nm springs or entry level coiovers ?

[Stig One]

nm springs with koni adjustable struts or bc,h&r,kw v1 ,ebach muti pro ,megan coilovers ,which way would you go ?

Since purchasing a 2007 smart with a fried engine( perfect for a hyabusa conversion) plans have changed for my jcw from a hardcore track toy to a performance street car .

[lilgrasshopper]

i've seen those Smart4Two with hyabusa engine on youtube...pretty sweet. I'm hearing good things on the NM springs too...can someone put together a group buy for a better deal? I would just get the springs for now...until it blows then you can buy the Koni FSD or Bilstein Sports. That's what I would do.

[Stig One]

spoke to way motor works about the fsd konis,he said the fsd are not made for lowering springs.

[lilgrasshopper]

Oh that's weird. I don't see how money could be made if they made it for OEM. Glad you checked into it.

[darmog]

But they might be alright for less aggressive lowering springs like the NM. I know they did sell the FSD's with the Eibach sport spring kit for other cars. Not sure if there was ever a MINI application. Ron-S uses the FSD and NM springs together. I was thinking of using the same two things together, but damn, those FSD's are expensive. Might just go springs first till the oem's blow and then go with FSDs.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by Stig One

spoke to way motor works about the fsd konis,he said the fsd are not made for lowering springs.

Baloney. Direct from Koni website:

FSD Shocks

KONl`s latest technology accomplishes the task that has eluded most shock makers until now - great handling + excellent ride quality:

> Excellent ride quality on all road surfaces
> Available for most newer cars - more coming
> Pair with Eibach springs for 1"-1.5" lowering
> Gold metallic finish shocks
> Dark metallic gray springs in kits
> Less expensive than electronic systems
> Lifetime Warranty

Debating what to go with when my car arrives next month. #1 priority is getting rid of the fender gaps. #2 is handling/comfort. I'll probably pair FSD's with H&R Sport springs.. can't beat that combo for quality and longevity.

[countryboyshane]

There is just no replacement for the look coilovers give you stig. I have lowering springs, but dang I still have 3 fingers of gap in the rear!

[Stig One]

Yeah, my ast coilovers should be here in 6 to 8 weeks.

Did a dyno pull today with the riss exhaust and catless downpipe and pulled 220.26 whp

Bring on the rmw tune and then maybe the car will pull 240/250ish.

Shane
Tell the girls at Jasons i said hello

[etalj]

Hey stig did you just put the riss DP on, without the cat back?

If so could you post some sound clips?

if you have the full Riss turboback, you don't need to bother

Great numbers BTW

[Stig One]

catless with riss exhaust. sounds very loud but posted some good whp#s, have a supersprint turboback on order .

[etalj]

riss catback too? or factory JCW catback?

[Stig One]

riss catless downpipe and riss exhaust with resonater

[etalj]

oh ok. Thx

Not a fan of the Riss? Why are you swapping with supersprint?

[Stig One]

The riss is too loud for the wife .

[dunphyj]

Hey Stig... do you like the way the car handles stock? or do you want it more neutral? i have a quick table for the front/rear spring ratios.

>1 = front bias
<1 = rear bias

Stock - 0.708
Eibach - 0.715 (that's on the higher rate of the progressive spring 171/239)
TSW - 0.856 (225F / 269R)
NM - 0.854 (205F / 240R)
My Coilovers - 1.29 (based on race car setups for FWD, gives the car near neutral understeer at the limit rather than snap over steer.)

so basically if you enjoy the stock feel.. i suggest stay with stock or JCW rear sway, and go NM or TSW... NM for more comfort and best blend, TSW for less roll cuz of the higher rates. both will bring you to your ultimate end ... if you go coilovers i suggest getting ones that are double adjustable if you can. but from what you seemed to be throwing out there... i think the best option for you would be TSW or NM springs on Koni FSDs... sporty yet comfy... best of all worlds and a great compromise for autox and every day driving.

If you are going for primarily track and extremely honed canyon carver, then coilovers would be your better bet. KW V1s would be a very good choice in that situation... H&Rs are a little hard for every day driving IMHO, i don't think Tein makes anything for the R56 yet... i don't know much on power with MINIs but if there's one thing i consider myself very well versed in it's suspension setups ;)

[andyroo]

^ The problem with the stock spring rates or any lowering spring is that it's kind of deceiving.....the front springs are there and soft BUT you're working with the bumpstops 100% of the time....which spike the spring rate pretty quickly and lead to understeer.

