I bought my first car 41 years ago -- it was a POS but it was MY POS. In the intervening years, I've owned quite a few others. I haven't modified the suspension on a single one. A combination of the Countryman-based rally car and my son's JCW Paceman have me wanting to lower my 2013 Countryman S All4. The thing is, a lifetime of avoiding the subject have left me totally uninformed.

I don't want to slam the car (is that the term all the cool kids use?). I just want to drop it a couple of inches (maybe a little less). Don't want to create any other problems like rubbing tires or bottoming out on bumpy roads. I don't want to do anything that will make me wish my spine was several decades younger, I just want it to feel less tall. A ride a bit more JCW-like would be great too.

So what I need is advice on what kind of setup makes the most sense. Lowering springs and new shocks? Coilovers? A ball-peen hammer to the forehead for considering messing with the suspension? I'm open to all suggestions. Oh, I should also mention that I'm putting a kid through college with another starting next year so the budget isn't unlimited.

Looking forward to the wisdom of NAM.

 

ball-peen hammer


I had similar thoughts and decided to just get a 2dr ht for the lower ride. Son took Countryman.

 

When we retire and move elsewhere, a 2dr ht will be one of my first purchases. In the meantime, AWD is highly recommended where we live - at the top of a hill with only one way up; a steep, twisty way.

But your point is well taken. If lowering opens up a can of worms then I'll live with it the way it is (which isn't at all bad).

 

I’m on Megan CO’s with NM camber arms
Countyman JCW 330hp 19” wheels

Mario
mQubrd Motorsport RPM Power Tuning

 

Your Countryman is absolutely stunning. Do you have a build page so I can see what you have done to the engine to get to 330 HP? I am looking for more power in my 2016 S All4. Thanks in advance DJ

 

Thanks Mario. That looks great. I might not want to go quite that low on Wisconsin roads. How stiff is the ride? Comparable to the JCW sport suspension?

 

Its about 20% stiffer than JCW suspension, but the handling has improved greatly with the rear sway bar and front/rear camber plates/arms

Mario

mQubed Motorsport RPM Power Tuning

 

Honestly, any good adjustable dampening coilover system would be a good bet. Make it as high or low as you want, and some of them have 40 different dampening settings, just with the turn of a dial on top of the strut assembly.

With my coilovers, I can make the ride softer than stock, or I can go more than twice as stiff. Spring rates also play a big part in the ride though.

 

Thanks. BeardedR60. What are you running?

 

I'm currently running Godspeed Monomaxx coilovers. I also have a set of Godspeed Mono SS that I put on randomly for no good reason at all. lol

 

This is just after i installed KW v3's. i also have the WMW rear sway bar. I also just put in SPC control arms this past weekend. I dont have pictures of that quite yet. Soon to come: Konig Rennforms 18x8 et 35. I love my V3's they ride so great and i have no issues with clearing anything. i do need to make them a touch stiffer only for some of the bumps on highways where i have bottomed out. mostly in Rhoad Island. the roads suck there.

 

Hey Salty. How much difference does the rear sway bar make. Torn between that or a sprint booster for next mod and trying to figure out which to go with first.

Thanks!

 

go with our sway bar it's the biggest bang for the buck for the suspension. Just the reduction in body roll makes it that much better to drive.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-co...-sway-bar.html

 

I’ve installed a rear sway from Way when I lowered my last CM and the handling was night and day. I have JCW CM now and I’m not going to lower but I am planning on buying another rear sway from Way!

 

yeah, the sway bar make it feel way more like a mini. i am on the stiffest setting as well. definitely a must have for the r60

 

I’ve done Eibach Sport springs on three Mini’s and two Lexus’ and always liked the change. My current R60 JCW rides smoother than stock with them and not too low to worry about much. That said maybe a slightly lower spring would look nicer. I think NM is a slightly lower option. Living in Ohio I understand the need for the All4 and some ride height too. Coil overs could give you the option to raise the ride height in the colder months too, but a nice set is going to cost way above what a set of springs is. I was able to find the Eibach under $200, new, tax and shipping included.

 

Thanks. Great looking car. Did you install the Eibachs with the stock shocks? Did you also install adjustable control arms on the rear to address the change in geometry?

 

Speaking from experience with my TT, unless you are going any more than 25 mm (1") drop, then there's no need for any other adjustments. You might want to check that your camber (already pretty extreme on the rear of our Countryman!) is not causing additional shoulder wear on the inside, but an alignment would probably be all you need. You will want to do an alignment after tugging apart your suspension to replace the springs anyway. Anything south (north?) of 1.5" then absolutely you should be looking at camber plates in the front and adjustable control arms in the rear but only if there's not enough of a built-in adjustment to get things to factory specs. And that's about the point where I defer to people with more knowledge about these cars because I have no clue what kind of range of adjustment there is in these cars.

On a related note, you may find that stiffer anti roll (aka "sway") bars are all you need and it's a pretty easy upgrade. Even if you do decide to go the lowering route regardless, this mod will make the car feel so much more immediate in its responses to steering and suspension inputs.

 

I haven’t done anything else..., yet. The Eibach spring was a minimal drop from the JCW, so I haven’t done any alignment work. I would like the sway bar upgrade. The camber is pretty serious in the rear from the factory, but I’m used to going through tires quick from the Lexus. Any yes, stock shocks for the same reason above. I have yet to feel the bump stops. If you go any lower than Eibach I would look at a belly pan to go with it, if for nothing more than the winter driving.

i ordered the springs before the car was delivered even. Working on hardware upgrades tomorrow for a stage 2 future. Then maybe the sway bar and an alignment!

 

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. I love the look of your lowered cars. After chav's post, I thought lowering springs seemed like the way to go due to bang for the buck. But as I read more, I realized that I would probably need to replace my shocks as well since I'm on stock shocks with about 70k miles on them. So that brings coilovers back into the equation.

My primary goal is to address the look of the CM. I like the car but it just looks (and feels) too high. Improvements in handling are welcome but not the main motivation. A sway bar is on my list but doesn't help with height.

For now, my thinking is that I'll wait until Spring to do anything. I want to take time to make the right decision so I'll keep reading and examining options. To that end, more opinions and experiences are welcome.

 

Mario - I just noticed that you are using NM lower control arms. Their site mentions a possibility of noise due to the lack of bushings in their design. Do you experience this on your car?

 

Hey Mario, how did you get 330 out of your CM?

 

Saltysalt, I am interested in the KW v3's for my 15 JCW CM All 4. I have never purchased coilover before, do I need to purchase/upgrade the front and rear strut mounts for these to work or will they be plug and play into the existing strut mounts?

 

Can't speak specifically to the V3s but I installed KW V2s on my car and the existing mounts work fine. I replaced the front mounts since I was replacing most of the hardware but the new ones I installed were the same as the old ones.

I just realized that I never posted photos in this thread after I did the installation.

 

How does it handle with the KW V2s?