Has anyone lowered their cabrios? If so, any pics? I noticed the only springs I can find that fit the cabrio are the H & R springs which lower it 1.4 inches front and rear. Help!

 

H Sports fit the Cabrio. They drop about an inch all round.

 

Just out of curiosity... Besides the obvious "look" of the lowered car, what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing this? Lowering the car's center of gravity must have performance differences, but what about ride, wear on the tires, struts, clearances, etc.? I've seen 1" lowered Minis and it's a good look - subtle and almost unnoticible unless you're paying attention - more of an overall upping of the car's agressiveness than an overt, in-your-face effect, IMHO.

Thanks!

 

Lowering the MINI will give it a better center of gravity in addition to a better and more aggressive look IMHO. I've ridden in a MINI Cabrio with the H&R springs and it did not lose too much ride comfort. As far as the tire wear goes, it's very important on a MINI to get adjustable lower control arms. There not too expensive($160-$200) depending on the brand. I'm planning on using Alta's control arms. Because of the stock setting of the camber already on the MINI, once you lower it, the camber will be way off. This will produce a lot of uneven tread wear. With the control arms, you will prevent this from happening. A few guys in our MINI club have lowered there MINIs including one cabrio and they all love the look and ride. I still have 17inch wheels on mine, so I just want to fill up that wheel gap a bit and improve a little bit of my handling. I will have to look into the H Sport springs. I thought they could not be used on the cabrio.

 

Excellent info - thanks so much!

 

Yes you can use H-sports on a cabrio. I've recently installed the H's on my '06 MCSC. However, keep in mind that the cabrio is about 175lbs heavier than the MCS and will lower the MCSC about .5"-1" more than the drop stated by the manufaturer. That will be on any shorter spring regardless. You will also lose suspension travel due to the additional compression on the shocks. After running with the H's for about 250 mile or so I decided to go back to stock and look for another alternative to improving handling and lowering the car. The H's performed very well but it was too low for my driving habits. Overall, the H-sports have very good ride qualities on good roads but because of the loss of travel, I could really feel the sharp bumps. I was prepared for a stiffer ride but I was unaware of the additional drop on the Cabrio due to the weight. Oh well, live and learn. So if anybody is interested on a slightly used set of H-sports let me know and we can discuss price. Now, I've just installed Megan Coilovers as this set up is supposed to give the ability to lower the car w/o loosing suspension travel....sorry the H-sports are sold

 

Based on BF's h-sport findings, maybe JCW springs are they way to go? I've read they come in several rates tailored by configuration (weight) and only lower the ride about .6" - almost imperceptible. But with the added weight of the cabrio, I'd guess the drop might be closer to 1". However, I'm pretty sure I've read they're not for the cabrio. Has anyone tried them on the cabrio?

 

I installed the H-Sports springs along with Koni adjustable shocks. It was about 3/4" too low so we added the 3/4" spacer from M7 that sets at the top of the dampers. Absolutely perfect with no tire rub.

I think if you are considering lowering the cabrio you will need to do two things for sure. One is replace the oem shocks because the lowering springs will wear them out quickly. And two, the rear lower adjustable camber links are a must.

Still use 17" wheels but you can forget about 18s.

KK

 

Do you have a link to the spacers? Do they increase damper travel or just raise the car that amount. Thanks

 

They raised the car 3/4". Purchased from Way Motor Sports.

Call