Hard Ride

[johnrseymour]

I love the general handling of my mini. I bought it used with 56k on the clock. My main complaint, and disappointment, is the poor ride quality. It has run-flat tires, brand new, and I have heard from a BMW owner who also had them, that they were so uncomfortable to him that he replaced them. Anyone else have this problem? Could the poor ride quality be the result of suspension bushing problems? I can't see any looseness in the suspension when I have it jacked up. I've tried moving the wheels about, and there doesn't seem to be any unusual wear or looseness. I can feel a small jolt in the rebound of the shocks, but the shock itself seems to be tight. Thanks for any help.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The run-flat tires are known for a harsher ride. There could be more reasons, but that is very possibly one of them. It's a relatively popular thing in the MINI world to replace RFTs with non-run-flats, but then you need to be prepared for a flat tire some day.

--DD

[5String43]

They are suspended very firmly, and if your car has the sport suspension, it is even more firm. I sold my '05 MCS for just that reason. It was so stiff that it was ridiculous. Am in the process of ordering a Clubman without sport suspension and with the 16-inch tires/wheels rather than the 17-inchers - the deeper sidewall will contribute, I think/hope, to a bit better ride.

Whichever wheels you have, you can swap out the runflats for regular tires and get a more managable ride. Just carry a can of tire goop, some plugs and a compressor. At the end of the day, that's probably a better solution than runflats in any case. Tirerack.com I think notes the ride characteristics of tires, so perhaps that will help you with your choice, should you decide to go this way.