I'm in the market for an "S" convertible with a manual. I test drove a JCW and the ride was way too hard for my taste, I'm looking for a commuter, not a racer.

I have a line on a 2008 I'm considering buying, but it has 17" wheels and the sport suspension.

3 questions:

1) How much harsher is the ride with the sport suspension versus stock suspension? There is a lot of discussion on the forum about handling, but I haven't found anyone looking to go from sport to stock.

2) If I buy the car with sport suspension, can I revert it to stock? How much would that cost?

3) What makes a bigger difference in softening up the ride, going from sport to stock suspension, or 17" wheels to 16" wheels?

Thanks!

 

Keep looking until you find a "NORMAL" S convertible, it will be chaper than spending downgrade money. If you don't have to have an S, buy a base Cooper Convertible, you will have a lot of fun and you say you aren't a racer so why spend the extra dough?

 

I really like the extra kick of the "S" engine, I just don't need the harsh ride. I'm actually having a hard time finding an S without sport suspension, I just don't know how much of a difference it really makes. Swapping the wheels is short money on ebay, so if the 16" wheels with non runflats makes a big difference in ride quality and the sport suspension doesn't that make that much of a difference, I'll go for it. Just hard to know how much these factors contribute.

There seems to be broad disagreement on what the sport suspension entails. 30% of the people say it's just a thicker rear sway bar, 30% say it's that plus stiffer struts and springs, and 30% don't know. There is also confusion if the "stock" S suspension is the same as the stock non-S supension for the convertible.

Similar debate on whether or not the sport package includes the sport suspension. The current MINI site for 2010 models would have be believe it does not, but people have different opinions. The sales person at the dealership didn't know.

Hard to find clear answers.

 

"I'm actually having a hard time finding an S without sport suspension..."
That's hard to believe. You aren't assuming the sport package includes the sport suspension are you? It doesn't.

The 2010 suspension includes stiffer shocks and springs as well as larger anti-sway bars. This is documented in the features list at MINIUSA.COM.

 

Meant to say the 2010 SPORT suspension...

 

The runflat tires are the root of all evil. Lose them IMMEDIATELY. They ruin ride quality and handling. The suspension tuning is funky in a lame attempt to tune out the shortcomings of the runflats, with soft (and really crummy) shocks mated with relatively stiff springs. It's all awful and begs for an upgrade, starting with the tires. The car turns into a completely different (tamed) beast with the tire swap, and gets better from there if you upgrade the suspension as well.

 

KevinC is absolutely right. Swapping out those runflats will significantly change the ride of your car. Search the forum and you'll find dozens of posts about it.

On a side note - I'm really close to swapping out the tires, but I may wait until I find some nice wheels and do the swap all at once including the TPMS.

 

Your best bet may be to lose the runflats and install Koni FSD struts.

 

I have a MCSa with 16" wheels and NON-sport suspension. I just put on some stock size Nokia WRG2 all-season tires (non-run flat) and the car is a completely different driver. Nearly all the harshness is gone and the car is much more tolerable on crappy roads (and trust me, here in NH the roads are super crappy).

If you want a smoother ride - here is what I recommend (and I am sure that someone will argue with me so remember this is an opinion).

1. Move to 16" wheels. The extra sidewall will essentially add "suspension" to your vehicle.

2. Sport suspension is thicker anti-sway bars and "stiffer shocks" for a 2008. I think that the sway bar is 1 CM larger and I suspect that the shocks are marginally stiffer. I think that the more defining factor is the wheel size.

3. Replace the tires with non-run flats. The Conti DWS seems to get reviews for a smoooooooth and supple ride. Search the forums. You'll get much better mileage out of the tires out of most non-run flat compared to the run flats. I wish I had changed mine out long before now.

4. Suspension upgrades get expensive in a hurry.....

 

Thanks all, the car has the 2008 sport package which the owner believes includes the sport suspension. We are going to try to figure out if the sport suspension is on the car. Any quick way to tell?

 

If memory serves correct the "Sport Package" in 2008 included the following (OK so I cheated and used Google to find it)

Sport Package - $1,500
Sport alternate suspension, Dynamic Stability Control, 17" wheels (many choices available and Web Spokes for +750 on top of the package price) and stripes.

You can see what was included in all the packages for 2008 here:
http://www.automotive.com/2008/101/m...ges/index.html

There you go!

 

We've got the Cooper S with the 18" JCW rims.
It's not great for commuting. Manhole covers are an issue. BUT the wife likes how the rims look. If it were all up to me with no compromises I would go 16's and have the side wall of the tire help with the shock absorption.
On the highway though? Or windy road the car is mint!

 

Are you still running run flats?

 

No I have the Michelin Super Sports. I am starting to wonder if the Door strikes are getting punishment after each bump I hit in the road
The rattling is returning after I got them replaced.

Gonna try a set of something like these off Craigslist. See if I can find a deal then, as a learning to prep and paint project, go with a matte black finish or gunmetal grey would also look sweet with Horizon Blue
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/wto/5441282935.html
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/wto/5516283542.html
This way I get a reasonable ride but the wife gets here damned aesthetics addressed

 

Enkei's are great. I've had a few different set of Enkei's and now use them as a dedicated track wheel. Great quality. Gunmetal will definitely look good on Horizon Blue. Maybe even consider Copper! I don't know why, but I really love the look of gold or copper wheels, especially on blue. Are you going to do the rattle can paint job?

 

Yeah I like Copper too. With the correct combination of colors copper has this nice vintage feel to it. I was thinking rattle can but also thought maybe its time to find a paint gun and give er a shot.

I've recently discovered Harbor Freight and although not high end, it allows someone of my "means" to put together a decent tool collection.

BTW please thank the owner or the website administrator for all the detailed instructions on your Pelican site. Really appreciate it. Saved me a load of cash. You have a customer for life sir!

 

It's a good way to learn how to paint, that's for sure. Just remember, your end result is only as good as your prep work. So spend the time and effort in the prep work and your end result will be that much better. That's great to hear that our tech articles have helped you save money on your MINI. I'll pass the message along and thank you very much for your continued support. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to give me a shout.