Just purchased a 2013 S R56. My long term intentions are 300 Hp daily driver and street toy. I will not be tracking the car and live in a rural area with poor road conditions. The vehicle has some rear control arm damage so my firs improvments will be replacing the rear control arms and shocks while I'm dong the control arm work.
1. I'm not planning on lowering the vehicle, is there a "performance upgrade" for the stock divorced spring and damper setup?
2. I'm considering adjustable rear control arms but want to stay on the moderate cost side. What brands would be recommended for street fun but not hard core track use?
3. I'm also considering the WMW 25mm hollow rear sway bar? Any feedback or points of wisdom about that bar or better alternatives?.

Thanks,

 

You mention “divorced spring and damper setup”? What year is the car? If it is a 2013 hatchback, and indeed an R56, then it should have a coil over rear shock setup. If you indeed have a “divorced” rear suspension, then you would have an F56 3rd generation car…

Identifying the correct chassis will greatly improve the responses and suggestions you get.

 

I have just moved my auto lift to my new shop and have spent very little time under the vehicle as you can tell. It is, for sure, a 2013 R56. I've watched so many YouTube videos I just had the wrong impression of the stock shock configuration.. Being brand new to Mini's I'm hoping to learn "the easy way" from people who have more experience. The rear lower control arms have some minor physical damage and need to be replaced. Since the shocks are worn out (118,000 miles) I figured I would also replace them and upgrade the sway bar while I'm doing the work.. As stated above I don't want to lower the car right now and would like to develop it into a higher performance street car that can be daily driven.

My apologies for the confusion but any advice you have to offer would be valued.

 

Our sway bar is by far the biggest and best suspension bang for the buck mod so you can't go wrong there.

For shocks if you are not wanting to lower it the Koni FSDs provide a good ride and performance to be ideal for a daily driver car, and cost effective.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/koni-s...7-r58-r59.html

As for control arms I only use the Hsports in my shop as they have been reliable and work great to dial in the rear camber and save tire wear even when not lowering it.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/h-spor...ber-links.html

There is also the Megan arms which are a little cheaper
https://www.waymotorworks.com/megan-...ber-links.html

 

So you're *really* going to hate the stock suspension. It's just awful on anything but smooth pavement.

Two best upgrades I did for my 2012 S were to replace the run-flats with regular tires and to get the Koni FSD struts. The Konis are plenty sporty feeling but they handle the rough pavement much better. For the tires I keep a Slime inflator kit and some tire plugs in the trunk given no spare.

 

I know Koni FSD are on my to do list for this spring. I did a lot of research and yes for a daily driver. Not sure if I want to update sway bar or not but being almost 14 years old and approaching 90,000 miles I think I will do all bushings.

As a preventative, I will most likely do the timing chain and guides as well.

 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. Koni's look like the ticket. Will check out the other components offered by Way. Thanks for the advice.

 

For what it's worth, I just got the Koni Special Active FSD on all 4 corners, the 25mm hollow WMW sway bar, and the H Sport rear lower control arms on my 2013 Cooper S 2 months ago - she drives like a dream. Biggest thing I noticed is the much tighter feeling on corners from the sway bar, so def do that if you're considering it. Also had a really good experience ordering from Way Motor Works for what it's worth.