Hey just wondering if anyone has lowered their mini?? I have a '02 S and thinking about lowing it 2". Pretty sure I need new shocks, when I was driving back I went over this bouncy stretch of the highway (they need to fix it bad) and it kept bouncing for a while. Which by my knowledge of racing.... should not happen. So wondering how a Cooper looks lowered. Post pics if you have :3

 

Bag it and you get best of both worlds.

 

I opted for springs instead of coils or bags, simply due to the fact that I will probably sell the MINI sometime within the next year or so. Lowered only 1.5" H&R Springs with the factory 17" wheels.

 

I might be alone, but IMO my R53 is plenty low enough stock. I did upgrade to Koni shocks all around.

 

My wife's Clubman will not be lowered as she says we already have a Kidney buster in the family, My 66 mustang with Koni adjustable shock and Shelby suspension, not a GT350, Notchback with a black Vinyl top stock wheels widened to 7" and stock hub caps stock engine that was balanced/blueprinted back in 66 have had since we got married nearly 50 years ago. 98,000 mile and still runs great about 300hp. Nice thing is I can work on it without killing my self. If I happen to get my own Mini, I might but probably not, to many speed bump and curbs to bottom out on and it wouldn't be use for competition, drive to old.

 

Bet you shocks/struts are DEAD...
I changed my OEM ones out at about 40,000 miles and 4 years...
They still has SOME rebound left...but not like a new strut...
Tossed a set of koni FSD'S in....never looked back...
Ride is great, actually better than the day I took delivery, handling is likewise at least as good....
My tire wear is PERFECT...no edge wear from camber issues, like on many lowered cars...no choppy ride...2 inches in a MINI IS slammed...Some folks have huge tire issues, and CV joint issues...just know what you are getting into.... 1 inch or so is pretty safe...more...get out your $$$.
Lowering is mostly for looks..done RIGHT you can get a slight improvent in actual handling...but get the spring rate wrong...and ride suffers...
Gen1 mini's biggest suspension issue is lack of travel...lowing makes it worse...and a hard riding car is not always the best handling..... Anybody with gocart time can tell you that....you need some compliance to matain grip....and I bet your struts/shocks are pretty dead...

 

Have been lowered on coils for a few hundred thousand miles. Lovei
Ir!

Nik

 

I'm also debating myself which way to go. Leaning towards the fsd's because I'm after the smooth ride, and then I see some mini's on the road with an obvious drop and they look appealing to me. Right now my mini looks a bit lowered but thats because the shocks are shot. Would like to know/see how the fsd's/oem springs look like. Does the tire gap really that big? I'm ready to pull the trigger for a susp setup, just lost which way to go:(

 

Also I got the mushrooming, so any piece of advice would be much appreciated

 

If you plan to use FSD shocks do not lower your MINI, it will shorten the life of the FSD's.

I'm using a JCW suspension kit, it lowered my MINI about 1/2". There are times I miss that 1/2" of ground clearance, but I do like the handling improvement it gave me.

Lowering 2" will make living with your MINI in the real world tough. As has been said you are very likely to have drive shaft issues with such a drop.

 

Mushrooming would actually make your ride height a little lower in the front. Once you flatten your towers out it will be a bit higher.

Go for a fairly conservative lowering spring and pair it some yellows. You'll be happy with the look and with the yellows on full soft the ride quality is no more harsh than stock.

 

Thanks for the replies! So this is more like golds vs yellows for me. My mini is my DD car, no tracking plans, roads here are fair, it could have a lot of bumps in town. Hmm. If i go yellows i only like minimal drop to 1" or so, that doesn't seem a lot when comparing at the stocks height/gap or does it?

 

This is 0.75" rear and 1" front (h&r sport)

 

Wow! an inch is a big difference. Andy what is your wheel specs on those? I asked because I may go 15's wheel x 7,7.5, or 8? and a wider tires. Okay here's what I want my mini to look like>>Something.. Suspension=Not too harsh,if possible the softest there is, minimal drop.. but on 15's the gap would be much more gap right? compare to 17's. Also would like my tire flushed or a bit poke that can pass safety. With that kind of setup do I need any of the aftermarket parts such rear control arms, adjustable front camber plates. anyway Im going to need that front plates due to mushrooming. Just so much options that I get lost in the way. Anybody please help! I need to decide soon as I'm having rapid rubber loss due to bad alignment. Thank you and Mahalo!

 

Well the bigger you go with your wheels the shorter the sidewall height of your tires so regardless of whether you go 15, 16, or even 17 the gap should remain constant. That is not my car but I have the same springs. Here is how it compares to stock height and the stock 15x5.5 wheels on R50's. My wheels are 16x7 +35 for reference.



You don't really need adjustable control arms or camber plates if you're only going to drop it an inch. If you go the coilover route then its a different story.

 

Please show me that mustang :3

 

So I have no clue, They ride fine. But that did scare me a bit when it seemed like it was bouncing obnoxiously. If I go over a speed bump too fast it... it sounds... embarrassing... So I go over them really slow.. Also not to wreck my tyres and rims..

 

I think I'm going around this height.. I really hate the amount of gap stock. It just looks so... wrong on a Mini. It kind of bothers me a lot. Also Sexy Black/Silver Really wanting to do what you have done but just mine being baby blue.

 

yep, my '07 has been lowered , have coil overs and it handles crazy better than stock!

it's for sale... images in the adv.The car has NON runflats, but still, with this setup the ride is as expected, harsh over bumps.
http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...0999928/photo/

 

beautiful ryde!! silver, and I mean ALL silver, lowered, with black rims

 

Newb here searching around for a suspension thread. The shocks I got on my R53 are worn and beat--esp the rears. I can feel the rear end bounce over stuff, which is especially fun going through bumpy corners, this lil fella is a handfull. I'll keep searching, but I'm seeing Konis and KYBs popping up. Any other suggestions?

Intended use: fun daily driver/commuter, so comfort is slightly higher importance than all-out corner carving shenanigans.

 

It seems to be a common problem. A fix is available


Good luck with your MINI Awesome stuff!

 

Many have, but the desirability of the outcome depends entirely on what you are trying to accomplish:
1). competitive autoX setup - check the classification rules first, so you don't accidentally get bumped into a wrong class with 1 wrong component. You will likely want adjustable coil-overs, camber plates, etc.
2). competitive track/DE/racing setup - (1), but stiffer, and a touch less front camber.
3). cosmetic lowering - just grab shorter springs from one of the online sources, and swap them out (very easy DIY, or pay someone).
4). goofing off with airbags - self explanatory.

I want with KWv3 coil-overs, among other mods, to accomplish #1. At the highest setting, the drop was ~2.5" front and back (see pics in my album).

It works really well - handling vastly improved, times dropped by ~1.2 seconds for 60 second course.
Downside - I am scraping the front air-dam on all driveways and roadway dips, as the bottom of the air-dam lip is at most 1.5" above the pavement.

For the winter, I had just swapped the suspension back to stock ;-)

a

 

I fixed it by sandwiching the front strut towers between new (unbent) camber plates and M7 strut tower brace:
http://www.m7tuning.com/m7-strut-tow...-assembly.html

There is at least one other vendor (forgot who) who sells similar full circumference strut tower "defenders".

a

 

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...coilovers.html

As of right now I like these coilovers, The range is 40mm-70mm front and 30mm-65mm rear.