I have the eibach springs installed and am happy with them except the car is a little bouncier than I'd like with the stock struts. I have always heard great things about the bilstein sport shocks and was going to go that route, except that they are still in the research phase for the R56.

I decided against coilovers in the first place because the car really won't see much track time and I figured the it would be overkill for a street car (and cost is an issue).

What would you guys suggest that offer the same level of quality and performance?

Any suggestions and explainations would be very helpful as all this talk of camber plates, sway bars, control arm bushings, linear vs progressive...

 

oh, I do want to add that I don't mind a stiff/harsh ride. I understand that could lead to a bumpier ride but I don't take that to be synonymous with "bouncy". Even with a stiffer suspension I don't suspect I should feel like I'm on a trampoline when going over bumps...right?

 

absolutely not! I had springs on for awhile and took them off for the same reason.

Koni sport dampers should be out within a few months. You can install shocks made for the R53 Minis using rear bushing adapters, but that voids all warranty. The only option available now is JCW shocks. From my conversations with an R56 owner that has that combination, it sounds like it works well.

There are so many new MINI's being sold that I am sure there will be several options in the near future. I just wish it was easy to go for test drives in some of these options. None of the dealerships here even keep a JCW equipped car on hand for test drives!

 

My understanding is adjustable endlinks are required for the front if using R53 struts. H&R and Cross do have coilovers for the r56. BC to soon follow.

If Bilstein is working on SP struts for the r56, why not wait if they can give a reasonable ETA?

 

On a scale of 1-10 (1=least reliable/10=most reliable) how reliable would you say your information is, that Koni Yellows ("sport") will be out in a few months? Any idea what "a few months" means: 3? 6? 9?
Thanks!

 

They will be out before SOLO Nationals i am sure. I would say 2 months max. Probably in a few weeks.

 

Well, that's very good news! Thanks much!

 

I've heard estimates of July through December from different Koni employees so I'd play it safe and assume later but the information is consistent enough that I think we can count on the Koni's in the next 2-3 months.

you are anxiously awaiting too?

 

Yes, very much so!!
Thanks!

 

thanks for all the info. looks like I'm SOL until Koni or Bilstein come out with the r56 shocks. while going with $2500 coil overs was just not an attractive option I wish I had known there weren't many choices before lowering with just the eibach springs. well, I'm the impatient type...and wanted some shocks before heading to the phil wicks driving academy at VIR this month.

 

VIR is great. I was there in early March. It is the real deal.

 

While $2500 may get you a very high end set of coilovers, a similar setup can be had in the BC Racing coilovers that are due out in about a month. The cost is substantially lower and similar in price to a nice set of springs/struts. The BC BR series coilovers will only cost around $1000 shipped and you will get many of the features that the more expensive coilover systems offer.



For a full list of features visit this link for the current r50-r53 version. Expect a very similar setup with the r56 version:

BC BR Series Coilovers

Let me know if you have any questions,

-Cliff