Howdy:

I have a 2003 CooperS with stock suspension at 33,000 mi. I was hoping to find suspension mods more compliant over small bumps but that would still take care of business on the larger ones. I was thinking that FSDs would fill the bill. I was surprised when a local mechanic (very well thought of as a MINI specialist, by the way, although a new acquaintance for me) said that if I wanted comfort, then the stock suspension is my best bet. I have never had the opportunity to drive a car with the Koni FSDs, so it is hard to form my own opinion. I do know that I can't afford to lower the car any more than it is already. I'm already scraping the front air dam frequently during the course of day to day driving. Thanks for your attention.

 

The two best improvements in ride comfort for the MCS on anything but perfect roads:

• Koni FSDs, especially since you say you will be staying with the stock springs
• Ditch the runflats. The sidewall stiffness contributes to ride harshness.

There is a dispute about which mod provides the greatest improvement, but no dispute that the combination is excellent.

 

It appears you are in northern california- beleive a nam member , caminifan, in the san francisco area, has them-maybe you can hook up for a ride in that car. They work wonders!

 

You can lead a horse to water...

 

the first week I had the car. I found the difference immediately noticable.

 

The FSDs will further improve the ride, on top of the non-runflats. They made an immediately noticable difference even on my car which has 15" wheels with non-runflats.

 

I am pretty much happy with the ride of my Cooper with FSD's. I have stock suspension (SS+ so similar to a Cooper S) and 15" wheels. The FSD's did make a nice difference in ride quality - it didn't turn the car into a smooth ridin' Caddy, but it's less jarring.

 

My '06 Cooper was standard suspension and the ride was pretty good - 15 inch holeys, non-run-flat 175-65-15 tires. All I can tell you is that I've gone to 15X7 rims, 195/60/15 Proxes tires, Koni FSDs and JCW springs, and the ride is better than the stock cooper susp. If you stay with the stock springs and go with the FSDs you should improve the ride, and as many have said, going with conventional tires should help as well.

 

 

Simple. Read the ridiculous quote in my post about how low the car is. He is probably on the bump stops. Read my response. Understand that FSD are not to be used with lowering springs. And that is straight from the Koni engineers and not the NAM test drivers.

 

Maybe you should learn to read? or be a bit more polite?

 

But the suspension is bone stock. It sits at its stock ride height. On stock springs and OEM shocks. It has never been modified. I never intended to change the springs or lower the car. THAT's why I mentioned the scraping. The fact that I'm scraping has more to do with the crappy roads and driveway designs here in Northern California, especially where I work, than the ride height. That's why I said I didn't want the car to go any lower, unlike many in attendance here...I like the stock ride height. I thought I made that clear in my original posting. My interest in FSDs is merely for a more supple ride over smaller bumps. If it got a little bit taller, it wouldn't bother me a bit.

I think you are reading a lot of unwarranted judgement of my character into my orignial post or maybe you're just hot to put people down with your "know it all" attitude?

The reason I asked for some opinions is that a mechanic at a MINI specialist shop suggested that the ride would be more harsh with FSD shocks installed and that surprised me a little bit.

 

He clearly states car has the original STOCK suspension and also it clearly indicates he DOES NOT WANT it any lower.

EDIT-oops everyone beat me to it while my poor connection was uploading!!

 

Another brilliant response. And you wonder why you have so many detractors here.

 

He's a New Yorker, guys. Cut him some slack. If you lived in NY, you would know darn well that the majority of New Yorkers shouldn't be allowed on the internet

 

I do know that I can't afford to lower the car any more than it is already. Regardless that he says it is stock, his usage of the adverb more implies that it is lowered. --If you are frequently scrapping the air dam with the stock suspension you have a problem that ought to be diagnosed before you make part changes. --Detractors? If you knew me you would know that I am am polite. If you want hugs I know many automotive service shops on the west coast I can steer you towards. In reality, I have scruples: I don't and won't sell you things that are just plain wrong. And the list I could make from NAM regarding wrong is quite long!

 

amazing

still trying to explain yourself, instead of simply admitting you were wrong. Regardless of what you think he implied, what he SAID was very clear.

even managed to fit in a self agrandizing pot shot about NAM too, arrogant much?

 

Odd, when I read the post I thought that he had lowered it as well. If this is a "stock" car, then why is he scraping the ground?

Anyway.... I would probably agree with your mechanic. The stock suspension is setup for more of a comfort ride. The KONIs will more than likely still give you some comfort, but they are also designed to stiffen in the twisties, so there is a chance for a harder ride from them.

