I'm guessing lowering your mini will affect how much weight one can carry. Is it true or is it still possible to drive around town with 4 passengers on a lowered mini? If not, approx. how much weight can be carried?

 

Lower springs usually means stiffer springs, too.

Shouldn't be a problem. Don't worry.

 

I am riding pretty low on PSS9's and I just drove from Arizona to California with my car packed to the top...no back seat, boxes piled to the ceiling ...even the passenger seat was packed to the ceiling with stuff. I don't know if it was the equivelant of 4 people, but it was pretty heavy. I was tucking pretty heavy. If it werent for all the negative camber in the back, I probably would have been rubbing in the back. Luckily, I didn't bottom out when I was driving...I don't know if I would have hit or not...here is how low I am currently...with no stuff in it.

 

Minifiend, how comfortable is the ride going that low with the PSS9s?

 

I don't have any personal experience, but I remember seeing a post by a would-be modder who said that there was virtually no clearance for a moderate lowering. If someone knows which post I'm talking about, maybe they can list it?

 

Well I can't speak directly to the PSS9's alone because I added them with the Webb Camber plates...then switched to the H-sport camber plates. The ride got noticably better when I switched camber plates. I was riding on the bottom thread with the Webb Camber plates (which added to my ride height) and when I switched to H-sports I raised my height about half way to the top of the threaded portion(the H-sport camber plates are half the thickness of the Webbs, so I didn't need to compensate by lowering the car as much). It rode noticably better when I raised it up. Although, at low speeds and on bumpy rodes, they bouce a little bit more than I'd like...or bounced more than I noticed in my friends Mini with H&R coilovers. On the freeway and well paved roads, the car rides nice for a lowered car with a short wheelbase...on twisties and loopy on/off ramps...it handles like a dream...

 

Though I wouldn't describe the car as having "no clearance for moderate lowering"... I think this is the thread you were looking for:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=95275

I've got Sport Suspension on H&R springs. It's on the bumpstops up front (like every MINI with just a spring swap) and there is some compression still availible. Less than stock, yes. But it's there.

Unless you go for a full coilover set with a shorter shock body, every lowered MINI is on the bump stops. Read the other thread for addiditon details. It went up when a few of us were sorting things out early on.

 

Is such a coilover set available (with shorter body) for the R56 at this time? That would seem to be the ideal solution for the bumpstop problem (if it is a problem at all).

 

Not that I'm aware of... but I haven't been shopping, either. So that doesn't mean "no".

 

JIC/CROSS has a set of beautiful coils for the r56 that are independent ride height adjustable, so you can drop the daylights out of it without affecting spring travel/compression. I have a set sitting in my garage just waiting...

 

Looks like Minifiend has a nicely lowered 05, correct?... I'd like to know how big and wide (wheel and tire) we can go on a lowered R56. I have the H&R springs still unmounted because I'm looking for a nice fit (wider look). Mac V Dan got 235x40x17 to work on a 17x7.5 rim. anyone else go that route? pics?

 

I saw their post when they released the coilovers, but I question whether the dampers have shorter tube bodies to solve the bumpstop "problem". I know you can adjust the height, I just wonder about the bumpstop thing.

 

--->TheBigNewt; The JIC coilovers are both preload and shock-body length adjustable. When you shorten the shock bodies, you lower the vehicles ride height without impacting the shocks compression and rebound distances. The bumpstops are essentially wherever you choose to put them based on the preload and length adjustments.

 

What does everyone think of the upcoming JCW suspension? The main reason I'd be interested in it would be keeping the warrenty intact, and of course less issue with clearance, etc. I am going to wait till I get wheels and see how things look before changing the suspension much. Might just do sway bars.

 

So i'm guessing getting h&r springs WILL void the warranty? When will jcw springs be out?

 

Seems expencive. $1300 plus installation for a non-adjustable suspension that has the same 4x4 ride height as stock (OK, OK. It get a 1/4-inch drop - not even close to being enough on the R56).

It will depend on the dealer and what specific problems arise. I haven't heard of too many failures that anyone could necessarily trace directly back to springs. You could argue mushrooming due to bottoming, but thankfully, my dealer's opinion is that it will not change or effect anything.

 

Thanks for that info Ryephile. Clue me in: what exactly are bumpstops, and how does one adjust them based on the preload and length? Thanks.