Great info thanks!

I am on tein springs so probably no lower than 1.5" vs stock, no camber plates so I'm not sure what my camber is right now. Sounds like ill be fine looking at what you guys are running.

 

Probably not a whole lot up front. My front is ~2 inches down and the camber is barely noticeable with no plates...the rear however...well thats a different story when it comes to camber hopefully the tire wear doesn't set in too terribly before I can afford adjustable LCAs

 

As I'm researching more and more I'm finding it hard not to go with coil-overs? For couple hundred bucks more I can raise and lower the car for winter and drop it lower in the summer. And judging by what everyone has said I'd need to buy all the same support parts no mater what direction I lean toward.

So, Is there any other benefits (lets not look at price difference at this point) of going one way or the other? (shocks/ spring or coil-overs)

Thanks Buds.

 

For me it's that I want the best damper and valving possible. Raising and lowering the car is not a priority to me...one ride height is fine. For a coilover at a given price point you trade quality of the valving for ride height adjustability and other bells and whistles, whereas with shock/spring set-up you get a much nicer damper (Koni Yellow).

The problem is no one really makes a great spring for these cars and there isn't enough travel. If you want to lower the car a lot, coilovers are a better idea.

- Andrew

 

Agree 100%

I'm running Koni yellows and couldn't be happier!

Coilovers are legit if you want to mess with your ride height a lot.

IMO if your looking for that whole stanced/ hellaflush thing then go for for it.

 

I was looking into Koni yellows and I liked what I've read about them and they aren't that expensive, but living in CT the winter sucks (not as bad as other places but still enough to mess with your day) and the roads around me are absolute crap after the winter months.

I'm not into the stanced/ hellaflush scene. I honestly don't understand it, but to each their own lol. But, dropping it 1" or 1.5" would be the lowest it would go at any point.

 

Just to point out, some coilovers drop the car almost an inch even when set to the maximum height, so you need to ensure that you get the right height adjustment capable coilovers if you are going to try and raise it back up for winters.

 

Living on LI, we're dealing with almost the same thing in winter - are you hearing that Yellows wouldn't be a comfortable ride with potholes, etc? I was considering Koni Yellows, but heard/read more than once that they can be a bit harsh. Right now, I have H&R springs on stock shocks - 71K on the car; roughly 30K lowered. I feel slightly harsh now, but nothing that's driving me crazy...

Price wise, there's only $100 difference between Yellows and Megan Street Series coil overs. I think I'm definitely getting coil overs for:

1. Adjustable ride height
2. Smoother ride
3. Camber adjustment on fronts

The H&R's lower 1.4". But I just don't like that the fronts are higher than the rears - the rear right now is almost the perfect height for me. Being able to lower the front just a 1/2" will even it right out. When all is said and done, I'm hoping I can commute lowered around 1.75" and not run into any problems.

I am going to get Helix rear lower control arms - I hear that it's not a must, but I do want optimum tire wear.

I'm still trying to read up as much as I can before I pull the trigger, but that's what I've learned and the direction I'm going. If there's something I'm missing, I'm happy to hear.

 

Someone said you'll need a set of spring compressors and a strong friend.
If you think about it your Mini is both. LOL
With Mini on the ground loosen lug nuts, open hood and loosen 3 nuts on strut tower and remove 1 large center nut) Jack Mini up high enough to remove wheel then remove. Jack high enough for spring compression loss should be nearly no compression at this point. (May need to push/pry down on wheel hub) Remove brake line from strut, remove nut from bottom of strut, push down on wheel hub to pull bottom of strut from bolt if needed. There may be a small amount of compression, but not enough for a big boy/girl to get hurt. Once bottom of strut is loose all compression is gone. Remove remaining 3 nuts (Top) and strut will drop out with a little finagling. Reverse for install. All you need is a Jack, wrenches, and a little bit of grunt. Just a little different for rear, but you'll get it. Been doing it for years on any compact car w/factory car jack. BE SAFE! Jack stands are your friends. (Though I didn't use them)

 

I've seen a few reviews about the yellows being slightly harsh, but not enough to really warrant a major concern.

