Hi all,

I recently installed the H&R touring cup kit for my R56 S Coupe. Along with this install, 17X7.5 Rota RB's and 235/40r17 Falken 615's. Also, 22mm rear sway. Everything fits fine, no interferences, the tires clear (it's close) the struts up front, and come close to the rear trailing arms too. I like the stance and there is a ton of grip. No rubbing so far.

I don't, however like the ride at all thus far, and I have work to do.

If you haven't seen the touring cup kit up close, it is basically H&R springs with koni single adjustable dampers (painted grey to have the H&R look.) The dampers are adjustable at the top of the damper rod for the fronts, so they can be adjusted from the engine bay. The rears are much less convenient, as you have to have to bottom out the damper rod then rotate. You can't do this without a vice and the strut completely disassembled. Also, the instructions basically suck, they are extremely generic, and consist of a couple dumb drawings.

The ride is crazy bouncy. On paneled road surfaces with gaps between the panels, the car bounces so much that it almost makes you giggle. It's not cool.

Two major questions on the bouncy ride:
1. I set the dampers to 75% damping, is this possibly much too slow/firm? Is too much damping likely making the bouncy ride miserable?
2. I did not modify the OEM bumpstops. This is a 1.4" drop as compared to the OEM springs, so was I supposed to shorten the bumpstops by the same amount? Would this be the major contributor to the bouncing?

I'm also experiencing a vibration/shudder at freeway speeds, particularly on the very smooth newly paved sections. I pray that it's not the vibes that others seem to get on their lowering springs. The vibration occurs whether accelerateing, decelerating, coasting, etc around 70+ mph. I can't really feel it any more in the steering wheel, just "everywhere".

I did not yet get an alignment, but I don't think misalignment is the cause of my bouncing/shaking issues.

I would appreciate some advice from those of you with teh same equipment or some mini suspension experience. I'm a lotus guy, the cooper is a new project for me.

cheers

 

1. If it's not too hard to adjust, I'd go back to about 50% on the damping.
2. I would trim the factory bump stops. Take maybe a third of the stop off. Although the Koni shocks should have more travel internally, the actual travel the assembly has as a whole is shorter.

Oh, and if you want to do some interesting reading on suspension, have a look at this:
http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

 

I am pretty sure you called in today asking about this and Chris is on the line with H&R tech as we speak. As for the shudder/vibration I would double/triple check the new wheels are balanced correctly. You can even swap back on your stock wheels to see if the vibe goes away (assuming you still have em!)

 

talked to chris at alta. Said don't cut the bump stops the h&r set-up is supposed to use stock bumps.

 

Just following up on this H&R Touring Cup Kit. I took the rear struts apart (which is pretty damn lame that you have to in order to adjust rear damping) and set the driver's side to only 1/4 turn from full soft. I bottomed the damper rod and timed the rebound with a stopwatch, so I can set the passenger to the same speed. Unfortunately, when I did the passenger, even at full soft, it rebounded twice as slow as the driver's side with 1/4 turn. SO...beware-the same number of turns may not necessarily mean the exact same damping.

So now, I have a driver rear set to 1/4 turn and passenger rear set to 0. I don't really feel like taking the driver's side apart again unless I actually notice the difference.

The fronts are set to 1/4 turn from full soft. The ride quality is plenty comfy for me, maybe not for senior citizens. It still has minimal body roll with the 21mm swaybar, but a compliant ride over the train tracks and bumps.

The front drops alot (claimed 1.4) and the extensions of the front lip are pretty close to the ground. They scrape all the time. Maybe you guys remove or trim these?

If this were a street and track car (I have a track car) I would definetely have gone with more adjustable coilovers. For just a performance street car, these should work.

cheers

 

Installed! The ride is equal or better to stock on everyday roads, even little bumps. but it really preforms in the twisties. Measured and got 1.5" in front and 1.2" rear.

 

I just ordered Alta's last set today - $600 Xmas special, couldn't pass it up.

How did you set your dampers? I'm guessing they're at full soft out of the box? Any other tips?

