Hey guys... Just bought some H&R sport springs off the NAM market and would like to get them installed professionally... I don't have the tools needed to install them myself. I was wondering what I can expect for cost. I have been calling around and the lowest price I'm getting is 400 bucks, which seems excessive. How much did you all pay for your install, any suggestions on where to get it done in the Louisville, KY area? Thanks

 

0, did myself. Tools aren't more than a wrench and socket set. You can buy that from sears or home depot for under 100$, or even under $50 if u don't want craftsman.
You can rent a spring compressor from auto zone for free, just $50 deposit u get fully back.

 

What are the tools you need? Jack... Etc?

And anyone else, Any shop recommendations for the Louisville area would be appreciated as well. Thanks.

 

$400 is the average price, most mechanic shops will charge you more for not buying the parts from them.

 

I gotta move shop to the east coast. $200 an hour to lower a MINI sounds good to me.

 

I mean these shops, with professional tools and a long history of installing lowering springs, are saying it takes almost 5 hours to do every spring, and that's not factoring in alignment. That's seems waaay excessive to me. People on the forum are saying how, without any prior experience and the right tools, it took them 2-2.5 hours for everything.

 

local MINI shop charges $200. I think I'll try to tackle this myself and learn a few things about the car. But $200 compare to $400 isn't bad I guess...

 

My local MINI dealership wanted to charge me $550! Damn, it seems like anywhere but here is the place to be if you want lowering sprigs installed!

 

I did mine myself, the first one took 45 minutes, and all the other ones took about 20 min a piece. I can neither confirm nor deny that I used the jack that came with my car to do each spring one at a time; all you need to do is get the wheel off the ground and get down to business, unless you have zero tools. NEVER USE YOUR MINI JACK WITHOUT JACK STANDS.

 

It may only physically take 2hrs to do it, but shops charge by book time, and usually they take the factory book time and mark it up by 1.5. Last time I checked around our local shops were quoting 6hrs labor for spring installs.

 

Haa, ...but just so you know, you have to deal with very rusted up nuts and bolts!

 

Yeah F that. But least you get the good gas.

 

Way did mine and didn't charge me that much to do it but, I also bought the parts from him too.

 

Spend a little on gas, come to my house, buy me a beer, and I will do it for free.
Honestly, buy just a couple of tools, you don't even need a spring compressor, you just need to be very carefull, and save yourself $300. Best of luck.

 

Thumbs up for Mike at Tech Division! He did a fantastic job on my TSW spring installation, and cost was very reasonable.

 

How does it look? After seeing a few threads about weird stance with TSW's, I'm curious. Please post pictures if you can

 

Hope these photos help!

 

You need
Jackstands ($35 for a pair at sears for 2 ton, our cars are about 1.25 tons or so, rough number)
A Socket set with 3/8 or 1/2 in drive, preferably both, as the 1/2 drive will be good when you require more torque to get the tighter bolts off. You'll need a range from 13mm to 22mm I believe, I don't remember exactly but if you get a nice set from craftsman (sears) you'll get most of those. They will also come with the next item.
Open ended wrenches/box wrences (these will be useful when you have a nut and bolt setup you need to remove, which will occur at the front strut at the lower knuckle.
Spring compressor, it can be much more dangerous without them, and since they're free to rent, why not?
Allen key wrench set (will come with mechanics set if you get the set from sears mentioned above)
If you want you can get a socket with a box end at the top it will be helpful when you use the allen key to hold the front strut from spinning. This way you can put on the socket, stick the allen key in through the top, and use a box wrench to work the socket. Otherwise you can use an impact gun (but i doubt you have this if you don't have the basic tools you), or buy a slotted socket from the dealer. Thats probably the hardest part
Besides this, a jack which you have from oem.
The rears are very easy, prob about 30 min for the first one to figure out whats going on, and 10 min for the second one. The fronts are a bit more difficult but nothing crazy.
GLuck

 

I figure I can purchase a used set of adjustable coil overs and install them myself for the same price I could have lowering coils installed. Plus I can adjust the ride height to my liking

 

good pics, I wanna get some TSWs so that was good to see the gap

 

I just installed some TSW springs on my '07 MCS over thr weekend and they're 110% better than the springs that came with the sport package, you won't be disappointed.

Give Way a call and he'll take care of you ...

 

Are you active in the local club, Bluegrass Minis? There are a number of people in the club who have done this and might be willing to provide tools and supervision while you do this yourself.

You got the lowering springs ... did you also get the rear control arms? I believe you need the adjustable control arms to get the rear wheels properly aligned after lowering.

 

I saved $200 by doing it myself with a help of a buddy. Feeling self fulfilled getting to know the MINI. Although not very clear, thanks to this forum for DIY/how-to's

 

Here is the before & after photos with NM springs.

 

Good writeup on it: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ll-how-to.html