Hello all,

So, i have decided to work on my suspension first instead of 15% pulley this summer. My car is my daily driver for work.....which i drive a total of about 100 miles a day. I live in western PA and have tons of fun backroads i drive every day.

My previous cars have been mainly VW's. I have had a MK2 GTI, MK3 Jetta, MK4 Golf, B5 Wagon all with coilovers.

I have to be honest and say that i might have adjusted the heights on them once or twice. Once i found the look that i wanted i was done.

Reason why i am asking is because other than the adjustablility of the coilovers your looking at about $200+ difference in price.

Megan's i can find for under $900 with the adjustable camber plates.

I can find drop springs for about $130, replacement shocks for about $180 for all 4 and adjustable camber plates for about $160. So for about $470 bucks i can get a decent setup for $300 less.

I am still leaning towards the Megans because i will also get the damper adjustablility as well. Where i live in PA (originally from MD when i had my VW's) having the option of adjusting the height is a big plus as well due to the roads and my driveway.

Again i adjusted the damper settings on my VW's maybe once or twice as well.

That being said, all you with coilovers how many times have you adjusted the heights? Do you adjust them when you track? going to a car show? or do you find what you like and leave it? do you adjust them with a new wheel and tire setup?

And yes, I understand that coilovers are the way to go vs springs and most likely what i will get.

I am just curious how many times people adjust there setups and why.

 

Where and what brand are these? Too cheap?

Go Meagans. Many use them with good results.

 

Go with KW, lifetime warranty

 

Stay away from drop springs...you'll end up going to CO after you're kidneys start to bleed...CO are almost always much more comfortable and controllable...I have Megans with over 50k and still running very smooth...

 

Me too!!! Megans w/over 50,000 Not the best CO out there by far but do what I need them too at a good price compared to others..Plus you get the camber plate w/them..

 

Thanks for all your responses. I understand that the coilovers are the way to go. And most likely what i will get. Please read my entire post. I was just showing that i can go the "springs" way and save a few hundred bucks. Maybe i should have worded my post a different way but i did actually ask some questions

my questions are:
That being said, all you with coilovers how many times have you adjusted the heights? Do you adjust them when you track? going to a car show? or do you find what you like and leave it? do you adjust them with a new wheel and tire setup?

 

I set my ride height and leave it..Do play around with the settings on them, Vacation time, Auto-X, mountain carving etc... I did H-Sport springs early on and then switched to CO's...
The lowering springs are much cheaper but unless you also change shocks before long you have a rough ride. Which if you drop the CO's real low, and with low profile tires you still end up with a rough ride... My H-sports didn't lower the front as much as it did the back. Cabrio is heavier then Hardtop of course and most of the added weight is in the rear as added bracing. I wanted the front lower so 40,000 miles later I switched..

 

You will save a few hundred bucks then decide that you've wasted money on the springs when you end up buying CO...spend the extra money and do it right the first time is what I'm trying convey...

Have the CO corner balanced to take advantage of their adjustability...need to find a shop with proper experience and Longacre scales...ie, distributing the weight of your Mini evenly in all four corners...with you in it of course...you can determine the height you want while doing that...

 

thanks again for the replies.

regardless its going to be a rough ride

 

It's all gonna depend on what you choose....

My car with Koni yellows, a good set of springs, camber plates, and a few other bells and whistles handles very well and rides better than stock. Some springs suck really bad due to excessive lowering. I only recommend Tein H-tech (what i have), Swift, JCW, and stock.

There are bad springs and bad coilovers. Coilovers aren't always better. But if you want to go low, you should go with coilovers.

- drew

 

As much as I want to believe that coilovers will provide a more comfortable ride then a good set of shocks and springs, I just can't. I'm willing to bet that with a daily driver, and keeping handling AND comfort in mind, that Koni's with TSW or HTech springs will be far more comfortable, but will only provide a MILD drop.

Now, As Andy said, the springs you pick definitely make a huge impact. And for sure, if you want to go low, coilovers are the MUCH Better choice.

I have the swift lowering springs right now on Koni Yellows and they are a little harsh, but I haven't put coilovers on my mini. Although a local to me had his on cross coilovers and he rode in my car and said it was far less jarring.

