So I decided to start a thread about aftermarket struts and springs and combinations of both because it takes too long to go over all the different suggestions in the other threads

I wanted to address set ups for various things such as:
1. mild track
2. daily driver/street/comfort
3. mild track and street

So pretty much I wanted advice on which setup (combination of shocks and springs) that would be good for the above situations. I'm not really interested in coilovers right now so yea.

Also, I've been lurking around the forums and got different ideas for lowering in general. For example, some say bilstein hd's and nm springs, koni fsds on stock springs, etc.

 

A car rides on its springs, so the only way to lower a car is to install shorter springs. Dampers (or shock absorbers, a misnomer) have nothing to do with ride height; as the name implies, their function is to dampen the up-and-down motion of the springs. However, springs and dampers work together and must be thought about together. Coilovers are a great way, since you'll have springs with a linear rate matched with appropriate dampers, plus you can adjust the ride height for looks and, more importantly, to corner-weight the car, so it's ideally balanced. But, coilovers are expensive. I put a full-coilover suspension on a prior car and it was great, but that was for a lot of track days.

I plan to pair H&R Sport springs (already here) and Koni Sport shocks on the just-a-Cooper. The combo will lower the car, give a firmer ride, and provide more control over the suspension. The Konis are adjustable for rebound, too. The stock suspension is woefully flexible at the back, so I'm adding a bigger bar and less-compliant trailing arm bushings. Better control arm bushings will go up front, and I've already replaced the puny wheels and those horrible run-flats. Just one person's solutions; there are lots of others just as good or better.