Made the upgrades a few weeks back but just got around to doing the write up last night on the install. However, I wanted to give you guys my impression on the upgrades in case anyone is considering the changes/upgrades themselves.

So as a background/context I recently purchased a 2016 Countryman S ALL4. Wanted to improve the ride and handling a bit. To that end, I wanted to lower it a bit and lose the body roll the Countryman has. The write up on the install is here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-install.html

I went with the Eibach Pro Spring Kit (PN/ E10-57-003-02-22) because I have used Eibach springs on some of my other cars and I have always been very happy with the results. Both from the height lowered and the ride/handling they provide. They are variable rate springs in all the cars I have installed them on and the Mini is no different. I am very big on the handling of my cars. I am pretty picky. Specific to the Mini Countryman, after having driven it for a few weeks since I made the swap, I noticed some immediate differences. The ride is excellent now. Definitely a bit more stiff than the stock but not harsh, by my standards. Straight line ride is great and comfortable but you do feel better "contact" with the road. When driving with "spirit" the ride is noticeably tighter. The car does not lift or dive as much under hard acceleration and braking. Turn in improved, which is cool given the best aspect of most Mini's is that turn in. Body roll differences I won't mention on the springs because, I changed the rear sway bar as well so the lack of roll is greatly impacted by that and the spring rate & ride height change won't be the biggest factor in the lack of roll. As for the drop the car did drop about an inch front and rear immediately. The front dropped a bit more a few weeks later so now the rake of the Countryman is there but a bit less drastic. One last note on the dropped car. The camber is impacted on the car. In my case after the drop I had an extra degree of negative camber that I needed to take out. I installed a pair of the Hotchkis Sport camber links because I did not see enough adjustability in stock eccentric bolts to take out the full degree of camber.

A pair of before and after shots. The after is right off the lift when installed.




On the swaybar I went with the NM Engineering 22mm rear sway bar (PN/ NM.258860). I went that route because I liked the fact that it was a solid bar with forged ends. I prefer the feel of the solid bars vs the hollow. The adjustability was a plus and the billet mounting brackets with the grease fittings closed the deal. A VERY nice swaybar. The bar is a quality piece with a very good finish on it. When I installed it I set it to the middle setting of three. After driving for a few weeks, I cant say enough about the bar. The change in the roll, or the lack of it, is HUGE. It is really a night and day difference. The car is far more stable in turn and the sway bar does not add any adverse reaction back. In other words, the Countryman does not sway back and forth at all coming out of a hard or sudden change/turn. The billet bushing brackets are top notch and they are greasable, so top marks there as well.

A pari of shots to show you the differences between the stock and NM Engineering bar and the bracket hardware.




A last word on the shocks... The stock shocks are good with the springs. The spring rate changes and the added sway bar does not require more dampening than what the stock shocks provide. So, you are good to make the swap on the springs and sway bar without having to worry about shocks with stronger dampening (bound/rebound) than the stocks.

If you have any questions... hit me up.

 

Nice! And on a rare edition. R60.

 

What made you go with middle setting instead of stiffest? I bought a sway bar a couple months ago but with the crappy weather in CO during winter, I haven't had it installed yet.