Hello I have read numerous different things people have said about what you should do to lower the car such as: springs or coilovers, I am choosing springs and I believe I am going with H&R, bumpstops (choosing not to cut mine and just get new ones), front camber plates, rear adjustable lower control arms, aftermarket struts.

So I plan to at this time just street the car and like most people don't want to go super low but want to get rid of some of the wheel gap, rolling on stock 15s. I am wanting to do it properly and have as close to stock camber as possible as I do not want camber wear on my tires. Is everything listed necessary, or is some of it optional and I can still achieve the desired requirements? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

If you choose to go through with lowering springs the other mods you mentioned are not really necessary. I had H&R springs installed on my car alone w/ out any supporting mods like you mentioned and experienced no uneven tire wear after one year of use. If you choose coilovers front end links and rear control arms are a must. Camber plates are needed for extreme drops only. I did eventually choose to go with ST coilovers as the ride with H&R springs is pretty rough. Coilovers are a better choice in my opinion

 

Hijacking in progress...but Ollie625, I assume you went with the H&R 1.2 inch lower springs. So...I have a set of used ones with 8k miles on them. Install those with no other mods needed, plug-and-play? Or do I need to change anything besides getting a good alignment job?

 

I am actually now looking at the Megan Racing Euro Street coilovers. For the price I can get them from my parts store compared to NM springs and Koni yellows, the Megan's are about $300 cheaper. I have not read needing front end links, why would I need those?

 

Yes, about the same price, until you decide that they were a mistake in the first place, and have to buy the Koni's and NM springs anyway. Do it once, do it right the first time. It's cheaper in the long run.

 

When I first lowered my car I went with the NM springs only and nothing else. I was happy with the ride.

I did add adjustable control arms and an alignment a month later. I was planning on adding koni yellows but got a good deal on coilovers and went even lower.

This is definitely DIY. Don't even need spring compressors during the install. It's helpful to have the special socket for the top nut when installing the fronts.

 

With the H&R springs the drop is pretty mild so an alignment is the only thing needed in my opinion. When you start to drop the MINI lower than 2 inches is when you'll need adjustable rear control arms. With drops 2 inches or lower the stock rear control arms are unable to maintain stock camber measurements. Again this is just in my experience!

 

Stock front end links are too long for aftermarket coilover systems on the MINI. You'll need to pick up a set, they only cost about 60$. When it comes to suspension setups it's always worth going for quality instead of the cheaper options. Not to say Megan coilovers are bad quality, but I have heard that they do not last very long. ST coilovers that I'm currently on have a 5 year warranty. Koni yellows better yet have a lifetime warranty I believe

 

So would anyone recommend anything over the Koni yellows and the NM springs? Within a $1000 price range? Coilovers or spring/strut combo. This is the first I've heard of needing the front links with only a 1.2" drop or so. I'll never want more than 1.2" or so.

 

Endlinks are suggested for the front AND rear when you lower the car. The will make it possible to return the swaybar back to the neutral position.

They are not absolutely required though.

 

[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHifkoITKYE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHifkoITKYE[/URL
Go to 21:30, Some coilovers including ST and Vmaxx require an adjustable front end link as the stock is too long and doesn't allow connection to the front sway bar

 

And some need longer ones to return back to a neutral position. Like the Bilstein PSS10.

So I guess verify when make your purchase.

 

Do tell..what is the special socket? I have never installed Co's but looks fairly simple

 

Swift springs on Koni Yellows.

ALL my cars get these!!

 

It's so you can tighten the nut while holding the inner part with an hex key when installing the front struts. Not needed for the rears.

http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2652183/

 

I think that there are many wise statements here. For $1000, you can get a solid strut/spring setup, or a low end coil over setup. There is also the used option.

One thing that cannot be overlooked is the bump stops. When I first put the TSW springs on my stock struts, I kept the stock bump stops. The ride was very harsh, then I realized I was basically running on the bump stops all the time. I bought the Waymotorworks stops, but would try the fatcatmotorsports.com setup if I was doing it again.

Are you going to be doing the install yourself? It seems like most people need a set of lower control arms for the rear, but I don't think that sway bar endlinks are required for a moderate drop like you are looking for. Without the rear control arms, your car may have too much negative camber, which will increase tire wear on the inside edges. These cars are setup with lots of negative camber in the rear already, you don't want more than about 2 degrees (I think stock max is 1.8, IIRC).

NM springs have a good reputation, I'm happy with my TSW's. I would give your vendor a call to find out what they think about your setup. Use one of the vendors that advertise here, pricing is usually similar and they help make this forum possible. I personally have had good luck with Way Motor Works and ECS, but have heard good things about Pelican and MiniMania also.

Have fun,
Mike

 

One thing that I forgot to mention: some cars have a rubbing problem with the passenger side half shaft and the A/C line, my did. When you are looking in the passenger side wheel well, see if there is a clean stripe on the axle shaft. If there is, you will likely have matching wear mark on the aluminum pipe running above the axle. A couple of zip ties to secure the A/C hose securely to the chassis will do it.

If you have rubbing now, it will only get more frequent when the car is lowered, and eventually wear a hole in the A/C line.

Have fun,
Mike

 

My vendor doesn't carry NM so those would come from probably Way. However the Koni struts are a good deal cheaper from my vendor. Not sure I would want to go the used route, at least not for struts maybe springs. Swift is out of my budget point for springs.
But yes I do intend to do the drop myself and I do plan to get bump stops and lower control arms.

 

Give WMW a call for opinions, then see if they can match the other price that you have on the Koni's. Koni runs a sale a couple of times per year, usually about $200 off retail price. Way could tell you when that is, if you are able to wait.

Have fun,
Mike

 

I will give them a call tomorrow. Assuming they are closed today

 

maybe look at a roll center adjuster

 

What is a roll center adjuster?

 

Thank you