Its been discussed but the BC's setup is very similar to the cross's with built in front camber plates. For the price the bc's are fantastic.

 

bc's come with fully adjustable camber plates....and i believe the megans do as well

 

Yes the Megan's do come with camber plates, NEW rear top hats and rear damper adjustment cables. They are priced right, they are not "low end" or "cheap".

 

I've been in 2 cars with Megan's and hated every minute of both of them. Just my $.02 them. But how is the ride compared to stock with the BC's? I keep hearing of how the pricier setups not only handle better but also have a softer ride and this sounds truly appealing.

 

I 100% agree. When I had Penske 8100s mounted on my current car and separate adjustable spring perches, I insisted on corner balancing.
http://public.fotki.com/m8o/kar_kraz.../dscn0028.html
It was a total waste of money. It could not compare with:
a) finding the proper ride height front & back as that affects the suspension geometry & damper "sweet spot".
b) suitable caster & camber angles
c) the most importantly, the proper toe angle in front, and even more importantly, proper toe angle in the rear. (possible as I replaced most all the links w/adjustable ones w/hiem joints)
....that was worth the money in cost of trial & error experimentation by the speed shop doing the installs & alignment(s) ... I believe 6 in total before i found the right combos. This does not yield a 4 corner balanced setup, but does yield an extremely responsive and balanced suspension under extreme direction changes.

I will add, I'm not sure I have settled on the right set of spring rates front & rear. Presently @ 950ft-lb front & 600 ft-lb rear. I think I need to go to 650 rear or 700... So there's that too to consider.

 

I have found the issue of ride quality to be subjective. I also know there are many more Megan 1.0 out there then the latest updated 3.0 systems. The current system when run within reason works very well on all counts. Once a week someone will call me about Coilovers and after talking with them and learning what their goals are with a MINI I will NOT sell Megan's or any coilover to them. I'm also a Cross Dealer, but I have found any coilover lowered all the way down running 45 or smaller side walls will have less then great rides.

One of the big things I try to help my customers understand is "lowering" a MINI is not the only way to get better handling and most of the time cost more in cash and ride then you gain.

For bling owners with lot's of cash, buy the Cross or M7 setup, slam it and roll. Many of my customers are working within a budget and have found the Megan's and BC's to work very well within that budget. Many of them have also found a set of TSW Springs and IE Camber Plates work well and save them even more money.

 

I like the idea of coilovers but am not crazy about the thought of drilling a few holes in the back of hatch area to accomodate the adjuster cables. I know you can set them outside of the car before install but not having the adjustability kills the main point behind having them in the first place. Without going ***** to the wall *Cross*, is there any options that allow for adjustment on the bottom of the coilover unit?

 

Yes, M7 coilovers offer rear damper adjustment from the bottom.

 

you just lie on the ground and twist the ****....

I'm sure others do as well....

Matt

 

Thanks for the compliment I still have to sort through that thread that I made to see what updates I need to make and if I am missing anything.

Do you think I have missed anything yet? If anyone wants to go to my thread and leave me some feedback or advise I would love it

OK, thread jack over

P.S. Fracky if you would like to expand on your choices in that thread I would love to know why you are looking at those options.

 

Don't Bilstein PSS9's have lower adjustments as well? But those are more than Cross's.

 

"Between Agony and Ecstasy" is a great movie!

If you are beginning, camber plates and a sway bar is all you need. If you are a good driver, you can accomplish a lot with these two mods. New springs and dampers can really complicate a set up...

 

I just replaced my H&R for for Tein basics and the car looks a whole lot better, more adjustments and didnt need camber plates, perfect fit. I can barley put my hand between the fender and the tire.

 

in addition to the others mentioned, spax has the adjustment near the bottom of the damper body.

The more adjustability, the more agony.

 

The BCs have definitely been a big improvement for autox, coming from lowering springs + Koni Yellows. They are also, OVERALL, better riding. They crash over jarring pavement, but... So did the springs+Yellows, and springs+stock, and all stock. I'm very suspicious of anyone who says they've got a suspension set-up that delivers both performance and a smooth ride. ("better ride than stock" = red flag for me by this point, but maybe I just don't remember how it felt stock..)

For the money, tremendous deal. I'd say you're looking at decreasing gains going for something like the CROSS for 2x the $$$. Might be better in all aspects (no personal experience). Surely not 2x the performance. "IMHO"

edit: oh, and don't worry about the whole "drilling holes through your car" thing. It feels wrong at first, but out of sight, out of mind. Being able to adjust all four corners rocks.

 

How about a nice set of coils? You could autox your car on M7 or TSW springs and see good to great results doing so. Just a thought

 

Who is a good, reliable source for Leda's?

 

m7 and mini-madness both used to sell LEDA and I know madness still has them on their site
They are $$$$$$$ though, just know that.

 

Didn't Lucky Dog Garage and / or DMH sell Ledas? They're east coast, NJ there abouts.

 

If you have double adjustable shocks you can set compression to soft on the road and rebound firmer to counteract the firmer springs. ...works for me w/my C43/55 and Penske 8100 dampers to give a much more compliant ride that the firmly valved stock Blistenes the car comes with, yet quickly firms up on turn-in after slight motion and taking a seat ... cost of entry, don't ask if you don't know already...

 

Sounds like the same compromise you get from progressive springs, which everyone is always complaining about..

 

you can google them. Also, they sell the different spring rates, and also do rebuilds. Karl Poetl (I think that's the spelling) is a good guy and they really know suspensions, but mostly for Porsche. TSW was selling Ledas as well. Yeah, they're not cheap, but after you rebuild them once or twice it works out to a lower cost of ownership than those that can't be rebuilt.

Matt

 

MC2 had an article some time ago about these guys:
http://www.tcklineracing.com/
The article was an R56 with a TCK Koni coilover setup with adjustable camber plates. Any knowledge of them or the product? I looked on their site and found nothing but as we all know, this doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

Another question was posed to me on another MINI forum. Are the new end links with the Cross set-up adjustable like the TSW links?

 

So you're saying race car's shouldn't use double adjustable dampers minimum, if not triple or quadruple adjustable...? no, progressive gives a non-linear response to motion in both directions, making the ability for the damper to control that motion in a consistent fashion at all levels of spring compression through the suspension travel an impossibility... Double adjustable dampers allows for the behavior to change between compression and rebound; with linear springs used, a linear controlled motion in both directions... I'm just saying you can set it up to be faster on compression than rebound which is great for a bumpy street setup. I run Eibach 2.5" race springs, 950lb/in front / 600lb/in rear.

Click here then click the link in that post to the Technical manual, and read the section on damper theory (the pages I point out in that post).