New to the forum and I did a search on "suspension upgrades" but didn't find anything in the 10 page result.
I have a 2010 justa hatch that I'm slowly starting to upgrade. I've looked at engine, intake, and exhaust options and haven't found reasonable options for a non-S, so I want to focus on suspension. I purchased new 17" wheels that give it a nice wide stance...good start and I'm happy with it. My plans are to purchase coilovers (to lower about 1" or a little more), bigger rear sway bar, under chassis crossbrace. I won't be able to purchase all at once, so I would like to hear opinions on what to do 1st. Everything is stock and original, 2010, 48k miles, daily driver. I plan to autocross a little for fun...not really aggressively.
Main thing is I need to know what is best to start with amd what extras I would need...such as adjustable control arms due to lowering...maybe. Any suggestions is appreciated.

 

The biggest things that you need to do is figure out what you want to change (handling, aesthetics, etc) and what budget you have.


Many upgrades can coexist. For example, a new rear sway bar will work with any future suspension upgrade. Since the RSB is adjustable, you can tune it as you implement further upgrades. RSB is a good place to start.


If you want to drop the car about an inch, you are right at the border of using shocks/springs or coil overs. The issue is cost. There are plenty of threads here that describe bad experiences with cheap coil overs. To get to nice coil overs you are approaching $2k. there are several people giving glowing reviews of Ohlins, ST, and KW (as well as others). Not many positive reviews of the $1000 options after 6 months or a year.


So, getting a set of Koni or Bilstein shocks along with lowering springs may be a better answer if your budget is tight. You are looking at around $800-$1000 for this stuff.


Most people need rear control arms to align the suspension after lowering, some require adjustable front sway bar links if the car gets pretty low.


Check out the Modifications section, under suspension. Lots of info there.


Have fun,
Mike

 

What Mike said: An upgraded RSB and set of high performance struts is the best handling mod for the money. Either KONI FSD, or for lowering, the Bilstein or KONI Yellows are top choices. A 19 or 22MM adjustable RSB are the most popular. Way Motor Works or MotoringWerks both have the KONIs on sale quite often at near half price.

 

First things first:
1). Your OEM shocks are shot. Most likely you can not tell as they have been degrading gradually over the past 48K miles. Over the past 20+ years of wrenching on cars, I've never touched an OEM BMW/MINI shock that was still functional north of 35K miles. Once you take off the springs, you will be able to compress the shock shaft with a pinky. At it will stay there ...
2). Nothing will improve your car's handling and traction as much as a set of quality shocks. Quality coil-overs with liner springs will provide an even more noticeable improvements (all come with stiffer springs). However, this will be your most expensive suspension upgrade component. I would figure out the budget first ($1.5-2.5K), and buy the best c/o shocks you can afford (KW's, AST, Ohlin's, etc). Please do NOT get a set of cheap $600 c/o's, as they will ride harsher and track worse than your current tired OEM suspension.
3). If you want to maximize suspension improvements for autoX, you need more negative camber upfront. Thus you need adjustable camber plates (Vorshlag's work very well).
http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6746
4). Depending on how much you lower the car, you may need to dial out some negative camber in the back. For that you will need adjustable rear control arms.
5). #3, 4, 5 - all require alignment afterwards.
6). If you can't afford #3-5, play with stiffer rear sway bar. It will dial out the under-steer. Skip the crossbrace.

To do it all well, figure $4-5K.

If that sounds scary, just do #6, and focusing on improving your driving skills by attending more autoX events !

a

 

For suspension it's a no brainer that the rear sway bar should be the first suspension mod as it is the best bang for the buck suspension mod.

You can also knock the pins out of the front strut mounts to gain a little neg camber up front for free.

After that drive it and see what you think. Then give us a call and we can discuss options for the budget you have may it be shocks, springs, coilovers, and so on.

 

I found the extensive forum options after digging around a bit on my POS tablet...lots of info.
Thanks for the responses. I plan to go for the koni sports, WMW suspension kit (with springs, 25mm RSB, adjustable control arms) , and some upgraded bushings...to start with. I'm impressed with the handling with just the new 17" wheels...can't wait to drive it after the new toys get added.
Now I will be posting questions in the correct areas

 

if you're at all serious about autocross you'll want to keep in mind what you can and cannot do based on the classing. i.e., HS you can only do the RSB & dampers (not springs or arms). Not sure if adjustable arms are legal in STF either

 

I'm just auto crossing for fun. I'm not concerned about placements or ranks.

 

i'd probably just do the rear bar anyway to start.. why bother with other stuff (yet)? if you're looking to go FAST you probably picked the wrong car to start with lol. if you're looking to have fun autoxing, rear bar will do everything you want it to

 

Take a stroll around our suspension parts catalog and take a look at the options we offer.

-Luccia

 

I had the same thought about the struts degrading as afadeev did. I figured while I'm under there, dive in and replace all at once. I have a lot of nice twisty roads by me and I like to tear around on them. The prices of found on all the parts are reasonable to the point where I'm happy putting in that amount of money for what I will do. Who knows, once I start autoX maybe I'll really get into it.

 

I driven a car (fjcw, NM springs, sport shocks) with the 25mm rear bar and thought it was too much... The rear was really twitchy. I prefer the smaller HSport bar. But that's just me...It's not a track car, only driven on the street. YMMV..

 

I was wondering about the 25.5mm Hsport being a bit much. I drive this stock setup pretty aggressively and wonder if the 19mm would be a smarter option. Does anyone have an opinion on that? I don't want get too much of a RSB then have to baby it around corners. I do like to occasionally take corners aggressively amd do like a bit of a fight to it...if that makes sense. I see the percentage change ranges for stiffness online, but don't really have real world examples to base that off of. +125% seems like a lot (on paper) when the back end of stock doesn't budge now.

 

Everyone has their own preference. I run the 25.5 H-sport bar on medium and feel comfortable with that setup, even in the winter. I first put a H&R 19mm on the car, and then found the H-sport bar that I'm using now.

Richard has a lot of experience and I would not discount his opinion either.

The RSB will make the car feel more nimble and responsive to steering inputs.

Your car is the base suspension, correct? If that is the case, it has smaller sway bars and the 25 mm rear bar may be too large when compared to the factory front sway bar. I'm sure that you will find guys that are happy with both setups.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Way will get you were you want to be, I bought all my suspension components from him and listen to his advice. I had my r53 set up and corner balanced by a shop that only works on minis and bmw’s. They were even impressed with the handling, saying it handled like a dream.

 

My son and I put the Bilsteiin HD's on his Justa. It made all the difference in the world! that is all I can say. Someone above said how quickly these things degrade and all I can say is that it is true. I was told a long time go from an auto engineer / race tech for Porsche who said shocks don't last longer than 5 years and 50K . We reused the coils and replaced the rear bushings too. super easy job for the DIYer, given you have a spring compressor.

You may want to just do that first and see where it leads.