Hey folks. This is my first post to the forum. I'm looking to improve the quality of the suspension on my '13 MCS. I currently have the base suspension and I feel it is far too soft and the body roll is excessive.

Prior to this car I had a Honda S2000 for 10 years and used it as my daily driver. I loved the ride quality of the S2000 and really miss it. It was tight, had minimal roll, but was not harsh on crapy Seattle roads.

I have read a ton of posts here, but can't come to a solution.

So, what should I do for my car. I will never track it and will likely never autocross. I want to reduce the body roll, and I want the handling to be much more sharp.

I have already replaced the stock rear sway bar with an Altus 19mm bar, currently on the medium setting. I also sold the OEM Conti touring tires and replaced with summer Conti's and Extreme Contacts for winter time.

Thanks for any input!

 

The very best set up for the money is a 19 or 22 MM adjustable rear sway bar and KONI FSD struts...hands down. Check the site vendors. One of them often has the KONIs at near half price.

 

Here are some great articles on suspension upgrades and several suggestions. Please feel free to ask any questions, we're here to help!

http://new.minimania.com/Search_Resu...ension/default

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

I went with Swift Spec R springs and Koni Yellow shocks since I partially missed my Miata when daily driving. But it's also a back up autocross car.

Much firmer, understeer significantly reduced, and lower.

 

Thanks for the details on what combo of spring and strut you use. That's the info I am looking for. Is this set up comfortable for daily driving? I don't want to rattle the car apart, it rattles enough already.

And, how much lower did the car get?

 

Anything you do to make the suspension stiffer is going to sacrifice comfort. If you're not going to track the car, I would add some Koni FSD shocks and call it a day.

 

This. If not and you start getting into sway bars, springs and shock/struts then just go with coilovers and then you have adjustibilty and ride height options and you don't have to settle for whatever the ride height is with whatever spring you go with. KW V1's can be had cost effectively. There was a for sale on here for a pretty good deal. I would check on those.

 

If you are changing struts, get a set of Ireland engineering fixed strut mounts. They are about $200, and increase the amount of front camber without affecting the ride, since they still use the factory rubber mount. A good alignment makes a significant difference in turn in and feel of the car. I've been running-2.0 camber front and rear for years without adverse tire wear. No extra labor to install the mounts if you are swapping struts.

I've got Koni yellows and stock springs and the ride is stiff but not harsh. I've never tried the fsd's, but heard good things. I've also heard good things about bIlsteins, and their digressive, which theoretically is an advantage. More damping at lower speed inputs and less damping at faster inputs (like a pothole).

Don't be afraid to adjust your rear bar either.

Have fun,
Mike

 

I put on a new set of the Koni FSD all around my 2008 Clubman after my OEM shocks started rattling after 7 years and 75,000 miles. They were definitely 'shot' and I spent a lot to replace them all around.

Now, just 1.5 years later, my rattle is back and the Koni FSDs are 'shot'. The lifetime warranty is not easy, here's the policy from Koni's web site :

"At your discretion you can either send your units in for evaluation and have them replaced or request replacements in ad- vance at half of listed “Retail Price” (as found on www.koni-na.com). If replacements are made in advance KONI will charge your credit card prior to shipment and refund the purchase price after the units have been accepted as a warranty.
If the units are not accepted as a warranty the returned product will be returned to you and the charges will remain on your credit card."

As I see it, it means that if I want to keep driving my Mini, I can only get 1/2 of my cost back and that doesn't include the shipping or labor needed to get back to snuff. Is it worth it to stay with Koni FSD, given they only made it a year plus and less than 15,000 miles?
I drive this car super gently on above average roads, with occasional spirited cornering, and do take on a full-bore winter each year. Why the quick death of these expensive units?

Has anyone had a similar experience with replacing shocks? I'm in $ shock over my shocks.

 

If I'm reading this right, it sounds like the replacements will be free, less the cost to ship your old shocks back and labor, as long as they think they fall under warranty. If you don't want your car down, you can pay 1/2 deposit that might be refunded to get some replacements right away. Then, if they are not warrantied, they send you your old shocks back and the 1/2 charge stays on your car.

Does you car have lowering springs? The FSD's don't like those and it might be a reason to deny the warranty. Also, the new FSD's will probably go bad quickly.

 

Acceptable is the correct terminology. On smooth roads I can use the headrest.

It doesn't add much rattle and is on the softer end of a good handling set up.

If you're skeptical I'd recommend going with Bilstein B8 or B6 instead of Koni.

 

I have a full set of 2013 JCW takeoff springs if you are interested you make a fair offer and we can work something out. I'm not looking to get rich,I just have no need for them.

ISAMIN

 

RB-Mini,
Thanks for the perspective on the Koni warranty. I hope you are correct. I will certainly call them at least.
Other than replacing the OEM struts with the Koni FSD units, the suspension is totally stock. No car lowering for me, up here in the deep snow belt of Michigan :-) !

 

Update on Koni FSD and the warranty,
The warranty is not so hard after all. I have a new set of fronts coming at cost, about $350, which is reimbursed after the faulty ones are returned and declared faulty.

The downside now is that the replacement is taking about a month, maybe more, since they come from Holland, and even the shipper was out of stock.
I'll have to put my snow tires on before repairing the suspension. It drives ok, just hate the clanking over every bump.