I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S WITHOUT sport suspension. I am thinking of upgrading from stock to lowering springs but I would like to keep my existing stock shocks to save money. Is it possible to upgrade only the springs without any changes to the stock shocks? If so, what are some of the potential consequences?

(Note: I prioritize ride quality over performance).

Thanks for your comments!
Mini-ARG

 

Sure you can.

Consequences? Well it is a compromise. You, theoretically, will wear your stock shocks out faster. This is a "YMMV" kind of statement as some people have to replace in 10k others are going on a couple of years w/o replacement.

If you get a set of NM springs, word on the street is that they are just as "comfortable" as stock (if not better in some instances) and lower effectively. Some people like H&R, some like others. Search and read to make up your own mind.

The issue comes down to cost, ultimately. Springs seem to be a stopgap in between stock and a suspension replacement. Usually people run springs until they kill the stock suspension and then they add on a total suspension upgrade and sell the springs. Just what I have seen.

If you prioritize ride quality over performance you probably need to ask yourself why you want to lower the car. I dunno what kind of roads you have down in Mass, but here in NH they pretty much suck all over. I am concerned that dropping an inch might put me too low so I'm just sticking with stock for now.

I am sure that people will chime in and have lots and lots of opinions on this. I strongly suggest you search in the modifications / suspension section under 2nd gen minis if you have not done so.

Good luck.

 

Yea, that's why I bought shocks first.

I do not know why lowering a car would make the shocks fail prematurely. If anyone has a reason, I would love to hear it.

 

Does depend on your objective for your car. I generally find a couple of things I would like to make better.

1. understeer
2. roll

I did it slowly, gradually adding and changing parts when it was not the right direction. I first added camber plates and sway bar to get turn in. Then, control arms to get more rear camber. Next I will add coils after about 1 year. I may have to put a larger front sway bar later after I drive it around for a little while.

 

You got me - but that is what I have "heard" through anecdotal stories here on NAM. I suspect that the idea is that the stock shocks were designed to work with the stock springs. I would imagine that it doesn't cause the shocks to FAIL but to wear out. Again, no evidence on my end just what I read on that them thar internet tubes.

I am sure that someone who knows more than I do will chime in. It seems to me that messing with the suspension becomes a costly habit...

 

If you lower the car you are effectively moving the rod in the shock to a slightly different location from its intended standard position and thus changing the characteristic of the shock. Lowering 1" puts the rod down in the shock 1" farther than the design spec and thus out of its designed standard so premature wear is then expected.

 

Thanks for the response guys! Very useful!

 

ive had my H&Rs on stock struts for something like 30K miles.... i think my struts are about toast at 40K now.... going to upgrade very soon, but there is really no reason not to go ahead and drop it!... buy struts later! or coilovers, which is what im eyeing

 

Huge price difference between struts and coil overs, correct?

Just out of curiosity, the coil overs come with its own set of springs, right?

 

it can be a large difference yes... coilovers are basically "all in one"

 

Mini-ARG

I did Eibach springs a year ago on factory struts (non sport too) which at the time made the car ride smoother and decreased the torque steer. Lowering spings are progressive rate which means the more they compress the stiffer they get. A plus side to this is with small bumps and road imperfections are smoothed out a little better than with fixed rate springs. Two weeks ago I added Bilstein HD struts to the car I got for around $420 shipped and the difference is night and day compared to the factory struts. The car is much more dampened and rides much smoother. It is firmer but since the body isn't bouncing around the ride is much better with worlds better control on bumps mid corner. I could not ask for a better ride from a performance car and I work at a Porsche dealership and drive the new cars all the time.

 

Thank you for the information Jengland! I can see from the pic on your signature that you have an R56 (so do I) and it looks GREAT! This gives me a pretty good idea of what mine could look like with Eibachs and I like it!

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the Bilstein HD struts for $420 shipped? I run a quick search online and I came up with over $600...

 

I got the Bilsteins at http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp.

 

Lowering springs WILL wear out your stock shocks VERY fast. More importantly, keep in mind that the stock shocks are absolute garbage in the first place. They're Delphi turds and I'll bet that MINI doesn't pay more than about 10 bucks for the rears, and not much more for the fronts. I'd bet that if you put them on a shock dyno, at say 30k miles, running on STOCK springs the whole time, they'd be toast. On lowering springs, they'd be toast much faster, and not do a good job in the meantime.

Do it right, if you're going to lower your car, upgrade your shocks/struts at the same time. You'll be glad you did.