I want to upgrade the suspension on my ’09 Clubman which is equipped with non-sport and has 49,000 miles. The goal is equal parts aesthetic and performance.The performance / safety issues I hope to address include body sway in high speed turns and loss of road contact [bounce] in uneven turns at speed.

The upgrade path I was considering is to 1st replace the OEM springs with NM Alpha [1.2 drop] coupled with Fat Cat Motorsports [36mm] bumper stops on the OEM shocks. The next upgrade will be Koni Sport shocks. Would this progression be correct since the Sport shocks were designed for lowering springs? Will this set up require new rear control arms that adjust camber?

Any “bang for buck” or alternative upgrade suggestions are welcome. TIA.

 

KONI FSD and heavier RSB (H-Sport 22MM adjustable).
Best bang for the buck, PERIOD!
Go visit with Way Motor Works. He'll advise and fix you up with exactly what you need.

 

You can't drop with FSD's. You need to go with Koni yellows if you want to go with lowering springs.

 

+1

 

Antisway bars limit body sway.
Proper shocks are needed to keep the tires on the ground over bumps.

Lower for looks and/or more grip on flat, smooth roads. Additional hardware will likely be needed front and rear to increase camber adjustability for optimum grip.

I would not advise doing lowering springs with old OEM shocks. I'd rather see shocks first if you have to do it in stages. And I'd really rather see you do it all at once to save labor and have a good final solution without mismatching components. I second the notion of talking to Way.

 

This!

What size wheels & tires will you be running? And do it all at the same time.

 

Stock MINI's can benefit from the adjustable camber in the rear. Add in any sort of lower springs, its definately recommended. Plus it'll rotate better with a proper alignment in the rear.

 

I would recommend Koni Yellows and H&R springs. I like the H&R because they pre-fatigue the springs (I think they call it Bloc Setting or something like that where they mechanically jounce the springs before powder coating). This prevents the sagging that can occur over time, which can destroy your bump stops and mess up your alignment.

 

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Another recommendation here for a stiffer rear sway bar. Just that change alone makes a stunning difference; like MothAudio I have the non-sport suspension, and just adding a TSW sway bar made cornering far smoother and more predictable. With the stock sway bar the car would get out of sorts easily in decreasing-radius turns.

I'll also recommend Way Motor Works. The owner, Way, is a regular and super-helpful contributor on NAM. His parts pricing is excellent. The service is wicked fast.

For example, I just ordered a set of Koni FSD's this afternoon at 4:15pm. I had a shipment notification from the shop by 4:32. No joke.

www.waymotorworks.com


(While I'm pimping vendors, I also like ECS Tuning. They have a guy monitoring the forums here. If you need a weird, obscure part, he'll find it in the diagrams more reliably and quickly than a Mini dealer parts desk. Fair pricing, too.)