 

I just re set th to soft just to be sure, any othe q's don't hesitate to ask

 

My stuff is on as of today. My drop appears to be identical to what you got, and my initial impressions (only 10 miles home so far, and a somewhat marginal road surface, a good early litmus test) are also that ride quality is equal to or better than stock. Main difference is that the shocks (and I'm on full soft) are actually DOING something! The stock dampers are absolute GARBAGE, poorly mated to the stock springs, and just not up to handling the stock spring rates. Now when I shift gears, I have a lot less "lurch" between 1-2 and 2-3, because the car isn't bobbing around underdamped.

I'm going on a canyon run in the morning and will report back my impressions, as well as get some nice location shots.

 

Since virtually all cornering is done on the bumpstops, the issue of the shocks matching the springs is largely irrelevant. At least now you have some travel

 

Why would it be irrelevant? The shocks are doing a lot of work when the car isn't cornering or on the bump stops.

I had a nice drive in the hills today. Here are my impressions. This is the "Touring" version of the cup kit, with claimed 1.4" drop at both ends, though it appears to be slightly less of a drop in the back.

Ride quality - greatly improved over stock. Really confirms my feelings that the stock suspension (and I wasted $500 on the "sports" suspension) is complete garbage. In stock form, even after ditching the runflats, my car bobbed during the 1-2 and 2-3 shift, was generally jiggly over almost any surface that wasn't perfectly smooth, and felt like the spring rates were pretty high and the shocks were grossly underdamped and not doing much. I suspect that this "tuning" was largely due to trying to accomodate the standard runflat tires. BMW/Mini should be ashamed of forcing these things on us. In Europe starting this year, they're <finally> optional on all models.. though I doubt there's any difference in the suspension tune as a result. Anyways.. no more bobbing when shifting, much more controlled ride, and not at ALL less comfortable, even on crappy surfaces. I have the Konis set at full soft, and that might be a bit conservative, even for my old ***. I just cranked the fronts up 1/4 turn and will test that out tonight/tomorrow. But the rears would have to come off and apart to be adjusted. I'll be fine with them as is.

Handling in the hills was very good, though I continue to dislike the overboosted electric power steering. Why, on a car like this? We need a manual steering option! Or at least conventional hydraulic steering. It's bad in "sport" mode, and a complete joke if not. There shouldn't even be a sport mode, hell if you buy the S model, why do you need a "Dad's '67 Buick" mode" that's on by default? Stupid! Part of my problem is that my other car is a Z4 M Coupe, which has just about perfect steering and suspension, right out of the box. So my benchmark sets the bar way high. Anyways, off my soapbox and back to the handling, it was very flat and precise. My one regret - I've now got so little clearance in front that I'm scraping the underside very easily. I *think* it's just that extra lip that scrapes.. can it be removed? Am I in any danger of hitting something like the oil pan?

 

Yes, it's the lip that is scraping and it can be removed. It helps with the aerodynamics under the car, but since the car it is lowered it kind of not needed.


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...20&hg=51&fg=15

# 11 in this drawing, your aero kit may be different. The plug screws were hard to remove, had to drill some out.

Your car looks great!

 

Thanks.. and thanks for the compliment. That's somewhat of a relief. If that's all that's getting scraped up, I'm not too concerned.

I just went for a spin after dialing up the front Konis a quarter-turn, and I think I now have it nailed. Subtle but noticeable added stiffness at the front.

You're in Chandler too? Flag me down if you see me on the road!

 

Of course the shocks are, but surely the springs aren't doing much? The shocks would benefit from being matched to the effective rate of the bumpstops, no?

 

I'm not following your logic. I'm assuming it's fact that the car is basically cornering on the bumpstops, I've read it elsewhere too. Suspension travel is minimal even with the stock setup.. drop it an inch and a half, and it's really short. I get that. But when driving in a straight line, surely the car isn't on the bumpstops then? Meaning that the spring and shock are both doing their "normal" work, even if their travel is limited. So I'd think that having a matched set of springs/shocks would be a good thing. H&R seems to think so, or why would they offer cup kits for the car?

One thing I know for sure - the factory setup is severely lacking, and this is a nice upgrade. Coilovers would be even better, and if I'd gone that route, I'd probably have the front end another half inch up in the air, to improve clearance and more closely match the rear height. My headlights are slightly down now.. I need to find the thread that shows where the adjusters are.

