my 215 width rears rubbed with my Koni setup. The new 215 RE01R's are sized like 225's...just a tiny bit of shininess on the tires tells me it's touching the fenders every once in awhile, but no need to trim or anything (it doesn't make any noise).

It all comes down to offset. I've got 7.5 ET42 I think. What's the width and offset on your wheels before the spacers?

 

no time for it now. i think it works great. more later.

 

Since you were considering Dinan, how's about the JCW suspension? You can get the parts for $700 or so via the intarweb and have your shop do the install and alignment. No muss, no fuss. Unlike adjustable coilovers - height, spring preload, "Did I buy lca's?", rebound, etc. Though you may want lca's to fiddle with the rear camber with any amount of drop. There's also the Promini kit with Bilstein sp's and H&R springs.

If you are still into the adjustability, BC makes an attractively priced kit. And you can get different id 2.5 springs if you like.

I've been looking to upgrade myself, but I try to keep in mind my mini is a daily driver on some of the crappiest roads here in the nor'east (two seasons - winter and construction). Koni FSDs and stock springs might be my ticket. less to adjust, though I may add spc lca's anyway.

Motor on!

 

I have H&Rs on mine and I absolutely HATE THEM!!!! The front rings are threaded to the top and the front is still slammed, I have ~2 inches of ground clearance (aero kit).

I know 3 people personally with DINAN suspension, 1 local guy and 2 guys that own a racing shop and have done nothing but rave about the DINAN setup. I am selling my H&Rs to recoup some of the bad investment and going the right way with the DINAN this month.

Moral: Steer clear of H&Rs, go DINAN.

 

Thanks for the info. I have heard so many good things about Dinan. I'm sure you'll be happy. Somehow, because of the cost and a slew of other things, I have decided to go with Bilstein PSS 9 Coilovers and Ireland camber plates (getting them slightly used from another NAM member who lives near me. He's going with Cross coilovers, but only because he's a crazy upgrade/modifier for no reason) with a M7 strut brace to give me the strength over the towers to avoid future mushrooming. I got a quote of 2700+ dollars from Mini of Sterling and it kind of soured me on the Dinan thing. If you do it, I'd order the parts piece meal from different suppliers. First I'd get the springs from Dinan. (Though they are Eibach springs) I'd get the right off the shelf Koni yellow sport struts and shocks, just like Dinan does, but from the cheapest source you can find. Then do what Dinan does and set the front struts 1 turn from full soft and the back 7/8 turn from full soft, there you are matched to their springs. I'd then order camber plates from Ireland or another adjustable plate (not necessary, Dinan's non-adjustable plates are OK, but for a hundred bucks more you can get a more robust, adjustable plate). I would then get the M7 strut tower support plates or the tower brace to avoid the mushrooming problem that you're gonna experience with those small profile tires. The mushrooming is what me going down this road in the first place, my dealer wanted $960 to fix the problem with OEM parts. Anyway, if you do it this way, and get a local installer to do the work, you'll save cash and have a few extra nicer parts, but still have exactly what makes the Dinan suspension work so well. The Koni shocks and the Eibach springs.

Just my 2 Cents.
MyCarV
Mike Harvey

 

Gotta love the serch function.

Now I just need find out if the Konis are adjustable without removal. So I can confirm the settings are correct.

 

I drove a local car with the Dinan suspension - I was impressed. More than I was with the JCW suspension.

mb

 

I can assure you with 100% certainty that is not what Dinan sets their struts to.

I have the S3 suspension and tracked my car at Mini United last June. I was able to maintain a much tighter line over stock Mini's and slightly tighter over JCW cars. Of course JMMV.

 

Then what is the settings that Dinan uses?

I bought my MCS with the Dinan allready installed. I just check the front shocks and they are "1 turn from full soft on the front" I'll assume the rears are just like the Konis I used on my VW Golf and would require removal to adjust.

