Is the sport suspension worth getting for $500? Do you get anything more then thicker sway bars? What exactly do you get?

Does the car lean a lot less?

How is the sport suspension ride compared to the regular suspension with 17" sport wheels and tires?

Would those who have sport suspension order it again? Can you do better for $500 with aftermarket?

 

Pop over to the Modifications>Suspension section and you will find most of the answers you are looking for.

Is this a new 2010 you are thinking of purchasing?

Also is it a MC or an MCS?

We need to know this kind of information to be able to assist you the best we can.

 

I am buying a 2010 MCS with sport package but not sure about sport suspension. I will also check out the Suspension section.

Thanks

 

Okay The Sports Package adds the following:

Dynamic Traction Control
Xenon with Power Wash
Bonnet Strips
White Turn Signals
17" Wheels your choice of two

No suspension changes.

From THe MINI website it looks like the $500 Sport Suspension is Thicker Sway Bars Only.

But if they follow the 2008 and 2009 way of adding sport suspension then there are Upgraded Front Struts and Upgraded Rear Struts. Also the Rear Sway Bar would go from 17mm to 18mm and the front sway bar would go from 22.5mm to 23.5 mm.

I do not currently have access to the latest parts listing but if you were to go to the dealer parts department they would be able to tell you if there is a difference between the struts on a MCS with and without Sport Suspension.

 

The springs are supposedly slightly stiffer with the S.S. and the dampers have a different part number and are also used in the JCW suspension kit. Can you feel a difference? I can't! I'd put the $500 towards some JCW springs and rear sway bar or save up for some coilovers or other options.

 

John Cooper Works Sport Suspension - $1,000.00 if purchased later on plus $500.00 for installation. also believe it may lower the car about 1/2 inch or so. This is the write up from MINI. I put the JCW Sport Suspension in my 03' MCS and love the ride. It didnt include upgraded bars, so I added the HSport 25mm hollow rear sway bar.



The John Cooper Works Sport Suspension for the Cooper and Cooper S is designed to give ambitious, sporty drivers an exciting, yet safe driving experience. The tighter sporty chassis tuning combined with the lower ride height of the car creates a fantastic feel behind the wheel. To create an optical effect distinguishes the suspension tuning, the coil springs have a red finish. The Sport Suspension kit includes four McPherson strut shock absorbers, two stabilizer bars and the required mounting parts. The coil springs need to be ordered separately, depending on the options installed on the individual vehicle. Fits years: 2007 - on

Item # JCW Sport Suspension - This kit includes front, and rear springs, struts, and sway bars.

 

The sports suspension does have both sway bars upgraded, springs and shocks are different. I love them on my Cooper! $500 is pretty good for those changes in my opinion, and I love the factory setup. My last car (not a cooper), I put an Eibach pro kit and Tokico Illumina adjustable shocks, it was nice, and it cost $1200. The Cooper's sport suspension is a MANY times better than that setup I had.

It has a lot less lean than non-sport. I would completely do it again. The only thing is that the ride is more jarring and bumpy.

 

For that matter, the non-sport suspension on my MINI is better feeling than the bilstein race shocks/springs/urethane busings/camber plates on my old 1968 bmw 2002

I think for $500 you can get a much more noticeable difference going aftermarket.

 

I sprung for the sports suspension, thinking I'd leave it alone and just upgrade tires & wheels. After a few days (first on runflats, then on "normal" tires), I realized what horrible setup it is. The shocks are horrendous. They're overmatched (underdamped) for the high spring rates, almost certainly one of the "tuned for runflats" suspension compromises we're stuck with due to the runflat tires and their concrete-like sidewalls. The car sits just as high as the non-sports suspension, and that's WAY too high, unless you like the 4x4 look.

Save the $500 and put it towards decent aftermarket suspension components. And lose the runflats to complete the transformation from poor-riding, so-so handling grocery-getter into much better-riding, better-looking canyon carver.