Hello all,

On a trip up north I noticed on some highways the GP was bouncy. Is this normal for some roads or does the suspension need to be adjusted?

BTW the dealer told me after adjusting the suspension with the provided tools the front end should be aligned. True statement or not?

Cheers!

 

I have an appointment at the dealer scheduled for tomorrow. My GP is wandering the highway pretty badly. Very stressful having to constantly make minor steering adjustments back and forth. It can't seem to drive in a straight line. My guess is that it was initially aligned by the dealer to standard JCW specs, not the changes required for the GP... just a guess... Anyway, I hope it's just a matter of needing an alignment.

 

It sounds like you guys were expecting the ride quality of a toyota camry. These aren't luxury sedans.

 

Did you keep the stock Kumho'?

I understand they get even stickier after about 200 miles or so.

I have steering issues in the right lane on highways where trucks have made there track impression.

 

You may want to drive one before making silly comments. The ride quality of the GP is really nice... quite smooth, actually.

 

I LOVE the Kumhos... awesome tire! Best Ive ever had.

 

lol. you keep to your smooth riding GP and I'll keep stiffening and making my cooper s as tight and bouncy as it can be.

 

I could live with that plan

 

Since the GP' have an adjustable suspension I wanted to check with others on their experience (since I have no experience).

Just in case the dealer didn't set it up correctly.

 

My dealer initially did not set up my suspension right & stiffened all the settings. Handled unbelievably, but very bouncy in NY highways. They told me they had the right settings from MINI and the ride became softer, and still handled well. It's still a bit bouncy because its still on the stiffer side, but can't complain. It's much better than initial set up

 

I'd be willing to bet its not "bouncy" but stiff. If you've ever taken a ride in a track car, you'd see what I mean.

Bouncy would mean that your shocks are blown and the tires are losing contact with the pavement, and would make handling horrible.

You're just able to feel the bumps on the road because of higher spring rates and stiffer shocks. If there is some adjustability on the top of the shock, then you can decrease the dampening (stiffness of the shock). You won't have the same ride quality of a base MCS, because of the upgraded suspension. If you don't like it, I'll gladly trade you.

 

A stiffer, higher end suspension built for handling is going to have that feel to it. If you want a softer ride, you get worse handling, if you get better handling settings on your adjustable suspension, you get a worse ride. It's a 1 to 1 trade. If you are set up for maximum handling, the suspension will not rebound as much when you hit a bump, sending the shock of the bump through the whole vehicle. Causing the "bouncy" feeling.

As for the swaying issue mentioned, is it a grooved or even slightly grooved highway? High performance tires(not sure what tires they put on the GP) will give you some of that some time. My RE11's would sway like mad on the grooved highways here where my cheaper all seasons never did. It's simply the thick tread blocks with larger gaps between them grabbing the grooves more.

 

Never been in a track car but, I do plan on going up to Summit Point, WVa to run the car. It was only one section of 81 up in either PA or NY state where it was really bad. Oh, and I was just checking if this was usual behavior based on road condition...I'll keep my GP!

Its on the right lane where heavy tractor trailers have made wheel depressions in the road and a slight hump in the middle. I keep to the left lane in that situation.

Thanks all for the help!

 

Definitely just the nature of the tires and a stiff suspension grabbing the uneven grooves and wear if you're experiencing it in the worn right lane only. Unfortunately here, we have some intentionally grooved highways (all lanes) that intrusion to avoid because of the annoying swaying with my performance tires.

 

Get rid of the run flats - and the car will handle great!

 

Doesn't come with run flats

 

Get rid of the Kumhos they are super noisy. I replaced mine with Michelin Pilot Super SPort tires it is a totally different driving experience with them.

 

I am, thinking of going with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 235/45ZR17.

May also consider the 253/40 R17, not sure what brand yet.

 

When I need a tire change I'm going to do the same, but I don't think they are that noisy at all. As far as traction, they're pretty good too. Not a bad tire at all

 

Just for one more first hand tire review(and between multiple fun cars, daily drivers, and Autocross events), if you want a kick *** high performance summer tire, also look into the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11. They will still grab a bit on some of the heavily grooved roads but you will be hard pressed to find more than a couple comparable tires when it comes to performance handling combined with daily drive-ability. Out of all the tires I've ever owned, I praise those more than any other. If they are still out(or whatever replaces them) when I go snows/summers on the MINI, they will be my summer tire.

 

Wow a 180 A A tire rating and for $200+, wonder if you would get 10K miles out of them!

 

Probably not - but it would be a damn fun 10,000 miles...

 

Lower tread wear because of a softer/better gripping compound. That's the trade off. Personally, if I am only running a tire half the year, I want it to perform to it's peak ability in those conditions. Snows will be as aggressive as I can find, and summers as grippy as I can find. If you have a tire on your vehicle from say(on a good year in most 4-season parts of the world), April to October, how many miles are you driving on them per year?

 

I know gp's don't come with run flats, but I did take my run flats off of my '09 S and the difference in handling and how much smoother of a ride it is is crazy. Just putting it out there for anyone that got their car with run flats and are not liking the stiffness of the run flats

 

To further what I said already, they are only $165 for the stock 17" size(not sure if GP's run 17s or 18s?). Honestly, for one of the absolute best performing street tires that can actually handle some rain on the market, I don't see this price being an issue at all. How can a community that justifies $300-600 air intakes seriously think $165 for a super high performance tire is high? lol