I was looking at the H&R with the yellows, but still for $100 bucks more I can get the Megans and do all the things you've stated.

Also, What was stated a few lines ago about the ride height dropping an inch or more from the stock to coil-overs, I'm aware that they do but thank you for pointing it out just in case someone reading this didn't know about that

 

You should really try to drive in a mini that is on coils. I have had my Megan's for over a year now and daily drive, they are harsh compared to stock. Any suspension that will lower will be harsher than stock. If you don't drop them all the down and bottom them out it will be less harsh but I am as low as I can possibly go and hitting a pot hole is quite harsh and sometimes you think it does damage it sounds so hard (I haven't damaged anything). I just don't want you I be surprised when it doesn't feel or sound like stock when you bit bumps and holes. Additionally, riding on coils exposes any creaks, rattles and moans the car has so you will need to spend a day finding and dampening those.

With that said, I would never go back to stock since this is how I like to drive. I love to feel like I'm on rails and live the lowered look on a mini.

 

The Koni is a superior damper to the Megan, it's just that with a larger drop from springs on Konis you don't have any travel. With a mild drop it'll have a better ride than stock or Megans. It's just that no one makes a mild drop spring anymore. And travel is good for ride quality and handling. Harsh isn't fast.

- drew

 

I have Megans on my sons car and it's REALLY smooth. He's running 15" wheels that actually have side walls. This WILL smooth out your ride quality. I have H&R coils and 215/40/17's on mine and his rides like a Cadi compaired to mine.

With the design of the Megans it shouldn't make a difference if you crank it all the way up or drop it. Once you set the pre-load on the coils that part is done. The rest is done by moving the entire shock\strut body in the mount. It will change your geometry a bit but it shouldn't cause any rougher ride since you aren't messing with the available stroke of the pistons or stiffening up the spring.

 

edited my post for clarity.

 

Thanks for pointing out difference between the ride on 15's and 17's. I'm running 205/45/17's in the summer and 205/50/16's in the winter. I can feel the difference right away when I swap them. And change the air pressure just a few pounds and it changes the feel.

So with everything I've read, if I had to sort from the softest to the harshest ride, it would look like this:

Stock shocks and springs
Coilovers
Lowering springs on Koni's
Lowering springs on stock shocks

OGF - what is the highest and lowest ride height with the Megans? I am looking at the Street Series - not sure what you have.

 

You can't lump all coilovers together. Some are track oriented, some are street oriented. Some are pretty good at both. Some just suck at everything.

I'd also put konis with stock springs at the top for ride quality. And konis with good springs, but there are no good springs anymore since tein htechs are gone. Swifts are good but have higher rates and are a little more track oriented. I might try them with cut bump stops...I bet it'll be better than Megans.

- andrew

 

Any pics of your MINI with it lowered 2.5'' didn't see any in your gallery..

 

Just an FYI, the TSW springs definitely have a mild drop. I had them on the MCS with the Bilsteins and the gap looked almost the same as my non-sport OEM suspension. I moved to the Swift brand b/c people that put them on spring dynos found very favorable results. The ride is definitely firm and wouldn't want it any firmer.

One of these days I want to check out the ride with my plush OEM springs. I'd bet that with the excellent controlled damping of the Bilsteins the ride would be very nice.

 

I'm not sure about the travel of them they were setup when they went on the car and haven't been adjusted since. I have about an inch and a half of lowering left. The arches are 23.5" off the ground.

 

This is true about the TSW's, but what Andy was getting at was availability. Right now you can't get TSW springs unless you get them used. Way ran into a problem with his last batch of V3's and switched his manufacturer. There are a lot of people waiting for the new ones to be released, but with the H-Techs discontinued, TSW's not available right now, JCW rates being unknown and hard to find (the red springs), there really is not other spring that gives a modest drop and is linear other then Swift, and they are firm to say the least.

If you want cheaper coilovers and still want comfort, I would suggest something more along the lines of Fortune Auto or BC coilovers where you get to choose your spring rates and they have custom valving available.

It was stated above about dropping the car 1.5" plus and whether rear camber arms are needed, and the general consensus answer would be yes if tire wear is something you're worried about.