H&R, Megan Racing, or TEIN?

[Phillip]

Hello all, again. I was wondering which coil overs I was gonna get. I was thinking of either the TEIN SS coilovers, H&R Coil-Over RSS Club Sport, or the Megan Racing Coilover Damper Kits - Street Series. I like driving in the MTNS, and I do show off a lil bit locally so.... What do you all think? Any negative experiences?

[jerjer]

Tein= very aggressive, hard spring rates at 9k f&r i believe

H&R= reputable brand, excellent quality in my experience ( my first choice if money is not a factor)

Megan= decent quality, can't say they are the best made products out there, but great package for it's price, i believe there are alot of options with custom springs and others..

purely my personal opinion, since i'm looking into coilover choices lately too.

[RedSkunk]

The Megans have both linear rate springs and built-in camber plates. A set will go up for sale in the forums once in awhile, I'd love to snag a used pair.

[ChrisW]

I've got the Megans, for the price they can't be beat. They are a b***h to get right but once you get them right they are great. Hope this helps.

[caster]

H&R's all the way. Had them on VW's and on my mini now and never have had any problems.

[Phillip]

I am also looking at BC Racing Coilovers as well. I have been searching Coilover threads for the past 4+ hours.

[brownflyer]

My 2 cents worth,
Tein SS are 2 way adjustable (ride height and dampening)
H&R are only 1 way (ride height), I think (I'm sure someone will correct me)
Megan are 3 way adjustable (ride, damper, pre-load) + built in camber plate

Megans are the cheapes of the bunch for everything that they have to offer. However, I love the TEIN with the EDFC (but now you're talking whole new level).

I agree with Jerjer, even 8kg spring rates are pretty aggresive for street. IMO

+1 on what ChrisW said. Once you hit the sweet spot...ahhh, heaven!

[brownflyer]

yeah, I think BC and Megan come from the same manufacturer.

[kyriian]

I have the H&R RSS coilovers, believe me, it isn't serene smooth, but, on the track it is unbelieveable! i had koni yellows before, and honestly i do not miss losing dampering adjustments, as i know an engineer at H&R picked a good dampering rate to match the springs... one less thing for me to worry about

[CooperStL]

No problems at all with the Megans. Using Ground Control GC spec'd Eibachs (375#/335#). A tad stiff for street, but great on the track and off-ramps. My camber maxed out at -1.8.

EB

[Phillip]

It looks like I am going to get the Megans, I will let all of you know how it goes, when i get them in and an alignment done. This out to be fun fun fun.

[wrxmini]

the h and r rss coilovers are great,i done a lot of looking around before i bought mine,great for the money, however if you do go for them make sure you buy them with 2.5 spring seat,it will give you more options for changing spring rates later, also if you are using camber plates to get max camber gain.At max camber it is a good idea to cut about 1/4 inch off of the sway bar end link tab,it will rub very slightly

[J_D]

Originally Posted by Phillip

It looks like I am going to get the Megans, I will let all of you know how it goes, when i get them in and an alignment done. This out to be fun fun fun.

I am very interested in the outcome.
I road raced motorcycles for a few years and find is very hard to compromise on what one company thinks the rates- rideheight- and dampening should be.

[meb]

My experience with H&R Sport coilover - not RSS - was horrible. The provided front spring length is wrong, very wrong. They were supposed to bring a fix on-line and Turner was working with H&R. I have no idea if this has been fixed. But if you install these, look thru your wheels to the springs. If you see one working coil - all other touching - they are the wrong springs. Even if you turn your car into a snowplow, you might gain another half coil.

Megan had their share of problems and I worked many of these out. Just make sure that the front bumpstops are identical to the rear. Also, Depending upon the spring rate you ask for or they provide, spring length will need to be altered. I ahd 469# springs up front and these need to be longer than the 375 variety. If you do buy Eibachs, you can ask Ground Control for their Mini only front springs. These are slightly barrel shaped like the stock springs. This design allows the coils to somewhat fall inhto one another yielding a little more travel.

The Megan set up is a super high value kit. In addition, it offers the ability to adjust ride height without affect travel. I put about 80K miles on these(?) and a bunch of track days. The cylinders are replacable for about $75.00 each and these will wear. I wouldn't expect much more than 35-40K miles from these. They leak or the performance will drop off. But, that is a very inexpensive replacement. Perform meticulous re-installs and you might be able to stay away from the alignment shop.

