Our new R56 S was delivered with the BASE suspension, and is too soft for my wife. I've ordered bigger front and rear sway bars.

I have purchased a set of OEM MINI SPORT shocks/struts from a forum member.

I have no interest in lowering the car. The 1/2" drop from the JCW springs would be fine, but no more.

We have a MINI mega warranty of 7 years/100,000 miles and really like the idea of keeping the car OEM.

I must decide now on what springs to use.

QUESTIONS:
1. Are there different versions of the base and sport springs based upon the weight of your MINI (like with the JCW springs)?

2. Opinion on using the base suspension SPRING with the sport suspension SHOCK? The shocks would be valved stiffer than the spring.

3. Opinion on using the correct JCW SPRING for my car (sunroof and automatic) with the SPORT suspension shocks? The shock would be valved softer than the spring.

THOUGHT:
There are 4 different versions of the JCW spring, based upon the weight of your MINI. Does that mean that they are softer spring rates the lighter the car? SO.....I wonder what would happen if you paired the SOFTEST JCW spring with the SPORT shocks? I have the heaviest MINI (Sunroof AND Automatic), so it would ride lower than it is supposed to, and likely be too heavy for the springs to work as designed, but it was an interesting thought.



Thanks guys.

 

Wow, you really over thought this one...Lol

Forget the front bar, not required....

Order the TSW springs from Way motor works.

Install the springs and rear bar. Enjoy.

 

Way has a kit with the TSW springs, sway bar(two sizes to choose from) and control arms for a pretty good deal if that's what you're looking for.

 

The TSW springs have a 1" drop, which is better than the majority of aftermarket springs but I was pretty clear I do not want a lowering spring. They are listed as "only slightly stiffer than stock". Stiffer than WHICH stock? Stiffer than the base spring? Stiffer than the sport spring? Stiffer than the JCW spring? I'm still needing to know the answers to my OEM spring questions if anyone knows....

As to needing a front sway bar.... My wifes MINI has the base suspension, so she has the smallest 22.5mm front bar and 17mm rear. I want to go to a 24mm front bar, and a 21mm rear. This means an increase of 1.5 in the front, and an increase of 3mm rear. This will bring the front bar up to the size of the JCW package, and the rear bar will be 1.5mm larger than the JCW package in order to take out SOME of the understeer. Why would it be better to stay with the smallest front bar? If you order the factory "sport" package, they increase the front bar to 23.5, and the JCW package increases it to 24. By me going with a larger than stock rear bar, I'm pulling out how much understeer I want.

 

Just throwing my two cents in since I've debated over suspension setups a long time now. Firstly, check with Way to see if the TSW springs are even available. Last I heard they were on backorder.

Secondly, the JCW springs are damn near impossible to come by from anywhere apart from the ENTIRE JCW suspension kit, and they can only be got at a dealer. Not worth the hassle in my opinion.

Thirdly, look at Swift Springs. They lower the car about an inch and are in the middle ground between the sport/JCW springs and the NM/Eibach springs. Decent compromise on the spec sheet in my opinion.

 

I think most any aftermarket springs is going to have a drop of some sort. If you want track ready stiff springs, the Swift Spec-R is going to be your best bet.

http://www.swiftsprings.net/products...ct/spec-r.html

 

i have something similar - jcw springs, and fsb, aftermarket rsb. i went with bilsteins however. almost sounds like you're prepping for stock class racing with what you're looking at.

my suspension ride is prettttty stiff w/ that setup - i had the bilsteins custom valved and i think they contribute a lot to that

 

On my car the TSW springs lowered the front 1/2" and the rear 3/4". I'd bet a lot of my own money that the differences between any of the factory shocks (for any variant of hardtop) are so small you have to be Louis Hamilton, or Vettel to discern them.

 

Dealership told us the 2013 we just bought had the sport suspension, just like my wifes 2011 did. On the test drive, she was not 1 block down the road and she told them it did -not- have the sport suspension. I could feel it from the passenger seat. Back at the dealership we put it on the lift, and it did indeed have the base suspension. In fast, high speed transitions the base suspension shocks are not up to the task. We are not Formula 1 drivers, but I do have 20 years experience as a HPDE instructor, and I can discern the difference. My wife was able to discern the difference in less than 1 block, so I guess she needs to contact Porsche for a factory ride at LeMans.

 

It's not the shocks, it's the springs...

 

Here is my opinion:

The different springs are likely to account for the different weight on the rear as well as the front. In other words, I would expect the front springs not to be significantly different with a sunroof, but the rear would be different.

The opposite is likely true, where the rear springs would not be much different if you had an automatic, but the fronts would be different.

The changes are likely very minor, I'm not sure that you could make a bad decision. If you want, I have a the set of springs from my car, 08 MCSa, sport package, sunroof, 50k miles, and I can either send them to you, or give you the color codes off of them to see if that helps at the dealer.

The sport shocks surprise me, based on your history, I thought this would be a great opportunity to put some adjustable shocks on there.

Another thing, even in stock form the MINI has little suspension travel. check out this page for some guys that have developed different bump stops.

http://fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM_Products_Mini.htm

I think that some of the comments about the front bar is because it is supposedly a pretty big job to change it (I haven't done it, but seen 6-8 hours to get it done). Another consideration is that if you put on an aftermarket rear sway bar, they have multiple holes to adjust the leverage. This allows you to tune the rear roll stiffness to your preference.

Have fun,
Mike

 

If they got it on the lift, they'd be able to see if the shocks have a sport label on them, unless they stopped doing that.

 

Mike, thank you for taking time to share those thoughts. Very interesting, and I agree with your logic on the OEM springs differences.

Your comment about the lack of suspension travel is one of the reasons I do not want to lower the car. I want to keep all the travel it has since there isn't much to start with.

I had seen the posts here about the front sway bar being a horrible job to do, so I am certainly -not- looking forward to doing it. But....I just like doing things "right". OCD can be tough to live with! LOL!

Yes.....Its funny.....I was just about to order the GP2 setup when I started reading about the bilsteins failing. That made me pause. I have a terrible habit of massive overkill on everything I do. This is my wifes car. She absolutely LOVED the OEM Sport suspension that was on her 2011 S. Then, I saw a set of low mileage OEM sport shocks for $200. Sold. I'll go with this setup for now, and watch to see how the GP2 coilover problems play out.