Anybody using lowering spring on their coupe and if so any recommendations? No wanting super low, just bring down the wheel gap some. Thanks

 

Hello, AST Suspension (Run by a MINI owner in Holland) has some slight drops which H&R does not carry. Look for the R58 Cooper S, you have that car correct on your Sig, still shows the R53 2006?
R58 Cooper S/JCW front & rear: 0.98"drop and also, front: 1.37" rear: 0.98"

https://www.ecstuning.com/News/MINI_AST_25253/

 

I purchased a set of Eibach (Pro-Kit Performance Springs). Advertised drop front and rear is -1.2 in. I selected these because they were advertised as "tested with factory dampers." I have less that 14K miles so I don't plan to replace the struts and shocks. I haven't installed them yet; waiting for clarification (from my mini dealer) on how much of a negative camber will developed from the drop and should I be worried about abnormal tire wear; and if so what's the solution... My understanding from speaking with my mini dealer is: the rear will be okay, there is enough adjustment on the control arms to correct the negative camber, it's the fronts that's causing the concern.

 

Fronts you are ok, the rears when we really lowered my car on Ohlins coilovers needed the rear adjustable to get into spec. Most springs you will get into spec unless they are really low then its the rear you have to worry about.

 

Thank you for the reply, appreciate it. I wonder why the mini dealer had a concern? I'm still waiting for a reply from them.

 

Welcome, maybe they meant the rear or got confused?

 

Installed the Eibach Pro-Kit Performance Springs a week ago. changes noticed: Ride it’s a little firmer/tighter, Cornering has improved, before the installation when corning it felt more of a rolling sensation now it feels like it’s squatting down through the corner. It developed confidence to go through the corners faster. Braking improved handling while breaking hard too; were as it tended to drift during hard braking it now keeps a straighter line. All in all extremely satisfied with the improvements of the upgrade. The measured drops are Front/Rear: 1.2cm (.5")/.9cm (.4"). Measured space between fender and tire. Alignment shop was able to set the alignment to factory specs. Installation and alignment were done by:

Bavarian Autoworks and Matt’s Alignment & Brake, both shops are located in Vancouver, WA.

cheers, wws

 

Had Swift lowering springs on mine before switching to Ohlins. Which reminds me I need to put the Swifts in the for sale section.

I also have the HK adjustable lower trailing arms and would recommend them to make sure you can dial in the camber properly. Also remove the white plastic locator button on top of the front springs for a bit more adjustability.

 

Running the blue H&R springs on my R58 JCW.

Little more bumpy but man... the look is AWESOME.

 

Tigger 2011; mahalos for the info irt lowering trailing arms and white plastic locator button. In the mean-time, I'm keeping my eye on tire ware.
Supramo; care to share the dropped achieved by the blue H&R springs? 10-4 on the Awesome looks.

 

Hi NAM family!
I had a question. This past ending of January 2022 my husband purchased for me an R58 Mini Coupe S and I love it. It was garaged kept and has ultra low miles (23,500 miles) in mint condition. It’s such a fun and feels to have the potential of being an outstanding handling car. He just purchased a set of NM Engineering lowering springs and an NM 22mm rear sway bar.

My question is, how are the shocks holding up?
I was told and read that the OEM shocks for these cars (R56-R59) loose to much travel when lowered on lowering springs and the ride becomes to harsh.

So I thought id ask for those with lowering springs installed on their cars to chime in and give their experience, thoughts, review and insight thus far. How long have they been installed on your car and how have they been holding up?

I have yet to install the springs and rear sway. I don’t want to install them until i get a little more info on peoples experiences.

I also wanted to ask what are other supporting modification needed when lowering the Mini on lowering springs?
-Do the bump stops need to be cut?
-Are new endlinks needed to keep the sway bar in a Neutral position? Are front and rear needed if so?
-Are rear control arms needed? If so are 1-set or 2-sets needed (Top and bottom)?

 

Car looks great!

If you want to do it right, i would suggest getting a set of Bilstein B8 shocks. They are designed with a shorter shaft to accommodate lowering springs, and they have stiffer damping to keep the ride quality.

 

Congratulations on a great find and welcome aboard!
-Yes the bump stops will need to be cut but it's a simple process.
-I didn't need new end links with Swift lowering springs so you may be good there.
-I do recommend adjustable lower trailing arms so you can dial in the rear camber.

The factory shocks will not be in their designed position to match the valving but the ride should still be ok. They also tend to wear out sooner and start leaking when lowered but you should have plenty of time to research a replacement that fits your driving style. The Bilsteins that Nik mentioned are a great choice as are KW V2 and Ohlins.

 

Thank you kindly for the reply’s and compliment.
Is it only the roadsters and coupes that suffer from to short shock travel when being lowered on lowering springs? Or is it all Minis R56-R59?

I had my R53 till this day lowered on TSW springs and had them on for many many years and just recently the rear struts started making noises. I believe the noise could be the rear endlinks but I’m not a 100% sure if it’s the struts or endlinks.
Thanks for the advice on getting lower or cutting the bump stops for the lowered springs.
Are there any other must do’s for lowering the car? Or other parts that should be considered?

Can anyone tell me what size is the OEM front sway bar size? Should the OEM sway bar bushings be replaced with aftermarket Powerflex bushings to give a little extra stiffness. I was thinking since the rear bar is going to be swapped out for the 22mm adj NM Engineering sway bar, then it might be a good idea to give the front OEM bar a fresh new set of bushings .

I will also surely pick up rear Camper arms. Any suggestions on a brand to choose? Would 1-set be ok or is 2-sets needed (top and bottom)?

Thanks so much and looking forward to your replies.

 

Replacing the front sway bushing is a job since you pretty much have to drop the front subframe to do it. The powerflex bushing are nice but I'd wait until I was in there already and replace the control arm bushings with powerflex at the same time. You need the lower trailing arms to adjust camber. The upper arms are only needed if adjusting rear track (total width). The other issue with changing the uppers is if you have Xenon self leveling headlights the leveling sensor attaches to the upper arm. Aftermarket ones will have no provision for that, My advice would be to choose Hotchkis or similar that has a grease fitting and steer clear (sic) of any all-metal ones that use an eyelet. They will be clunky, noisy and wear out more rapidly especially on a daily driver.

 

Hello Iris,
I'm a "Blue Guy" and love the color of your car. However, it looks like the shade of Blue could be "off" just a bit from stock?
I'm betting this is Kite Blue...which I love. Can you verify?
Thanks,
Steve

 

Kite Blue is what it is. I was going to buy one before i bought mine.

 

Thanks for the response. Nice car and yes...I'm a Kite Blue fan.

PS: If you ever decide to sell please contact me.

 

I bought an R58 JCW in chili red, here is my build. I found a R58 in kite blue right before this one, it was not a JCW, so i jumped on the JCW.


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