Ok so I'm planning on redoing my suspension on my Mini mainly street occasionally an auto cross event here and there nothing crazy looking to drop the car as much as I can without turning my Mini in to a snow plow...so here's what I've put together for a suspension set up and would like your opinions if this is a good or bad set up and why and if there's anything else I should do...

Ok so I'm looking at...
M7 springs
Koni Adjustable shocks
Hotchkis rear lower suspension link
And Hotchkis competition rear sway bar
And I was gonna get the polyurethane bushings for the front control arms...This would just be the beginning to start with eventually would upgrade front sway bar rear upper links etc.

Would this set up be good for a daily driven street car with an occasional auto X event?

Any advice is greatly appreciated...I wanted to do a coilover system but decided I would rather invest the difference in cost in upgrading injectors, cam, header and tune...looking to do the suspension by spring of 2014 so time to do the research.

Thanks in advance...

 

Bumb...anyone...advice..?

 

I assume you mean rear lower control arms to adjust rear camber. Your list is a good base. Lots of spring choices out there, tho. You don't mention wheels, tires, brake pads which are important items. Why would you want a bigger front sway bar? You want more oversteer, not less. Incidentally, you may want to investigate autocross classification because what you do to the car will determine what you run against. Just one wrong mod might bump you up to a higher class.

 

Yes I did mean rear lower control arms...As for springs I wanted to go the M7 route because of the 1.3 inch drop front and rear...As for rims I'm planning on getting the RSE05 around the same time I do the suspension and brakes gonna run my JCW brakes for now until they wear out then looking to upgrade to the willwood brakes or possibly the Detroit Tuned BBK...not 100% sure on brakes yet.
Where can I find more info about auto X events and what parts move you up a class?

 

Depends on what clubs you intend to run with. I'd check with your local region SCCA. If you get serious about it, they are too! One more thing...Go easy and methodical on the mods. Don't throw too much on your car at one time. Give yourself time to evaluate and decide if you did the right thing. BTW, vendors won't like this, but the brakes you have are very efficient. They won't wear out. I'd just use better compounds to improve efficiency. With autocross, you never seem to get your brakes hot enough so go with a set that will give you reasonable stopping power at a relatively low temp.

 

Sounds good I'll definitely look in to it...thanks on the brake advice as well.

 

Forgo the front sway bar it's plenty large enough already for the job, just upgrade the front sway bar bushings to either purple or black Powerflex, and replace them same time you put the purple Powerflex control arm bushings in.

M7 Springs go fairly low if that is a concern ( snow plow ) ....at least they used to. Have you considered TSW Springs with the Koni Yellow Adjustable ? Drop is moderate to about 3/4 of an inch. And they set the car more flat eliminating the high back low front syndrome making the MINI sit flat/even with road surface.

Way has them for about $230.00 for the set.

http://www.waymotorworks.com/tsw-min...e-springs.html

 

ill definetely get those other bushings as well wont hurt...im pretty set on the m7 springs i do want my ride low when i say snow plow im speaking of slammed my buddys mini is 2 inches lower and that to me is a snow plow for chicago...i think 1.3 inch drop on all four corners will look good, and it wont be over-kill...lol

 

So I got my M7 springs not installed yet have to get a few more parts... and also got the M7 Strut Bar, installed...Just wondering which sway bar and rear lower control arms I should get.
ive been looking at the H Sport Competition adjustable sway bar, and H Sport rear lower control arms are these a pretty good choice?
And I will be doing the polyurethane front sway bar bushings with inner outer ball joints and control arm bushings as well.
ill post pics of before and after installation its gonna be a few months before the suspension gets done have to wait for the winter to pass...lol

 

 

You're on the right track at the rear but remember that the lower the drop from the springs, the more you'll need adjustable neg. camber plates up front and adjustable drop-links front and rear.

 

Yes the Hsport Comp bar and Hsport camber links are the best choice.
For control arm bushings the powerflex bushings are the best there.

 

Thats what I have been looking at and ill be ordering it from you guys at WMW thanks.
I just recently ordered parts from you guys and its been a pleasant experience every time.
:-)

 

As for autocross classing: google scca solo rules 2014 and dig in, live by those and you'll be fine with most any local club. You’ll see the 06+ MCS JCW is eligible for stock class (well, “street” class as of 2014). I have the same car, and that basically means we're allowed rear sway bar, shocks, catback... Start getting beyond that (springs, end links, bushings), could bump classes to the point where the car isn’t as competitive without other major mods.

Now if you want the car lowered for looks and don’t care about being competitive in class then go for whatever and just have fun, I think that happens to a lot of people anyways. But if you want to pick mods according to how you’ll be classed, either back off and stay in stock/street, or maybe look into street touring (I think we're in STX) that allows a little more flexibility.

Performance-wise, good dedicated summer tires are probably best bang for the buck, then a rear sway bar. Beyond that if you’re venturing outside of stock/street I think you'll suffer from a lack of front camber, especially if lowered.