[mdreuben]

It wasn't cheap, but I've finally got the ride I want in my '05 MCS.

I replaced the the stock shots with Koni FSD's and the springs with new springs for the regular Cooper. The car feels as if it's on rails when I drive, and the "ouch" you get when driving on Cleveland's roads is all but gone. It's still stiff, but not at all harsh. Tires are the Goodyear runflats on the stock S-Lites. Height is the same.

Awesome!

[mmalc]

Just one thing is stopping me putting in an order for these now -- do they affect the vehicle's warranty? One of the very attractive aspects of the MINI is the maintenance plan, and I'd be reluctant to jeapordise that...

I'd also be interested in any further reports on the car's performance after the first day

mmalc

[mdreuben]

Don't know about the warrenty...although I haven't checked I can't imagine that anyone could make a case about changing out "normal wear" items.

As for the driving characteristics - all I know is that I've been driving for the past three days with a big grin on my face

[mmalc]

That sounds encouraging

Many thanks again for the reply. I'll keep you posted...

[alanclews]

Quote: Originally Posted by mdreuben

It wasn't cheap, but I've finally got the ride I want in my '05 MCS.

I replaced the the stock shots with Koni FSD's and the springs with new springs for the regular Cooper. The car feels as if it's on rails when I drive, and the "ouch" you get when driving on Cleveland's roads is all but gone. It's still stiff, but not at all harsh. Tires are the Goodyear runflats on the stock S-Lites. Height is the same.

Awesome!

I'm considering Koni FSDs too, on 2002 MCS, but had planned to retain original springs.

Did you try FSD plus MCS springs? If not, did anyone e.g. Koni, advsie you to use regular Cooper springs?

[mdreuben]

I was considering only the shocks, but with the advice of my mechanic, Chris at Autobahn Extremist (www.autobahnextremist.com) it really would need shocks that gave a little more. The cost to do shocks and then springs at a later time made less sense than to do both at once.

[robmolle]

I have fitted the koni FSD with koni springs (lowering about 20 mm) Drive is excelent, no more lost of traction by cornering and no lost in comfortabel ride. (First mini fitted with FSD in the Netherlands)

Koni have designed the FSD's around stock springs although they do say drop of approx 30mm is still within the shocks effective range

just my 2p's worth!!

Dean

[mmalc]

I had the FSDs installed on my Cooper S.

Gosh, they make a difference. In a good way. I've kept the original S-Lites and Dunlop runflats, so there may still be scope for improvement(*), but now the basic ride harshness is gone. (I also kept the original springs.)

You can still feel the roughness of the road, but instead of being punched on every bump it's more like being thumped gently through deep layers of cotton wool -- in other words, like a standard family saloon :-) The major difference is that, in contrast to the saloon, the handling is still as good as the stock MINI...

Overall, I'm still feeling it was worth the investment. It makes the roads near home much more bearable. There is still some bumpiness, mainly where the pavement suffers from severe undulation, but (a) this affects every car, and (b) the effect is unavoidable simply due to the short wheelbase of the MINI itself... The main thing is that I can now drive without having to brace myself before each ripple in the road, and change lanes without feeling like I've been hit by a jackhammer as the wheels cross over the dividers.

mmalc


(*) I've been loath to replace the runflats because I'm still too cautious about driving without a spare and I've been impressed by the additional safety they offer(**), and with the ride that the FSDs provide I now have less reason to consider replacing them. And I'm not sure that getting lighter wheels would have any noticeable benefit...?


(**) A colleague in England has a Cooper. He described a blow-out on a motorway caused by some debris on the tarmac. Although the tyre was deflated, and a nail even punctured the wheel itself! he was able to drive the car safely in a straight line, and then drive it home.

[MrT-Man]

How much did the Konis & installation set you back?

[mmalc]

Total including installation and tax was a little over $1000. Of course, the day after I had the work done Tire Rack dropped the price of the shocks from $750 to $630... ho hum. So, it's not a trivial investment, but reasonable compared to some sets of wheels you can buy.

Perhaps I should take this opportunity to give a bit more context.

First, regarding the ride. I find it to be much improved, but a bumpy road is still bumpy. From my perspective, where in his first post mdreuben said "The car feels as if it's on rails" I'm assuming he's referring to AmTrak and not Shinkansen... As the name states, the shocks provide frequency selective damping. If you drive over the reflective lane dividers (cats eyes to those back in the UK) at 65MPH then most of the impact is absorbed. If you drive along roads with lumps every six feet (due to how the concrete was poured, or whatever -- quite possibly just sheer sadism on the part of the contractors!) then you'll still get bounced around. [Unless, I suspect, you drive really, really fast, in which case the bump frequency will increase such that the shocks will again absorb most of the impact -- but I'm not terribly keen to lose my license just to test this empirically!]
The main thing for me is that when I get home after driving over the particularly poor highways in my neighbourhood I no longer feel as if I've been beaten up -- pushed around a bit perhaps, but not beaten up.


