OK, recently bought and installed H&R sport springs on my car (r53).

it seems that the front sits higher than the back by at least an inch it looks pathetic, like i have a car load of people in the trunk but im by myself

anyone have any experience with cutting the coils in the front, i know its not the best way to even out the drop, but given the situation that i probably wont get jack squat reselling my H&Rs and a set of coilovers will set me back a cool $1K, cutting coils seems to be my best solution at the moment

im thinking about cutting 1 coil from the top

anyone else experience this problem, and what did you guys do?

THANX!

 

is the spring new??if the spring is new,you just got to wait until the spring settle and it should get lower

 

Yeah... it sounds to me like something is wrong... I installed the same springs in a friends' MINI years ago... they definitely lowers the car evenly.

 

Cutting the springs is a bad idea. If you really want you can replace the springs with shorter springs. That would be the best idea, keeping the coilover shock, but just changing the spring. Plus you could get a linear spring and improve the performance.

 

How high is it? Got measurements from the ground to the fender lip or jack stand?

 

the springs were bought new but are now about 3 months old at least, so i think they have already "settled"

dont get me wrong, the car handles a lot better than when it was stock, but its just bugging me how the front is noticeably higher than the rear :(

i will try and measure the ride height tomorrow morning

 

If you do decide to "trim" the springs I would recommend a dremel with a cutting wheel.

 

Cant trim them right, Ive tried. The beehive style spring it is wont line up with the perches after cut.

You would have better luck with a torch in this case.

 

Call H&R I had this issue in my GTI they sent me some urethane spacer to level it out. Better looks no loss in performance.

 

You sure those springs are seated properly?

 

yea but that would mean the rear would go up and the front wont go down,

 

im quite sure, a well known shop did the install and alignment, plus there is no rattle and the car still handles good

but after learning the the beehive coils cant be cut properly to sit, i might have to heat them, but in this case there is no telling if it will be even from left to right

looks like im gonna have to sell these springs and go order some TEIN Basics

 

Block the chassis at the height you want and heat the lowest coil.

The old school lowering solution.

 

Like Way said, don't do it.. I would think something is not right. There has to be hundred's or thousands of MINI's out there with the same springs on..
You may get the look your after but will lose ride quality at the very least..
I had H-Sport springs on my cabrio to start with and it dropped evenly.. ( same springs for coupe or cabrio ) I think H&R Sport makes a different spring for the coupe as the cabrio.. any chance you got a wrong set somehow..

 

Id double check still (obviously youll have them out again regardless). When I put H&Rs in at first I didnt notice the notch on the perch for the spring coil to sit down in, and put it all back together (was solid). Caught it when I saw the other side, while taking it apart.

 

post a picture.

 

Very common error. Been there done that. DOH!

 

i will look for the box and double check

made an appointment with my mechanic, will have it checked out before anything









it looks marginal on the pics but in person its HUGE!!!

 

this looks about where i used to sit with H&R sport springs also. The drop in front does not balance out with the rear aesthetically.

this is what mine looked like:

 

^thats what i thought, what did u do to even things out?

 

i threw them away and bought coilovers

 

get some CO save your self the hassle.. you want to mod your car the right way from the get go.. you will save money doing it that way... megans are a great bang for your buck COs.

 

looks like im heading towards that direction right now, ill have the mechanic check it, if not ill order some tein basics

 

Measure the distance from the bottom rear of the wheel opening to the ground on the front wheel and from the bottom front of the rear wheel. If the measurement on the front wheel is equal to or slightly less than the rear wheel measurement, the coils are right. Otherwise, if they are properly seated, you were given the wrong spring set. Did you provide the VIN (or options list) when ordering the springs?