That has been quite a challenge, especially running very aggressive wheel and tire fitment. I ended up with the Powerflex Challenge car fixed camber control arms. We tried the adjustable bushings and they actually couldn't hold with the amount of power I have. I am eagerly awaiting the Vorschlag camber plates too - I'm going to add those as soon as they are available. The lack of camber adjustment is quite frustrating.

 

I love my springs but I want to go lower so I went with bilsteins pss10 and I love them. DDC is disconnect but I still get sport mode and my check engine lights or anything

 

I guess that would be me that you're quoting twitch. I dismissed no one for their choices. I have nothing against modifications at all. I was questioning why anyone would pay $500 for the DDC option and then throw it out in favor of a whole new suspension. Just makes more sense to do that with a standard suspension to me is all. I decided to go with springs on my sport suspension because of the research I had done on the feasibility and effectiveness of the modification. I looked into coil overs, but decided to go with springs. If in fact my shocks are adversely effected I will probably replace them with Koni's. I didn't assert anything. You inferred that I was saying something when in fact I was not. I have talked about many of my mods on this forum and given my opinions on them, but I don't tell anyone how to modify their car.

 

I didn't infer - you outright questioned why anyone would go coilover when they had DDC. Which is fine, if your personal need set is met by springs/DDC. But OP specifically was inquiring about coilovers, which means that probably springs have been researched and either didn't meet their needs or wanted something with more flexibility. The Mini DDC isn't like the Magnetic Suspension options on high end cars like the SRT Challenger, Camaro, CTSV/ATSV, or GT350/R. It is essentially a 2 valve set up - firm and soft. If it was dynamic like the other dampers mentioned this would be a whole different conversation. The DDC option isn't even as well damped as the Mini Sport option. DDC in sport is ~85% of the damping as the sport suspension. For most spring applications that leaves you very under damped.

And at least in my case, I didn't really have a choice. I bought my car off the lot, and it was spec'd this way. I wanted a specific set of other options, knowing I was going coilover and I didn't really care. Not everyone has the ability or the patience to order a car to their specs. Dealers have a wide range of cars on the lot, and if the price is right and everything else is met that's the one for them. So to dismiss throwing out the DDC for coilovers after paying for it A) it's 500 dollars in the scheme of a $30,000+ dollar car which doesn't really register as a meaningful number while financing and B) everyone has a different direction they go with their cars.

If the question had been "Has anyone done springs with DDC or sport suspension and what is your opinion" then great! You have relevant first hand experience. But the question was options for coilovers with DDC which means OP is looking for first hand experience with any issues/foibles/options with the DDC.

 

Understood. My car is a CPO that I found on the lot with most of the options I wanted, sport suspension being one of them. If I had to buy one that had DDC I would probably go with coil overs too. I still might eventually. I only have a couple of thousand miles on my setup and am still getting used to it. I'm heading to the Dragon next weekend and will see how it handles that road.

 

You'll do great! My brother in law has a really similar set up to yours (I think he went cravenspeed vs nm springs because of ride height) and it handles quite well on the track. The Dragon (Or probably more realistically the BRP because the last couple of times I went to The Dragon there were more police than people there driving) will quickly let you know what needs work still. I dialed my alignment in on the Dragon and up 81 in Harrisonburg VA (There are some crazy roads up there - very similar to the Dragon just way less traffic).

 

Yep, the alignment is what I'm looking at now. I already have the NM RSB, end links, and adjustable rear control arms. And, just last week my dealer replaced the front control arms and bushings. They aligned it yet again after doing that work. So, after three different alignments this year it handles and rides great on interstates and the country roads around home. Haven't been to Harrisonburg in a few years, but I'm familiar with the area. An old friend is a professor at JMU.

 

It's very difficult and challenging with the limited adjustability up front. I have -1.7 FL/FR with the Challenge car control arms, and a little bit of toe-out to counter the fwd understeer issue. Ideally I would like -2.2-2.5 front and more caster for quicker turn in and more lateral grip (caster isn't adjustable. you kind of have what you have). I'm hoping with the Vorschlag camber plates coming out soon there will be some more wiggle room. Stock even lowered you're looking at most -.6~.7 which with wider tires can give you the feeling of a numb wheel. (keep in mind I'm running tires with 245mm cross section so if you're narrower you won't need as much to get the same feel). The rear is easy - I'm running -2.5 out back, which allows for a little slip when you induce off throttle oversteer, but also gives you loads of grip loaded in the middle of a turn and I see you're running adjustable lowers which will allow a lot of camber or not too much depending on your needs. If you play with it a lot and find it still pushes, try the uppers (if you have LED/Auto Level lights you will need to either fabricate a bracket for the light sensors, or apparently some folks have zip tied it to the control arm with success. I welded a bracket onto my uppers). That will let you adjust toe in the rear. I'm running a touch of toe in in the rear to also induce oversteer.

 

Sorry for digging up this thread but can anyone answer if I can fit Bilstein B14 (which says is not for DDC) on a mini f56 JCW with DDC?
Are there physical differences that may prevent the fitment of the b14 on the car? and is it confirmed that unplugging the DDC won't cause fault codes and will still allow sport mode changes?

