Hey NAM,

I'm tearing into my 02 R53 to do the R56 trailing arms and a general refresh/ upgrade to the suspension and am curious what the forum thinks of the best dampeners for the Alta springs would be. I was just about to order a set of Koni FSD but at the bottom of the page there is a disclaimer that Koni recommends them only for stock height cars? So should I rule these out or just assume Koni is being extra careful? Otherwise what's my next best option? I've read that Bilsteins can be exceptionally harsh (assuming they are talking B6 but not sure). I will be doing the front struts as well.

Also are adjustable lower control going to be required to get my alignment done properly or do the R56 camber bolts have enough adjustment? Any one wanting to through out their proffered alignment specs for spirted daily driving/ decent tire wear is also appreciated

I've been considering upgrading the rear sway bar while I'm ripping into this thing and wanted to see what people have to say about the Eibach 19mm option. I see there are larger ones available but am trying to stay somewhat reasonable on costs, this car is one of 8 in my garage and shouldn't spend my entire budget on just the one...

Thanks and happy motoring!!

 

You will like the r56 trailing arms. I used the H sport control arm when I did my swap

https://www.waymotorworks.com/h-spor...ber-links.html

 

Do you know if they were required to get with in spec or just did during the swap? Are you stock height or how low?

 

I didn’t wait to see, I just did it while I was at it.

 

The general consensus seems to be that the FSDs may wear prematurely and/or not ride properly if you run them with lowering springs.

I'm not familiar with the Alta springs, but my alignment guy said he did have to make use of my adjustable arms in addition to the stock camber adjustment when I had my car aligned with Swift Spec Rs, which are supposed to be a half inch drop in the rear, I believe. I'm running 1.5° of negative camber in the front and 1.4° in the rear. Can't remember the toe offhand.

Definitely swap the sway bar while you're in there. I have a 19 mm H-sport in my car, and it's an improvement. Other people swear by the larger bars, so I don't know which is truly best.

 

Thanks for the response!

I had a chance to do a little more research since earlier and it really looks like the Koni Yellow or Bilstein are the best bet with being lowered. Koni Orange are an option but I had a set of those on previous car (MKIV Jetta) and the car rode super stiff, although it was probably about as low as you could get with a set of springs. If your guy needed to adjust the arms with just ~1/2" then likely required with the Alta set. This is the second R53 I've had with Alta and my wheel gap is always seems tighter than any one other mini. I need ramps to get the rack arms under it.

I'm coming to the conclusion I just need to look the other way and throw a good sized was of cash at this car...I even texted a buddy and and asked if was still interested in MR2 since I'm basically out of parking and run out of my willingness to have so many projects ha

 

Not quite a comparable config, but close. I have a good friend who has an R55 Clubman S with Bilstein B6 with factory sport springs and stock rear control arms. He also put in a monster 25mm rear sway bar and 23mm front. The ride with the Bilstein B6 struts is definitely daily drive-able. Firm, but not harsh. Tires on this car are Michelin Pilot Sports. I realize it's not the same platform, but you are putting on R56 rear trailing arms, you're halfway there.

For my kid's R53, I sourced some H-Sport lowering springs and paired them up with Bilstein B4. Like the FSD, the B4s are supposed to be paired with OEM springs. The H-Sports are very mild in drop, about 20mm. I also put adjustable control arms in the rear to dial in alignment specs. Bump stops trimmed about 20mm. Ride is firm. Big hits on freeway are harsh, but I don't think there's anyway around this

Alignment for this car, we went the below (daily driver/occasional canyon duty)

Front Toe 0.12/0.13 left and right Total 0.25*
Front Camber -0.8* front camber (fixed factory)

Rear Toe 0.12/0.13 left and right Total 0.25*
Rear Camber -1.5* rear camber using adjustable control arms.

Ride quality wise, I'd say the biggest impact was the change in tires. I originally went cheap with Sumitomo all season and the ride was harsh. After the upgrade to Conti DWS06, the ride dramatically improved. Handling was not impacted.

Hope that helps and good luck with the rear trailing arm upgrade!

 

Aren't the Koni oranges supposed to be similar to the yellows at their softest setting? I'm currently on the yellows with aftermarket bump stops (5x racing, I think?) and Vorshlag camber plates. I've been meaning to fiddle with the Konis some more to see if I can soften it up a bit, but I haven't felt like pulling the rear struts do it.