New-to-me 03 MCS will be daily driver, but performance-minded and will be on the track 2-3/yr. Car has factory sport suspension with heavier rear sway bar added, but suspension is otherwise stock. Not lowered, and I don't want it lowered (Boston potholes are tough on lowered cars). Looking for recommendations for shocks other than Bilstein Sport (bad experience on another vehicle). Thinking Koni yellow, but are Koni FSD more suitable? Spax? Any others?

 

Since this MCS is a daily driver and only tracked up to 3/yr then it seems that Koni FSD would be more appropriate. Good for street use and stock springs.

If track 6 times per year then Koni yellows would be an option.

Check with any NAM vendor that sells both.

2003 MCS already came with standard MCS sport suspension- there were no real options.

Which rear swaybar did you get?

 

 

Rear sway bar - don't know. Previous owner installed it and didn't keep the receipt.
Are the Koni yellow too stiff for uneven street pavement? Any mods required for yellow or FSD?
I had Bilstein Sport with lower springs on a BMW 535i;they were terrific on the track but unberably stiff on even mild pavement irregularities on the street. Had to switch to Bilstein Touring.

 

From everything I've read, if your NOT going to lower the car ANY, then the FSD's would be my choice.. Just my 2 pennies.

 

Not to hi-jack the thread, but for the real shock experts out there. Would it be possible to cut say 3/4" off an FSD, then rethread it and have them match up to lower spring, or would there not be enough travel left? PS: Probably a dumb thought, but had to ask....

 

I'm sure Koni would not be happy with someone doing that to the FSD. You might ask one of the various MINI tuners. Probably you can do it but why bother when you have options for various coilovers that match springs with shocks and are adjustable? Except for the higher cost of course, coilovers are a better solution than to try cutting and modding parts. Sort of similar to cutting springs.

FSD is likely a better solution for anyone looking for a good street ride and not wanting to get things too harsh. You're doing mostly street driving with a little track NOT even amounts of both.

Koni yellows are adjustable so it's possible to tune them a bit softer but the adjuster is not easy to access in the rears so most times it is set when installed and left alone.

You might search for comments on using the Koni Yellows for street comfort. Many times Koni yellows are used for autocross along with stock or lowering springs.

 

My experience with other cars has been that Koni's valving typically matches the stock shocks when set at the softest setting.


I also will never use Bilstein again.

 

There’s no free lunch and you can’t have it all. The Bilstein SPs are very good for what they were designed for; if you value comfort over stability, look elsewhere. If you want comfort but don’t care if the struts have a short service life, get FSD. But don’t expect the FSD to perform anywhere close to the SP when you need it most. All fixed height struts like lots of suspension travel, and the SP is no different, although it is a little more tolerant with less it rewards with more. I had the valving customized on the SP; that can’t be done on the FSD. I would speculate that SP dissatisfaction comes from trying to shoehorn the strut into a role it is not optimized for, and handicapping its role dynamic with short springs.