Hi Headlands, I really don't know if changing the springs would be the cure.
Most of the aftermarket springs seem to be made for lowering. I went with the NM springs because they lowered the least, about 1.2", although I understand JCW springs will only lower about .25".
I believe the dampers are to be credited for the improvement in handling.
Also lowering changes the amount of camber, so an alignment is in order as well.
I wish I knew how to referance other threads better, but if you go to 2nd Gen, sub forum suspensions, you will find a ton of info. Good luck.

 

However, remember, most (if not all) lowering springs have some amount of increased spring rate due to the reduce strut travel when the ride height is adjusted down.

JCW springs may be a viable option if you were to confirm if what the increased spring rate is over the OEM non-sport or OEM sport springs.

- Erik

 

Excellent - thanks, guys.

Unfortunately the FSD's alone do little, if nothing, to help reduce the "jerking steering wheel" problem. I might need to replace the shocks, which is not a fun idea considering I only bought them about 10 months ago.

Also, if I replace the shocks I will of course have to compromise a bit on ride quality, which is what the FSD's do so well while improving the handling over the OEM shocks. But perhaps because of their variable damping they do not cure the bump steer problem that plagues stock MINIs.

Since JCW springs only lower the car by 1/2" they would probably be fine with the FSD's, but I just don't know if anything would improve considering some on this thread have JCW's and experience the same problem.

 

Thanks for the kind words Maverick but I assure you I'm still learning new things everyday!

The company I work for makes a spring that lowers a Subaru STI only 5mm with a large increase in spring rate and we include shorter bumpstops. I don't know if that pure function approach would go over well here but the result is pretty fantastic. I bet the same idea would work well on a Mini with Bilsteins.

Swift springs are great but they do not make an OEM fitment sprign for the Mini.

I'm really curious what the rates are on the JCW springs. I think they could be a great option with the Bilsteins. Having helped design and test lowering springs for other cars, I am quite leary of most aftermarket sets for simply going for the look and not the function with poor engineering behind them. This is even more of a problem on the Mini which has less travel than most cars I'm used to. The NM springs sound like the best aftermarket option right now for the Mini, but I'd still like to see less of a drop.

My guess as to why the Koni FSDs don't provide the same effect as the Bilsteins is that the Konis are pretty soft overall, while the Bilsteins (although very comfortable) do have some gas pressure, decent compression damping, and possibly a very slight increase in travel with a softer internal bumpstop. But no one has been on both dampers just yet.

tvrgeek has the Bilsteins on his R56 with stock S springs with great results. The softness of the Konis overall should provide a more comfortable ride, but the bumpstops are still very active.

I bet if you cut the OEM bumpstops on the Konis the result would be quite nice (just a thought, don't blame me if it sucks!)

- Andrew

 

Interesting. How do the Bilsteins (are they HD's?) feel re: ride quality when compared with OEM S shocks? Man, I really don't want to buy new shocks, but I suppose I could sell my used FSD's -- they have about 11k on them. Do people buy used shocks?

 

I'm sure you'd be able to sell you're Koni FSDs fairly easily, and the Bilstein HDs are really cheap.

tvrgeek would be the best person to talk to about 2nd gen OEM S shocks vs. the Bilstien HDs since I drive a R53 S everyday. He's worth a PM.

- Andrew

 

I would not look to the JCW suspension setup to solve this problem. I can assure you that going from the sport suspension to the JCW suspension did nothing to help with this bump steer issue or with torque steer.

Same issue as Maugre... long sweeping exit ramp with expansion joints. When I drove over this bump I experienced this bump steer effect. I thought that it was a real pain and kinda funny at the same time. The problem was solved when they put down new asphalt on that section of the highway and exit ramp over the summer.

 

I think they're talking about using JCW springs with the Bilsteins and avoiding the JCW shocks.

- andrew

 

Actually, I'd agree and disagree with this statement, only because other types of cars that I've read about on forums don't exhibit the bump steer problem when they put on FSD's, but (in my experience) MINIs still do.

Good to know that the Bilsteins help with it, but I do feel like there is some kind of geometry issue happening with the MINIs. Or you could be correct in that MINI just might not really understand what the right kind of shock to put on these cars is; that doesn't surprise me at all given some of the other "scratch your head" issues with MINIs.

 

Well, with most (if not some 95%) consumer vehicle, I have a firm grip that certain sub-systems are built with compromises.
Whether is a softer, less jarring suspension to sacrifice 'handling' for comfort...
Or less power for longevity and making a design-life warranty, it's all considered.

- Erik