I have a 2005 MCS with H-sport springs / stock shocks. If I change the shocks to Konis will the ride be harsher or smoother? Will I be able to adjust the shock height? - How easy is this to do?

 

Much harsher and no adjustment of height. The Konis are a very nice upgrade to performance suspension but you pay for it with lack of road compliance. Depending on the conditions of your local roads and the health of you back and neck this is a really nice mod.

I had it for about 6 months and then went to PSS9s which I think is a great setup for a multi use MINI.

 

check out this post on the bilstein sp's.https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=38026

 

It *might* be possible to adjust the hight but not in the sense of, say, a coilover setup. The Koni's will have a harsh ride. I just took the Koni's off the front of my honda for Bilstein's (well, a month ago anyway) and the ride did improve a lot. Much more comfortable. I think they will do fine on the track/parking lot but I won't have any data on that until next weekend.

 

I have just installed a set of the new KONI FSD shocks on my '05 MCS Cabrio and all I can say is WOW! If you want a great feel without giving up performance then this is the best option I have ever tested. While you are not able to use any sort of lowered springs- if it is ride comfort you want- no better choice! No, it does not make it ride like a Buick but it does take the harshness out of the MINI ride. I have yet to get it to the race track but for street use, it feels as though it is better than stock performance. More details can be found at www.minimania.com/KONI-FSD

 

What tires and wheels are you using? I replaced the stock wheels and run flats on my '05 MCS with very light wheels and it greatly improved the "harshness" I don't find it harsh at all.

How do they handle on the "twisties"?

Have you used Bilsteins as a comparison?

 

I have never had the bilsteins, but compared to stock, the Konis are absolutely amazing. They are a bit jarring on bad roads....but it doesnt bother me.

I have a fairly stiff setup (Konis, H&R springs (very high spring rate), and my swaybar set to the stiffest position) and with my 15 inch wheels, its not much harsher than my 16 inch runflats were.

On the nice twisties they work like magic. No complaints at all.

 

I just had the following installed:

Koni Yellows (Rear 1/2 turn from full soft, Front 1/2 turn from full hard)
H-Sport Springs
H-Sport Comp Sway (stiffest setting)

and, man what a difference! I wasn't really going for a lower ride, just a "more civilized" ride. The jolting is all but gone on the smaller bumps and the overall ride is much better than stock. If I had know what a difference this set-up made, it would have been my FIRST mod!

BTW -- Thanks to Chad from DetroitTuned for taking care of my order!

 

So, to clarify, for my own info--sorry about the thread-hijacking--Konis give a harsher ride, but tighter handling over stock. Would the Konis give tighter handling than the Bilsteins (regardless of comfort)?

dan

 

My suspension goals are primarily autocross-related. I initially had H-Sport springs/rear sway/front and rear camber with the stock struts. The addition of wider r-compound tires basically toasted the stock struts.

I had a long conversation with Sam Strano (National Autocross champ, Evolution School instructor, owner of www.stranoparts.com ) who's driven literally hundreds of different kinds of cars. After reviewing the available strut and coilover choices available we decided to go with the Koni's, primarily because of price and the fact that it's not terribly expensive to change spring rates, should it be necissary. Adjusting the ride height didn't justify the $1000 difference in price, since I already had springs.

With Yokohama Pradas (non-runflat streets) the ride is very firm, but not uncomforatably so. The performance on the street is excellent but it's too loose in the rear (read oversteer) right now on the autocross course. I'm planning on installing the front sway bar and firming up the front struts.
Give Sam a call. He's uber-knowledgeable and very honest. He actually talked me out of spending alot more money.

 

In my experiance with Bilstein's on a auto-x course they are far superior to Koni's. They are also much more digressive so more comfy on the street. When we put the Bilstein's on we did one at a time. There was a huge difference between hitting a bump with one side and the other side. I could also feel the lower compression on one side when turning, which is really what we were going for (besides the mono-tube high-pressure gas.) After putting the Bilstein's on I can honestly never put a koni on another car that I will be driving. Bold statement but tis truth.