Not that this helps, but having AWD on any car or truck makes it rider harder. I think going to 17 inch non run flats and maybe increasing the tire side wall one size it 45 to 50 or 50 to 55 will also improve the ride. You should be able to find someone around the DC area to do a tire swap very easy. I would find Mini clubs in the area to include DC and post your concerns there. That way you would be close to working out a sway arrangement.

I do not own a Countryman but a Clubman and am going to 50 side walls vs 45 on my 17 inch rims to help improve the ride. It will throw the speedo off some but at least I retain the filling in my teeth.

Good luck

 

Struts, springs, and stabilizer bars (front and rear).

You can see it in the parts listings at realoem.com. This has always been the case for the sports suspension for all MINI models and apparently is the same for the Countryman as well.

 

Sell you 18" wheels and tires and go for 17" with non run-flats and I think you will be fine. Swapping out sports suspension sounds a little extreme IMO at this stage.

 

i looked at the website, its not showing more than one option, its not telling me that there is a sport option.

what do you guys think if i go 17", NON run flats and swap the springs with normal springs? i am just worried that the springs won't fit on the sport shocks, although i have a feeling the dampers did not get upgraded. its just stiffer springs.

think about it, for just extra $500.00 you get all those components upgraded from the dealer? IMPOSSIBLE, its probably the sway bar and stiffer springs

 

I agree with Walk0080, tires make a world of difference, I would start with simply getting rid of your runflats and going to normal tires. Just going from one brand to another makes a difference so you can imagine what going from runflats to normal could do.

 

It looks quite clear to me:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...12&hg=31&fg=10
Front struts: 31319807009, 31319807010
Sports suspension front struts: 31319807011, 31319807012

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...13&hg=31&fg=10
Front stabilizer (22 mm): 31359808011
Sports suspension front stabilizer (23 mm): 31359808012

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...57&hg=33&fg=45
Rear struts: 33529807017, 33529807018
Sports suspension rear struts: 31319807019, 31319807020

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...58&hg=33&fg=45
Rear stabilizer (16 mm): 33559808013
Sports suspension rear stabilizer (17 mm): 33559808014

Spring parts are not listed, depends on weight of installed options on individual cars

 

wow, i did not know that you can click on the picture, THANK YOU.

now the main question is, can a normal spring fit a sport damper? i once changed my springs from soft to extreme stiff when i swaped them on an rx8... so i always believe the springs affect the stiffness more than the dampers...

 

http://mini.sewellparts.com/oem-cata...-R60-2012.html

so, now because of my STUPID sales man who basically told me that countrymen are sissy soft and that you need sport sus pension, i am paying an arm and a leg for it...

i want to keep the 18" look, but i have no choice but to get a 17" and non run flat. if its still stiff

here is what i am looking at
front strut = $150 x 2 = $300
Rear strut = $120 x 2 = $240
spring = $400.00 set ( a guess )
then those stupid shock absorbers $ 100 for 4
then a thinner anti sway bar $130.00 front
$130.00 back
around $1300 for parts then lets say $1000 dollar to install. and for sure some surprises here and there pretty much i am looking at 2500.00 + $1000.00 wheels and tires for aftermarket wheels.

Awesome...

thats the amount of money i will lose if i sell the horrible car with only 300 miles on it... the only difference is, is less headache.
------------------------------

anyone would like to trade his normal suspension with a 300 mile sport suspension? or ill pay you $100 dollars if you let me try your 17" wheels on my car for a bump or two... anyone?

 

I would just switch to 17s with non run-flats and see how you like that first. There are people on this board you can swap the 18s with I am sure.

 

Don't bother swapping sway bars, they are causing a harder ride. The lack of a softer sidewall is mainly doing it. The springs and struts, somewhat cause it to be rougher but the tires are the easiest thing to change and will net the most difference.

 

Anyone out there that wants his dark 17" wheels with my dark 18" wheels that only have 400 miles?

 

Well as far as i know the only differences were the stiffer springs, wheels, and a larger sway bar. I don't think they changed the Struts but i could be wrong.

I might be willing to swap the sway bar, but would need to see what it would take to swap, if can do it myself. Generally it is olny a few bolts but just wierd I have not been able to find a aftermarket replacement online, which leads me to believe it is a different setup.

I would not recommend removing it because your handling will suffer, unless you plan on rally racing or off roading.

 

I am going to say what others have not. Kick it back just a notch. Try the simplest thing rather than the most complex to fix the problem.
I have an All 4S Countryman with Auto trans. It has sport suspension and 18" wheels.
The ride was terrible with the run flats. I replaced them with Kumho 4x all seasons (non runflats). They were the same size as the original, 225-45-18. The difference is nothing short of amazing. Look in the tires section for the countryman for the thread. I have 5 compression fractures in my back, and recently had 9 broken ribs. Nothing I drive over causes my back any problems. I now have a soft suspension for driving over bumps and potholes (Kumhos plus the sprort suspension for soaking up such problems) and a taut suspension for going around corners. This is how it is supposed to be. It is the runflats that are driving you nuts.

You say you have 400 miles on your car. Just change the tires to a good brand and drive off happy. If not, you most likely did not buy the car for you. Bite the bullet make a change. Stop insisting the only way to fix it is the way you have come up with. Many on here have given you very good advice. Your solution is far and away the most complex one to solve the problem. Look at the hundreds of threads for all of the mini's on runflats. It is a pervasive problem for all models, not just the Countryman.