 

I suggest anyone wanting to know the correct settings that DINAN sets their Koni shocks to, call them. Here is their contact info:
DINAN
865 JARVIS DRIVE
MORGAN HILL, CA 95037
PHONE: 408-779-8584
800-341-5480

They are very free with that information and again, they will tell you "front 1 full turn from soft, back 7/8 turn from soft".

This is not proprietary information. SMSgt Bo, please let us know why you are 100% sure the settings DINAN has given me repeatedly are not the ones they send the KONI shocks out with? Are you suggesting they are pulling some sort of trickery?

MyCarV

 

Is anyone aware if the strut mounts have to be drilled to install the Dinan camber plates?

 

What is the drop on the Dinan springs compared to H-sport, etc?

 

the fit fine without. FWIW, they are some of the less agressive plates out there.

Matt

 

I have information that convinces me I have been posting the wrong settings for the DINAN suspension Koni struts on this thread. The settings I have been posting are very nearly correct, but according to the information I now have in hand, I am off on one strut by a tiny amount.
Thanks to the forum user who supplied the info that settled this debate for me. I still wonder why I have repeatedly been given the settings I have been posting by the technicians at DINAN, but no matter.
Out of respect for the wishes of the forum user, I can not post the actual settings on this thread. If anyone wants to discuss this further with me, I will be glad to respond to any personal messages.

Thanks again to the user who shared information he considers proprietary to settle a debate.

 

For those with the DINAN suspension, I saw a photo on NAM tonight that showed the rear of the car much lower than the front. Is this accurate?

 

I have the full Dinan suspension on my MCS - the rear does have a little less wheel gap relative to the front; however, the car does sit very nicely - I have been incredibly pleased with the set-up now having run it for nearly a year.

 

Are you running with camber plates? If so, whose?

Any install issues?

Are wheel spacers necessary? I run 17" TD Pro Race 1s in the summer, and 16" steel wheels in the winter.

 

I'm running the Dinan plates which are part of the S3 package - they're fixed, so if you desire a lot of negative camber or adjustment, may want o consider other alternatives. Running 16x7 Rotas w/ 215/45/16 RS2s - no rubbing, ever. As for installation, it's pretty straightforward - you'll need an appropriate socket to remove the top strut nut and a drill for the rear shock plate, but other than that, everything is very smooth.

 

I haven't noticed the back any lower. Here's ours with the Dinan suspension:



And coming off the track at Mini United 2007:

 

Okay, all of my parts have arrived. A couple more questions before I start.

My car has 55k miles on it. Would it be worth the expense to replace the upper strut mounts while I'm doing this?

As for the camber plate install, here is what I under stand.

1. Knock out the three bolts from the stock upper strut mounts
2. Bolt the DINAN camber plates to the top of the strut mounts (DINAN bolts/nuts/washers) torque setting?
3. Bolt the strut assembly onto the car (whose bolts/nuts?)

Any How To with pictures of the camber plate portion of the install? I've done the rest of the suspension before.

 

You can adjust the fronts through the hole in the shock tower. You have to remove the rears to adjust them. I'm pretty sure that's what you'll find for any adjustable set-up. There is someone on NAM who drilled some holes and routed an adjuster inside the car, but that's an extreme case.

 

Half way through the DINAN install and hung up on reinstalling the fronts. With the new camber plate in place, were having trouble getting the bottom of the strut back in place.

Any tips?

 

Okay, we solved the install issue and finished everything up. We ended up compressing the strut with a jack and a piece of wood. Worked great!

Only had time for a quick run around the neighborhood, but a very nice upgrade from the FSDs with stock springs. Of course its not hard to improve on a suspension with a blown rear shock AND front strut. Two years in a row for me on blown FSDs, I won't be going back. That's too bad, as they make a very nice first impression.

So I am now sitting on DINAN Stage 3 suspension. Just need an alignment (Monday). The car actually lowered quite a bit. I have winter 16" steel with 195/55R16s, and I can just get my hand between the top of the tire and the wheel well. I sure hope that doesn't present any issue for my 17" summers with 215/45R17s. Even though the back looks lower than the front (two hands), the still looks level.

Now back to happy motoring!!