Megan Racing Coilovers with JCW STB help!
 

i've looked around and couldn't find anything in regards to this issue. the shop installed my megan racing coilovers, but stated that they couldn't put the jcw strut back on. they said i would need a spacer or something to put it bak on?

do any of you guys who have the megan racing have this issue? what do i do to get it to fit?

Do you have pics of them? That might be helpful to determine what they mean. I've seen 2 different pics of these. The 1st has the two mounting bolts that go into the framehttp://www.raceinspired.com/images/P...tCoilovers.jpg and the 2nd is from Waymotors and they dont have them.http://www.waymotorworks.com/images/...ilovers-01.jpg Does either of these look like yours? The 2nd would more than likely be yours. With this one you still need to use some factory parts. look at the diagram here. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/f/m/250.png
#9(guide support) is the part that is used to connect the suspension to the body/frame. Might be due to space that is from the upper spring plate and the guide support, or from there being to much when fully assembled with the guide support at the top of the on the coilover that the nut wont go down far enough to fit snug. I would ask them exactly why they needed it, they should be willing to tell you why exactly, since they are doing the job for you. I don't have megan coilovers, I have Vmaxx and I had to use some OEM parts with them to install them. Also I helped a friend put his Koni's on his MCS and we had to use some OEM parts as well..... Also did they come with the rear shock bushings that connect the bottom of the coilovers to the arm? That might be something as well. Im not very great with Mini's yet, so hopefully there will be someone out there that might be able to answer this question a lot better than I.

i have no clue. i opened it and looked at them, but never really noticed the difference in those 2 that you posted :(

Pretty much the same except for the rears. There are two different upper spring plates. The 1st pic has 2 bolts on it and the 2nd has none. The front seem to be the same except for the 1st has the covers still on the stiffness adjustment spot. IMO go to the shop where you were having them installed and ask exactly why they needed the spacer. Maybe you can order more spacers from either Megan or from a Mini dealership.

Sorry the plates on the 1st are a different shape as well. I just noticed it. The 2nd should be the ones you have.

well i mean spacer since the JCW strut hits the top adjustment knob like this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...c/CIMG0083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...c/CIMG0084.jpg

so the shop meant that it was going to hit that knob and needs like some type of spacer or something to clear properly. was hoping someone would know wat to do if this is what they're going thru also...

That adjuster knob comes off pretty easily and could be stored in the glovebox. You just unscrew the ring under the adjustment knob. See if the bar will clear after that.

ok i will try that. if not my friend was telling me i should just get some heavy duty washers and it should fit that way hopefully.

Besides the strut bar issue, how do you like the coilovers? Those are my #1 choice.

I know the JCW strut bar is a really nice one, but you could probably sell it in the marketplace and buy a brace that would work with those coilovers for the same money. Just a thought.

Ok I see what they mean. You could just buy new strut tower brace. There are others out that would allow it. Also you could just take the adjustment knobs off like Splattj said. But everything aside, I'm with Drew how do you like the coilovers?

i think i will take off the knob and see if it'll work that way tomoro. i really like the coilovers. i do wanna go lower tho, but i may hav to cut the plastic from the fenders so i wont rub wen i go lower. thanks guys.

If taking the adjusters off works, you might want to look around for a rubber dust cap of some sort so that nothing gets into the adjusters.

I have the MR coilovers on my mini. I must say, the spring rates are a little high for DC area roads. I have a harsher ride than when I had my MachV springs with sport suspension combo. On a smooth road, the car rides quite nicely and they did reduce body roll. It's the large bumps it can't handle. I'll be at VIR next week so I'll report back on their behavior on-track after. Oh, and if you didn't know, they adjust by moving the bracket on the shock up and down so that the unit's travel isn't effected. It's very nice compared to the traditional coilover that requires you to move the spring perch.

oh.....nice. question...since the shop installed it, how do i go about adjusting the dampening in the rears?

To install the remote adjusters that should have come with the coilovers, a hole needs to be drilled in the body sheet metal above the strut (I did this myself.) If they installed them, you can access them through the rear panels in the trunk. Odds are, the shop didn't install the remote adjusters. If that's the case, you have to unbolt the strut from the suspension (at least at the top if you can push down far enough.) to get to the knob on top.

ah man, sounds difficult :(

Take it back and make them drill holes in your car. :grin:

i should.....

on the main note, i took off the knob but it was still hitting the coilover middle piece. so i capped it and used like 6 flat washers per each hole and mounted it up that way.

Two things

How do you like the ride of the Megan coils?

Sell the JCW brace and get the M7 STB. It should have no problem clearing the control as there is a huge hole in the plates for that sort of thing.

How easy is it to get to the camber adjustment bolts? Seems theres not enough space to get an allen wrench in there.

I have these coilovers with swift springs and I like this set up as good if not better than the PSS9's I had on my 2007 Cayman S. The swift springs are outstanding in every way and I would recomend contacting Swift springs before installing any coil over for any car and make sure they have a spring set up for the coilover you plan to install.

You can get to the camber adjustment screws with a ball end hex key without issue. I have the NM Engineering front strut brace and it is very well designed and manufactured and fits with these coilovers and allows all the space you need to adjust coilover settings and access the camber adjustment screws.

IMO the Swift springs and the NM brace are the highest quality aftermarket products I have installed on my Mini.

hey guys, I need some help from the mini experts..

i put megan coils on my r56 and lowered it to my liking but I've bottom out.. the car is not that low, but apparently not enough play on the shocks.. I tried adjusting the damper but still seems like its bottoming out...Someone suggested to me to cut some of the bump stop off, but im a little worried that's going to kill the life out of the coils... HELP! any suggestions??

I know this is old, but I just saw this since the thread was bumped.

Taking the knob off will mess with the dampening. When it gets unscrewed it backs the set screw out and frees up the needle in the shaft. Basically it will go to full soft.

Raise the car is a good choice.