Here are some quick pictures I took today. Forgive me the car is a little bit dirty I'll take some more as soon as the rain stops.

First, let me say thank you to MotoGreg for helping me fix the install on the coilovers. He's a very nice guy who knows a lot about cars in general, very accomodating and a standout person. Thank you again Greg!

Now, on to the pictures:

Before:











After:













As for the ride, Greg test drove it after the install so I'm gonna have him do majority of the talking here. In my opinion he is an authority when it comes to suspension and he is not bias when giving out reviews.

All I can say is that this coilovers rides better than stock and way way better than lowering springs. I'm on runflats and still, I feel the improvement over stock. Not too bouncy not too soft, right now it is set midway between soft and stiff but I'm trying out every setting until i find what's suitable for street and little bit aggressive driving.

For the price, I think this coilover is a good buy... we'll see!

 

I was just at a mini dealership nearby to have an alignment but boy oh boy, they want $250+tax for a 4-wheel alignment.

 

great looking car!! How much? Where can we get this....thanks

 

I picked it up for $800. couple of sellers on ebay has them in stock.

 

Someone on the Countryman forum just posted this illustration of the JCW R60 that he just ordered. It looks just like your car other than the wheels. I say get the replicas of these JCW 19" wheels (or the all black version) because they look good, and with their width and offset you'll be able to leave your car really low like it is now... plus, your car will look just like the JCW, but without the steep price.

 

The closest replica I found is this: "JCW REPLICA" but I'm a little on edge because the price is so low, the price of 1 authentic JCW wheel for a set of 4, these could be one of those "you get what u pay for" thing.
What's your opinion on it?

 

Looks great! From what Greg said, it sounds like they run pretty good, too. Nicely done, I say!

As for wheels, I believe the OZ Superturismo LM comes in 18 x 7.5" et48 or so. That would be roughly equivalent to stock. IMO, they are easily among the best looking wheels on the Countryman. Strong and (relatively) light, to boot.

I'd say you could check for them on Tire Rack, but . . . well . . . nevermind.

 

How much is it lowered from stock?

 

I would say at least 3 inches.

I still can drop the front at least 1" more while the rear is set already at the lowest.

 

Wow, that's a great price on those wheels! I was looking for those (replicas of the JCW R129 wheel) for our car, but at that time I only found them at one place, which had one small, fuzzy photo of the wheel on their website, and they were around $350 a piece. If I had found these, at this price, I would have got them for sure.

Here are a couple photos of cars with them. I like the all black version version much better than the version with polished edges...





Although, I must say that I like this new, straight spoke wheel even better, but I believe they're 18" and it will probably be a while before there is a reasonably priced replica...



Those are similar to our M3 replicas (below) but simpler, with 7 pair of spokes vs. our 10 pair of spokes, and the width and offset is better if you want to be really low.

 

updated some pictures.

 

Loving the updated photos. Car looks great like that. Very, very nice.

 

Thank you, sir.

 

hi darna

i dont see megan coilover list for r60. can you let us know which the model or part number?

thanks

 

Nice, mean looking machine!

 

I have them, and they are 19s.

 

R129 wheels. There are 2 different sets, one all black and one with polished areas.

 

here's the link : MeganCoiloverForR60

 

To the OP, did you have lowering springs before? If So Which ones? Also how's the quality of the kit?

I answered my own question on the spring rates. Fronts are 391, rears are 447 (according to the website's specs, converted over to lbs/in)

For comparisons sake, stock springs are 210 lbs/in front 245 lbs/in rear and NMs are 290 lb/in front 350 lb/in rear

 

Wow, that's pretty amazing if it's true. Darna's car (with Megans) is so soft and cushy that it's like floating on air compared to stock or NM. In fact (when I drove it) it was too soft, to the point where it would wallow a bit, especially in the rear. I thought that it was undersprung AND under-damped, but if it's true that the springs are that much heavier than stock, or NM, then it must have all been in the damping. I know they have 32 position adjustability so I'm thinking that they must have been set way towards the soft end of the range... I didn't have a chance to experiment with trying a firmer damping setting on his car to see how it felt, but I wish I would have.

The KWs on Hujans car felt similar to the Megans in that they were both drastically softer/more comfortable riding compared to stock or NM. However, the KWs (which only have five or six clicks of damping adjustment) felt pretty much spot-on right out of the box. I wish would have had more time to adjust/experiment with Darna's car, because I'd like to see how it is with the damping firmed up.

The quality, quite frankly, was really too good to believe for the cost. It even has features the uber-expensive KWs don't have, like front camber adjustment, and ride height adjustability that doesn't change shock length like on a conventional (KW) coilover. With the Megans the shock doesn't get compressed/shortened travel when you adjust the ride height down. The two collars under the spring (where you'd adjust ride height on a conventional coilover) aren't how you adjust the height on these. If you look at the photo there is another collar where the (black) shock body threads into the (silver) outer housing, and that's how you adjust ride height... so basically the whole strut assembly screws down into the outer housing... so shock travel/length isn't affected by your ride height setting. Pretty trick.

The HKS coilovers on my Hyundai are similar to the Megans in that they have a large adjustment range, and I know from experience that an adjustment as small as two clicks is quite noticeable, so I'm thinking Darna's car should be able to dial out the too soft/wallowing by adjusting them firmer. And then they'll be perfect, similar to the KWs.

I spent years racing motorcycles, on both dirt and pavement (hence the MotoGreg name) and on bikes you get a much better understanding of suspension than you do in cars. I always have to change to stiffer springs on bikes, and then adjust the damping to suit. Whenever I ride a bike with soft spring rate then it feels harsh, I know that sounds backwards but that's how it is. But when I ride a bike with a heavier (correct) spring rate then it feels perfect. So it sounds like MINI put too soft of a spring on the R60, and then tried to control it with shock damping, because the much heavier spring rates on the KW & Megan ride like a pillow in comparison to NM, or even stock springs for that matter.

 

Hi guys! Im seriously thinking of buying these as a christmas present for myself do you think that I could intall them myself or is it necessary to take it to a shop to have it done? If I need to take it to a shop how much do you think would be a good price to pay for labor?

Also, is it true that I can keep the OEM ride height with these? I dont want to lower it, I just want to fix the crashing/bottoming issues that I have on the rear and have the front camber adjustability.

 

Hi Darna, thanks for the link, how do you adjust the rear damping? I saw a **** on top of the rear coils. Or the pic on ebays is a genenic products?

 

Yes you could if you are handy with tools, have patience and some space in the garage otherwise I'll have it professionaly installed. I had called couple of shops and they ranged from $350-600.

Yes, you adjust the rear damping through the **** the same as the front.

 

Thanks for the clarification, just abit worried if it will be troublesome for adjusting the damping when whole shock need to come off? I cant rem if there is a opening at the rear boot..

 

I'm just about sold on these, really close to pulling the trigger. So sick of the NM springs!