If you have bought a set of H&R coilovers only to have installed them to find that the front is way to low evan at the Highest setting???

I have the fix for you!

I called H&R of America that just so happens to be in the Good ole state of Washington "I live in Washington state,lol" about 3 hours away from H&R & I complained that my coilovers in the front are way to low evan at the highest setting to the tech "John".

He told me they now have a fix & sent me a brand new set of front springs out to me free of charge & shipping included.They are 1 coil taller & have a different spring rate to them.Not sure what it is as John said he couldn't tell me that info.Fine by me as I can'tcomplain about free.

I installed the new springs last night & what a difference.They ride soo much smoother than the old springs & I now can raise the front up almost to factory ride height!!!

As it sits I am at .5" wheel gap in the front of SilverBullet & I have 1" left on the threaded part of the strut so I can go lower.I am happy were he is at now & he will stay there.

Sorry I didn't get any pics but here are the Part #'s.

Old = 29338
New = 29338 3VA (F)

If you have H&R coilovers & have the sameproblem of the front being to low please post here.If you do not & know a member who does please let them know about my posting.

joe r

 

I think MEB was the first to discover this and work out the fix with H&R. That could be untrue, but I've read this about the coilovers before.

Glad it all worked out for you - let us know how you like the setup.

mb

 

seems the complaints come only from the standard H&R Sport coilovers, my RSS sits perfectly fine

 

I forgot to mention that I have teh street versions "Red springs".

I searched & I couldn't find anything other than complaints about the H&R street coilovers.

I realy like tham & I am super happy with them!

Thanks for the feed back guys.


joe r

 

Joe - will you ever take them on the track?

Kyriian - what's the difference between the RSS and the street? Do you track your Mini with the setup? Like it?

mb

 

I might track them if we have a track day in the NW but other than that it is my daily driver & I wouldn't show up at a track by my self.


joe r

 

the RSS is the harder version, best known is the green springs part of it

i can tell its hard... very hard... the hardest setup i've ever had, and i love it, it still understeers a bit with the sway bar in the middle, might put less camber in the back and see what happens, that said, ive had some hairy palm sweating moments when the r-comps are cold (one instance i pulled a spectular drift, totally not intentional! when my r-comps are cold)

and although i do miss i can't adjust rebound like before, nowadays its one less thing to worry about

my gf and my mother doesn't like it very much, but too bad!

 

...I was first told that the springs were fine...but my apparent amazment caught someone's attention at Turner Motorsports. I worked with Don (DHM) and Turner only to return these. Don refunded my entire purchase as H&R did not have a fix at the time.

In addition, I advised H&R raise the brake hose tab about one inch and shave a few microns from the outside diameter of the damper housing since these require a fair amount of force - a hammer - to install and remove. Not really good for the internals.

But, I am glad to read this...I was beginning to think I was alone in this quest. My JCW kit is in the mail...

 

I have a special tool at my shop to open things up a tad so that help slide the front struts into place up front.As far as the brake line that was easy I bent the bracker back & no issue now.

I realy like these now that I have the new front springs in & can ajust them a tad higher.I almost swapped them out for KW or the new EIbachs but the price I recieved these at I held in with them.Plus H&R being in Wa state helped also.


joe r

 

...glad you fixed things...I guess I am just mystified by the lack of attention to detail, but when I was simply tooling along in these, the ride handling compromise was exceptional - up until spring bind

 

Ride compromise?I love the H&R's & the way they handle.To me they are way better than what my factory sport suspension was.Alot smoother ride also.

I have yet to have spring bind so I am unsure what you were lowered at.


joe r

 

The previous springs offered by H&R were incorrect - they allowed one working coil at a proper ride hieght. The only way to help this situation was to lower the car, not raise it - lowerinf increased the distance between upper and lower perches. So, when lowered to a point where I gained another 1/2 coil, the air deflector under the front bumper scraped on the ground. Very bad spring design! Hence the new design.

 

meb - you're going with the JCW suspension now? How come? Still going to track it?

mb

 

I called H&R late summer last year about the low ride height after installing the street kit on my 02MCS. This was before they came out with the taller springs for the front. The originals were too low and did not allow any adjustment, as the highest position gave a clearance (under the air dam) of less than 2". I was unable to drive the car in the winter. Last week I spoke with a rep and he has shipped new springs to replace the old. Give credit to H&R, they are making this right.

 

Credit given!

mbcoops...I tried three different aftermarket kits in this car. None worked right out of the box and a lot of time and mileage past as I worked thru some bugs. So the JCW kit is coming. I figure I can still have fun at the track...but I'm spending lots of money on wine lately ...so I may not be on the track all that much I may be the guy next to the fence at turn one (LRP)eating a persuito sandwich and drinking a great Super Tuscan...one never knows...

 

Sounds good - I've been going back and forth on setups forever. I then decided I wanted the TSW AST/Swift, and I'm pretty sure I still do, it's just a money thing at this point.

Part of me just wants to get bilstein sport shocks, throw on the TSW springs (they don't lower much) and just forget it.

Let us know how the JCW compares to the setups you've run before - we all learn from your experiences!

mb

 

Michael,

Hope that you don't suffer as many false starts with the wines as you did with the coil overs. Should we ask you to post your wine results? Thanks for your hard work at problem solving.

John Petrich in Seattle

 

Who should we contact at H&R as I have a set and would love the new spring with more adjustment

 

I for one stand by H&R & love my Street coilovers.


John Filipiak
SALES/TECHNICAL
H&R Special Springs
www.hrsprings.com
Tel (360)738-8881
Fax (360)738-8889


joe r

 

thanks Joe

 

No worries.Its great we have forums like this to share info.


joe r

 

Hi,

Thanks for the info! I just had H&R Street coil overs install on my wifes MINI '04 Cooper and the front sit way too low (I think it dropped 2" from stock). She's scraping on every driveway.

The mechanic told me the front's weren't adjustable. I kept telling him they should be height adjustable. They are height adjustable aren't they?
I think they'll adjust and re-align free of charge it if they figure what they need to do. After all, they did take 400 bucks of my money and I'm not satisfied with the end results. However, I'm worried about the competence of the shop..

Is it the shop or the springs?
Do I need new springs from H&R to solve this problem?

 

You need to clarify why they are 'not adjustable.' If H&R sent you the 'short' front springs, the car will ride too low even if the adjustment ring is at its highest setting. The answer is to call H&R, describe the problem - which many have had - and ask for the taller spring. Your kit should provide for adjustment of ride height to both raise and lower the car.