Thanks for that Caster. So you have no prob recommending them then. The thing I like most about going coilovers besides the price is that I can lower my R56 MCS about 1" which no springs do yet.

 

Dude, with coilovers you can go pretty much as low as you want to go. I had 15's on my ride and the front bumper was literally on the ground.

And the thing about coilovers, you can adjust the height and put it pretty much where ever you want.

 

The issue with the R56's is that I only want to go down an 1". The JCW only drops the car 1/2" and springs drop it atleast 1 1/4". 1/2" isn't quite enough purely for esthetics and 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" and you're almost on the bumpstops.

Anyway, there aren't alot of R56's on coilovers so it's hard to get a good idea of what they're like.

 

wait... what?

 

wow

 

 

fmic ftw

 

I plan on going with coilovers. Sport suspension is $500 and lowering springs are about $200. That's $700. Lowering springs are not recommended with factory, non-sport suspension struts. For another $300, you can have coilovers that give you the ability to raise and lower your car when the mood strikes you. You get adjustable dampening. You can order new springs for higher or lower spring rates. Also, you can get camber plates to adjust your camber and possibly toe.

Personally, I want to be able to lower my car in the summer and raise it in the winter when it snows. I'd probably up the dampening and dial in neg. camber for the track too. Just my 2 cents.

 

Wow, I hadn't planned on adjusting mine at all once I got it where I liked it. Do you plan on H&R's or going with something like Cross? If I go coilovers, I'd just drive down to Portland and get H&R's off Alta.

 

I thought.... as long as the ride is not bouncy, the shocks were doing their job with the springs. So I ask people who have installed H&R on stock suspension and if the ride is bouncy? Is Howard bouncy?

 

I don't know where you live but, if you have to drive DOWN to Portland, you may want to consider raising the car in the winter unless they do a better job clearing your roads than they do around me. I'm not trying to turn my car into a snow plow.

I haven't searched for it on NAM but, I've seen rusting issues with coilovers on other car forums. I've seen a few people with $1500 JIC coilovers with big rust problems. Of course this depends on your maintenance and salty roads but, one brand may be better protected from rust than another....

Actually, I want to see if Megan Racing is going to come out with something for the R56 since they did for the R53. They should be around $850 if/when they're available.

 

Really? There seems to be conflicting advice on this point.

 

I certainly haven't looked at every vendor's offering but, a few (including Mach V springs) recommend using the sport suspension. One can only assume it's because of the different valving in the sport suspension. Lowering springs on non-sports struts may cause them to blow out. Some people may have success with lowering springs on their non-sport struts but, I'm not taking the chance.

 

Says WHO??? Mach V springs may recommend the sport shocks, but they aren't the only one making springs for the R56 man.

Dude, you're kinda talkin' out of your *** right now. There have been countless people on NAM (myself included) who have used H&Rs with non-sport shocks, and are experiencing no problems what-so-ever.

You're not gonna blow out your shocks unless you're bottoming out all the time. If you're bottoming out all the time, then your springs aren't doing their job.

Do a little research before you start preaching to people. :impatient

 

How many miles do you have on them so far?

I had sport shocks and H&R springs.....never bottomed them out. I never noticed the difference, but when i went to replace the struts with koni yellows....the stock shocks were completely blown. Many people have reported this issue on MINI's and other cars. The shocks aren't meant to run at the lowered ride height.....they will blow eventually.

The above is based on a first gen car...but i think it's safe to assume that not much has changed....especially considering the smaller amount of travel on the r56's. It's common for all cars (not just mini's) to experience premature wear on the suspension when just lowering springs are installed.

 

you are forgetting the additional sway bar size which will make a big difference. Aftermarket will too (even more if you get 22mm rear) but you should consider that it comes with the SS for 500.

 

How many miles do you expect from the shocks in a set of coilovers?

I'm debating coils versus SS+springs. If the shocks will last twice as long, then the $ delta shrinks.

 

If the JCW suspension set up is very stiff, I might have to go that route.
But if there is not much difference in the stiffness.....

 

We actually have many customers now who have put the Mach V Technic springs on non-Sport shocks, and say the result is great. We designed and tested them on Sport shocks, but that doesn't mean non-Sport won't work. It just means we didn't do extensive testing with them.

It actually sounds like Sport and non-Sport shocks don't differ very much.

--Dan
Mach V
FastMINI.net

 

Trust me, 99% of people with coilovers NEVER adjust their ride height once they're installed. Why? It's a huge chore. As mentioned, the threaded bodies get grit and corrosion on them, which makes moving the perches difficult, if not impossible. Even if they were pristine, it's quite time consuming. Jack up car, remove wheel, adjust coilover, repeat x 4, replace wheels, put car back on ground, evaluate height, repeat until done.

I'm not saying coilovers aren't worth it. I'm just saying, don't think you're going to adjust the ride height all the time. Nobody I know does that.

--Dan
Mach V
FastMINI.net

 

Easy tiger! No need to get hostile. Notice the word "may", as in may happen or may not. The fact is nobody really knows the long term affects yet. Wouldn't you agree that BMW designed the shocks for a certain ride height? Consider that changing that height "may" have adverse affects on your shocks on the long run. This certainly isn't a novel concept. I can site numerous examples of this on other car forums. Hell, it happened to a car I own (non-MINI). Though it's possible that factory MINI shocks are up to the task. Personally, I'm not taking the chance. Worst case, you can always get some aftermarket shocks (e.g. koni's)

Thanks man! I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. However, I'd feel remiss if I didn't share my past experiences and things I've seen with other cars.

 

yeah, that's true. I didn't consider it since I'd want the bigger 22mm either way. But your right, that does enter the price delta.
Yeah, I'm concerned about the corrosion issue. I'll have to look into what others do to prevent this. Any suggestions?

As for adjusting suspension, my 240sx friends and track day friends are always tinkering away to find the best look or functional track setup. It's labor of love, haha

 

I think that is a little too pessimistic.

You just have to jack and wheel, use a allen key and turn the perch. If they are dirty you can just clean the threads with a toothbrush, they use acme theads so they are very robust to dirt.

Granted i only have used the GroundCotrol sleeves on Koni with Eibach ERS shocks and Bilstine PSS, ERS springs on KONI 3030's... but i could trim ride height on the car in about 5 mins, in between autoX run without issues.

But true for road application, once the car is corner weighted making changes that are not predetermined can give you a wedge and make handling off in one direction.

 

this is jcw suspension with mach v springs and goodyear f1 all season....the ride it pretty rough on big city streets, but very sporty...not for the faint of heart

 

That's one nice looking MINI. Ride height is perfect. Can't argue with the colour either.