Also, the rear motion ratio is not exactly 1.....so increasing the rear by 100 lbs/in does not have the same effect on balance as increasing the front by 100 lbs/in (in the opposite direction).

- andrew

[Stig One]

Originally Posted by dunphyj

Hey Stig... do you like the way the car handles stock? or do you want it more neutral? i have a quick table for the front/rear spring ratios.

>1 = front bias
<1 = rear bias

Stock - 0.708
Eibach - 0.715 (that's on the higher rate of the progressive spring 171/239)
TSW - 0.856 (225F / 269R)
NM - 0.854 (205F / 240R)
My Coilovers - 1.29 (based on race car setups for FWD, gives the car near neutral understeer at the limit rather than snap over steer.)

so basically if you enjoy the stock feel.. i suggest stay with stock or JCW rear sway, and go NM or TSW... NM for more comfort and best blend, TSW for less roll cuz of the higher rates. both will bring you to your ultimate end ... if you go coilovers i suggest getting ones that are double adjustable if you can. but from what you seemed to be throwing out there... i think the best option for you would be TSW or NM springs on Koni FSDs... sporty yet comfy... best of all worlds and a great compromise for autox and every day driving.

If you are going for primarily track and extremely honed canyon carver, then coilovers would be your better bet. KW V1s would be a very good choice in that situation... H&Rs are a little hard for every day driving IMHO, i don't think Tein makes anything for the R56 yet... i don't know much on power with MINIs but if there's one thing i consider myself very well versed in it's suspension setups ;)

I will set up the car to rotate on throttle lift off like i have my gt3 set up.

[jproz]

Originally Posted by Stig One

The riss is too loud.

Supersprint won't be any quieter.

Just my 2 cents. I do agree; the Riss is louder than I would like... but its quieter than the strat w/ Riss DP I had prior.

[Stig One]

Most of the noise in my car is from fitment and vibration,Anthony is being great about exchanging my unit for a system that he has himself hand fitted to a test mini.

I plan to use the Super sprint and the Riss systems as demo products at my shop and to display my car at PRI convention with the Riss racing system.

[jproz]

Originally Posted by Stig One

Most of the noise in my car is from fitment and vibration,Anthony is being great about exchanging my unit for a system that he has himself hand fitted to a test mini.

I plan to use the Super sprint and the Riss systems as demo products at my shop and to display my car at PRI convention with the Riss racing system.

Very cool!

[jproz]

Originally Posted by Stig One

nm springs with koni adjustable struts or bc,h&r,kw v1 ,ebach muti pro ,megan coilovers ,which way would you go ?

Since purchasing a 2007 smart with a fried engine( perfect for a hyabusa conversion) plans have changed for my jcw from a hardcore track toy to a performance street car .

Before I derail your thread entirely , I have the CROSS c/o's.
I like them ... but I do have my complaints.
I have the adjuster cables installed, but they don't appear to spin... I'll need to pull the shocks out to look and see why that is.
I also had a binding issue on the front (from the spring spinning during steering; this causes no damage, its just annoying and nerveracking), but have recently put some waxy substance on the perches (tech found it with another set he installed)... which seems to have fixed that issue for the time being.

I plan, at some point in the future, to replace the whole setup with AST.

[etalj]

Problem with a lot of aftermarket offerings is that the standard setups are geared toward street use moreso than track.

I would like something a little stiffer than 5 or 6 kg/mm springs on my coilovers.

However, I would like to get myself either AST or Ohlins. I don't think there's much else out there that'd interest me.

[dunphyj]

well my coilovers im running 6.25 kgmm rear and 8kg/mm front ;)

[etalj]

That sounds more like what I'm looking for.

[roadsterdoc]

Originally Posted by dunphyj

...so basically if you enjoy the stock feel.. i suggest stay with stock or JCW rear sway ... i think the best option for you would be TSW or NM springs on Koni FSDs... sporty yet comfy... best of all worlds and a great compromise for autox and every day driving...

JP, I like your idea of TSW or NM springs with Koni FSDs for your stated purpose. What width 17" wheel, tire size, and alignment settings do you recommend?

Stig, did you decide on a suspension setup? Your impressions?