Lots of personal opinions out there, are you looking for single or double adjustable? Dbl will definitley give you the most tuning capability. Singles get the job done for local autoX. I have Leda single adjustables, however Bilsteins, Koni, H&R are all good systems. The Ledas are 24 postition adjustable and have adjustment **** on the side of the tube, making it easier to adjust the rears without having to cut any holes in the interior to get to the top of the struts. The Ledas can also be converted to double adjustable down the road, the other major brands probably can be too.

Dudley

 

An additional option is to go with the PSS9s but put linear rate 2.5" ID springs on the front. For that matter you can convert to 2.5" ID springs in the rear too if you want to bump the rate up. The rear springs are already linear rate, vs the progressive rate in front.FYI, the Bilsteins adjust at the bottom too, front and rear. Scott90SM

 

I never looked into the Bilsteins, good to know they're easily adjustable too.

 

I love my Megans but they are a PITA to get right. But once you get they right they are golden.

 

Contact Outmotoring.com (Aaron) for various coilovers they have to choose from.

Let them know what sort of driving you have in mind.

One extreme is track only or mostly while another is street only. They are different so compromises will have to be made one direction or the other.

I have PSS9s that are both good on the track and at autocross and on the street but not perfect in any one of these.

Leda makes coilovers, some higher performance for track only.

Some coilovers have ride height adjustable and some have controls for adjusting dampening or recoil of shocks. Some are easily adjustable some not so easy.

Another idea is contact you local MINI club and ask to go for a ride in any MINI with coilovers so you can get the feel of things but tires and wheels will vary and so does the ride. 40 or 45 series sidewalls can be harsh riding but 55 series or taller would be more comfortable by comparison.

 

Thanks a lot for your help. I sent an e-mail to outmotoring.com and Aaron said that he believes the best system on the market would his company's suspension that has yet to be released. Thanks again, can't wait to feel how the mini handles with new suspension under it!

 

Ok its been a week and things are starting to come in the mail! Since it was my birthday last week I decided that my mini needed some presents also. So far this is the list.
Bilstein PSS9's
alta rear control arms
alta 19mm rear sway bar
helix camber plates
ferodo brake bads
stainless steel brake lines
cross drilled and sloted rotors
I ordered a set or RB style wheels from 18racing.com, and for now they're going to be shod with some kuhmo Ecsta tires. Thanks again for everyones help. I can't wait till its all installed!

 

SuperDuperMiniCooper,

Grassrootsmotorsports just had an article on alignment for the MINI and showed that more negative camber up front is a good thing for high performance driving. You make better use of the tires and even out the temperatures and cut lap times up to a point.

If you can try to maximize front camber and ask for -3.0 degrees
Front toe out to 1/8"
Rear camber about -1.3 degrees
Rear toe in to 1/16".

-3.5 degrees for the front wasn't better and -2 degrees wasn't enough.
Rear camber can be as little as about -1.0 or as much as about -1.5, they didn't specify. But more negative camber in the rear would increase understeer so you'd want some but not overdo it.

 

Thanks Minihune I'll have to pick up that issue

 

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new...es-interviews/
Get a free trial issue.

 

I am also in the market for a coilover set and have been compiling data the past few days about the most common sets available for the MCS.

That includes: coilovers, price, cheapest retailer, height adjustment, progressive or linear rate springs, front spring rates, rear spring rates, suggested use, and warranty.

Sure there are a lot more factors in choosing a coilover set, but those are the biggest ones for me and spring rates give you a good idea about what kind of ride to expect. If anyone is interested, I can send the file in Excel.

As of now, I am leaning towards Outmotoring's set, M7's, PSS9's, H&R RSS, or the Tein SS with EDFCs. All sets are in the $1400-1500 dollar range, except the PSS9's, which run about $1800.

I stopped by Outmotoring this past Tuesday and asked Aaron if he had any of his new coilovers in stock that I could look at but unfortunately he didn't. He is really confident that his are one of the best sets available for everyday driving with occasional autox and or track days. I am not trying to be a spokesman for Outmotoring, but Aaron buys a set of Koni Yellows then sends them to someone local to get them custom tuned and optimally dampened for the Mini. The most appealing aspects of the kit to me are the lifetime warranty and Outmotoring's extremely loyal customer service. The thing that bothers me is paying $1400 for a rebuilt $800 system.

Also, another interesting rumor that I read was that the PSS9 coilovers use H&R springs...not too sure what to think about that yet.

BTW, does anyone know the spring rates on the H&R coilovers or the H&R RSS coilovers? I am also interested in those but couldn't find the tech info on those anywhere.

 

BTW, SuperDuperMiniCooper, I just now read your updated signature. I'm glad you purchased the PSS9's. I didn't even realize this thread was a month old.

 

If you pay less you get the stock suspension part which is not tuned for your particular use, it's generic like standard shoe sizes.

By getting something tuned for the MINI you get a bit better performance both for street use and for performance driving.

Plus you get the support and warranty. Overall, I'd say you get what you pay for.

Problem with any coilover is that some are tuned for track and some more for street and some try to compromise but end up not doing either that well.

I have the PSS9s and got them relatively cheap some time ago about $1450.
They do OK and are better than just lowering springs for both street use (not as harsh) and for performance driving. Being able to set ride height and adjust dampening and rebound helps alot.

 

-3.0 camber?

How I wish my car wasn't a daily driver! Stock-sized springs probably rub with that camber anyways....

 

lol it's not that bad, I drive my car everyday with no problems

 

Yes, -3.0 degree for the front was the sweet spot they found.
This doesn't mean you need that for street use. And it doesn't mean you need that much for your performance driving- or even that it is possible for you to get that much negative front camber.

Like you mentioned your suspension parts might limit your camber.
Many of us have done -2.4 degrees in the front but it looks like a bit more could be possible. From tirerack.com technical articles it seems about -2.5 to -3.0 degrees is common for track cars.

If you have stock sized springs you don't really need -3.0 front camber. More like -1 to -2 would work OK and still fit.

 

Superduper – I wouldn't be worried about drivability issues (well, I'd expect a bit of lost straight-line traction..) - more uneven tire wear. I'm getting uneven wear as it is (-2.3).

I picked up the issue of Grassroots today. Good stuff.

 

To get anywhere near -3.0deg camber in front will require smaller diameter springs. Note that the car in the article was using 2.5"ID springs (like me ), not the standard PSS9 springs.

Scott
90SM

 

Redskunk - you need to corner harder to even out the wear!

I've run between -2.0 to -2.4deg camber for the last 4.5yrs on the MCS, and over 2 years on the previous car. Lots of street driving, due to a 90 mile round trip daily commute. At the end of life for the tires, I usually find no more than 1/32" difference in tread depth between the inboard and outboard edges of the tires. Not spinning tires cuts back even further on the delta.

Scott
90SM