On my car I have the "sport suspension"

Someone please educate me on this.

Some of my basic questions but please add as much info as you have.

1. Is it adjustable?
2. Does it change when I turn the car from Green, Mid and Sport?
3. I know it is struts in front but what is it in the rear.
4. How does it differ from the other suspension options from the factory on these JCW's?

Then feel free to offer me ideas if I want to upgrade it. I will do my first AX in late February with this suspension. After that if I feel the need what is next. Car is a DD so I would like to keep the ride nice and kind that fine line between nice ride Mon-Fri and track weapon on the weekend.

 

1. No
2. No
3. Mac strut w/single pivot lower control arm in front and multilink rear [trailing arm and 2 lateral control arms]
4. Slightly stiffer springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars versus standard suspension. Much softer than the JCW Pro coil-overs, and much softer than all previous generations of MINI. The Dynamic dampers (aka DDC) use the standard suspension springs and anti-roll bars, and have 3 damping settings, 2 of which are softer than the standard dampers. DDC ends up being the most plush of all F56 factory offerings.


Tell us how you think the ride quality is of what you have now. That said, the factory sport suspension ends up having great cornering grip [compared to previous gen MINI's] despite the body roll and soft ride. For upgrading, an important aspect is matching the tires to the spring rates. Given you're in SoCal, I'm assuming you'll run summer tires year-round? What about R-compounds?

I hope that helps,
Ryan

 

Ryan,

Huge help. Well my feeling is this on the car so far. The car on a straight line feels firm but not "cushy". When driving over things like lane divider bumps it is a pretty good shake.

When taking on turns, really on ramps only so far, it floats and is not "stuck" to the road.

Comparing to my 991 Turbo. If handles way better while feeling WAY smoother. I know not a fair comparison. I assume that after one AX day I will need to upgrade.

Now to answer your tire question. i will most likely run PSS as that is what is on the Porsche and most folks are running at AX (all the the trailered cars). I assume as well from my limited research it will be 215/40/18. It appears I only have a few 18" wheel options.

 

For a stock car, the JCW sport suspension is really GOOD imo! I'm used to stiff suspensions, so it doesn't bother my old bones one bit. As for my wife however, or if you have certain kinds of back issues, it can be a jarring ride on certain surfaces.

One reason the variable dampers option for $500 seems like a good deal would be to soften up the ride on certain surfaces. Am I sorry I didn't buy that option? NOPE!

My only real complaint so far is it's taking me some time getting used to the feel of the clutch & shifter...but, then again I only have 500 miles on the car so far. I have noticed it getting some better (or I am getting used to the clutch feel). Of course you have an automatic, so "nevermind"!

But, Ryan understands!

Cheers,

John

 

Rhyphile, thank you for your breakdown of the Jcw suspension. I read Your break down/un boxing of the Jcw suspension kit. It's the main reason I will most likely take the same route with my f55. Ecstuning has a great deal for the kit and hope to install it soon enough.

My 2015 f55 S has stock suspension. How is the ride compare to sport/jcw. I've driven an r56 s with sport suspension before and the ride is manageable. You definitely have more a feel of the road.

The current stock setup with 16 inch run flats feel really nice compared to the r56s with sport suspension and 17 run flats (sometimes not so forgiving)

Hope to end up with Jcw suspension kit, and possibly 18 inch wheels with Michelin super sport. I do intend of keeping it a family friendly car, but appreciate great handling and a slight drop. Also taking the oem route as much as possible.

 

The sport suspension is 30% stiffer than stock. The DDS set on sport is 10% stiffer than stock.
I'm happy with my sport suspension. It is comparable with the sport suspension I had on my R56. It was only available on the '14 and '15 model MCS. It is my understanding that the only way to get the option now is as the standard suspension on a JCW..

 

Thanks for the feedback vetsvette. What type of wheel/tire setup are you running?

 

I just have the 17" Tentacle spokes with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric tires. I just had my JCW Tuning Kit installed and wheels are going to be next. I hope to stick with 17" if can find some reasonably priced will clear the JCW brakes.

 

Vetsvette. We are taking similar approach. I'm going tuning kit next week. Suspension, then Wheels, Then breaks. It might take a while, but that's the plan.

 

I am thinking but will know more after my first AX; suspension, then wheels/tires, then would be any HP/TQ upgrades.

 

In a nutshell the factory Sport Suspension consists of thicker front/rear antisway bars to reduce understeer. Although the dampers reportedly have different numbers than the stock they are basically the same and the ride height is the same. The JCW suspension lowers the car a little, and has definitely stiffer dampers as well as sway bars. That's why the sport suspension only costs $500. You don't think BMW is gonna give you different dampers AND sway bars for $500 do you? I drove my friend's F56 with standard suspension and she needs sway bars for sure. The thing had too much body lean and understeers pretty badly compared to mine. By the way the ride "stiffness" is the tires not the dampers. Sway bars won't affect the ride over bumps.

 

On my sticker next to Sport Suspension it says no charge. Maybe included in another package I got.

I agree and do remember the last Mini we had the run flats do make for a brutal ride.

 

The Sport Suspension is standard equipment on the JCW.

 

Correct.

All the part numbers are easily viewable on RealOEM.com


Nice P-car! I understand where you're coming from. Recently I've owned an Elise, Exige S, and currently track an ANZE/Penske prepped turbo Miata. The MINI can't compare to any of those, it's just not fair. For sure, a foundation of stiffer springs with dampers to match and a good tire will help tremendously. Ditto going with polyurethane control arm bushings; BMW's have a habit of making their FCAB's very flexible and it really kills feedback. If you're willing to swing it, I'd start off with KW V3's and Bridgestone RE-71R in 215/40-18 on NM 18x8 et45 wheels designed to clear the Brembo's. You'll have to phone Neuspeed to make it happen as they'll end up being hub-bored VW wheels. The plus is you can choose your powder coat color.

Hope that helps,
Ryan

 

You're welcome. If you enjoy the ride of your F55, then I would actually caution against the JCW Pro coil-overs, as they're comparable to your R56 w/SS. Personally, I find the F55 too floaty and the comfort not terribly relevant for me, but then again my MINI is not a family car; it keeps me from being bored during my commute.

If possible, see if there's an owner w/the JCW coilovers in your area you can at least get a ride-along with. That would let you know straight away if it's within your preferences.

 

Ryan,

You have been a wealth of knowledge. I will probably just PM you going forward, its easier.

I have been talking to some guy Jerry T at NM about the wheel options. It appears that mid feb they will have a perfect fit 18". He did offer if I didn't want to wait to go with the VW wheel option but said it is a tight fit. Maybe Jerry isn't the right person, I don't know he seems knowledgeable. You mention Neuspeed.

On the V3's how bad will the daily drive ride quality be? Lastly I will have to check out those tires you mention, I have not seen those.

 

Jerry is the man to talk to, I just got my set two weeks ago from them. No complaints at all with the VW ones he made fit, love my RS12s.

 

I spoke with Jerry recently. He told me they would have 17" wheels soon that will clear the JCW brakes. My only problem is they won't offer them in the color I want so I'll probably end up going with the modified VW wheels.

 

So I have the DDC and yesterday I dropped the car with NM springs, I'm really happy I have the DDC since the ride is still not very harsh in sports mode and for long drives in Eco mode its nice and soft still. I've had a bunch of lowered cars from an Eclipse, a Honda, an S14 and Lexus so I know how jaring a lowered car can be driving around and I'm really happy the JCW with DDC doesn't even come close to feeling like a harsh ride. Who knows maybe I'm just getting old haha