So in general, I am a pretty big believer in stock suspension setups as most car companies put lots of thought into it; which brings me to my question/needs...

I just put some new 17" rims on my 2004 MCS. I am looking for the most inexpensive way to reduce wheel gap without making my stock suspenion setup worse. As an example, in some instances, adding eibach springs to an otherwise stock suspension could potentially do more harm than good.

I don't track my car, but I do expect it to perform on the street. I am not opposed to doing things right, but don't want to spend money if I don't need to. Suggestions or feedback are much appreciated. In the case of the mini, perhaps sport springs may work quite well with the other stock equipment...u just do know and knowing is half the battle.....

 

Maybe a 205/50/17 tire or something along those lines?

 

Well, it really depends on how much you want to reduce the gap. Going with taller sidewalls like Duck suggested will reduce the gap by about 1/2", without any significant drawbacks.

If you go with lowering springs, you're going to reduce the amount of available compression travel on your shocks, but again, if you're only looking for a little bit of drop, you should still have plenty of suspension travel available before you start hitting the bumpstops.

Ride quality is a very subjective issue. Some people have reported that the aftermarket progressive springs give a little bit of a "floaty" ride when the spring is just beginning to compress, but tighten up nicely as the spring is compressed further. Linear springs with a proper spring rate shouldn't have the "floaty" problem, but you may find yourself at the other extreme with a ride that's significantly stiffer than stock.

I'd try to decide how much you want to reduce the gap, and whether you want to use a combination of taller tire and replacement springs, or just springs.

 

I'd go with 20" wheels and stock suspension. You should have ample travel and no gap to speak of... Take a look at threads on 19"ers in the Brakes and Wheels forum--all those wheel wells look pretty fullup to me.

 

I know that you believe in stock suspension and all, but your truely best solution would be to buy either H-Sport springs or m7 sport springs. These will lower your car about an inch and they look amazing, also they perform the best out of any spring(s) out there. I had H-Sprots, but am going to m7 very soon. You will also need at least one set of adjustable rear control arms if you lower your car any more the .5". So you are looking at $215.00 for m7 springs + ~$200.00 for Alta(just suggesting Alta because that is what I use) you can get Alta's for $215 from them or $190 shipped from an authorized dealer on ebay-great to work with.

*I had no problems with H-Sports I just like to try other stuff out.