Thanks for the honest and complete review on AirLift

 

Thanks ECS
Also I.now know where to go if I need another air setup shipped quickly..

Which is looking like sooner than later.....my wife wants her new jcw on air as well..

 

You are welcome.

 

Ecs...do you sell the 2013 R56 kits...I can't find them?

 

Some interesting news to update with.

I went to another car meet..local and met with some interesting folks. One of them explained that even though he's heard of people tracking AirLift products he still feels that they would be demolished by coilover setups.

This gave me a pretty cool idea for an independent test.

So.....I'm working with some friends at a local racing shop in neighboring Washington to help get this idea off the ground.

The idea is to take from the test AirLift did a while back by using just my car as the control and the two different types of suspension.
For those unaware of the test AirLift performed....

THEY alighned, set ride hieght and stiffness as well as corner balance the car to match when fitted with either air or coils.
We will be doing the same thing against some high end coilovers and disclosing brands as I am an independent reviewer.
The hope is that the AirLift claims are true and this will not only be some blog worthy tire screech session but rather a way to inform people they don't have to smash their oil pan daily.
I know there are many people that daily and track their cars so why put up with a constant low sqatted stance that makes one clench when a pebble is on the freeway.

This should be fun. We're currently sorting out just which coil to use for comparison but most we have considered are in the $1,600-$2,900 and once we narrow it down tomorrow I will post up the coils being used.

Currently also finding I I need to do my thermostat gasket
I'm just going to try to do the supercharger service and that in the same day.
I also found a great deal on an OSG 1.1 diff and FX200 clutch combo that I couldn't pass so....more down time for MINI..... :-(

 

Yeah air has come a long way in the last 10 years. Ours is on JIC Cross competition coilovers with Swift springs which are awesome, but with the new systems coming out now, I would love to swap them out for air. It will be awhile though since we just put in the newly built RMW motor and Aquamist meth kit.

 

Those cross are very nice......I've ran them on many race/dd cars ! We're looking at Ohlins or entry level moton right now just so no one can say ....there are more expensive brands that will take them out.
I'm aware that full track suspension is used on some dd cars....but very infrequently .So this test us a good baseline for those interested in premium price suspension for DD/track use.
I'm hoping the test turns out some good results fir AIR.
Your car is already amazing....but on Air....well you know

 

For Gen 2 MINI no airlift factory all in one kit yet, they are working on it, but no eta. Thanks

 

Hey Spencer, contact this guy in this thread here. He might be able to help you.

 

We will let you know when the kit comes out, that kit link is a modified Gen 1 Kit, not a full factory bolt in kit from Airlift.

" My car at full drop is approximately 5.25" below stock. I didn't modify anything on the car.
My struts are the Air Lift Performance models for the 1st Gen Mini. I machined new upper camber plates for the front, and used adapters from FastMini for the rear lower strut mounts- everything else bolted directly into place. "

 

There's a guy on motoringunderground that is selling airlift for a gen 2

 

Hey everyone! Sorry for the brief absence but I needed time to figure out this logistics nightmare of a comparison test.

Things are shaping up nicely
Coilover price range we settled on is around 3k
The reason....this system costs 3k and performs additional functions beyond coils (ie hieght change).
Track will be in SoCal at my old stomping grounds Irwindale Speedway!

Also thanks ECS and Pelican. I'm going to purchase some 2013 hats. Again GOOD INFO from the pros! Once I take some measurements and order my wheels I'll be needing that gen 1 AirLift kit from you this time ECS!

And to Batrugger......It's a gen 2 Airlift performance...OR.. Slam Series?

Lowered the ride hight another .3" inches and its riding even better and lower ...both front and rear tire are tucked under the fender arches...and still not rubbing
I've daylight breaks I'll snap some pictures!

More to come
Thank you all for your interest.

 

You are welcome. We have them in stock.

 

I knew you did!
I'm told the rear top hat design is going to be tricky as well.
I took a look at my minis and the top portion is the same but the underside of the tophat has an angled piece underneath it. This is so it takes the stress of the joint where the strut rod top and bag top attach to camber plate when aired down and in motion. We have to duplicate that or affix the old unit from the gen 1 kit to the 2013 hats. Once I make the front camber plates, rear tops and lower control arms I'll have a better idea since I can just pull my unit off and test run everything.

 

Here it is for an R56:

http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...ad.php?t=25812

Airrex strut kit, no management

 

Ah I see its an Airrex kit....thanks batrugger! That might cut down in my fab bill..I will need to contact him/her

 

Update!
I've been working on the car all this time and completely forgot to name her......so
My car shall be called

"(Low)retta"

Also
I've not found the set of wheels I'm set on yet for show purposes but I am thinking about buying some ESM001 for daily driving. I think the 16x8+35 is a great offset for daily duty...in fact I don't think it will even require camber adjustments for "fitment".

Other than that ill have some shots if the new steering wheel up this weekend.
Week after some major work is gong into the MINI.
Cam
440cc
Fuel rail
Thermo gasket
Supercharger maintenance
Motor mounts
And I'm obviously going to have to whip out my laptop and tune it for xxxx amount of time.

Things are shaping up
Jcw carbon dash full kit is at customs!
GP IC at customs!
And my euro parcel tray arrives today!

More to come
Thanks for reading
Cheers

 

Update!
So tomorrow my new winter DD wheels arrive
I ordered a set if ESM OO1 wheels 16x8+35 as stated before
Here's a pic for reference...these are not my own wheels just reference.. but I will have them mounted by Wed..


I love the simplicity of the wheel, they also remind me of my old E30M on real Bridgestone DTM s...and I couldn't beat the offset.
I ordered a new OEM genuine thermostat with gasket set, thermostat housing,New OEM Rad hoses, New OEM radiator and other goodies(mainly hard to reach sensors) to give me many more trouble free miles post HP upgrades.

The Bill tallies but this car is so worth it.

I took some really nice shots of the car this weekend but I ended up munching my plastic fender arches so I had to order those as well.
Heres a nice pic of the MINI right now just done on a friend's phone



I'll have some more amazing shots of before and after once the new wheels are mounted
Cheers all

 

I like those. Look like the old Compmotives

 

This was what I based my initial decision off of.
Then when I called ESM they confirmed its styled similar.
Problem is.....I cannot find these wheels anywhere again.
I owned one set in the early 90s...then they disappeared from the market haha

 

Good luck on the search. old school wheels there.

 

I love em, it's a popular old skool style. My Schmidts share it. Here's the Compmotives:

 

I remember those....
If I run no center cap those are dead ringer....minus wieght....

 

Update!
The Mini was rear ended yesterday. A woman pulled to a stop behind me then since she was "in a hurry" she misjudged the space going around me and hit me.

There is no body damage but...the driver side rear suspension is bent 1.58" forward (does anyone make billet upper arms)

So I've dusted off my toy today and put it into service








Also the new wheels came


Hopefully ill have good news to share soon but the mini will be in the body shop for a bit

For now I'll enjoy pure terror

 

SPC rear lower adjustable arms can be used on the top also. But if you have xenon , the auto levelers are there and they will need to be somehow mounted, unless you took them out because you are lowered anyway.