Good luck with a solution. Mine cost $600, I am most happy.
Next week I go to Albuquerque for the recall on my model. I look forward to the drive through the mountains with the new tires. By the way, my car has 7000 miles and I love it.

Bruce
2011 All4S, auto, Royal Gray, all options but nav

 

wfaddah,

I too would recommend to go non-RFT just as the others are saying here and go from there...

I live around Belvoir and might be interested on those RFT, what brand are they and perhaps we can talk...

 

I ordered my tires, not that i am not respecting every ones opinion, but i personally would feel better once i see the clearance between the rim and tire bigger. so i ordered rims and tires fpr like 1200 17", i went with the kumho as someone who should complain from back pain the most happened to like them Thank you Minijackcorn. AND THANK YOU ALL. i will update you in about a week my new 17" tires.

oh if someone still wants to trade the 17" rims with my 18" 400 mile tires and rims. free of charge, i only ask for it to be dark rims

 

Everyone is different in what they perceive to be a stiff suspension. I just took delivery of a CMSA4, sport suspension, but with 17" Continental Contiprocontact all-season run flats. It feels good to me and my wife (unusual), and we do have some bad roads around here. I'm fairly sure going to non-run flat tires would improve it even more, but I will wait until the stock tires wear out.

I sympathize with the OP and I wish all the Mini salesmen were better educated on this subject.

Not sure if anyone mentioned tire pressure. I suggest that you run your tires at the normal 32 psi level, not the high-speed 38 psi, for best ride.

 

It seems like it's hard for the general populus to nail down if the ride is too harsh or not harsh. I can't seem to read a consensus either way.

But it's nice to know that your S All4 with Sport Suspension and 17" All Seasons feels good... because one with my name on it just rolled up on a transport at my local dealership!

 

Hey congrats, the interior of that car is awesome, let me know if you want to go 18 inches on your ride

 

probably not... oddly enough, I like the Tunnel Spokes

 

hey everyone has a taste, but how do you find the suspension? can you go on a bump or two?

 

Agree with Minijackcorn, try simplifying the problem. Switch to 18in runflats and see how it is.

 

I know I have an R56, but this applies to Countrymans also. Switching to a smaller wheel and a taller sidewall non-RF tire will give you the most improvement. Changing out the sway bars will not improve things much. As they mainly deal with the car leaning in the corners. So don't worry about them. If you decide the ride is still to stiff after the tire change. Then I would change the springs and struts at the same time, as the strut is disassembled to replace the spring.

 

I drove the sport suspension / all-season 17" runflats (Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season) to work today. There are some known bumps on my route, including a "heave" at a seam in a bridge that tends to launch cars a little bit.

There's also a bunch of construction and lane shifts that leave rough erased lane-lines in the middle of the temporary lanes.

I didn't experience anything dramatic or disconcerting on my ride in. The ride is taut and firm (some might call it "european"), but not harsh.

I know MANY car brands add a lot of initial bump softness into their suspensions to address the American taste for squishy cars. This isn't one of them.

Bear in mind my daily driver comparisons are:
1. A 2001 miata with a relatively stiff aftermarket suspension
2. A 1998 honda civic with 100,000 miles on its original suspension

the Countryman is markedly better than either of those, though it does feel a little more tippy because of the high center of gravity.

 

A small update..

Been driving aroud more with my wife in the car. She doesn't have any complaints and didn't know how to answer when I asked if the ride was too harsh. She sait it was as good or better than her civic.

The more I concentrate on what is causing any bumpiness or harshness, the more I suspect it is definitely the tires over rough surfaces. Normal soft bumps are no big deal but even the painted rumble strips are very noticable compared to non runflats.

 

Let's see, I have owned three minis - an 05 MCS, which I sold only because garage space was at a premium and I couldn't stand to see it sitting in the rare snowstorm we had last year in Northern AL - and still have an 09 Clubman S and recently acquired an '11 CMS ALL4 with 18s. I'm on record as one of "those guys" that have decided the tradeoff between Spare/Run Flat/Ride/Handling/Noise/Safety/Spousal-piece-of-mind/cost - for me - favors the runflats. I have tried all brands (lots of "those other guys" are a ready source of cheap, low mileage take-offs) and had settled in on a favorite until I got the CM with Goodyear RFTs that are surprisingly smoother.

If I read the entire thread correctly, the best advice was followed, the answer IMHO is going to 17 non runflats and perhaps bumping down the pressure to 32. Suspension changes won't really impact the ride except to make it worse in the extremes that most folks never reach anyway.

Bought my MCS from a guy who after a year decided he was tired of trying to fit his wife, two kids, stroller and car seats and realized he had the wrong car, the clubman from a guy who, after a short time decided the it was too quirky and only got 31 miles to the gallon so he bought the wrong car, and the CM from a guy who after only 4000 miles decided he really wanted a Tahoe, and he had bought the wrong car.

My hypothesis has already been suggested: if you buy a mini, even after a test drive and later find that you want to have it modified (unstiffed ?) in a way that changes the characteristics of its design, then you have purchased the - drum roll - wrong car! However.....To each his own!

By the way, anyone interested in an 09 Clubman with JCW Wheels, Runflats...... (much as I like it, I got that garage problem going on again!)