, so they wont care. Order what you really want. You will be stuck with it until you get a new car.

In theory, you should be able to replace the sway bars with the standard versions. However, they would probably charge over $1,000 for bars and labor. Get an estimate from the Service Advisor at your dealer.

If you get the 17" you can sell them here, if you wish. I sold my 17" Crown Spoke wheels & runflat tires here with about 1,000 miles on them for $600 + shipping. You can get Rota RB 16x7 for $576 + shipping. Then you need tires. Many found the runflats to give a very harsh ride, and have switched to non-runflats. The runflats are also very expensive to replace. I believe (better check) that if you get an MC with the standard size wheels, it comes with a spare. If you get 17" it doesn't. Those of us with MCS' don't have spares and carry a special 12v compressor with tire sealant.

 

Well, let me ask THIS.. my deposit of $1000.00 is a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit, but if I need to change out the tires and such maybe it is better and less expensive to re-order and lose the $1000??

Now saying that though... maybe the dealer will not even WANT to do business with me since I already cancelled an order (which they will need to sell). ANother thing that I am thinking about - is that my order is for a 2008, and they are going to start taking and submitting orders for 2009's....

 

OR.. should I just STOP Obsessing about this!!? It it a "minor thing"?

 

You can sell the brand new run flats and have other tires put on right away. I'd PM someone on the forum who has listed them, and ask how quickly they sold. Then you aren't out that much money.

(Obsession is normal, especially before your car arrives!)

 

It's much less expensive to just change the tires. You can keep the same wheels just change to non-runflat tires. My bet is if you take them off when they are fresh you can get some money back and sell them to someone on the board that doesn't mind them. You can probably even break even on the factory tires you sold and aftermarket ones you buy and walk away no money out of pocket.

I'm not sure exactly what size tire comes stock on the 17" wheels but there are lots of good performance tires for 80-100 a piece so about 350-400 a set. I'd be willing to bet you could get close to that for factory run flats.

Here is an example of some tires and pricing in 215/45/17 sizing.

http://www.edgeracing.com/tires/2154517/

 

Where are you, and which dealer is saying the deposit is non-refundable? Have you asked them about reordering?

Most MINI dealers will refund it if you change your mind. In California it is refundable by law. Dealers should have no problem selling whatever they get. Talk to them. If they wont transfer your deposit to a new order, I'd figure they were a pretty horrible dealer and wouldn't want to buy from them anyway. Go to another dealer. If you don't like the harsher ride, you are going to be spending that $1,000 to change bars anyway.

 

Robin, I am in FL and I signed a Non-Refundable paper that clearly states my $1000 is non-refundable. The dealer has already let me change the previous order that quickly went into production. (I ordered 1st order on Friday and Sat. it was locked). I thought that they were pulling me a fast one saying they couldn't change it, but I was right there and he was showing me the dealer screen where the order was locked by Mini, and could not be modified. They are receiving the car I first ordered, and I placed a new order and somehow - the suspension got on it. Again, this order moved immediately into production! I even called ask mini and it says it is "in production with no date yet".

So really - I either keep it, and change out the tires or lose the $1000 and reorder a new one (which would be a 2009 now and a longer wait since the dealer is out of MCS). so that's where I am at now....

 

You're making too big of a deal out of it. Just take it how it is, if it's too stiff change the tires and you'll be fine. It's not like we're talking about a 600 pound per square inch set of springs that the sport package comes with it's just a minor suspension tweak that I bet 90% of the people here wouldn't even notice in a blind test drive.

 

cosmosmpower - thanks. That's what I need to hear I think. I tend to "overthink" things! LOL

 

Sounds like my dealer. Fermen?

Take delivery.

Drive the car.

Replace tires if necessary.

Replace tires and wheels if necessary.

At worst it will be close to a wash compared to eating the deposit. If you then sell what you don't want / need, you've reduced the downside.

 

I see that cosmosmpower posted his reply just as I started writing a response. What he said . . . .