I am looking at H&R coilovers for my MCS R56, i'd like to know if there are people who owns them who might have any info on them, about installation, performance, adjsutments,... In short, is this a good choice?

 

I have had H&R Streets for about a month. They are a good simple coilover. They ride nice, go decently low and handle well. I bought mine used, the deal was too good to pass up so for me they are a great value. Down the road I think I will switch to something with dampening adjustment and more height adjustment. Here is how they look, spun all the way down in the front and 10 threads left in the rear (they have settled a little since these):

 

recommended without qualification.

mine went on at about 15k miles, in '06 - Turner Motorsports did the setup.

they now have 116k miles, four autox seasons, two regional class championships

no issues - zero.

highly recommend corner weighting if you go this route.

if you lower the car an inch or more you might want lower control arms to reduce the negative camber at the back axle.

i run -2.5 up front (Webb Camber plates) and -1.0 out back.

 

Nice ride Creeve. Are the H&R coilovers incapable of adjusting the dampening? From soft to stiffer or vice versa?

 

Hey creeve, what did you use to black out your headlamps? Is it lamin-x?

 

I have used the H&R's both Street and RSS Coilovers on all of my MINI's dating back to 2002. They are AWESOME! Very well made, German Quality, LIFETIME Warranty (unmatched in the industry that I am aware), ride great and no muss no fuss.

I highly recommend them to anyone! If anyone has any specific questions about them, PLEASE let me know!

 

I just installed the H&R RSS and only have about 100 miles on them. They are very tight and i think still very streetable if you like a very firm ride... which I do. I coupled the coilovers with an Alta rear 22mm swaybar and lowere control arms. I went out to a vacant parking lot and did some trail breaking turns to see if I could get the back end to kick out and the car preformed tightly but still had understeer. I think that is inharient in front wheel drive cars. Very tight turns though.

 

Car looks GREAT! (But I did get to see it in person too)

On the handling. You could put a bit more rake to the front (contrary to what we spoke about yesterday) combined with the bar on the stiffest setting, and some variations in tire pressure you CAN get the back out.

Look forward to seeing you again soon!

 

I'm thinking of installing a set on a R55 with SS but I'm apprehensive about the possibility of rubbing and a crashy ride over broken L.A. pavement.

 

I am very interested in these as well. What is the difference between the SS and the RSS (street & Racing?) For a daily driver I want great looks and great handling. I currently have H&R springs, but would like to go a little lower. Would the SS ones set lower then my springs??

 

Hey guys! Thanks for asking.

The RSS is what H&R likes to call a Club Sport Kit. For the enthusiast that drives on the street and the track. They are firmer than the SS versions. For the LA area I would recommend the SS. (Unless you do heavy track use.)

The SS is a great way to lower the car to nearly any amount you want, increase travel at lowered heights, improve handling and not punish the ride quality.

Hope that helps a bit. PLEASE let me know any points that I missed!

You can find these on our website by CLICKING HERE then scroll through to the proper fitment for you car. More information is also shown on www.hrsprings.com

 

H&R RSS second report:

With about 150 miles on the H&R RSS suspension I can tell you that the car feels like it is pretty much riding on rails. It is very quick to turn in with almost no body role even under extreme turning conditions. I couldn't get the car to oversteer in the maneuvers that I was doing but all of the extreme turns I have done so far were in vacant parking lots. Maybe in the next report when I can get the car into a little more speed... or I may take Adam's advice on moving my ALTA 22mm swaybars to a stiffer setting. The suspension is very stiff. I started with a stock 2009 JCW without the sport suspension. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being a Ford Crown Victoria ride and 10 being a roller-coaster), I would say my stock JCW had a 5. With the RSS, I think the suspension feels like an 8.

I still think it is streetable and I like them and I am glad that I got them, but for the average person, they may seem too bumpy... as the car will not float over bumps. It is not a cushy ride, it is a very firm ride... but you can still go over speed bumps and rail road tracks with no problems. The car is so stiff though that the headlights will jump up and down at night when you even go over cracks in the road while driving 30 mph. Well if you want a tight performance suspension the H&R RSS is set to make it happen for you, but you will sacrifice some street comfort. It all depends what you want. I want something that can corner on rails and I love the lowered stance and the feel of tight suspension response. The coilover is better than just lowered springs, as you have the full spring suspension on the coilovers vs a shortened spring. I pretty much can't wait to drive the car... as nearly every corner is an opportunity to play around.

