Improving the ride quality of a 2007 MCS - Help Please :-)

[BubbasMini]

I'm hoping to get some suggestions, based on experience, from other MINI owners. "SlyCpr" is a 2007 MCS and it has served my wife very well and she loves the car. She commutes only a few times per week down through the Outer Loop and into Alexandria. We are getting to the point of replacing Sly due to mileage and age so it's "decision time". Frankly, we're looking at all the options, including another MINI. But there is one thing that keeps drawing her towards another make and that's ride quality. To be fair, we've kept Run-Flats on the car the entire time, on Konig Feather wheels. As a last ditch experiment (and because they need replacement anyway) I'll be putting non-RF tires on it just to see how much the ride improves.

 

I'm hoping to gather a few more areas we could explore, mostly because if we can improve the ride, even a little, we'll head in for another MINI. I would consider shock packages, etc. and realize that may be the other area we could easily change for a fairly distinct difference. Your ideas would be very appreciated.....because without some improvement I'm pretty sure we'll be owners of another brand The Beltway is just beating Mrs Sly Cooper up a bit too much.

 

Cheers and thanks in advance:motor:

[Edge]

Non-RF tires are the most significant way to smooth the ride of the car, so I think you'll find they make all the difference.

 

That does come at a price though - the steering won't be quite as direct/responsive/gokart-like. That doesn't mean it will suddenly feel like you're driving a boat, but it will definitely feel different. Many people consider the trade-off to be well worth it, so you'll be in good company.

[cmcveay]

Mike,

With the mileage, you have another option to consider, replacing the OEM struts. In July, 2009, I lowered Archi and I kept the OEM struts. I won't tell you what the ride was like but I think I'm shorter now than I was then... A few months ago, I swapped the springs out for NM Engineerings RS Alpha springs and I put in a set of Bilstein struts. Night and Day! I believe most of the ride improvement came from the struts though. They have much better compression and rebound dampening. If you stay with the OEM springs, you also have the option of Koni's different struts as well.

 

So, if you still want the security of the RF tires but you want a better ride, that's one way to go. If you want to ditch the RF (which I did as well) and recoup some of that crisp handling, step down one "size" in the profile (from 50 to 45) and I think you'll find that the shorter sidewall doesn't squirm as much and you maintain most, if not all of that go-kart like handling. I made the leap down to 40's but I think I've also got the fattest tires on a MINI in the area with the 235/40R-17 Star Specs.

 

If you go to non RF's, the other thing you'll notice is the difference in road noise. The noise level inside the car drops off rather quickly. How's that for options?

 

P.S. Changing the struts can be a DIY job if you want to save a few $$$. Just make sure you get a good 4 wheel alignment done afterward.

[BubbasMini]

OK, great advice so far. The non-RFs came in today and will go in in a week or so when the flat repair kit arrives. Glad to hear that helps substantially. As for a strut/spring change, it's all on the table. I should mention that these would be things we'd do to her new MINI. "Sly" will get the non-RFs to experiment (and it gets the snow tires off....hehehe) but this is really to see if it improves enough for us to eyeball another MINI in the fall.

 

Thanks again!

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I found a big improvement in Tigger's ride when I got off of the run flats.

 

Ali

[TATTRAT]

I found a big improvement in Tigger's ride when I got off of the run flats.

 

Ali

 

 

Sorry I can't really offer anything "New" for advise, but I echo this statement.

 

I couldn't believe the ride quality after switching from RF's. Not only I, but My better half was SO thrilled.

 

As for any performance loss in cornering/handling, it was minuscule and hardly noticeable for daily driving. What was gained in comfort, certainly outweighed any in daily comfort.

 

Springs will also improve not only the handling, but ride quality as well.

 

Just my little $.02.

[Scavenger]

Just a note - I've heard from several vendors including MINI that you shouldn't use the Fix a' Flat kits that require filling the tire with foam. It gums up the TPMS sensors and they'll have to be replaced, and they're expensive. You may want to verify this with MINI though.

[cmcveay]

My tire repair kit consists of plugs and a compressor. I do have a bottle of slime as an emergency. Picked it all up at Pep Boys for about $20.

 

I think you'll be happy with the difference in ride comfort and noise with the change. We look forward to hearing how it works out and I know we all hope you get another MINI!

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I have a small spare tire that I got at Detroit tuned and a compressor.

[BubbasMini]

Nice. Well, we'll get these new non-RF tires on there and see. I'm glad it sounds like my investment in these tires will pay off and she'll know before we dive in again! Thanks again.

[maacodale]

I'll throw in an opinion as well. We ditched Tyler's RF after we had one go bad and another on the way out. 500 bucks for two tires on a car with less than 20K miles wasn't gonna happen. felt an immediate difference without the RFs. Smoother ride, better cornering lots less noise. LOTS!

 

In fact, when we got the Clubbie, the RFs came off within 2K miles. I picked up a space saver tire from a Chevy Cobalt and also carry a full size spare on out of town runs. Juts in case.

 

We also had put new struts on Tylers 07 MCS after lowering it. Went with Koni Yellows. Also felt smoother and stuck in the twisties better.

[BubbasMini]

Wanted to provide some final feedback on how this went. We installed the non-Run Flat Continentals on the car and have driven it a few weeks now. We'd agree that it made a very significant difference in ride quality. My wife swears it runs better all around. This was a great experiment. I kept the Bridgestone RF snow tires that came off and we'll either keep them and use them again if we buy another Mini or sell them if we don't. We'll make a decision on a new car for her in October but this was very helpful. I think if we buy another MC, we'll switch them right away and also put a different shock package on the car since that seems to be the other big area for improvement.

 

Thanks again.

[JAB 67]

I suggest that you also take a test drive in a Clubman, since the longer wheelbase (100" versus 97") may bring some of the 'comfort' you're looking for.

Edited July 24, 2011 by JAB 67
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