[steeve]

Quote: Originally Posted by Camp-Freddy (original)

Just wondering if anyone specced the sports suspension and regretted it?

Im not particularly regretting it. But (with 17"'s) it is very firm, great on good surfaces but out in the sticks where the roads are not so smooth the car can have a feeling of being a bit manic and bouncing around a bit when you push on in the corners.

Perhaps 16"'s on SS or 17"'s and standard might be the best compromise.

[Paul]

I dont find it "hard" at all, and I drove (poor) country lanes every day. And I think this goes to show that it really a) Depends what you're used to and expect and b) Personal taste.

[cristo]

My first post had incomplete information, I'm re-posting it here with corrections,
plus edited the first post:

According to the realoem site,
the Cooper R56 has
a 23.5 mm front bar and 18 mm rear bar for Sport Suspension, and
a 21.5 mm front bar and 16 mm rear (same part number here as the 1st Gen SS bar)
for regular (non-Sport).

The Cooper S R56 has a
a 23.5 mm front and 18 mm rear bar for Sport suspension, and
a 22.5 mm front and 17 mm rear bar for regular (non-Sport)

They also list different strut part numbers for the regular vs. sport suspensions.

realoem doesn't list spring applications, but I'd be willing to bet they're different
for the Sport vs. the regular.

[Paul]

The engineer at the launch who was in charge of suspension development said that it's only a millimeter, but it makes a big difference. That's a real man's man comment!

[Martin F]

So effectively there seem to be 3 versions. The standard MC, the stiffer standard MCS and the stiffest which is the SS and is the same on the MC and the MCS

[rec]

i might be repeating a previous post here, or something from Motoringfile or NAM, but I believe the extra 1mm makes the front 9% stiffer, and the rear 12% stiffer.

[cristo]

for the bar itself, stiffness is proportional to the 4th power of the diameter of the bar.
of course, the flexiblilty of the bushings and links take a little of the increase away.

(18/17)^4 = 1.26 = 26% stiffer than non-sport MCS
(23.5/22.5)^4 = 19% sttiffer than non-sport MCS

(18/16)^4 --------60% stiffer than non-Sport MC
(23.5/21.5)^4 -- 43% stiffer Than non-Sport MC

[fbirch]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul (original)

If you want a compromise I'd go 16" and sports plus, that's probably the "ideal" OEM setup. I have 17" and SS because it's part of the chili pack.

Paul: I'm going with your advice - I spe'ed SS + 16" wheels. I previously had an '05 with standard susp and 16" wheels, and I expect the new setup to have similar ride stifness to my previous car. Here's my question for you: When the factory 16" RF's wear out, I plan to change to lighter aftermarket 17" wheels with non-RF tires. Would you expect the ride stiffness to remain about the same (i.e., siwtch to non-RF tires "cancels out" the switch to 17" wheels)?

[caesar]

I had this dilemma when specking my June 07 MCS which had the Chilli pack. As I had the 17" wheels with run flats I was not sure whether or not to have SS or Standard in case the combination made the ride too harsh on rough surfaces.

I decided to go for Standard and did notice some rear roll on undulating bends while I was running-in but once the car had done 1200 miles and I used the Sports Button there was no roll. I owned a Civic Type-R before getting the MCS so I am comparing the ride between the two, and as far as I am concerned I am perfectly happy with having the Standard Suspension. However if I was going to use the MCS in competitions then would get the Sports version

[robble]

Quote: Originally Posted by caesar (original)

I
I decided to go for Standard and did notice some rear roll on undulating bends while I was running-in but once the car had done 1200 miles and I used the Sports Button there was no roll.

the sports button has absolutely NO effect on your suspension. There is no reason it should roll less now than it did new.

[Paul]

^^^ What he said.

[caesar]

Quote: Originally Posted by robble (original)

the sports button has absolutely NO effect on your suspension. There is no reason it should roll less now than it did new.

I know that Robble....the SB dampens the steering and makes the throttle more responsive. Nevertheless with the SB ON the rear roll was not noticeable.

[caesar]

Quote: Originally Posted by devaisl (original)

Have just had my order confirmed for week 49
but......
I've specified no sports suspension. Now that everything is confirmed I'm kinda worried whether I did the right thing or not!!! My reasons for not getting sports suspension is that the roads where I live are absolutely crap (roadwork central is an understatement!!) so I would prefer a softer ride but not too much at the expense of the handling. I'm not into rallying or anything like that!

Please somebody reassure me that I did the right thing, and that the road handling wont be affected (ie lessened) too much! I'm not going to be rolling all over the road and around corners am I ????

On the advice of my Dealer and a friend who owns a R56 Cooper 'S' and the state of some roads in the area, I did NOT specify Sports Suspension on my June 07 build MCS because I have 17" wheels and Run-Flats.

I find the ride OK but did notice some rear roll, but this stopped once the car was run-in. I presume this was because the suspension had bedded-in.