Hey guys I'm fairly new here. I own a 2007 MCS and I want to lower my Mini a bit to give it a better stance. I was planning on going with the H&R Touring Cup Kit. I'm not really familiar with suspension, so I was wondering what all other essential parts would need to be changed in order for the car to have a nice ride and not wear the tires out unevenly or faster than normal. Any help would be much appreciated. Also, if you have any other suggestions on coil overs vs Cup kit. Thanks!

 

In regards to your uneven tire wear, after you change your suspension set up get a tire alignment. That will adjust your cast/camber into factory or your choice of spec. What are you're goals? A fun DD, autox, roadrace, etc.

I would recommend you replace your shocks at the same time. Especially since your Mini is a 2007. New coils are not as fun with worn out or over compressed shocks.

I too am new to modifying the Mini as I have only had mine for 3 months.

 

It'll be a daily. I'm in Ohio so I don't want to go crazy low (because potholes) so it's still practical for the roads here. The cup kit comes with shocks and springs also, so an alignment is all I'll need? I Just didn't know if something like adjustable control arms would be necessary for camber. Touring Cup kit is only 1 1/2" drop, so I don't know if i'd need anything else that the kit didn't include.

 

Swift springs on Koni Yellows.

Nothing better.

 

No matter how you lower it you will need some Hsport rear camber links to get the rear camber adjusted properly.

But you should really look at the Megan coilovers, they are more cost effective than the H&R, and I don't have complaints from them like I've gotten with the H&Rs.

 

In general, adding negative camber to the suspension settings does not increase tire wear that much on its own. The really heavy wear happens when you combine negative camber with toe-out. So much of the tire wear problem can be mitigated by using the adjustments that are already on your car.

If you go very low (maybe more than 3" drop?) the camber itself does start contributing a lot more to tire wear. But at reasonable ride heights, it shouldn't be much of an issue, if any. And if you like going around corners quickly, you may find the tires wearing more evenly once you add some negative camber, rather than the outer shoulders wearing away...

Given what you said about not lowering the car much, I'd skip the camber kits and just get everything adjusted as well as you can with the stock adjustments, and keep an eye on the tires to see if the camber kit is really needed.

 

Not to contribute to the pending bill, but you are halfway to installing a rear sway bar, which really makes the car feel more nimble. If you are doing the install yourself, be careful of stripping out the lower shock bolt in the rear. These are bolts that thread directly into the cast aluminum arm.

I'm happy with the TSW/yellow setup that I have, but it didn't lower the car much.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Megan? Seriously?

 

YES, I would take them over the H&R. plus they include camber plates.

 

Don't their camber plates slip? I've heard of several having issues during autocross...