Just got the car and rides pretty rough. I understand the S will ride rougher but question is when should struts be replaced? It has 52000 on it. Also looking to upgrade to KYB or bilstein. The car is for the wife so she will not care so much about performance she wants smoother ride. Is it worth the cost of the strut upgrade and will I get a smoother ride with those? I had bilstein on my BMW 5 and it made the ride rougher than the stock ones but handled great. Any help on this would be great.

 

Bilstein are great , they area little firmer. Handle great.

KYB tend to be a little softer the the OEM version. Like OE.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Suspension/Shocks/

Koni Shocks & Struts Kit - FSD work with "stock springs" and have the smoother ride then stock.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/21004010/




Thanks and hope that helps.