I am hoping when TiC getting finished with their AST coilover setups, they will next complete their mini suspenison. The amount of work, research, and iterations of new valving and internal components is staggering.

 

heh. I've been trying to figure out what sort of suspension enhancements would work well for a daily driver in the nor'east. Since my racing budget is a big goose egg , inexpensive is my watch word. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get a JIC/Cross, AST, or PSS9 set up. Another low cost adjustable coilover is BC who is the OEM for the Megan coilovers. The BC's do come with different spring rates than the megans. Minspeed.net sells them.

As for less adustments needed, have you considered the JCW or Dinan setups? Since you are blessed with smooth roads, there is also the Bilstein SP and H&R spring setup from ProMini.com. In any case, with lowering, lower rear control arms are needed. Camber plates are good idea as well. Since I am in the land of bad roads, I am leaning towards IE fixed camber plates, Koni FSDs, SPC control arms, and stock springs.

 

So if I go with a setup like the H&R Coilovers (looks like Alta has them by far the cheapest at $999.99) I would also need rear control arms and camber plates? Is that the H&R setup you were talking about? I see other spring and shock setup for $800-$1000; wouldn't it be better to go with a $1,000 coilover?

 

Have you autocrossed your MCS yet? The consensus seems to be that these cars are most competetive in stock class (SCCA GS). If you decide that this matters to you, you could instead replace your struts with KONIs (if you are still unhappy with stock and/or want rebound damping adjustment) and go for lighter stock size wheels.

You did not express any dissatisfaction with the ride height/stance of the car in stock form. This seems to be the driving factor behind many MINI suspension mods. As good as the MCS is in stock form, there is a real potential to reduce performance in search of a perceived aesthetic improvement.

The chief complaints about the stock MCS handling from most NAMers who drive in competition seem to be: (1) insufficient negative front camber lack of camber gain owing to McPherson strut design, and (2) relative front/rear antiroll bar rates biased too heavily towards understeer.

 

I haven't autocrossed the car yet so I'm hoping to get the knowledge and experience of what best to put on from those of you here.

I'm part of a club here in AZ (SECC) and we do a lot of track events and AutoX. I'm not planning to run in any sactioned (or other) events. I definitely want to bring the height down for looks as well. With 60,000 miles on the car I think it's due for a new suspension anyway so I'm killing 2 birds with one stone.

Based on what you've said, and knowing what I'm looking for, what would you do if you were me? Add antiroll bars as well as shocks/springs/coilovers?

 

you are going to get 10 different responses from 10 people...

if you are set on coilovers, then i suggest KW V2s, rides nice, drops low, and easily can fit stiffer springs should you need to. Koni's offering seems nice too, i was told they are a bit on the soft side, but can handle much harder springs than other coilovers

Ive also ridden on Spax, very very nice ride without being bouncy, and yet handling is very good. not me driving but does ride very nicely. might want to look into spax too

ultimately, i'd try and ride with a few coilover owners and see what you like... in terms of setup, unless you are chasing 100th of a second on the track i think most coilovers will get near the same time with the same driver... but that's just me

and for the record, i am on H&R RSS. i dunno about gnatster, but i like them, not everyone does (RSS is HARD), but the time when i do track days, i forget the ride. they are just incredible

 

Any lowering will cause an increase in negative camber for the rear, none for the front; dial out the extra camber with lower rear control arms. Even if there is no lowering, adjustable camber plates and rear controls arms will allow for a more aggressive alignment. H&R does make coilovers for sure, but there is a well sorted Bilstein and spring set up for a wee bit less from Promini. If so desired, Bilstein in California will rebuild or revalve to your spec.

As for a spring/shock combo versus a 1k adjustable coilover? It is a tough call. For me, it's easy, as the mini already scrapes with 15" wheels, maximum suspension travel is a must for my daily driver, with a bad case of mushroomed strut towers. The roads I travel are very spotty at best. For some, the BC and megan coilovers are a good choice as they come with adjustable camber plates for the price.

I do feel the Mini could use a wee bit more negative camber up front, so fixed camber plates work for me. So if stock height works for you, you may want to start with camber plates and lower control arms for a more track oriented alignment. And these items will carry over to most aftermarket setups. You will still need these items if you go spring/shock or adjustable coilover.

Like everyone, I have an opinion.

 

Suspension-wise, for my wants and needs, if money were not an issue, I'd want a dedicated set of wheels and tires for autocross (16x6.5 SSRs, or Rotas for a lot less $), and Koni yellows. If stock class eligibility were not an issue, camber plates and a higher rate rear anti-roll bar would probably be added to the list, but I'd want a lot more seat time and some professional instruction before I'd feel comfortable throwing parts at the car.

 

H&R all the way! I don't know why, but compared to the VW community, H&R's just don't seem to be as popular with the Mini people. I've had H&R coilovers on 2 of my old cars and on my mini now and I never had problems with them. I know a lot of the VW cats I know prefer H&R and they do everything on them from racing to just show.

They're a little bit more expensive, but in my opinion definitely worth it.

 

Yep, the seat time (in other cars) and professional instruction I have. The knowledge of where to blow my money on suspension for the Cooper S, I don't. The good thing (or bad, depeding on how you look at it) is that there appear to be a LOT of choices to go with.