Hey all,

I have been lurking for about a month now and my JCW clubman is currently being built, the wait is killing me !

What I need is a lesson on suspension. I have scoured the forums, and I have gained a decent amount of knowledge. Right now, I have gathered that KONI's coilover's are probably the way to go. What I don't know, is why. What is the difference between these and other brands of coilovers? Why are coilovers better than springs, other than being adjustable? Are there performance reasons to getting coilovers or is it just for "slamming" the car down? I do want to lower my car, but not to the point of having to go 1MPH, sideways over speed bumps.

Can someone kindly give me a quick lesson on basic suspension methodology? It would be greatly appreciated as I think its the first major modding I want to do to my new JCW. Thanks in advance!

 

You're a smart man modding suspension first

The whole benefit of coilovers is adjustability (height & compression + rebound). They also help you slam the car but you already said you weren't on that path. For the track day crowd they allow the car to be lowered beyond what lowering springs will offer, but because of their height adjustment the weight distribution can be optimized for better handling through the bends. Most coilovers offer compression/rebound adjustment and this is great if you want less aggressive damping on the street, but want to tighten it up a bit when auto-x'ing, tracking, or carving up a twisty road. Even if you do drop the car quite a bit, they still retain quite a bit of suspension travel so you're not slamming on the bump stops all the time on rough roads. This permits more pleasing driving quality on rougher roads than a lowering spring does. It should also be noted that the damping characteristics are optimized to the spring rates that are sold with them. I live in the Detroit metropolitan area and I'm dropped 2.5". I have to do the things you don't like. Weird entrances into driveways, alertness for roadkill, steering clear of big chunks of debris/trash on the highway...etc. It's not for everybody but it's amazing on track day and on good roads. The R56 needs to be dropped a lot to get rid of wheel gap more than the R53 too

You'll need to also think about the cost for new front swaybar endlinks (OEM endlinks have interference issues when dropping the car a bit), new rear lower adjustable control arms, and possibly wheel spacers to clear the springs on a coilover setup.

It sounds like you might be better suited to getting a lowering spring and different dampers like Koni Yellows. This is definitely a more affordable option, you'll be lowered a bit but not too much, and you'll enjoy improved suspension performance without having the jarring ride quality of using lowering springs with the OEM dampers. If you just want a bit of drop and the coilovers seem like overkill since you don't want to really slam your ride, I think this is probably a better alternative.

 

I am not aware the KONI offers a coilover for the R56. Are you referring to the FSD's? Cause that is just a shock.

Coilovers are desirable mostly for their adjustability. The adjustability allows you to either set them for maximum performance or maximum drop (slamming) or anything between.

 

I am getting the R55

 

R55
R56
R57
R58

All have the same suspension

 

I got Koni yellows with NM springs. Good combo and nice ride. Not to much over kill but the back definitly needs to be somewhat tightened up from the get go becuase the back bounces a lil too much so with any kind of weight you will scrap tire a lil.

 

I am staying with the stock shocks, but have opted to install H&R Sport Springs. They will give me the 1.4" drop I desire. Along with the NM Engineering 22mm adjustable rear sway bar, NM Engineering adjustable sway bar links, and the Helix control arms, the ride should be fairly comfortable.

 

Coilovers are not necessarily better....it's the same system just packaged slightly different. There are a lot of crappy coilovers out there, just like there are a lot of crappy springs.

With coilovers you can adjust ride height and sometimes adjust the valving. Both of these can be an advantage but the most important thing about the system is the quality of the damper inside.

Lots of tradeoffs between the two. Regular struts/shocks (like stock, Koni Yellow, Koni FSD, Bilstein HD, Bilstein Sport) do not have very much travel on the Mini so you can't lower the car very much and expect a good ride or handling. In my opinion any drop over an inch is pushing it (and unfortunately most springs drop at least that much). Coilovers usually let you lower the car more....but not all of them have a lot of travel either. They also usually use stiffer spring rates. A good thing for the track, not a good thing for the city. The cheaper coilovers are sacrificing valving/damping quality to hit a low price point while still being able to offer the system as a coilover.

I chose springs + Koni Yellows because they make a good high quality adjustable damper....much better than the dampers used in the lower end coilovers. I can not run my car as low, but that wasn't important to me. If I took the car to the track I'd want firmer springs, but I don't.

Dampers are more than just soft and stiff....it's far more complicated than that and a good high quality damper means excellent handling AND ride quality (not one or the other).

If you're new to suspensions I think Konis with a good spring (maybe Swifts) is a good way to go. Simple, durable, cheap, quality, and a good warranty from a reputable manufacturer.

- Andrew