I think this is where the misunderstanding is. When i lower my megans....i dont touch the spring perch. It doesnt go up or down....so the springs aren't compressed.

To lower megans, you move the lower body/bracket....just like you explained on the CROSS. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure the CROSS and Megans (as well as the other ones i listed) all use this method.

here is a pic of the megans...(not mini specific...but they're all the same visually besides the mounting points). The brackets on the left (a brownish gray) are what move up and down so the spring perch doesnt move, and the spring isnt compressed.

 

I have the PSS9's and they do NOT adjust like the Cross/JIC suspension.

When I adjust the rings to adjust ride height, it compresses or decompresses the spring (which effects the amount of travel i have). With the Cross/JIC suspension (as Rustyboy and DMH have said in the past), to adjust ride height you adjust the LOWER of the two rings which controls the portion of strut that mounts to the vehicle. It is a sleeve and the strut moves up and down in the sleeve. This does not affect the TOP ring which keeps the spring compressed.

After looking at the Megan coilover picture again, it looks like they might adjust the same way as the Cross/JIC, but I don't have any experience with them.

Does this make sense? Explaining it in words is confusing...I wish my PSS9's adjusted like this because when I go lower, the ride quality definitely suffers. Wish I had $2,400 lying around...

 

Hmmm....I lowered the spring perch.

Seems like a lot of work to lower/raise if you have to take the strut off at the bottom and then move that whole grey piece. No?

 

I don't think you take it off, I think you just adjust that lower ring.

 

Spot on .

It's possible the Megan's adjust the same way, but I was under the impression that the spring was compressed when you adjust the height. I have no experiance at all with them. I didn't like the way the Megan's rode, to me they seemed a bit bouncy (part of what I was trying to get rid of by moving to a coilover).

 

no no....you dont have to take it off to lower.

The routine.....

There are 3 rings. Loosen the bottom one so that it's free. Put the wrench around the middle one (not the top one) spin it in the direction you want to go (either raise or lower ride height). This will spin the body of the coilover down into the base (same as moving the base upwards). You dont want to be moving the upper ring unless you are seeking to change the spring dynamics. The top ring is the spring perch.

 

From the pic above, you would have to losen that lower ring, the one all the way on the right of the pic. Then the grey part would turn clockwise up the strut. Then the ring would lock it in place. No?



I really have to take a look and expreiment I guess...

 

Sounds like they do adjust the same way. I have never compressed my springs to lower my megans....just used the regular method like the CROSS's. My ride's a bit stiffer than stock...but no more so that the H&R spring + Koni combo i had before hand.

 

Using the pic i posted....(the bottoms are on the left)

Loosen the ring on the far left hand side. -This unlocks the base.

Begin to turn the middle ring. It's the one sitting snug up against the spring perch ring on the right. -This will not move the spring perch....it will cause the black threaded part to go down into the base which you have unlocked.

Spin the ring on the left back down to lock it all up again.

I think that will help...its easier when you are looking right at it.

 

Will try...

I like my spring rates where they are right now...guess when I tried to lower my ride(THE WRONG WAY) all I was doing was making the springs stiffer, but the ride height dropped as well.

Guess I had it wrong the whole time...what a dope... :impatient

 

This thread has progressed a lot! Certainly glad I started it as I just learned a lot about the several coilover options we have for the MINI. I love the idea of adjusting the ride height independent of the spring perch.

So this brings another question, slightly off topic but w/e... Control arms, which ones are good? I don't want noisy and I don't want something high maintenance, I pretty much want to install them, get an alignment, and forget about them...

 

Well, heim joints like Alta's (that I have) can be noisy on some people's rides. I haven't experienced it cause I have so many other rattles and creaks...LMAO . If you want "virtually" maintenance free...go with the H-Sports. The are a poly bushing with a zerk fitting. Just lube it every 6 months or so and your golden. I had 2 sets available for dirt cheap but SayGoodbye took em...

 

I would say x2 on the hsports if you are looking to install and forget about them (without noise). People seem to really like hsports and they report very little noise.

I should have a set of Ireland engineering control arms arriving shortly....which are supposedly pretty loud without being heims....but i bought them off a fellow motorer and didn't want to pass up on the sale. I'll let you know what i think. I'm not looking for performance alignment or anything....just trying to tuck my wheels a bit back there

 

Thanks for the quick responses, exactly what I wanted to know. Man things sure do add up, next wheel/suspension setup is starting to get pricey lol. I guess you learn to just do things right the first time around, unfortunately you learn that the hard way lol...

Please do report back on the IE control arms

 

 

OK guys I just picked up my Cross Coilovers and Innovate wide band from RMW about an hour ago. I will take off work at noon on Friday to do the install. The coils looks great!! I can't wait to put them on. I will post pix through out the install.
Good Thread by BTW
Mario

 

Cool good luck with the install.....let us know what you think The cross definitely sound like a nice setup

 

I have helix control arms on my car, no issues with noise yet... they've been on there for a while. They were pretty cheap too IIRC .