Second, to reiterate a point made in another thread, my intent here is not to be prescriptive. From my readings here and elsewhere, it's clear that many people ask about how they can make the ride in their MINI less harsh. The usual response involves changes to wheels and in particular to tyres. I'm grateful to mdreuben for having highlighted another option, but I'm not trying to suggest that it supplants the others.
Different people have different requirements. One issue however is that it's likely to be fairly easy for someone to be able to test drive a vehicle with different wheels and tyres(*), but it's probably less likely that they'll have an opportunity to try out a vehicle with different suspension. I've tried to show what my constraints are so that others can determine to what extent theirs match mine.

mmalc


(* I should give thanks to the folks at East Bay MINI for allowing me to do so, it made it clear to me that I'm less willing to opt for a 16" wheel.)

[MrT-Man]

Thanks for all the info. I'm very interested in this option since I'd also rather stick to 17" wheels and runflats as opposed to having to give up either.

Just a couple of more questions....

- Since you said it's just over $1000, I'm guessing it's about 2-3 hours of labor?
- Think I'm obliged to have the dealer do it, or else it may affect my warranty?

Thanks!!

[mmalc]

My apologies, I put the labour time in another thread. It was almost exactly two hours.

I didn't get the dealership to do it -- in fact they said they couldn't. But I've received rather mixed messages on this and the warranty issue. As someone else noted, given that this is a part that would wear out in the fullness of time, it's not clear why replacing it would cause any issues with warranty, and this is what one person at the dealership told me. (Obviously the shocks themselves would not be covered.) However it seems to remain something of a grey area. Fundamentally, though, the shocks don't affect other expensive parts such as the engine so the rest of the car should still be covered.

It would be good, though, if MINI could officially endorse this product. As far as I'm aware it's higher quality than the factory-installed option, and there should be no reason it would adversely affect the vehicle. In addition, it should not only make some existing customers happier, but broaden the range of appeal to other customers who might otherwise be put off (not that I think a lack of customers is something the company is worrying about...).

mmalc

[MrT-Man]

Ok, thanks again for all the info. I actually don't have my Mini yet -- it's supposed to arrive in 2-3 weeks -- but it's coming with 17" S-lites & run flats, so I'm definitely worried about ride quality (especially since I didn't even have a chance to test drive one with 17" wheels, so I don't know what to expect... I've obviously read everyone's comments here, though!).

I know 16" would have been more comfy, but I am not a fan of the X-lites, plus I was forced to get the s-lites as part of the "sports" package that had other stuff I wanted (front & rear foglites, anthracite headliner...). Anyway, great to know about this option. Will post my thoughts if/when I go ahead with it.

[mmalc]

There's a recent (as of October 20, 2005) article at Grassroots Motorsports that describes installation of the FSDs and initial reactions.

mmalc

[MacFever]

I just ordered FSD's + Koni lowering springs for my MCSa
Will have them in a week
Will post my expierience asap

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by MacFever

I just ordered FSD's + Koni lowering springs for my MCSa
Will have them in a week
Will post my expierience asap

Please do!
I'm particularly interested in the handling ability of the car with FSD. Ride is better, that nice, but the handling is the same as stock? (thats not a bad compromise)

I had very good experience with Koni Yellow rebound adjustable shocks before on another car, but everyone says they're very stiff for the MINI, I suppose it won't be that bad if I use SS (not SS+ suspension) and 15" wheels? What I'm looking for is a comfortable ride that the missus won't complain about, but with even sharper handling.

I can't lower the car either, it snows 5 months a year and I do need the extra inch of ground clearence. Shocks are my only option, as there are no coilovers that doesn't lower the car.

[mmalc]

I haven't noticed that the handling is worse.

That said, although my driving is "spirited", I'm not sure that I push the car as hard as some people here imply! (There's also the fact that most of my driving thus far has been during the breaking in period.)

If handling is in some way less good than before, I could easily believe that, on normal roads at least, this is more than offset by the driver's enhanced ability to react. Now that I'm not jarred as much by the ride, I'm better able to concentrate on manouevering the car, and I'm less tired after an hour or so's driving so I hope I could better react to any unwanted scenario...

mmalc

I think an FSD group buy maybe in order!!!!!

If anyones interested, let me know

Regards
Dean

[SteveM3]

With fitting I'd be interested. Perhaps. Maybe. Depends on the price.
I used to be decisive now I'm not so sure.