Bottom line is that you need to decide on what you want to do. Do you want performance or do you want comfort ride? If you want a little of both, then the Koni FSD might be the solution for you.

 

the mini is a very low car to begin with, my wife backs into our driveway instead of going in forwards, b/c when she backs out, she will scrape if she dosesn't take it at an angle or at least VERY slow (we have very gentle curbs, and she has a stock suspension), my mazda3 has no problems with this whatsoever, despite much longer overhangs)

Many have reported an improvement in ride quality with the FSD's, as the "frequency slective damping" tuning mechanism allows them to be sort of two faced. Note, this is an oversimplification, but it gets the point accross.

High frequency perterbations are usually the tire bouncing over the road, while low frequency perterbations tend to be body motions of the car, the FSD's provide more low frequency damping and less high frequency damping, trying to improve ride quality while still keeping the car stiff in corners.

 

Correct - and as far as the "stock" suspension being the most comfortable, I can't imagine a more compliant "stock" ride than my '06 Cooper - not even the "Sport Plus" option, and my car is equal to more comfortable on the FSDs, even with the JCW springs, wider wheels & tires, than it was bone stock, and with better handling. So, if you have a stock MCS suspension, which is considerably harsher than my stock Cooper was, I can't imagine the FSDs giving you anything but a better ride, particularly if you use on the stock springs. That said, if it were my car, I'd change out the runflats first (and the 17" Slites if you have them) and go with a good riding, conventional perf. tire 205/50/16 on 16" relatively lightweight wheels. You might not need to go further until your shocks wear out. Good luck.

 

Man............so he has some very serious driveways and bumps to negotiate. And now he has a problem with his car..... . Glad I don't have to get my car repaired based on your uninformed opinion of it.

 

The reports from FSD owners on NAM are very consistent (like practically 100%) that they improve ride comfort over stock. I think that your mechanic probably hasn't had a customer with FSDs on their car.

 

The FSDs will DEFINITELY improve the ride quality of the car. The ultimate combination is the stock suspension (SS+ on the S) with FSDs and either 15 inch or 16 inch wheels with non-runflat tires. If you have ride harshness issues (I have back and neck (whiplash) problems from car accidents in prior lifetimes), go with the complete solution (FSDs + smaller diameter wheels and non-runflat tires). If you are looking for a slight improvement in ride harshness, you might try the FSDs first as they are the least expensive ($695-ish + mounting & alignment vs. whatever you want to spend on the wheels and tires) mod.

To give you a sense of what the ride quality is like with FSDs, 16x7 inch SSRs and 205/50-16 non-runflat tires (Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S), my MCSa has a ride that is comparable to a BMW E90 (328i/335i) without sport package (otherwise known as smooth). The only ride quality problem that can not be tamed (due to the short wheelbase) is when you have a mis-match between an asphalt road surface merging with cement highway overpasses. There is one such example (#1 lane of Hwy. 92 westbound going over U.S. 101 in San Mateo) where the car almost goes airborne. The only vehicle that I have owned that could completely tame the 92/101 overpass was a Yukon Denali - 118 inch wheelbase with computer-controlled ride adjustment 500 times a second.

 

The first thing that I did was go with SSR Comps in 16X7 and non-runflat tires. There was a huge improvement in ride harshness (I had the Goodyear RSA runflats and the 17 inch S-lites); but the stock shocks are just plain harsh (I noticed the same problem with the stock shocks on the E46 M3). The FSDs are just so much of an improvement over the stock shocks. Given the price points (FSDs vs. new tires and wheels), I would recommend going with the FSDs first. If the ride harshness is still objectionable, then go with the smaller wheels and non-runflat tires. You won't regret the decision to go with FSDs.

Edit: After re-reading RCE1s comments, it seems the runflats have already been lost. Did you go with just non-runflats (and kept the 17 inch wheels)? Or, did you go with smaller wheels as well?

 

I know that this is an old thread, but I think it's better to bump it up other than opening a new topic...

My Mini is 2003 MCS with OEM Sports Suspension. I found it quite a harsh ride, so I've changed to non-runflat tires, and just purchased 205/50-15 tires to further improve it (haven't tried yet).

I have H-sport sports car on stiffest setting, to balance M7 front struct brace. This stiffens the car and lowers the rear end by probably 1".

My question is that, is it worthwile to buy FSD shocks using stock spring? Is stock spring the same between regular suspension and the one on sports suspension? Is it going to be a more comfortable ride with same or better handling than the stock sports suspension?

Please excuse for my lack of knowledge in shocks/springs...