Okay been out of the mod scene awhile and I'm starting to get back into it since I bought the Mini... Only cars I've really played around with are Honda's back when I was a teenager... Fast forward 10 yrs and I'm in a Mini now...

Ran a search and really couldn't find an answer to my question...

When I purchased the car (2008 MCS) I was told by the sales lady that when you press the Sport button it stiffens the suspension a lil bit also... Any truth to this?

I plan on dropping the Mini but was wondering how this will effect the vehicle in terms of the sport button...

Must I keep the stock shocks/struts in place for this feature to remain in place? Or can I replace the with aftermarket shocks/struts with no problems?

I know aside from the camber issues as with most cars have when dropped I don't know anything about how Mini suspension works...

Appreciate your answers! Sorry, I'm a Mini noob...

 

No truth to that what-so-ever.

So you don't have to worry about losing that feature when you mod your suspension.....your car never had it in the first place

The sport button really only plays a part in the feel of the steering and the revs of the engine......it has nothing to do with the suspension.

 

I'm so amazed by how clueless so many MINI employees are about their cars... and its not like there's really a whole lot to learn and remember.. it's not like memorizing GM's entire product line... anyways I digress, Rally is absolutely right.

And after driving 15K miles, I have come to the conclusion that the sport button doesn't do anything worth doing!

 

Any recommendations on shocks & springs that won't give up too much on ride quality?

Considering coilovers since I noticed the Megan's are around $800 and shock/springs around going to run around $500/$600...

Wanted Tanabe springs but they don't make them for Mini yet... =(

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=150297

I just as of uesterday had H&R springs installed, I would say the ride is not to harsh, only on the larger bumps, etc... So far i am really enjoying it and will look into coilovers in the future.

JAson

 

Looks great JAS76!

 

yep.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=136428

 

Everyone in that thread says it does change up the way the car handles...

Main thing I notice is it keeps the car in a higher RPM band... I'm just not sure about the suspension part....

 

It doesn't touch the suspension. What would it change? It's not like it's going to change the spring rate or the swaybar stiffness....and it has no means of changing the damper settings.

The only time a sports button changes the suspension is in the case of some luxury/sports cars like the mercedes and audis. They have airbags rather than springs, and the sport button adds air to the bags to stiffen the spring rate for a sportier ride. MINI doesn't incorporate any suspension alterations with their sport button.

 

Sport button / suspension placebo effects?

 

Hey by all means, I'm hoping it doesn't do anything to the suspension so that way I won't have any headaches after I drop the thing...

I'm just trying to get accurate info... I got a sales lady telling me one thing then a few on this thread saying it does nothing, then I follow Drew's thread and they say it does do something...

I'm so confused!!

 

I can promise you.....it does NOTHING to the suspension. Nothing at all. None of the stock suspension parts have adjustments that would allow any change at the push of a button.

Your sales lady was misinformed (not uncommon among MINI employees), and the people saying that they 'feel' a difference are just feeling a difference in the steering wheel characteristics and misinterpreting it.

I've removed all the stock suspension and replaced it with all new parts. There was zero change in the sport button and I had no problems. You don't need to worry about lowering your car.

 

Well does anybody have recommendations on suspension?

I've gone with Eibach before on a Civic I had in the past and it was okay... Was thinking maybe going with coilovers since Megan coilovers are in the $800 range and I think changing springs & shocks will be in the $500/$600 range...

Did you have to install any camber adjustment add-on's to bring camber back to spec? Or were you able to bring everything back to spec with what is on that from factory?

 

The Megans (as well as BC Racing and Cross) coilovers come with front Camber plates which allow you to manipulate the front camber if you'd like. That's a nice added feature.

When you lower a MINI, only the rear camber changes as you go lower. If you want to retain factory camber specs, you will also need to purchase a pair of rear control arms. Lots of companies out there make them for our cars. You can make slight changes with the factory parts, but it won't be enough to get back to factory specs after lowering.

Megans are good for what you pay. Take a look at BC coilovers. They only cost a little more, but they have a slightly better ride than the Megans.

 

What i'm curious about is this. On motorcycles which I have done lots of suspension mods to over the years, straight rate springs are THE way to go for predictable ride and proper setup. I'm assuming the same idea translates over to cars and progressive springs are also a bad decision in that case? I was thinking of going with Eibachs myself until I noticed they are progressive rate springs...

EDIT: My 87 Supra had a "Sport" button for the Suspension and a different sport button for the (auto) tranny! It had little valves on top of the struts that solenoids would adjust when you put the suspension in sport mode.

 

I'm thinkin I'll probably go with the Megans...

How are the H&R's compared to Megans?

 

Can you guys please go look under your MINI? See for yourself there is NO active suspension anything on the car. The only wires you'll find are the wheel speed sensor, brake pad wear sensor, and [if equipped] potentiometer linkage for the HID self-leveling feature.

