2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Questions Regarding New 2013 Mini S

I have the stock sport suspension on mine. It did just fine for the last three years of autocrosses amd track days as well as countless daily drives to work and back. If you want to lower it for the look I understand but trust me when I say these little cars don't have much body roll even stock.

Yes, ditch the runflats. Much better feel afterwards. 215/45/17 is pretty normal "plus zero" tire size.

You got me on the radio issue. I did check that box. .

As far as the exhaust tips check with your local performance muffler/exhaust shop. You'd be suprised what they can get thier hands on.

 

:cornut: Welcome to MA and congratulations on the new MINI. I can help with some of your questions, shall we start?

Ques 1-3. Did you get standard or (hopefully) Sport Suspension($500 option, Sport Package does not include Sport Suspension). If you were fortunate enough to order Sport Suspension then all that you have to do to have a tight, flat cornering, and balanced suspension is to get rid of the HEAVY run flat tires and the HEAVY factory(24lbs each) light weight wheels. Get quality aftermarket 14-16lbs wheels with non run flat tires. Doing this alone will make the suspension better than most of us can drive it by dropping 50-70lbs of unsprung weight and those suspension up grades won't be needed at all. If you didn't order the Sport Suspension then doing the above still upgrades the suspension a considerable amount.

Ques 4-5. Wait for the electronic wizards to come along.

Ques 6. Most of us, but by no means all of us, run 215 45 R17 at all four corners.


Keep after the rest of your questions, they'll get answered.

Jason

 

Before making changes to the suspension I'd drive it for a bit to identify areas you feel could use some help.

One thing that will make a big difference right off the bat is replacing the run flat tires for something a bit more sporty.

 

ditch the runflats

 

I agree with Nathan, drive the car first to get the feel of it. Regular tires make a big difference and offer more performance options. As for springs, I like Eibach. H&R springs will put the car even lower. My son has them on his 07 MCS and it's LOW. adding a bigger rear sway bar will really transform the handling, but do the other mods first.

 

Here is a write-up I did on my blog about a DIY bracket for my Onyx XM radio. Couple items of note having lived with it a while:

1. View of the screen is much more limited than I initially thought. Takes a lot of moving around to see the screen.

2. jmo, but the Onyx has to be just about the flimsiest pos electronic gadgetry I've had recently. I have a constant problem with it dropping the left channel and it takes some "banging" on it to get it back. Something about the base and the connection to the audio cable.

I still have not installed the hardwire kit for power, but that would only be about $20 and some of my time to complete. And due to my stripping the screw holding the bracket to the tach, I have a nasty rattle I need to fix.

 

Don't ditch the run flats burn them:mad5: or sell them for new real tires.

 

Everyone's spot on. Ditching the runflats is your best move first.

I run Michelin Pilot Super Sports, with H&R lowering springs. Dropped almost 2 inches and gives it a great stance for a daily driver. Adding a nice 22mm sway bar really tighten things up, and is a hell of an improvement. I was lucky enough to notice all these improvements first hand by going to track days, then doing more track days as the mods continued. Couldn't be happier with the set up for now. But I've been adding more, and more to the list to fix it up more.

Good luck! It starts with these little mods then you're in over your head! Lol.

 

We just changed the stock S exhaust with the stock JCW exhaust, and besides the JCW tips looking COOL, the sound is awesome without drone, and I swear there is a performance gain. Once we knew what we were looking for, it was pretty easy to find the used exhaust from someone who recently upgraded.

GET RID OF THE RUN FLATS! NM Engineering springs, no sway bar...car isn't slammed, and love the way it handles.