 

Having a set of matched shocks and springs is of course a good idea, but I guess what I was getting at is that it's virtually irrelevant what the stock spring rates are if the bumpstops are doing the work. I'm not saying that spring rates are always irrelevant, that's obviously not true.

 

Would you guys mind taking a few secs and telling me what the part numbers are for your Cup Sport Kits?
By the way mine are the Sport setting and I wish I got the Touring. The drop up front is extreme. On the spoiler lip down below I can get two finger clearance. Also sucks that I can't get the car into any car washes!

I got a set but it was mailed to me with the wrong parts. I called H&R and they sent me a replacement, but I am not sure it is correct. I just can't get the ride quality right. I am sick and tired of taking the shocks off and on trying to adjust them. At this time I am almost considering putting the stock units back on. Everyone loves my car until they get in it, it is a guaranteed headache machine. I can't even go on a road trip without getting a headache either.

Thanks!

 

The correct p/n is 31040T-3 for the Touring kit.

I can't imagine why they even make a Sport kit for this application. The Touring kit is low enough in the front that it's barely streetable. I'm going to pull off the "extra" diffuser under the front end today, because it's scraping constantly.

As for ride quality, what issues are you having? I had mine installed at full soft (which is what you're supposed to do with Koni adjustables - dialing them to a stiffer setting is what you're supposed to do as they wear), and all is well. I'm playing around with stiffening up the fronts slightly, since they're externally adjustable, and may leave them set that way. But the rears feel fine to me.

 

Well, my order was all messed up to start with. I ordered a kit and don't even know which one I really got. I got the shocks, but the springs were the wrong ones. They were the ones specifically made for the OEM struts. So it didn't even fit. I called H&R and the guy sent me the Race Springs. I was told, the shocks on the touring and sport are the same, just height difference.

I installed the unit on full soft and got too much bounce. It was unbearable. I just don't know what I should do now. I wish I would of ordered the Touring kit to being with. The car is very low as you say. They tell me it is supposed to be .5 inches lower then the Touring, but I feel it is more like a full inch.

I can't even count how many times people have said, "Mini's ride like ****, I thought they were nice cars". I am telling, you ever since I installed the kit, I have never gotten a compliment regarding the ride.

Sorry had to vent.

 

The springs you should have gotten in a Touring kit are the "OE Sport" springs. If that's how yours were labeled, then you had the right ones in the first place.

I had the factory "sports" suspension, and it was easily THE worst excuse for a stock suspension setup on any car I've ever owned. 1000% improvement now, including ride quality, which was for crap with the stock stuff. The shocks seemed to be the main culprit - underdamped and really poorly matched to the fairly stiff factory springs.

 

Does your springs have "OE Sport" written on them? Mine doesn't have that written. The original ones I got, the spring diameter was too big, I couldn't get it to stay seated on the struts I got.

 

OE-something (probably "sport") is right on the springs. Also the p/n matching the correct kit p/n was on them as well.

The diffuser pieces are now off the car, and I'm no longer scraping.. now I'm a completely happy camper.

 

I think it's time I call H&R again. Just the thought of reinstalilng the suspension gives me a headache.

I may follow your steps and take the diffuser off also.

 

IMHO it's an absolute necessity. I was scraping all over the place, such as entering my driveway at crawling speed, which is not much of a slope at all. Now I don't scrape at all.

I turned my front Konis up another 1/4 turn towards firm, so they're now about a half turn from full soft. I can definitely feel the difference, and it's fine. I may leave it as is, or back it off slightly. I don't want the front to be noticeably firmer than the rear (I can hear Michael Scott saying "that's what he said!" after hearing that comment).

Sorry to hear about all your headaches. Hopefully it's all sorted out soon. I think you'll be pleased once everything is properly in place. Allegedly, the Konis in this kit are identical to Koni Yellows ("Sport"), which carry a lifetime warranty from Koni. In the H&R applications, H&R only warrants them for a year. But as long as they're the same, they should have a very long service life, easily 100k+ miles.