Rally and I have taken apart our MINIs and other peoples MINIs a hundred times+. We know these cars like an old pair of jeans.


--->DVSAZN: Take a few minutes to use the Search. There are lots of threads of people asking the same question as you. What you have to ask yourself first however, is are you willing to give up any comfort, are you looking for better handling, slamming the crap out of it, or track time? Depending on your goals, there is a solution out there with your name on it.

 

Like Ry said, what are your plans for the MINI?

You can get a nice drop and better handling with just springs. They are only about $200. I have the Mach V springs with factory struts and it works wonderfully. The factory rear control arms were sufficient to get the rear camber back within spec also. For the money, you can't beat it, they dramatically improved the looks and handling of my R56, which in stock form I felt was too floaty and unsettled. Using springs only MAY shorten the life of your factory struts by a little but I'm with the crowd that thinks its fine. There are some posts about the pro's and con's of it, Ryephile knows a lot about the subject, maybe he'll share.

If you want to upgrade the struts/shocks as well, I'm not sure who has any out yet. I had Koni Yellows on my R53 and I loved them. Last I heard though, their R56 version was not out yet.

Other than that, I'd go with coilovers, but that's a ton more money. Don't know much about the different brands other than the Cross are supposed to be amazing, but they are over $2k.

 

I'll break it down into 3 categories:

Value-Conscious:
*Lowering Springs ---> Only $200-ish, uses your factory struts and bumpstops and moves the ride height, thus reducing compression travel which will make large bumps more uncomfortable. No reduction in strut lifespan, can use factory eccentric bolt in rear control arm to bring camber back into spec [or preference]. Good brands are Mach V and H&R, both work with stock and sport suspension dampers.

Mid-level:
*limited-adjustment coilovers ---> The KW Variant 1's are about as good as it gets for "just lowering the car" without changing ride quality or handling too much. They have as much travel as stock, but the shorter damper bodies shift the travel such that they are optimised for about 1.6" lower from stock. If you want to up the handling or precision ante a bit, Megan and BC offer greater adjustability and the opportunity to spec your own spring rates, damper length, and preload amount. They offer reduced suspension travel so they are not as comfortable or as poor-road capable, but they will rival more expensive coilovers on the racetrack.

The Shiznit:
*Full-on Coilovers ---> [going from $$$ to $$$$$] KW Competition, Cross, Moton Clubsport, are the cream of the crop out there right now. All offer good adjustability, some more elaborate than others, but all will put your MINIs handling on top if set up well. The Value leader here is the Cross, with front camber plates, included front swaybar drop links, front inverted monotube dampers, and universal handling praise from the MINI track jet-set. These setups have about as much suspension travel as stock [or a whiff less]. While they are track focused they can be more comfortable and quicker at the same time than something in the less expensive categories. Most of these are over a magnitude more expensive than lowering springs, so they require some deep thought [and wallet] for most owners.

I hope that helps,
Ryan

 

Well as far as the whole sport button thing, when I ran the search I was getting mixed bag of answers... Hell even on this thread I'm getting sorta conflicting answers because of that one thread I was directed to...

As far as dropping my car goes, I honestly don't want to do it in the first place but I hate wheel gap with a passion... Especially cars with aftermarket wheels on them... Which I plan on putting on in the next few months hopefully... I think the car already handles great as is... Just really for killing the wheel gap...

As far as the ride goes I don't think I can really do much worse with stock... It's already pretty damn stiff... Rides like my Civic back in the day that I had dropped 2" with Eibachs....

Just in my head if I'm going to change the springs I may as well do the damn shocks/struts since I already have that stuff taken out already... However, if I'm already looking at $500/$600 for that combo I may as well spend the $800 to get the Megan coilovers so I can adjust them to my liking...

Again, thanks for all the responses, it's much appreciated...

 

Ryephile: I find that very helpful. Thanks.

 

My friend....if you think stock is stiff...ride in a car with Mach V springs. It's STIFF as heck. You can also really tell that the shock travel is greatly reduced by them, which I think is the main reason why they feel so stiff sometimes.

Surprising because they are progressive rate springs, but my god on these LA roads its pretty brutal sometimes...but yet, I love it like that! Would take it over stock anyday. I've heard the H&R's are a little softer, if thats more your speed.

 

-Rypehile

Is there an active suspension feature for swaybar performance out there? I know airbags are used for active spring rate adjustments, and servos such as the Tein EDFC are used for active damping and rebound adjustments....but it seems that active swaybar adjustments would be pretty hard to pull off

 

--->Rally: We'd have to highjack it off the E65 7-series!

If you think stock is stiff, why would you opt for Megans? Please re-read my previous 2 posts, it will help your decision process.

 

But it does exist? I'm gonna have to go do some research and check it out. The only method I could imagine is the same resistance method they use for the bow-flex and I highly doubt that that's how they'd accomplish it