The queston is, does anyone have Megans and is really happy with all aspects of the ride on the car. And...if so, what are your settings.

I am fairly happy, except for that REALLY harsh "oh my gawd did my suspension just fell off my car" feeling when you come to a bump in the road.

My setting is about half way on the dial.

 

As you probably already know, there were some issues with the Megans early on (biggest problem was low front spring rate) and they had to make some adjustments (no surprise, the most significant change was to increase the front spring rate).

With the early generation lighter front springs the ride was bone jarring as they bottomed out over bumps, potholes, railroad tracks, speed bumps, ETC, but the ride was otherwise very compliant. With the next gen higher rate front springs the ride became stiff but I haven't heard complaints of bottoming out over bumps, etc.

Some of us decided to switch to different springs somewhere in the middle. So, there are really at least three different groups of folks with understandably different Megan experiences and using different settings.

I think you need to tell folks which version of the Megans you're running because otherwise we're mixing apples with oranges. If you know the spring rate on the front dampers, that should do the trick.

 

...and now, I shall crawl under my MINI.

 

No Crawl needed, do you know when and who you got them from. There are now 3 versions on the market and a few custom sets too. Also what size tires are you running?

 

I purchased them from a friend, so original purchase date is unknown. I am running 18s with 225/40s, which I know is a sidewall that is too big.

 

If you can find out that would be helpful. You may need to replace the front springs depending on which ones you have now.

Running 18's with 40's is better then 18's with 35's, but I encourage 17's with 50's it would help the ride. I ran 18's for a few weeks and thought my teeth were going to fall out. Looks cool, but not worth the cost to my spine or replacing wheels due to area roads.

 

A low aspect ratio will (of course) exacerbate any problems in your suspension, but the key is minimizing the suspension problem in the first place.....if you can. The reason I brought up the early problems is that your description "I am fairly happy, except for that REALLY harsh "oh my gawd did my suspension just fall off my car" feeling when you come to a bump in the road" reminds me of the ride on my Megans before I "fixed" them and mine were some of the first ever produced. If you haven't already seen it, you might want to peruse this thread, just for S&Gs.....

FYI, the original front springs were black and marked 62.150.005, where 62 is 62mm (~2.5") inside diameter -- 150 is 150 mm (~6") length -- 005 is 5kg/mm (~280lb/in) spring rate.

 

Well, it appears that I have the OG version...62.150.005...now what do I do?

 

Reports of the character of the ride on the gen 1 Megans vary, but since it sounds like yours are working much like mine did, my first suggestion is to give up trying to completely fix the bottoming out problem with the damper settings. A stiff setting will eliminate some of it, but will make the ride rougher.....though that's probably your best bet unless you change the front springs.

I hope to see AutoXCooper.com chime in because as a current vendor (and one who recommends them) he's much more familiar with the currently available parts/solutions from Megan.

To tell the truth, I think the Megans got a bad rep due to these first gen versions. All they needed was minor changes to turn them into excellent coilovers. I still think their initial, knee-jerk reaction solution to the early problems could have been better, since the much heavier rate front spring replacements were overkill (IMHO), but they may have adjusted the kit by now.....I haven't kept up.

I've been fantastically happy with mine since I changed the springs. I've still not felt them bottom out once since the change. I even had them on the car at the Phil Wicks event at Virginia International Raceway this Monday (21 Jul 08) -- plenty of all-out driving (don't tell Phil) with lots of hard cornering, rumbling over the gators, etc -- zero bottoming out and nothing but compliments on the suspension and handling from my instructor.

I'll refer you again to the "Frankenmegans" link I posted previously. Unless you have different problems we're not aware of, you should definitely be able to eliminate the bottoming out by changing only the front springs (I did the rears as well). At this point I suspect your front bump stops may be toast and need replacing as well though.

 

You can order a new set of front springs, they come in 6kg or 8kg. You now have 5kg springs. The new set of coilovers come with 8kg in front and 6kg in the rear. If the goal is to stop the MINI from bottoming out, then go with the 8kg. PM also sent.

 

In case it helps, the original 5kg/mm works out to ~280lb/in. Of the alternatives offered, 6kg/mm is ~336lb/in and 8kg/mm is ~ 448lb/in. Do a little more research (a few searches here on NAM should do it) and weigh your options carefully.

 

I have late megans all the way down with no locking rings on 195/45-15
And they ride fine as long as the roads arent total garbage.And as fas as speed bumps and rr tracks are concerned.SLOW DOWN.its not that hard.