I would like to know when they are installed on a MCS with the stock suspension, which spring provides a smoother ride? I am more concerned with the ride than with the lowering of 1.4" vs 1.25".

 

I cant vouch for the Mach Vs, but I bought H&Rs last week from Alta and they are great lowering looks perfect, rides similar to stock apart from feeling more bumps in the road.. handling feels better..brakinng feels better also.. I have a 19mm rear sway on soft andd t turns amazingly!

 

What do you mean by feeling more bumps? Is it more bouncy when you go over uneven roads?

 

Either spring are gonna give you a little more "road feel". That's what happens when you cut over an inch out of your suspension travel.

If you are wanting a smooth ride, swap to non-runflats at the same time you do your spring install, and you'll never even notice the difference!

 

Yes indeed..like rattmobbins said, more road feel, you will feel every dip and bump in the road a lot more than before because the springs are a stiffer than factory.. I kept my runflats on for now, but have heard from many as well, when going to a non-runflat tire, it does help handling and the tread is usually a little softer than a harder compounded runflat tire...is it worth it? absolutely.. The ride is not harsh, you won't catch yourself saying, hmm, i wish i didn't install these.. Good luck with your decision... p.s. installation isn't that bad either.. Alta has a nice writeup on their site or its pretty much just unbolt and go. Definately a first mod for many cars

 

Do you have the H&R or Mach V?

 

Probably pretty similar.

 

Will it make the ride too harsh if I installed a 19mm Rear sway bar too? Or with the lowered ride height the car will handle better and have a better turn in so that the sway bar is not really needed? I am not going to use the car for track or autoX at all.

 

lowering springs lower the center of gravity and reduce the body roll to a certain extent at all four corners. However, the rear swaybar will not make the ride stiff to any noticeable degree, but it will make a noticeable difference in cornering.

 

Sway bars don't affect ride, only handling in turns.

 

For the most part this is true. On bumps where both wheels are moving the same way (like crossing railroad tracks, say), the sway bar just pivots along with the wheels, exerting no force on them. But on one-wheel bumps (potholes, irregular road surface), the sway bar WILL exert some force.

All that said, I couldn't tell the difference in ride when I swapped sways to a 19mm rear from my stock 18mm sport bar. I DID see a marked difference in cornering balance, though!

--Dan
Mach V
FastMINI.net

 

I keep reading about lowered R56s riding their bump stops. Any long-term issues with this? I plan on getting the DDMWorks strut brace once it comes out, so I should be protected from mushrooming but is there anything else I should know about?

 

I'll add one comment that hasn't been made yet. The Mach V springs are progressive in rate. Small undulations and ripples in the road (low-speed changes in the suspension travel) aren't transmitted to the chassis in the same manner that the stock springs transmitted. The stock springs would deliver harshness at the beginning of compression travel, whereby the M-V springs are more compliant through that first portion of travel. Result: smoother high-speed ride quality over stock.

To me, that's the biggest difference between straight-rate vs. progressive rate. That said, when the chassis is set into a turn and max spring compression is achieved, the response to changes in pavement and road condition is much better, much more predictable and a significant (read:HUGE) improvement over stock. Example:

There's one mountain road sweeper I take every day thats a closing-radius 60mph right-hander that has drainage ruts cut into the pavement laterally across the lane every 30-40 feet. Stock, the Mini would "step-out" at every rut and at the limit it was just plain hairy. That condition exists no longer. The line remains where I point the car and I can add much more speed into that corner without the chassis becoming unglued.

I can't comment about the H&R's; I hear lots of good things about them, but I can't say enough good about my experience with the M-V's; it's all good.

 

There's one mountain road sweeper I take every day thats a closing-radius 60mph right-hander that has drainage ruts cut into the pavement laterally across the lane every 30-40 feet. Stock, the Mini would "step-out" at every rut and at the limit it was just plain hairy. That condition exists no longer. The line remains where I point the car and I can add much more speed into that corner without the chassis becoming unglued.

Thanks for the explanation, I think that almost sealed the deal for me.

So if there is small irregularities on the road, like small holes or bumps about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. The Mach V will be smoother running thru them than the stock springs?

Also are the H & R springs progressive? How can you tell if a spring is progressive by looking at them?

Thanks

 

Absolutely. That's what I like most about them.



I might be totally off-base here but if so, someone will correct me :
Progressives can usually be identified by the winding - coil spacing goes from closer to farther from one end to the other. In coilovers, it;s common to see two separate springs being used stacked one on the other, each with different rates.

I don't think the H&R's are progressive. H&R owners can clarify this.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Yeah you can tell by looking at a spring to determine if it's progressive. The spacing between coils will decrease(coils will get closer together), as you go from the bottom to the top. In a linear spring, the coil spacing is the same throughout the entire spring..........And the H&Rs are progressive.

 

Hi everyone.... I'm new to all this, but if you change the stock springs do you have to get an alignment after?

Thx

 

Because you are taking the suspension apart you will need an alignment afterward as I understand.

 

Since the camber will change slightly on a lowered car, an alignment is recommended, but not necessary. Your tires may wear a little more on the inside tread.

But don't people often increase/decrease (I'm not sure which it is when the top of the tire is farther in than the bottom, i.e. in a lowered car) to get more bite on curves?

BTW I got Mach V's, but since no one is quoting spring rates who knows what the difference is between them and H&R's. Since you only have .2" of free uptravel on stock suspension, your bump stops are going to come into play with either

 

It depends on the smaller spring used. An assist spring is to act as a progressive portion to the compression. A helper or tender spring is to be compressed completely with the car just sitting there. The purpose of those is to expand with the suspension droops so that there is load through the springs on the upper and lower perches.

 

But for the track, the initial soft compression will only make the weight transition longer. If it is stiff from the start the car will not be as mushy.

 

Which is probably why a set of H&R or Mach V springs isn't the best solution for track purposes. Designed to give reasonable comfort in everyday use.

 

Introduced new rattles in the sunroof on the test drive. I've had them on for 3 weeks, and I'm looking for alternatives. These springs (combined with my Sports Suspention shocks) and a 22mm rear bar on middle setting, make my headlights bobble up and down on the freeway like Uncle Ben. Ride with stock Sports Suspension was hard, but smooth.

I sort of wish other folks had been more open in reporting the harshness, or maybe I'm the only one running Sports Suspension shocks?? I ditched the runflats on week 2 of ownership, so that's not a factor in my opinion, and I'm running 17"s not 18"s so I've still got tire compliance.

Re handling, I disagree that they're not apropriate for the track. While speeds only get up to 80 or so at our autocross, the transition/progression of these springs is very predictable, even through a slalom, which you won't experience on any track.

MC2 has a review this week of a TC Kline setup that sounded perfect. Coilovers with compression and rebound adjustments, and already designed for the upper and lower limits of where they work with the MINI so you can really make use of their full range of adjustability. I've yet to find a price though. The reviewer claimed the ride was softer on the soft settings than stock, despite being slammed a radical distance.
-kARL