I love the way my car looks on Koni Yellows and swift springs and it's very easy for a daily driver in terms of driveways, bumps etc, but I will be switching to the new TSW springs when they come out to get a little more comfort out of the ride. Now I will say, I know if I had coilovers I would definitely lower it far more, but I have to keep the mindset that this is a daily driver and the roads where I live suck and after having a bunch of different cars previously with coilovers, a nicely paired shock/spring combo with only a modest drop is far more comfortable for a daily.

 

Do you have specs on the new TSW springs? I hope Way/TSW nailed it this time. They were too soft IMO for the previous versions.

I wanted to have my own set of springs produced a while ago but we decided the market wasn't there for the company I work for.

Anywho, agreed with what you said.

- andrew

 

I have Megans with Swift springs..really like being able to adjust shocks for tar strips and then firm up for more more fun. I don't know 1st hand the difference between Megans and Swift but I like this combo a lot better than stock. I have app 1in drop.

 

I have the Megans for about 1k miles and so far they have been awesome for the money. $900 shipped for a full set of dampening adjustable coilovers with the adjustable camber plate cant be beat. Another benefit is they pretty much prevent any mushrooming problem as well.

Recommended by alot of people as the cost effective street coilover.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Its nice to see people chime in with the spring setups.

Another wrench in the mix is with having an 06 MCS with about 60k is i have to start looking into the rest of the suspension.....ball joints, links and bushings etc.

when you guys did your coilovers or springs did you do the other suspension parts or just wait until they go bad?

decisions decisions!

 

That will very car to car and area to area. Some people will have better roads then others to drive om.. Pot holes etc...
All my bushings are stock.. Other then what came with my RSB, END links, adj. control arms and Megans.. Got 100,000 mile on my car now.. Granted they may all could use being replaced now but are still working fine.. I don't really do track days as some do since I have a cabrio and east coast tracks won't usually let me on there. Did the Phil Wicks school once and usualy do a few auto-x a year..
If you have the money I say go ahead and do the power flex bushings every where you can while your under there if your wanting the better/stiffer suspension..
If you plan is to just use OEM I say look at them all and only replace what you think you need too..

 

Like everyone else who wants a lowered MINI, it seems, I agonized over springs/shocks or coilovers. My car is a DD and the roads here are not great. I ended up getting a good price on ST Coilovers. Same as the KW V1, warranty is just 5 years though.

I'm really happy with them. The ride isn't too jarring, I've described it as "firm but compliant" when asked. I just had it adjusted once on installation, let it settle for a few hundred KM, and I'm happy with where it sits. Still plenty of room to go lower. There's a big thread on them, most people seem to be pretty happy. Got mine from TheSuspensionSource, nothing but good things to say about them.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-pictures.html

 

I have an 06' that is about to turn to 60k miles. I did my Lower control arm bushings, and replaced with Powerflex ones from way. Other then that I did Koni Yellows with swift spec r springs. When the TSW's come out, I will also be changing my front upper mounts and honestly, I will probably do the ball joints this time while I'm down there. I wish I did it when I did the control arm bushings, but they didn't have a problem... so I'm still on the fence about that one. I also installed new OEM front sway bushings when I did LCA bushings. And new rear sway bar bushings were replaced with the ones that came with the hsport comp bar.

I have been back on forth on the ST coilovers BIG time. I have considered selling my Koni yellow/swift setup and getting them, but I just can't get myself to completely believe that they will be more COMFORTABLE for a daily driver then when I get the TSW's and put the TSW's on the Koni's... I just can't and the cost of them is VERY reasonable, just way to much money for me to spend on hoping.

 

Put mine on at 50k and as a precaution the LCA bushings and front sway bar bushings were replaced. They werent blown out but I just wanted to get them done to tighten things up a bit and know they are good for the remaining life of the car.

 

Get the IE fixed camber plates....don't bother with the OEM top mounts!

- andrew

 

I already considered this, the only real issue I have is that if the tsw springs are going to be like they were before, then they lower the rear slightly more than the are front. I know the ie plates will raise the car slightly up front and I was going to counter that by trimming the strut housings as described in another thread. So if I keep the swift springs in the long run, then yes I'm getting ie plates and trimming the front struts. If I get the tsws and they are lower in the rear then I'm getting new OEM and trimming.... Hoping way chooses to make them like a 3/8" drop front and rear, that would be perfect.

 

The ride height is a concern. Those plates are so good that IMO it's worth it to design the springs with those in mind.

- Andrew