[meb]

My experience with H&R Sport coilover - not RSS - was horrible. The provided front spring length is wrong, very wrong. They were supposed to bring a fix on-line and Turner was working with H&R. I have no idea if this has been fixed. But if you install these, look thru your wheels to the springs. If you see one working coil - all other touching - they are the wrong springs. Even if you turn your car into a snowplow, you might gain another half coil.

Megan had their share of problems and I worked many of these out. Just make sure that the front bumpstops are identical to the rear. Also, Depending upon the spring rate you ask for or they provide, spring length will need to be altered. I ahd 469# springs up front and these need to be longer than the 375 variety. If you do buy Eibachs, you can ask Ground Control for their Mini only front springs. These are slightly barrel shaped like the stock springs. This design allows the coils to somewhat fall inhto one another yielding a little more travel.

The Megan set up is a super high value kit. In addition, it offers the ability to adjust ride height without affect travel. I put about 80K miles on these(?) and a bunch of track days. The cylinders are replacable for about $75.00 each and these will wear. I wouldn't expect much more than 35-40K miles from these. They leak or the performance will drop off. But, that is a very inexpensive replacement. Perform meticulous re-installs and you might be able to stay away from the alignment shop.

[AutoXCooper.com]

Originally Posted by meb

Megan had their share of problems and I worked many of these out. Just make sure that the front bumpstops are identical to the rear. Also, Depending upon the spring rate you ask for or they provide, spring length will need to be altered. I ahd 469# springs up front and these need to be longer than the 375 variety.
The Megan set up is a super high value kit. In addition, it offers the ability to adjust ride height without affect travel. I put about 80K miles on these(?) and a bunch of track days. The cylinders are replacable for about $75.00 each and these will wear. I wouldn't expect much more than 35-40K miles from these. They leak or the performance will drop off. But, that is a very inexpensive replacement. Perform meticulous re-installs and you might be able to stay away from the alignment shop.

I emailed my Rep at Megan, yes we check email on weekends , sent him this posting, here is his response "Early, there was an issue with Suspension travel.. they have been taken care of though and a higher spring rate is utilized." This system in not on my site yet, but I do carry all the Megan Racing parts for MINI's, just PM me with any question.

[meb]

The problems were two fold, bumpstops that were too big and during this fix they decided to increase front spring rate. Okay, fine, but...they retained the same length spring. Just make sure you have the correct spring length for the rate and travel required. Eibach/Ground control have a great Eibach spring rate chart. you can play a few games with similar lengths, but change the rates and you'll see what happens to spring travel.

[SharoSC02]

Originally Posted by Phillip

It looks like I am going to get the Megans, I will let all of you know how it goes, when i get them in and an alignment done. This out to be fun fun fun.

Have you considered Cross?

[Phillip]

I had, but for lack of funding, I am going to get the Megans. Wanted to stay under $1400. Got a slight budget, with items that are worn and in need of replacing.......

[03Indigo]

...

[Chase]

I ran Bilstein shocks with H&R springs. it was ok, but not what i was looking for.

I then switched to the tein ss with edfc. I absolutley loved that set-up. The only catch was i couldnt run camber plates with any camber too them.

So i am now running H&R coils, They are a bit on the soft side for me, they are great for daily driving and running around town. They are more comfortable than stock and you can slam the car if you so please.

However, if i had my choice i would be getting KW variant II's or III's. I like a more stiff ride though. I also like that i can change my dampening rates so i can play and test out things. But out of the three that you have provided, if you plan on mainly just crusing and showing the car i would get the H&R's, comfort, good quality, the dampeing is just fine for canyon carving.

[nparker]

Those of you with Megans, do they come with the top hat for the rear like the BC or do you have to re-use the stock piece?

Thanks!

[03Indigo]

...

[meb]

Cross, by the way, have all of the same design feathures as Megan. But, these are in a completely different ball park where durability is concerned. Hence, the price difference.

[sprp85]

my vote goes for H&R too.. well H&R sport.
Too many features aren't always a good thing.. trust me