So my R53 was lowered on H&R on stock struts and springs when I bought it.
The car has 91K miles on it.
Needless to say it rode like poop and banged on bumps and teeter tottered over expansion joints etc.
Visual inspection of the mounts (while still installed) showed some major cracking on the RT ft mount. Also the car would make some creaking noises at the left front while turning the wheel.

SO being on a budget and having other things that needed to be done on the car as well I opted to buy the STAGG struts and shocks for the car.
I bought them on ebay FROM THIS SELLER. Transaction was smooth and the parts arrived quickly.
I also bought new KYB boots for the fronts and MOOG upper mounts.

I was a little skeptical about the STAGG units but found numerous positive reviews online. They are lifetime warrantied and are advertised as being able to handle being lowered "upto 2 inches". So I figured.. WHAT THE HELL?! lol

Install went super easy and took just a few hours with some power tools and a second set of hands. I did find that the previous owner that had the springs installed, installed the left and right front struts on the wrong sides.

So we finished up late last night and went for a ride.
IMMEDIATELY backing out of the garage I noticed no creaking and transition from the garage to the driveway felt smoother. So immediate driving impressions are EXCELLENT. Bumps in the road are so much smoother now, cracks in the road are non existent. Expansion joints are so much more absorbed and the car doesn't teeter totter any more..
I drove the car to work today 30 miles away through like 5 construction zones and am in love all over again.

So for UNDER $200 shipped, these are SO WORTH THE MONEY for any budget minded individual.
Sure they're not stiffness adjustable and they're not a big name brand (yet). But who cares, I saved $400-500 over KONIS that I will be using for a lot of other things. (NOT COMPARING these to Konis, just discussing the cost difference)

The ride height is slightly higher now due to the non worn mounts now. BOOO ... lol but still shows a lowered appearance.

Quick pic




so all in all:

 

hey, just wanted to follow up to see how the stagg set is still holding? i was also looking at ording a set. I'm going to use the Tein Springs i have on now which is only a .6/.5 drop. i don't really care about the brand name. Hyundai car used to sell for 6000-7000gs brandnew 10 years ago and now look at them. so i'm sure Stagg is also going through the same stage. i saw some really positive reviews on the BMW forums with people putting it on 3 and 5 series.

 

congrats!! how is the ride in general?I'm thinking about getting Koni FSD more for comfort than anything else, my concern would be longevity but I guess that Lifetime warranty helps too

 

Drove the car a couple hundred miles since the install.
Wife gave it thumbs-up yesterday. hahaha
The car feels a lot more comfortable and composed.
Might feel like there slightly more body roll but that could be my imagination. I guess it could be there as these struts actually work! lol

Unrelated i have an occasional rattle in the suspension that I think may be related to not installing the second big washer that came with the new mounts. Also noticed that the boot on the inner balljoint on the left control arm is torn.

All in all I am very pleased with them and would highly recommend them to anyone on a budget.

The H&R Springs drop the front 1.0 inch and the rears .75 inch so your setup would be mint with these.

My front mounts were so worn that when I installed the new ones it raised the height of the car almost .5 inch which sucks cause I loved the height before..lol

 

Ride is fantastic! feels almost like a "normal car" vs before which it didn't lol

The H&R springs certainly stiffen it up, I am sure, as some bumps still hit hard but I am sure the small tires with the 17's also contributes to that.

From what I have read the FTD's are meant for stock height springs only and are not intended for cars with lowering springs. I dont know how Koni is with warranties (i know they're lifetime too) like if you had to file a claim for blown strut with lowerring springs.

 

I also just replaced my shocks -- I stayed stock height though and I would concur if your ride has become compromised and is harsh take a look at replacing your shocks and struts. Pelican parts has a good price on Bilstein Touring shocks -- I think they are 65/each for rear and 120/each for the fronts.

