I have a 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman with close to 88,000 miles on it. I am running 15 in rims. I am looking to upgrade the shocks for better comfort and handling. I live in Nashville TN where the roads are pretty good. I do a lot of driving on twisty country roads. I am also thinking about doing AutoX next year. I am the only person that ever drives the car my wife has her own car.

Would the Koni FSD shocks be good for my situation? Another suggestions?

 

I think the FSDs would be a great upgrade for your particular situation

 

88K on 2008!!!???

for a fellow Photog. & Club Man!!!

 

I think Camber plates are a good thought. The stock ones have seen almost 90K and the fixed IE (for example) cost about the same as stock.

 

Yep it has seen a lot of miles. It has been on a ton of trips from TN to IL. My wife and I actually just bought an SUV that we will be driving on the long trips now. I hope to stop outing so many miles on the Mini.

 

If your not wanting to lower the car the FSD's would be a good choice.

 

I have decided to go with the FSDs. What are the odds that they will go on sale soon? I saw some threads from last year where they were 25% off.

 

I have an '09 MCS with the FSDs, and I am getting a lot of rattles both front and back. I think I just need to tighten up the sway bar ends on the front, but I thought I saw somewhere that you might need to use the Alta bushes on the rear. I didn't based on a conversation with the folks I bought the shocks from. Did I do it wrong? Do you really need to crank down the mounting bolts on these things?
Phil

 

Sounds like you didn't correctly tighten your swaybar droplinks. Remember they are comprised of a bolt and nut assembly that you have to tighten, and then you have to wrap a spanner around the back end (behind the actual swaybar), to hold the bolt in place while you fully tighten the nut a few more turns.

 

I would say good choice, OEMs probably shot anyways.

Got the FSD's with only 1,700 miles on her, mainly looking for ride quality. Felt very little improvement there.

Then at 2,600 miles ditched the runflats for the tires in my sig. Night & Day difference in ride quality.

Here's were I got mine from:

http://jdmultimate.com/koni/koni_fsd...0/i-99245.aspx

 

I stand corrected, the bushing kit is from Helix. The question remains, are they necessary for the FSD install?
Phil

 

If the FSDs you got didn't have the bushing on the bottom of the rear shocks then yes you would need them.
Here is what they look like:
http://www.waymotorworks.com/r56-rea...ngs-or-gp.html

 

Didn't see anything like them in the Koni boxes. Would they have included a mention of this in the installation instructions? Will it really destroy my rear swing arm/
phil

 

I had Way install my Koni FSD's on my 06 Cooper. Flawless work on the install. He also put on the Hbar 19mm rear sway bar. Handling is superb and it really makes the Yokohama S drives perform great. Sensational tires. Konis are smooth and quiet on the highway and grips like crazy in the turns...stiff when it needs to be. If you go with Way you don't go wrong.

 

are the koni FSD's meant to be used with OEM spring ONLY? or it can be used with mild drop lowering springs, like TSW for instance?

will the OEM strut plate work with the koni shocks(sport or fsd), or it is better to get the IE fixed camper plates?

thanks

-calvin

 

Koni FSD are ONLY for stock springs. OEM strut top will work with FSDs, but I would recommend getting some aftermarket camber plates. They are a must for anyone that likes hitting the bends

 

Agree with your assessment. Just installed Koni FSD on 2006 R52 (Cabriolet) at 24K miles. Better body control (read that stiffer) than stock, while softer on the nastiest of RR tracks and patchy pavement. The harder you drive, the smoother they become. Car feels planted, solid, and sticks to the road. I also have 22mm mini-madness sway bar, tower brace and bottom brace - all from Madness. Now, with FSD, the car feels solid and smooth compared to stock.

--RussWK

 

If you got a set for the R56 the bushings should have been part of the struts, they do it on the Koni yellows too. That's why it wouldn't mention it in the instructions.

 

Hey, thanks! I got'em for the R-56 ('09 MCS), so I'm good...I'll get a good nights sleep tonight.