I installed the bilstein sports shocks, way motor works end links, hotchkiss lower camber arms and nm springs yesterday and took a 50 mile spin. The ride is firmer than stock and the ride height is lower than stock in the rear. BUT problem: Entire right side of car (08 MCS) sits approximately .25 inch higher than driver's side. Any suggestions what may be the cause before I begin pulling stuff out and re-checking? Already checked the front springs to make they are in the perches correctly. I read a post recently concerning the same problem but cannot retrieve it to find out what the fix was. Need to get this figured out before the alignment.

 

I'm actually thinking about selling my Bilstein HD's and going with coilovers. Don't get me wrong, the car handles great with the HD's but I want a REAL drop. I have them paired up with Mach V springs but it has WAY to much rake. I agree that the HD's have a raising effect compared to the stock struts. The rears maybe dropped about .5" from stock with the HD / Mach V combo. Not enough for me though....

 

Mach V's give the car a lot of rake I've noticed.

I've always kinda liked the look, but I just put 18's on and the rake is even more noticeable. I think I'll get coilovers so I can lower the rear more

 

Explain the raising effect....changing to the HDs raised the car?

Interested in selling them anyway?

 

Yup, if you read previous posts this is a common occurrence with the HD's. Instead of getting a 1" drop with lowering springs, it ends up being more like .5-.75" drop.

...but yes I'm interested in selling them

 

No ideas???

 

you probably put something together wrong, either take it apart and try again, or take it in for the alignment and see if they can spot something.

 

Well the rear checked out okay with the shocks/springs/adjustable end links and lower camber arms now on to the front. I do remember the passenger side front being a bear getting the lower part of the shock back into the steering nuckle just as the instructions indicated it would be. There is a bolt that slides through a hook like area on the shock once it's seated which I verified before closing up but you never know. Guess this will be my next area to look at.

 

The car may simply weight more on the driver's side. I've seen it many times with other makes and models. If you're not hearing any clunks/noises, .25 inch isn't too big of a deal. Still worth it to check over the install though.

 

you should also check the rubber under the springs, make sure it's seated properly. Also check the nut and number of threads sticking up through the strut mount. it could be the top hat or a washer isn't seated correctly. If you can't see what's wrong, you'll need to take it apart and see what's hung up.

 

I'll let you know what I find in case someone else runs into this situation...

 

I have the bilstein sport paired with NM springs and I too am not satisfied with the fender/wheel gap I have 2 finger gap. I want it a little bit lower or no gap at all. I know that with springs you cant get any more lower than 1.4 so I'm thinking of just cutting the NM spring one coil I don't know what would be the effect in terms of performance on the springs and I can't afford on buying coilovers as I may not be keeping the mini for long. any input is much appreciated also can someone elaborate what RAKE means thanks. (does rake means the front is lower than the rear?)

 

Will I Am, it sounds like you need an intervention. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, visit that peaceful place where any mini is a good mini.

Seriously though, don't try to cut your springs. Nothing good will come from it. Just remember the law of diminishing returns. The first hit of crack is the only good hit, every hit after that is just trying to capture the initial feeling. Can't be done and is a one way road to failure and despair.

Rake is the slope of your car, back to front.

TREX

 

Whoa !!
Don't go rushing into cutting your coils.
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with cutting coils to adjust the suspension, with a set of scales, a spring dyno, and an alignment rack you can actually setup your car for the track quite nicely this way while remaining in "stock" trim ... It's certainly a trial and error method, but the most important thing to remember is that there's no putting pieces of the spring back on.
The bottom coil is often a dead coil anyways, so trimming it can help even out the weight distribution and alignment of the car. On the Mini, that bottom coil is an active coil, so cutting it will change the effective spring rate as well as the height. If you're really that concerned with looks, sell someone your Bilsteins and NM springs to a good home, and buy a cheap coil-over kit. Way motor works has a set of coilovers that cost less than the Bilsteins did by themselves.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/vmaxx-c...6-r55-r57.html

 

Will, I STRONGLY advise you to NOT cut your springs. And don't hate your wheel gap, embrace it. Trust me, I know firsthand that you don't want to dump this car too low, at least not without coilovers, and I'm not sure that would be a good idea either. I have an H&R touring cup kit, with a very aggressive drop, and I'm strongly considering moving to your exact setup - NM + Bilstein.

Cutting springs is NEVER a good idea. Unless maybe you're this guy...

Bright bluish fog lights and big yellow stickers
Turn up the volume and my headlights will flicker
I think I look cool from the attention I bring...
Scraping the speed bumps from cutting my springs.

Large yellow shift lights on auto transmissions,
Speakers so loud that you'll scream in submission
My car really flies 'cause it has this big wing...
But nothing compares to cutting my springs.

When the bull stops, when the money talks, when I might loose face...

I suddenly remember what my car can't do, And then I refuse to race!

Day-glow orange shift ***** and whiteface temp gauges
Low profile tires make me think I'm courageous
Japanese characters, who knows what they mean?
They're just part of the package from cutting my springs!

Coffee can mufflers and Calvin is peeing
People around me don't like what they're seeing
They're all just so jealous, for I am the King...
I rule the streets after cutting my springs!

When night falls, when the girls leave, while I wait and wait...

If I'm such a stud after cutting my springs Why can't I get a date?

 

Success my brothers !!!! Who woulda thunk what I thought I had done correctly, I did not... Upon re-inspection, the hook like portion on the bottom of the shock wasn't seated all the way into the steering knuckle and the locking bolt was below it and not through it. Now all's good with barely a tight two finger gap all the way round.....

 

Piece of cake, as is said. Well done, and good luck.

 

That's almost always the case, I've beat my head against the wall so many times having made a little slip-up like that. It happens to everyone.

 

PM me some part #s and about how much you'd like for them. I'm curious but on the fence...

 

sent you a PM

 

Any pics with the Bilstein sports yet?

 

I just ordered a pair of rear HDs that are on sale now for $80.95 a piece, with free shipping. However, it looks like the absolute bargain pricing on front HDs is a thing of the past. They are now just a little less than the "sports". The huge price differential never made any sense because the only difference was that the "sports" had shorter shafts. (The front HDs used to list for 139.95 each which I paid last year, at Bavauto with the "sports" costing over $100 more. No other supplier was ever even close to this price.) The "sports" now list at Bavauto for around $275 each and the HDs around $260. They have a 10% off sale now.

It appears that unlike fuel resellers, Bavauto does NOT jack up the price as soon as the replacement cost goes up. They sell off existing inventory at a fair profit and only raise their retail price on inventory that costs them more.

Get your rears now before they go up to probably $160-$180 range.

Still probably the best performance/value on the market.

DOC

 

^Yup, that's what I paid for them last summer during their annual sale. A $200 difference from then and now. I'm thinking about swapping out the rear HD's for the sports to even out the rake it has now.

 

I'd be careful about that. The only difference is probably the shaft length. If so, replacing with "sports" will not affect ride height, only reduce the likelihood of internal bottoming of the shaft at full bump.

DOC

 

Hmm, there's all this speculation about the sports only having a shorter shaft length with no side by side comparison with the HD's. I'm not saying everybody is wrong here, but on other cars, there's definitely a difference in shock body length (not just piston length) and spring perch placement. There's just way too much grey area for me to form an opinion...until I see an HD photographed right next to a sport for proof.