I am looking at lowering my r56 non-s. I don't track it and doubt I ever will. That being said I am looking at getting NM eng. alpha springs with Koni yellows or either Megan racing coil overs or the ST. coilovers. I am not wanting more than 1.2"-1.5" of drop. Either setup I am going to run hsport rear control arms and WMW bump stops. I want a ride close to stock feel. Adjustability isn't really big to me as long as it is comfortable on the street. I currently have a hsport rear sway bar 25.5mm hollow set on the middle setting.

I thought I made up my mind on the springs and koni yellows, however the cost is comparable to quite a few coilovers and even costing more than some. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

Bump anyone?

 

Most people dont adjust the coilovers once they have them set the way they want them. Also Konis have a lifetime warranty which you cant beat. Also coilovers tend to start leaking a little after some time. Much faster than shocks and struts do.

 

Coilovers tend be be a bit more fragile (in road use, a good pothole can make one fail), and the typical unit you are pricing compared to lowering springs is a pretty cheap coilover, lacking adjustibilty....having been devolped just for the lowering crowd...and they tend to ride VERY firm on their softest setting.
A GOOD coilover CAN be superior, but not at your price point IMO, or till maybe 2x more...

 

I would like to be around $1k not including the control arms. What would be my best option in that range?

 

Call Way at WMW, he is probably asked this question lots.

My opinion: At your price point, you can get a nice set of shocks/springs (like you selected) or a low end set of coil overs.

If you are looking for a street car, and don't plan on changing things much, then you should be happy with the yellows/NM. I'm happy with my yellow/TSW setup. I also have the WMW bump stops, but had failures (I'm still running the damaged ones without known problems). When I put the black stops on my stock shocks with TSW springs, it helped the ride significantly. When I disassembled the system to install my yellows, I found that two of the stops had sheared into a cylinder-inside-a-cylinder. I didn't have replacement parts, so that is what I've been running. If I was doing it again, I would look at the fatcatmotorsports.com bump stops. FWIW, I continue to buy things from WMW and never complained about the bushings to them, it is a great company.

If you go with yellows, you cannot adjust the rear shocks on the car. I have mine set about 1/4 turn off of full soft and am happy. Fronts are adjustable on the car.

I know that there are Bilstein shocks available for similar price as the Koni's, and I don't know if they are better or worse than Koni's.

Koni also runs specials a couple times per year (April, I think), but I don't know how quickly you want to spend $$$$.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Look into the Fat Cat Motorsport bump stops. Amazing difference with stock springs and the Koni Yellows. I'm guessing the same could be said for lowering springs also, but no experience with them. Shaik at FCM has a wealth of knowledge. Videos on the site are eye opening. I believe he will steer you towards Bilstein's. He specializes in custom valving (that you may not need).

 

How much are their bump stops?

 

One more bit of info...folks rave about swift springs...I'd look at that route..
The old tsw springs WERE swift (rumor), the newer one are rumored to be KW....
But that having been said, wmw knows his stuff.

 

Swift springs paired with Koni yellows are out of my price range.

 

FCM front and rear bumps are listed at $108, but please do not make your purchase on price alone. Go to the website and watch his shock and bumpstop video series. I am in no way knocking the WMW bumps. I have no experience with them.


I made the bumpstop switch first with OEM sport shocks and then a year later added the KONI Yellows. The bumpstop switch was the greatest change in handling and comfort by far. The MINI rides on the bumpstops during spirited cornering. It makes sense that they would affect the handling the most.

 

ditto, springs struts and bumps.

for daily/spirited driving, coilovers would be overkill, and at the price point probably a step backwards. normal shocks will last longer and are way more weather proof

 

http://ksportusa.com/products/coilovers/kontrol-pro/

 

I'm interested in this thread too. I'm interested in either the Megan Racing EZ Street or Racing coilovers. The VMAXX coilover also pique my interest but the Megan Racing EZ Street CO's are just $150 bucks more for one notch above the VMAXX.

Anyone have the VMAXX or Megan Racing brands and can comment to the OP's first post?

 

I'm reading more about the bump stop option at Fat Cat Motorsport, so what is the best front/rear shocks and springs for the 1st GEN MCS R53? I still want to lower it at least 1 inch or less.

What's the hype with coilovers vs shocks/springs to lower?

 

coilovers are fully adjustable spring tension and ride height... I have always done shocks and springs but after getting the KSport coilovers ill never go back

 

Is it true that non-s cooper comes from the factory with FRONT bump stops - no rear bump stops? What's required to add bump stops to all four corners?

 

There are bump stops front and rear, mounted just below the upper mount around the shock rod.

Mike

 

What are all the parts needed for the Koni Yellow and spring setup? Conversely,what are all the parts needed for the Megan EZ Street Coilovers?

Koni Yellows or Koni FSD's?
Which lowering springs for street use?
Which bump stops? Fat Cat or WMW? (I can't get WMW to ship internationally)
What else is needed?

Megan EZ Street Coilovers?
Camber Plates? Are they for front or rear or both?
Tower or Strut defenders?

 

Either spring or coilovers will likely need a pair of adjustable rear control arms to get the alignment in spec after lowering. Some people haven't needed them, but I suspect that you will.

Camber plates are just for the front suspension, and are an upgrade. With the Koni's you could reuse your existing plates.

Strut tower defenders are for first gen cars primarily, I haven't read about mushrooming on second gens.

Springs for street (with Koni's), I have TSW and like them, but I've heard they are on back order. NM is another option with good reviews.

FSD's are for stock ride height, yellows are for lowered cars.

If you have the budget, try the FCM bump stops. If not, people have cut down the stock bump stops (I hear that the NM springs recommend this).

I think that the Megans come with camber plates and mounts, so that should be it, except for the rear control arms.

Have fun,
Mike

 

I understand that Megan coilovers are made from Taiwan how reliable are this coils?

 

I've decided to go with the Megan EZ Street CO's. They're made by BC which are also made in Taiwan. At least they are not made in mainland China.

I decided to try these as my first suspension setup because they have fewer settings, reviews have been great, the shocks and springs are all made by Megan, reports are they ride better than stock and still take the corners better than shock/spring setups and I can lower the car. I can add Megan rear control arms and M7 front strut brace and tower bar as upgrades if I decide to get more aggressive.

This is going to be my daily driver, my daily commute is only 5 minutes to and from work and a weekend twisty road blaster. We have the best roads in the world for twisties here in Australia and I'm only 20mins from the Great Ocean Road and an hour from Black Spur.

My only concern is they will wear out in a few years, at that point I'll goto Koni Yellows and lowering springs.

 

So you're going to go from coilovers to shock/spring combo? I feel that majority of people do the other route. Unless there is something inherently wrong with your coilover setup. I understand the decline in coilovers may be quicker than shock/spring combo, but with high quality coilovers such as TCKline Racing, and Ohlins, the rebuild interval is quite high. Although there are much more expensive coilovers such as AST, JRZ, their rebuild intervals are quite short, but you get a much better handling setup for that period of time.

I would save up for the TCKline racing coilover setup if you're going that route. It is a lot of money though, but the return is unbelievable handling and reliability.

 

I have the OEM shocks and springs so I'm going over to Coilovers.

 

Let us know what you think. Some people are very positive on Megans, other's have expressed durability issues. Hopefully they work out well for you.

Have fun,
mike