Madness MINI Cooper S Polyurethane Engine Bushings

As part of 15% Pulley, CAI, and Evotech tune, Madness recommended engine bushings. Here are the pros and cons. OEM bushings isolate the engine from the driver, making the car quieter and smoother at idle because the OEM bushings allow the engine to "rock" during shifting and on-off throttle. The downside of stiffer bushings is you feel the engine vibrations at or near idle. This disappears above idle. So, here is my experience. I sometimes have trouble getting good shifts. The car jerks if the clutch release and throttle don't match the RPMs perfectly with ground speed. This is due to the engine rocking in the soft rubber OEM bushings. Soft rubber bushings are designed to appeal to the masses who are used to conventional cars. With the Polyurethane bushings, jerking is minimized, it is much easier to achieve crisp smooth shifts. Yes, the car feels more visceral, the driver feels more in touch with the engine. Feels more like a real sports car. In my opinion, as an aging, first-time Mini owner, these bushings greatly improved drivability. Bottom line - you can trust George for the correct advice.

I got this on as a part of a larger build involving several upgrades so I'm not sure how much of a benefit this was to my overall performance...however my old mounts at only 50K miles where already worn out. The difference in quality from these and the stock mounts are night and day and completely worth the price!

This is a quick and easy fix. Made the car much more responsive. I would however recommend raising idle by about 250PRM. This will alleviate any increased idle vibration.

Easy enough installation. Took my time and did it in under an hour. Soaping up the bushings for the re-install portion was a GREAT suggestion. I have a 2005 and found that if you are removing the 13mm (qty 4) bolts they it was far easier to remove the power steering fan as well. 2 more bolts and alot less headaches. As for the mod. Nice difference in the the offline pull. Makes your right leg feel like its in tune with the motor. Good moderate modification.

I agree with the rest of the comments about this bushing. Install was a snap, est 30 minutes! I think the hardest part was popping out the smaller factory bushing. There is a bit of cabin vibration felt with A/C on.. but not enough to bother me. The first thing I noticed was the firmness felt @ start up and initial take off from a stop...much more instant and smoother. The acceleration from low/mid RPM's is much firmer and nice(I love to "feel" what the car is doing. If you are going for more smoother power, and want to get in touch with what the engine/trans is feeling like, I highly suggest adding this to your MINI arsenal of mods.! Thanks Madness!