lowering springs would definitely look better and handle better around the turns. Whats the point of having a mini if you dont put performance parts on them. You might as well buy a non s model and drive around like a granny(no offense to grannys and non s drivers). If you get loewring springs I guarantee you wont scrape. It wont lower your car enough to scrape anything. The front of the bumper is way to close to the wheels to even scrape boing up driveways. by the time the bumper is even close to hitting the wheels are alreay up the driveway. All of you guys who are telling him not to lower dont know a thing about driving lowered mini's. if you do scrape your mini lowered on just springs then you seriously need to slow down driving up drivways. I have mine slammed and never had scraping issues.

 

No one is telling him not to lower. If you read the thread again carefully, you'll see that the OP is primarily looking for a smoother ride, and some improvement in handling, which makes the Koni FSD a good choice for shocks. You can't use lowering springs with the FSDs, that's why it was suggested to stick with stock springs.

Also, slamming a car with just springs is a terrible idea. If you want to be low and have your car handle right, get coilovers.

 

You cant slam your ride on springs. Unless you heat them or cut them which is a terrible idea. I have coilovers on mine

 

Well, as far as handling goes.....I think any stock mini handles just fine for the street. I'm not some wannabe racer/ricer that drives around town like an idiot screaming around corners and pretending that I'm at the track. I think it's safe to say that a stock mini handles better than 90% of the cars out on the road.....and it's never going to see any track time, so I'm not to worried about lowering it to gain that extra bit of cornering speed.

As far as lowering does not equal scraping goes.....well, I scrap the front of my car all the time the way is it now....so lowering it will make it scrap more...I don't see any way around it. Also, keep in mind that not all parts of the country maintain their roads the same. Where I live it's pretty common to see some pretty big potholes, very steep driveways, or even some dirt roads every now and then when I take off on a camping trip......but I'm sure your slammed mini would handle washed out dirt roads that just fine

I want a ride that is less bone jaring, but still firm and responsive. I don't think that me keeping the stock ride height on my JCW MCS and putting FSD's and IR Camber Plates on it puts me in the category of "drives like a grandma".

Thanks for the info guys,....can't want to get all of my new shocks, camber plats, LCA bushings, and tires on this weekend!

 

I have to agree here, I have mine lowered on Swift springs with a very mild drop and I still scrape sometimes. Could I avoid it if I came to almost a complete stop and went into every parking lot/driveway at an extreme angle sure, but for a daily driver car, I really don't want to have to slow to a crawl to go over train tracks, turn into driveways, go into shopping centers etc.

I don't know what kind of roads you have, but mine suck hardcore and every parking lot has drainage dips in front of it and there are tons of steep driveways. I am very accustomed to driving lowered cars as my MR2 is slammed on coilovers with a lip kit on it and I love driving and love the way it looks, but it is definitely a pain to drive around in my area without worrying about ripping off my front lip or destroying it... so that's definitely NOT something I want to drive around worrying about in my daily driver, the drivers in Virginia Beach are bad enough, I have to put all of my attention there making sure they don't hit me.

IQ I think your setup will be great, and I am very interested in hearing your review once all is setup and installed!

 

Really low cars also do not necessarily handle better without a good amount of extra work....

 

Yes, I agree. I'm sure that the Engineers at MINI/BMW put in plenty of hours (and dollars) of R&D figuring out the suspension geometry that will offer a good combination of handling and decent ride quality. I like the look of a slightly lowered mini, but I don't want to sacrifice the handling/ride quality/and street-a-bility of my mini.

 

don't lower it, raise it

 

Installed FSD's last week after going through the same thought process. 03 cooper s with stock sports suspension 53000 miles DD also and was after ride quality. The Koni's are sweet much better ride, less road rattle and big improvement in handling.
Mini madness has for $675
You might consider a rear sway bar, did the MM 22mm bar when I did the shocks and the combination is very impressive. No ride penality with adding the sway bar as far as I can tell.

03mini

 

Thanks for the info...installing mine this weekend!

I got my LSD's from Motoringwerks. They are on sale for $620!!

 

If I was to do this over again.......

I would have installed a sway bar first, probably a 19mm. Get the feel of the car and then take the next step. For me, it wasn't the lowered look as much as the idea of upgrading oem parts to improve the handling capabilities while keeping daily road manners. Although my Mini has very low mileage it is in its 10th year, good to check on all the bushings etc at the same time.

If I was only installing struts/shocks I'd go with the Koni Yellows simply because in the likely near future I'd want to continue modding. Yellows offer the opportunity to fit a variety of spring options.

After a rather long process, I chose the Swift springs. The development strategy of Swift springs does not abandon the street comfort value, a big selling point with me. Their product and tech. just seems above the rest, and the drop of slightly less than 1", means driveways and speed bumps won't be major hurdle. Also adding H-sport rear control arms and H-sport comp bar.

My preferred garage is a 4 - 5 hour drive and a international border crossing! Requiring a shoot all the ducks in one big bang process.

Looking forward to my Spring install. Feeling very positive about the outcome. I'll try to remember to document all my measurements and
post a first impression reaction.
Cheers Ed

 

Ed, minimaddness recommends the rear sway bar as the best upgrade for the money also. their bar has 3 adjustment points so I started with the lowest setting and have experienced no issues. Seems as if a lot of people feel the 22mm bar is too much

IQraceworks you wil love the shocks Especially after 90k on the originals. Actually with all the work your doing you will be smiling for long time after a drive.

03mini

 

Well, I just finished up the install of my new LCA bushings and KONI FSD shocks. I also got a new set of tires. I ditched the runflats for a set of BFG G-Force Sports.

WOW...this thing rides like a totally different car. The ride before was so rough and hard, it would make me cringe every time I saw a rough spot int he road something that I had to hit. The car rides so much better now. It's still very firm, but not harsh and jarring like before. I'm VERY happy with the FSD's....can't wait to get out on some twisty roads and really test them out!!

 

You will find it handles great....like new.
When delivered, the mini had pretty good shocks....but age takes their toll....the oem struts imo are only a 4-5 year, maybe 60,000 mile item....
When i swapped my oem to koni golds, i thought, just like new, but the potholes and rr crossings are a bit better!! Glad you are liking them. Imo a 19 mm seaybar is a good street bar!! It will be a good $200 spent fun wise....on ramps, erc are great with one. Bigger might be great for a tracked car, but street+ as i call mine, the 19 bar is about perfect, stiff for summer, loose for winter!!