The H&R Sport would be a notch down on trackable performance from the RSS, but a notch above the RSS on cushieness. I am sure you would get a softer ride than the RSS and a stiffer suspension that stock with the SS version... so i would say the SS version would be a 6 or 7 on my scale.

 

I hoping to find feedback from a user of the SS Coilovers how is ride comfort

 

Thanks for asking. The ride quality of the H&R Sport Coilovers is REALLY good! Not as stiff as the RSS of course, but has a more controlled ride at a lower stance vs. springs / strut combos. Stiff enough for a track day occasionally, as well as street use.

I use both RSS and SS versions on my MINI's and other cars depending on what my goals are.

Hope that helps!

 

Hey guys, I just bought a set of street H&R coilovers and will probably be installing them next Tuesday (planned delivery date). I'll then post some pics before/after and talk about how stiff they are compared to the original shocks. I currently have the sport package on an '09 MCS so it will be nice to see the difference from the original sport suspension (I have 1500KM on them so far).

Cheers
Dan

 

GREAT! We all look forward to it!

 

So here we go, I received my new coilovers!
I decided to install them next Saturday (instead of today) as I need the car this week and won't find enough time to complete the job this week.

Here are some pictures of the brand new set (I didn't include the tightening tools, rear shock washers and instructions/stickers which are also included in the set).
Feel free to ask questions.
More to come once I install them this coming Sat.

 

I've been considering the H&R street coilovers for over a year...looking forward to hear from you how they ride. How much are you planning to lower the car? Are you thinking of any other suspension mods along with the coilovers?

Thanks
GP

 

Ive been running the RSS on mine for over 2 years and they are great.You won't be disappointed.

 

Cool. I've read a lot about H&R products and overall most people are very satisfied. I'm quite concerned that my ride will be much harder but from what I've read it shouldn't that bad compared to the stock sport suspension. The RSS wasn't even a choice but I'm glad to hear RSS owners are very happy with their purchase.

I'm planning to lower the car at least 1.5in... then I'll ride the car for a few kilometers and see where I'll go from there (higher/lower or perfect height).

For other mods, nothing in the plan for now. I'm *very* satisfied with the handling on this car, I'm actually amazed. The original sway bars are doing a great job (no plans to go on the track).

I guess I'd be willing to have a few more HPs under the hood.. but that's another story...

Cheers

 

H&R RSS third report:

Well I have put a few hundred miles on the new H&R RSS coilovers. I have the 22mm swaybar as well, and I have to tell you that if you disengage the DTC and DSC you can definitely get the car to oversteer pretty much like a rear wheel drive. fun... I am still glad I got the stiffer set-up. They are definitely for the person that takes sport driving a little more seriously. These are not for the casual coffee drinking commuter. But they make the car really hug the road. I can go over small speed bumps (slowly) with no problem too. Don't get me wrong, I drink my coffee in the car to, but occasionally I have to hold my finger over the sippy hole to keep it from splashing. There is literally no body role or body sway when cornering even at higher Gs. I think this set up turns your mini into a mini race car. The suspension is tight.

Heading out to Autocross on Sunday... maybe I'll have to give one last report afterwords.

 

I've pretty much determined that i'm getting these. I can't wait!

 

Voilà, coil overs have been installed.

I'm impressed with the ride, it feels *very* close to the stock sport suspension. Its a bit stiffer but nothing I can't handle. I love the look of the car lowered! Plus the fact I can re-adjust whenever I want... height flexibility is important to me.

Re-adjusting the front is a breeze, just need to jack the car about 2-3 inch then adjust. For the rear, its a bit of a pain because of limited space, but still very feasible (same process, just jack the car 2-3 inch then adjust).

I posted some pics of the suspension replacement process on my flickr, check it out if you want:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniel_...7619848514832/

Cheers
Dan

 

Looks great Dan!

On the rear a little tip I use. For me I can remove the rear strut, adjust it and put it back in, with less time spent vs. trying to adjust them in the car.

Again congrats on a great looking MINI!

Chat soon!

 

Thanks Adam!

Good point for the rear, I guess if it wasn't for the fragile threads in the aluminum arm I'd be removing the shocks for every adjustment... maybe I'm being overly careful, too. :-S

Also, I noticed the H&R shocks are MUCH lighter than the stock ones, which is a plus! And the shaft on the front H&R shocks says "Bilstein"... awesome!

Dan