I am hoping they last for about 40,000 miles -- or at least that is the hope. I have seen the Stag shocks on ebay before and always questioned why they were so cheap -- but glad to hear you are getting good results.

 

this is a very limited use car for me (maybe 3k-5k miles a year).. but the only requirement was it had to be friendly enough for the family.. so far so good.

 

My car it's an 05 S and it came with Sport + suspension whatever that means it seems like it is a bit lower than other MINIs but I'm not 100% sure, it look low enough to me and I don't want it any lower, yes the FSD's are not good for lower cars I need to find out if they are comparable with the stock sport + I think they are I don't think that there is a big difference in height bet the regular stock or Sport +

 

just slapped on a set of Stagg myself this weekend. using .5 drop Tein springs all around. ride results = night and day (well at least the test drive) I'll get back to you guys in a couple of months to let you know how it goes. (my commute is from Providence to Boston(40mins each way) so it's fairly a good ride for two months to see if it last. the fitting was on point, though I did notice my car was slightly raised but wasn't sure it was only lower b/c of the dead stock shocks. so far so good. but serously the price is right. food for thought, remember when hyundais were selling for $7000 brand new 7 years ago and now they're up there with every other car..that's how I feel about these shocks...I might even slap them on my Volvo C30 if the ride holds up.

 

willing to bet it was ur dead struts makin it lower.. mine was the same but setlled nicely to about the middle of where it was before and right away after.

have blasted well over 500 miles with em
still ride just as well.. the car is so much more enjoyable.. like you said.. NIGHT & DAY difference
will keep this updated too

 

Any updates on these since last June? I'm looking for an inexpensive option.
Thanks

 

Agreed with agefoctane.

Lower cost is great and all, unless I'm replacing them more often.

 

Also interested. However... I see Stagg shocks for everything except MINIs on eBay right now....

 

I noticed that too. It could just be they are temporarily out of stock. I found them here though.

 

No complaints here, still comfy and handles. This spring I might go lower with the springs, 1.5 drop. It's pretty much the only thing that's kept up so far on my mini, though sad to say lol...

 

For sub-$200 I could be sold on these :-)

Has anyone dealt with Brandcarparts.com? I'm always wary of websites that don't lost a physical address or phone number on their site....

 

Also, a full front and rear set on brandcarparts.com is $229... Buying the fronts and rears separately is 89 + 78 = $167.

To which I say, wtf???

 

Email the distributer on eBay, they were pretty responsive when I emailed them about getting stagg for my volvo.

 

I bought a set of Staggs for my neighbors Mustang and she is extremely pleased with them. At <$200 it was a steal.

 

These still ride like the day I installed em. Super pleased and highly recommend these still

 

Hey Uromini....any special tools needed for this install? I think I'm going to pick up a set. I cringe every time I see a pot hole / crack in the streets around my town!!

 

Did anyone find a set of these recently?

Ebay vendors say out of stock and brandcarparts.com no longer lists them

 

Looks like the took em off or ran out.

 

I ordered a set from brandcarparts, and they refunded my order the next day. They said they expected to get more in feb/march. I ordered a set of Bilstein Tourings instead from pelican. The difference in price wasn't too bad for the fronts, I think it was $175 shipped instead of $100 for the Staggs, and it gives me a little more peace of mind too.
The swap has been a nightmare. I broke a pinch bolt and had to drill through it. It was rusted solid. My outer ball joint is also seized to the knuckle. I was eventually able to pull the taper end with a neighbors pneumatic pickle fork. I'm almost done with the left side, and I'm going to have to save the right side for next weekend.

Tip- if the 18mm pinch bolt doesn't come out easily with a breaker bar, stop and try an impact gun. Buy an electric one from harbor freight if you need to, because I would have done anything to have avoided drilling through that pinch bolt.

 

Please let us in on how the tourings compare to stock. I was thinking those would be a more reliable option. Just not sure how they would fare w/ some mild-drop lowering springs like H&R, Vogtland or Eibach.