Hey All-
Next up on my 05' Cabrio S was suspension upgrades. I had 58K on the original suspension, so I knew it was time. I had previously done the Pulley, exhaust and CAI. One of the main goals with the upgrades was to sharpen the reflexes of the car...more power,better throttle response, flat cornering, neutral balance, etc. After a lot of consulting with Way at WMW, I decided on going with his KW V2 with the TSW springs. We also added the H-sport rear camber links and the H-Sport 19mm Adj. rear sway bar. Way swears by this piece He warned me these three components working together would transform the car...he was right Here's a look:








It's to bad these pieces remain so hidden...they're beautiful.







All together...alignment time


This is how she is sitting now...






I set the coilovers on the middle dampener setting, and the sway bar in the middle. Initial impressions...the Mini feels "nailed down". The dampening was the first thing I noticed, it really settles the car very quickly. Cornering is very flat, which I think contributes to the feeling of quicker steering. You also notice right away the balance is more neutral, less tendency to push the front end. The ride feels firm but not overly harsh compared with my previous S suspension( I'm still on the mediocre GY runflats). I think I have it sitting a little too low at the moment. I will be playing around with ride height and dampener settings as time and weather permit. I would love to hear thoughts on settings from other V2 owners.

 

nice stance I am still debating what coilovers I want to get. You didnt upgrade to front camber plates or upgrade the swaybar endlinks??

 

Thanks. Honestly, I'm following Way's recommendation that front camber plates are not necessary for my application. I might add the endlinks later.

 

I guess since your car isnt "slammed" then camber plates aren't necessary. You have a very conservative drop that is just enough to reduce the fender gap. Very nice!! My setup will be basically identical to yours. I already have my h&r 19mm rear sway bar, tsw rear control arms and endlinks. I'm just waiting for warmer weather to install everything.

 

Yeah, exactly. I did not want to slam it, being a daily driver. My choices were really very limited due to it being a Cabrio. What coilovers are looking at?

 

At first I was looking at the megans or BC's just because they already have the front camber plates included. But then I was thinking maybe H&R RSS Club sport and maybe Helix adj. camber plates.....but maybe now i wont need camber plates?!?!?

I see you are running s-lites, any rubbing issues?? no wheel spacers??

 

There is definitely a spacer on those hubs! Looks like a 12mm or 15mm spacer at that! I love the stance man, I wouldn't change a thing!

 

Thanks for the compliment. Good Eye RJ, I'm running 12mm front and rear with the S-lites. No rubbing at all. I still have the so-so Goodyear runflats the previous owner had on there. I'll do brakes next and by spring hopefully new tire/wheel combo.

 

i see now!!! great, another thing i have to buy are they the racemax spacers?? http://www.namotorsports.net/detail.cfm/part_cd/RM1262W

 

Yes, those are the ones I ordered. They fit perfect, no vibration issues. What wheels do plan on running?

 

Yes, those are the ones I ordered. They fit perfect, no vibration issues. What wheels do plan on running?

 

Rota rb 17x7.5 for summer wheels and s-lites for winter wheels

 

Nice...thanks for the pic. I want to do the same thing, run the s-lites as my winter set-up. What winter tire are you using? Your Mini is nicely modded, the drop will be perfect

 

BlueToy your car is looking GREAT, I so glad your loving it.

 

No small thanks too you my friend. I really appreciate the help/education on all things Mini

 

s-lites still have runflats. once the time comes i might get replace them with some blizzacks or some other winter tire.

 

While we are on the subject of tires, any rubbing issues with the 215/45/17's ? What is the offset of the Rota's ? I've really like the performance of the Blizzacks on my BMW, I'll be doing that for my winter set-up as well.

 

the offset on the rota's are +45. no issues with rubbing. (as of now, not sure after i lower it) all the different variables that come into play.
215/45 vs 205/45
7.5 vs 7
+45 offset vs +50 offset

then on what size spacers to get....with my s-lites i could definitely use spacers all around but with the rb's I think the back looks fine and only really need spacers in the front. with the 12mm spacers in the front, how much room is there between the tire and the coilover??

 

I just got around to measuring the space between tire and coilover, it's about 3/8" with the 12mm spacer. If I remember correctly, S-Lites are a ET45, so in effect, I'm running an ET 33. From the sounds of it, you would be very close with 215 tire and 12mm spacer. It would look nearly flush

 

BlueToy, I own a '05 R52S too and I was always wondering on which direction to go for my next suspension. Your thread gave me all the info I need, thank you mate.

EDIT: Where did you get your rear spoiler?

 

Good to hear that The rear spoiler is made by West Coast Mini. I purchased it from M7, you can check it out on their site. Good luck with you Cabrio.