So which springs are the best for handling. Not concerned with ride comfort, just performance. Also, KW apparently sit the mini a bit lower than the H&R's, does anyone know how much lower. And finally how much is the camber change for each?

Thanks,

John

 

I think DaveInDenver has mounted both ... he or RandyBMC can tell you all about it ...

 

The HR are about a 0.75" front/1" rear drop vs the KW's 1" front/1.5" rear. If you are looking for comparisons, my car has the KW. The camber isn't that bad. It looks negative from angles, but really isn't that bad from dead on rear.

Comparing the ride/performance of both will be difficult as I don't know if anyone's tried them back to back. Randy, have you yet?



R

 

Where can I find pics of DaveInDenver on the site?

 

His car

 

I'll post a few pics of my MINI with H&R's (I have not done KW's), but here is a link to all the pictures of my MINI on MCO

 

Thanks Davebret and DaveInDenver for the photos for comparison.

Both cars look awesome.

How does the car handle for you now? Do you notice any hopping over bumps in the corners? Do either of you compete in AutoX, and if so how did the springs affect your handling/times? Do you feel there are any negatives as far as performance?

Clearly from a appearance standpoint, its a big improvement.

John

 

John,

The car does handle better - but not dramatically - with the new springs. Ryan had the first KW set installed in the country for the series 2 I believe, so I have not had a chance to compare the two. For sheer looks, I like the H&Rs, but that is totally subjective. The yellow on the KWs looks better through the wheel though.

The most dramatic change you can make for the handling of the car is the rear swaybar. It is an amazing difference in turn-in and reduction of understeer.

I have driven the car with just the springs, and then the springs and the swaybar, and it is a huge difference. I haven't tested a car yet with just the swaybar, but from all reports, the change is just as dramatic.

Randy

 

Hey Randy, I noticed you are selling the KWs, are you going to try them out?

R

 

Ryan,

Yep.

Randy

 

I was under the car looking at things, and looked at the half-shafts. They are level when the car is sitting normally. Those of you that have lowered your car, how much of an angle are the halfshafts running at now. And will the constant running at an angle increase CV joint wear??

John

 

John,

We used to have some pretty good angles on the very lowered Porsches, with no problems. Porsche eventually turned the gearbox upsidedown on the 935 to get better geometry.

With the MINI, the angle is almost unnoticeable. It really isn't a problem at all - that theory of axle wear sounds reasonable, but that would mean you shouldn't tranfer weight from side to side either - it effectively does the same thing as far as the angle goes.

I do realize that the front wheel drive adds an additional component, but I still don't think the angle cahnge is significant enough to cause any additional wear.

Hope that helps, and give me a call or e-mail if you have any other questions.

Randy
720-841-1002
randy@mini-motorsport.com

 

Thanks Randy,

Your opinion means a lot.

Great testing data on you other post by the way......I appreciate it as I'm sure many other do too.

John

 

>>I was under the car looking at things, and looked at the half-shafts. They are level when the car is sitting normally. Those of you that have lowered your car, how much of an angle are the halfshafts running at now. And will the constant running at an angle increase CV joint wear??
>>
>>John

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Having worked at GKN Automotive, world leader in constant-velocity joints for a number of years with the engineering and manufacturing units, I foresee no detrimental wear with a slightly increased angle on fixed or plunge joints.

Seriously, the secret to minimal wear is in the formulation of the grease given the high precision ground components, i.e. inner race, outer race, fixed outer joint housing and plunge joint housing.

Even our PhD in Tribology (a.k.a. The Grease Doctor) has focused a career in perfecting different greases for various applicatoins. The secret ingredient for long-life is the grease.