Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the Noob Questions but after reading pages of forums I'm starting to get dizzy coming up with answers.

I get my 08 MCS with standard suspension on saturday and I want to lower the car for mostly aesthetic purposes, it will be a daily driver not a street racer or track car. I also don't really want to spend a fortune on a half inch drop by getting the jcw kit from the dealer.

As i understand it the economical way to lower the car is by using springs, either H&R or Mach V. With this setup is a sway bar a good idea, and if so which one 19mm or 22mm. I have read about the differences with the oversteer, understeer, but I'm such a noob I don't even know what oversteer, understeer is. I just want the car to handle comfortably like it does stock.

The next question is about the mini factory warranty. I understand it will void the warranty, but what part of it? The entire warranty or just on the suspension? I just don't want my dealer to blame me if any part of my drivetrain has problems.

Is it possible to install these by myself and a friend who knows about cars. Or do I need a lift and air tools to install these mods. From what I've read it sounds like people have installed the swaybar without a lift, but I'm not sure about the springs. If i should not attempt these myself, what would be a good price to pay to have this done. It seems springs are around 200, and so are swaybars, but I'm unsure of what labor costs would be. Even a very rough estimate on labor would be very helpful.

Last but not least, Does anybody have any experience with Steve's Auto Clinic in North Hills CA. I live 2 blocks away from them so they looked like the obvious choice if I needed the Mods installed by a pro.

Again sorry for the noob questions.

Just call Steve's or Danny at Mini Corsa. Talk to those guys about your concerns. They are both straight up and honest (from my experience).

www.minicorsa.com
www.stevesautoclinic.com

Good luck!
Anthony

+1

Springs won't void your warranty at all unless something happens to the car that is caused directly by the springs.
You can definitely do it yourself. The only special tool you need is a set of spring compressors, which you can get at any auto part store for about $50-$60. I bought a pair when I put in my coilovers and they work great.

Here is a great how-to on lowering springs:
http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=13

You don't need to do any other suspension mods if you lower it, altough if you begin to notice any uneven treadwear, you might want rear lower control arms to adjust the camber on the rear wheels.

Thanks for the replies. After looking at the instructions, I'm feeling a little apprehensive about doing it myself. I think my best bet would be steve's or minicorsa, i was surprised how reasonable the rates were. After looking into the parts a little more it looks like the rear control arms will be a must. I never liked the pidgeon toe look of a dropped car so it looks like the rear control arms fix that. I'm going to steves to talk to them today, hopefully i will be able to get them to lower it this week.

Good luck with your new one. Post what you do about springs and show us before and after pictures>

Coilovers FTW, Whats the budget?


Jack

Coilovers looked like an option but I think they are a little expensive for me. I don't have a budget per se. But I havent even bought the car yet it comes saturday, and i already bought new tires and wheels. They are waiting for me at the tire shop. I just don't want to **** off my fiance by dumping too much into the car. I can justify lowering it with the springs and control arms. I figure they will run about 700 - 800 installed. but once i reach that thousand mark I'm sure she'll be pissed. Not so much that I'm spending that much, but she has a mini also and i can here her now, ( why didn't you pay to have both of our cars lowered with springs instead of just yours with coilovers) . I'm trying to get away without spending a small fortune.

Oh man, you could be in for some trouble if she likes the look of the lowered car. Maybe you shoulda done sway bar or something she cant' see.

lol I know, but maybe for her birthday I'll get her's done and avoid the trouble.

I went to steve's auto clinic and he quoted me labor of 200 for the springs and 45 for the rear control arms. The only thing i was worried about was he said he has h-sport springs in stock. I asked him if they were compatible with a 2008 and he said no problem. I thought the only springs for the 2007, 2008 models were H&R and mach v. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

EDIT: He was busy super busy so he could have been mistaken. I just want to be sure.

Pretty sure H sport doesn't have them yet. The H&Rs rock, I'm very happy with them.

Coilovers are great if you want to lose some weight in your wallet real quick.

I have rear lower control arms, but IMO you don't need them just to lower the car, you can align it within spec if I'm not mistaken. I got my H&R springs from tirerack a while ago for $199

I'm considering coilovers right now.

What I'm curious about is how they may change the suspension since they will have different shocks right?

I'm a noob as well and just trying to understand it all.

I want to make sure that whatever I do isn't going to cause problems down the line and I've read stories about people's strut towers going bad because of lowering springs without a proper spring rate or stiff enough shocks (don't remember exactly which it was...).

Are there any specific numbers or other factors we should consider or research to make an informed decision?

It just seems strange to me that such an important part isn't talked about in hard numbers the way other drivetrain mods, tires, etc... are...

Or maybe I just have a LOT more research to do

Question! I'm also a noob and thinking about lowering my car but i have the standard suspension, not the sport. i know i've heard somewhere that its not good to lower the car with the standard suspension packages because it might damage the shocks? is that true?

partially, yes. but the shocks already have a limited life. harder springs only shorten that life, but not too bad enough for coilovers imho. when they are completely finished (i assume the worst case scenario is more than 18months) you can sell the springs and go for coilovers.