Very well said! Even with the SS, at high speeds it feels floaty around corners. I would do the JCW kit.

 

My Cooper (with sport suspension) does not feel floaty around corners at all. It feels downright planted, and it will hold on at truly idiotic speeds around on-ramps and some favored corners...

 

+1

 

I recently got my '13 factory JCW and purposely did not order the JCW suspension in order to compare it with my wife's '07 MCS with sport suspension. I had been driving an '05 MCS with JCW suspension- very flat and predictable. Both the '05 and the '07 are significantly stiffer than the '13. The new car seems to wallow in very hard turns and is very comfortable on rough roads. The go-kartness is gone. Even with the H Sport Competion rear sway bar it has major body roll. It is not confidence inspiring as are the other 2 cars. Overall a big disappointment. Power is great but the handling sucks.

I guess I'll be ordering the JCW pieces soon.

 

The added roll stiffness that gives the flatter cornering cornering with the sports and JCW suspension comes from their larger front roll bar along with the larger rear bar.

 

+2

And its not too stiff.. At least my wife and son don't complain about it. I like it.

 

pretty sure lowers car like 1/2 inmch

 

I could not agree more. I was REALLY disappointed with the handling of my 2012 JCW with standard suspension compared to my 2003 MCS with sport suspension. I then upgraded to the JCW suspension as well as an H-sport competition bar and its better than my 2003 MCS was.

It was ridiculous how much body roll the car had. I still think even with the JCW suspension there is still excess squat and dive under hard acceleration and braking.

 

With the squat and dive action it seems like the car is telegraphing everything it's doing. "Hey, look at me! I'm accelerating! I'm braking! I'm acting like a Toyota!" :p

 

I have it on my new 13 S, and with the 17 run flats... it is STIFF.. i can feel the painted lines on the road!.. really!!
but I love it! I will get NON runflats when these tires wear out.. it should tame the ride a bit.

 

Don't know if this is a case of apples versus oranges, but I had the sport suspension on my '05 MCS. I just hated it. So did my wife. Never again. The ride was so harsh it felt as though the car would break apart. Painful to my back, as well, as every impact was transmitted straight up my spine. I have the standard suspension on my '13 MCS and it works just fine. Just my two cents.

 

That's for sure. Wait till you get NON runflats, it will change how the car feels and rides IMO. I went to Bridgestone Potenza's ALL season but they're a more performance tire.

 

SSSSS,
So you got a JCW with the base, Cooper S suspension? You will probably be getting lots of opinions on JCW red suspension compared to aftermarket stuff. Since you already upgraded the RSB, I would see if Hotchkis has a complimentary front bar. It makes sense that the suspension tuning would change over the years, there are plenty of 'average' drivers that would likely find the MCS as 'harsh', rather than responsive.
FWIW, I'm really happy with my Koni/TSW setup.

Hopefully with more miles you will be less dissapointed.

Have fun,
Mike

 

The default suspension on the JCW is sport according to the regional director. On the configurator sport suspension is listed as an option for the JCW but when you add it nothing appended to the options list. In any case a couple of other folks in our club are experiencing the same soft feel on their JCWs.

 

The best way to confirm is to look at the labels on the shocks. mine had "cooper sport' on the sport susp. i got non-sport shocks used, and they said "cooper s" on the labels.

have fun,
Mike

 

I like to corner and am glad I got the sports suspension. It's like being on rails. When I first got it it was harsh on the bumps that go across the whole road, i.e. road joints that have raised up. It seems to have settled a bit after 1500 miles, or maybe it's just me getting used to it...

 

110% agree. On the drive home from the dealer.. I seriously thought it was too firm.. Almost harsh... At 3300 miles it's much less harsh.. But still handles great.

I swear I had the car on two wheels coming down an on ramp today..

 

I've got sport suspension and the sport package with 17" crown spokes. I love cornering "on rails."

 

How is the body roll on with the standard suspension? We are looking at an MCS for my wife and I am planning to drive it periodically. I drive a 2013 335 MSport, which has a little more body roll that I would prefer (with the "sport" suspension). I do not believe that my wife will notice, but I will. I know it's only a $500 option, but she is trying to keep her payment down.

 

Go test drive a MINI with both suspensions. I only test drove without sports suspension but bought the sports suspension. I did the test drive about a month before I picked up my car so I don't remember enough to compare. My MA offered to do a test drive with a JCW with sport suspension but I declined.

 

Definitely going to test both. I just like to hear real life views since you can only get so much from a few test drives.

 

I know what you mean. My MINI test drive was the first time I had ever been in a MINI so I could only compare to what I was driving which was a Saturn ION Redline. That car has the 2.0 supercharged engine with sports suspension. Made for cornering, but has 113K miles and needs shocks and other bushings. The stock MINI was at least as stiff as the redline was with worn suspension. I feel the bumps in both my sport suspension MINI and the redline. My MINI is definitely stiffer than my Redline is at this point. Not sure if it's stiffer when the Redline was new or not. Too long ago.

I think the acceptable level of stiffness is very person dependent. I like stiffer since I like to corner and don't like floating "boats". I have a friend who loves the big van type "boat" suspension. It's so comfortable on a long trip. I almost get sea sick the van pitches so much as you drive down the road. To each their own...

 

Well, there's a bit of roll, but I don't mind that at all, as that does not at all preclude very quick travel. Actually, the roll is less than our old E39 with sport suspension, and the ride is a little firmer than that car's, which means it's still pretty firm.

Here's a caveat, though - my car still has just 1,300 miles on it. I'm chained to a desk downtown and haven't driven it anywhere but on my commute. That said, as you know, flat cornering is achieved with stiff springs and stiff antiroll bars. Antiroll bars don't add ride harshness on two-wheel bumps, but they certainly do on one-wheel bumps, with they cause the total spring rate to spike. That most certainly is not what I want.

Like the other posters, I think that a test drive of cars with both suspensions probably is a good idea.

 

Thank you kind sir. I definitely will test drive both, but wanted to hear real life views. A few test drives do not compare to a thousand plus miles. Glad to hear it is less than the E39. Cheers.

 

You want "riding on rails"? Try the SS with light weight 17" Enkei wheels with a 38mm offset and shod with 225mm Toyo R888.

IMHO the SS is a great all purpose suspension if you are looking for handling with reasonable comfort and, for the money, it would be tough to beat. It is comfortable and well controlled on the street with 16" wheels w/non-runflats - it is "wife approved" - and it is competent on the track if you so desire. I had an '07 S with the base suspension. The SS definitely flattens the cornering and it takes away a lot of the dreaded MINI understeer.