I have a 07 Cooper S with 18" R105 wheels on delivery to me.
I am thinking to lower the car to make the car looks better and handles better.
But I am debating which suspension I should get?! H&R coilover? or JCW?
What will you guys recommend?

I believe they are about same price but with H&R I can adjust ride height which gives me more flexibility.
But I also heard that JCW works really well.
What do you guys think? I just can't decide which one to choose. :(

Thanks,
Dale

 

I have a stock suspension, but you get to keep the warranty with jcw. If you don't care about warranty go with H&R.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to the forum.

This topic has gone around a few times, I started a thread a couple of months back asking the same thing so you may want to do a search back and see what was said.

What I found was that there are not many R56's out there on H&R Coilovers. No one gave a firsthand account of the ride and handling. I still haven't done anything to mine.

Gabe on MotoringFile did a pretty good 2 or 3 part review of the JCW suspension so you might want to check that out.

Either way, you're fun's just beginning!

 

I have the JCW suspension and changed the springs to Mach 5. The JCW lower only 1/4 inch which isn't noticeable and still leaves the SUV look. I am happy with my new setup. Not much difference in comfort.

 

Your question sounds like: " Is better to buy a Ferrari (H&R) or Audi (Jcw)?"

 

I'm sure the Mach 5 looks great but I disagree that the JCW doesn't make a noticeable difference..

Before JCW Suspension:



After JCW Suspension:





Here's the review: JCW Suspension: One Month Review

 

ok, say 1/2 inch, or from motoringfile "The new JCW Suspension Kit (like the previous) drops the car around 1cm (or 0.3937 inches). So it doesn’t exactly slam the car but it does subtly lower it ..." Maybe there's variations among cars and weight of passengers. Who knows.

this is mine with Sport Suspension



this is mine with JCW



and with Mach V

 

I think there's also a difference with the diameter of the tire/wheel combo.

BTW I like the lowered look but I'd lose half my undercarriage just driving to the grocery store here in Chicago. The JCW is the perfect height for imperfect roads.

 

I highly doubt that. My car is probably 2+ inches lower than yours and i drive around rural ohio (imperfect roads all over) and have never lost anything off my undercarriage. And having peaked under the r56 many times to look at clearance...the only thing on the r56 is the silly plastic lip under the front bumper is now a bit longer. You're not gonna lose your undercarriage being dropped on springs that lower you about an inch or less.

Just look how much ground clearance you have in the track pic. You would have to hit a 1/2 foot tall boulder to tear any undercarriage. Lowering it another half inch isn't going to do anything or making you start scraping unibody all over the road.

 

LOL - I wish that were true of the roads in Chicago. It's not boulders I'm worried about. BTW the undercarriage comment was meant to be sarcastic - being dry doesn't work on the interwebs sometimes. Let me re-phrase that: lowering my car any further could wreak havoc on a lot of important and unimportant bits that I'd like to hold on to.

 

You make it sound like there's a hole in the floor where you sit...

--Dan
Mach V

 

Thanks for everyone's input!
I finally decide to go with JCW.
I have JCW body kit and JCW tunning kit, might as well get JCW suspension to keep the warranty of the car.
I called many dealers about how many inches does JCW suspension drop, but seems like no one knows the answer exactly.
From JCW's brochure, the red JCW in the pictures looks low enough to me.
I hope I will be satisfied with the JCW suspension.

Thanks,
Dale

 

There isn't but you can never be too careful.

 

i'm very happy with my H&R's.

 

daletu,

I think you made the right choice in suspension to go with the JCW aerokit. Visually, I don't think you need 1.5" of drop with the aero kit like I think the standard MINI begs for.

 

Benfica09, I assume you have the H&R coilovers. How about a quick comment on how they ride in everyday driving. I'm still trying to decide between the JCW, H&R's and now the M7 coilovers.

 

here's a picture of my jcw aero kit with the JCW suspension and 17 inch wheels and 215/45ZR-17 tires...it still has a big gap which didn't look good, so I spent the extra money on mach v springs and am happier...it sits lower and even with my front spoiler has enough clearance for speed bumps as shown in the second photo....the ride is about the same, except the cornering is better than the jcw...if i had it to do over, i would forego jcw suspension and just find high quality aftermarket...18 inch wheels help on the gap issue, but i think they look too big for the car but this is just a personal preference

 

actually, its just the H&R springs on stock sport suspension.
thats the car 1 day after install....they have settled a hair. overall, its not bad. ride is still good for daily driving. this is the first time i've ever just done springs on a car.

Although, come spring/summer, I'll be looking for adjustable coilovers. I need something a bit more demanding for track use. The H&Rs were great, but the rebound coming out of heavy turns wasn't as smooth as i wanted.

if you're using the car as a daily driver and enjoy some spirited runs, with 1 track day/yr.....H&R springs or MachV would be my choice. best bang for the buck.

 

Thanks Benfica09. That's pretty much what I do - daily driver, spirited drives, and track day a couple times a year. I was thinking coilovers because I only want to drop the car about 1" and I have the standard (non-sport) suspension. If I was to put coilovers in, I wouldn't be adjusting them once they're set. I figured a reason set of coilovers was my best bet.

 

I have the JCW suspension with Mach V springs and love it!!....ride height is perfect and handling is awesome!!

 

You went for both Scott? I don't really want to do that. Up here in the soggy Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, Canada) the installed price for the JCW suspension from the dealer is $2700. I'm hoping to find a more reasonable alternative.

Because I only have the standard suspension, I'm a little uncomfortable with dropping my car more then an 1" using just springs. I figured coilovers would be a good route to go.

 

The JCW suspension doesn't come with springs, so I opted for the Mach V ones for a greater drop and stiffer/progressive springs.

 

M7 coilovers! No complaints!

 

Haha ... you're starting to win me over. I do like the idea of coilovers and right now it's either H&R's or M7's. Mmmm ... decisions, decisions.

 

Do the comparison, M7 take the win!!