 

It will fit.
Pulling the DDC connectors WILL initiate a DDC error.

 

Does anyone have any experience with DDC + Springs? I want to go lower without breaking the bank, especially since I do have DDC.

I like that the ride is softer with dynamic suspension than the regular sport springs. I like to have more performance, but my car is a DD and I use it for work. The comfortable ride is a must, especially when I put it into Eco mode for stop-and-go LA traffic.

 

Just put Craven's on my F56 S JCW tune. After a couple of weeks, they settled in. Usually, I only drive in Sport mode, but the last few days I have been driving in Mid mode, in city traffic. The steering was the same as old Mid mode, but one call tell that the car is lower, even quicker responding. They do jar more with higher speeds and bad roads, especially in S mode. In town, Mid mode, not as much. My Garmin camera does sound an alarm beep once in a while going over overpasses (bump) and you do feel the road surface a lot more, but with a Big Pair and NM rear sway cornering/handling is outrageous. They make the MINI more "sportscaresque." Years ago I had a RX7 and put racing (think they were KV's) struts (old term) on it and it jarred the teeth. I had my dealership install the and kept the old springs. After watching some install videos, probably could have done it myself. If you do it yourself, it is well worth the money, good value MOD. Get it realigned afterwards as it does affect the rear camber.

 

I have H&Rs with DDC. Pretty stiff. But they pair well with the DDC dampers.

You would benefit more using Eibach springs, they have a softer ride. I believe NM springs are stiffer than Eibach, but not as stiff as H&R.

 

Can anyone second this answer? I am looking to buy almost new non-DDC coilovers to fit my DDC suspension. Does it fit fysically?

All reactions say that you don't get a DDC fault code except this response.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

 

I believe you have to get the coilovers with the DDC delete option - so it plugs in and just tells the system everything is working fine. KW specifically has DDC and non-DDC models.

To my knowledge, without the extra plug module, you will have error codes.

 

Interesting... I took out my DDC suspension and threw on Koni Special Active's. It's been a year or so since I've done it yet I haven't had a single problem or error come up...

 

I installed the KW Club Sports with DDC. I drove close to one hundred miles without fault codes before installing the KW cancellation modules. Still no faults with the modules. So did i really need to buy the cancellation modules? It does give me some peace of mind having the modules since I track this car. The last thing I would need is for the car to go into limp mode due to a DDC fault code with another car on my rear.

 

I had Koni Special Active Shocks & Struts installed on my 2019 MCS with DDC. The Indy BMW/Mini shop that installed the Koni's has a BMW/Mini diagnostic computer so they were able to read the fault codes that occurred from this installation.
Here are the fault codes that resulted from disconnecting the DDC shocks & struts.
482E85 EDC Valve coil, rear left, open circuit
482E89 EDC Valve coil, rear right, open circuit
482E8D EDC Valve coil, front left, open circuit
482E91 EDC Valve coil, front right, open circuit
No I do not have any warning lights on my instrument cluster after this installation. Also I have had a software update on my Mini at the Mini dealer since I had the DDC disconnected without any problems.

 

So I have been trying to do research on whether I can install non ddc coilovers in my 2015 jcw with DDC and everything I read was that you can’t without changing out the strut tops to non DDC items as the bolt width is different. Although the plug is just for blanking in the KW kit, it’s the bolt in the rear coilover that makes it differ from the non DDC model.

Can anyone confirm this? I have no issue unplugging the DDC and have read many posts that there is no visible error but I seen a lot saying the rear struts won’t work, but this thread contradicts that.
just want to confirm that people are installing non DDC coilovers without having to change their strut tops on their DDC minis.

Thanks!

 

This is the thread I wrote on 11-10-19 when I had Koni Special Active Shocks & Struts installed on my 2019 MCS. It contains all of the information on parts required to do the conversion.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nd-struts.html
This is the parts list of the parts required for the conversion
Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
31-30-6-884-184 Strut Mount $90.78 2 $181.56
31-30-6-864-551 Top Cover $5.16 2 $10.32
31-30-6-864-550 Cover Cap $5.71 2 $11.42
31-30-6-868-240 Strut Mount Gasket $7.96 2 $15.92
33-50-6-791-706 Shock Mount $63.19 2 $126.38
33-50-6-863-445 Top Cap $3.12 2 $6.24
The prices are from MiniPartsDirect.com

 

This is the parts list of the parts required for the conversion
Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
31-30-6-884-184 Strut Mount $90.78 2 $181.56
31-30-6-864-551 Top Cover $5.16 2 $10.32
31-30-6-864-550 Cover Cap $5.71 2 $11.42
31-30-6-868-240 Strut Mount Gasket $7.96 2 $15.92
33-50-6-791-706 Shock Mount $63.19 2 $126.38
33-50-6-863-445 Top Cap $3.12 2 $6.24
The prices are from MiniPartsDirect.com

 

Thank you so much for this, this is exactly what I was looking for and what I am going to do!

 

These prices are about two years old. You should shop around online for the best current prices.
Ron S