I replaced the stock springs and struts in my '08 Cooper S about two weeks ago with H&R springs and Koni yellow struts. Left everything else as-is suspension-wise. The alignment is within spec. Ever since then, when accelerating through second gear I'm getting a shudder/wobble from the front right wheel. The torque steer is gone, but now I feel a definite low-frequency wobble primarily between 15 and 30 mph, as if the wheel itself has a balance issue. Other gears and speed, no wobble. No vibration or wobble in the steering wheel, but I can feel it from the gas pedal. There was no wobble/shudder before the spring/strut swap. All lug nuts are tight. The interesting thing is that when I put it in "sport" mode, the wobble/shudder almost disappears.

Any thoughts on cause and fix?

 

When you say the alignment is within spec, you had it checked after install, right?

When you take a turn at 30 mph in 2nd gear, is the vibration there? In both left and right hand turns?

The wheels went back on the same corner that they came off, right?

One thing on the right front, check to see if the driveshaft is hitting the AC line that runs under the subframe? I doubt it would cause a vibration, but it is something to look for.

Let me think a bit more....

Have fun,
Mike

 

usually this happens when the halfshaft is slightly off balance and when you lower the car you notice this. You may want to try a new halfshaft.

 

Took it to two tire shops. One (who did the install) claimed that they could not feel any vibration at any speed. Alignment was done post install, and it's all within proper spec. Tires were due for rotation, so I had that done and they re-balanced three wheels. (3 were .5 ounce off.) No change.

There is no perceptible vibration when turning and accelerating. Only on flat, straight, smooth roads, only in second gear, and only on "normal" acceleration (if you punch it, no vibration.) It disappears completely after about 28 - 30 mph and does not appear in any other gear. Seems to be worst at about 22-25 mph.

The second shop felt the vibration, ran it up on the lift, and said that the axle angles changed slightly and that there was no fix they could do. He said that it would cause no damage. Basically, it was a "deal with it" or put the stock springs back on.

But, will a new halfshaft do the trick?

Thanks for the help!

 

I'm about to give up and just put the stock suspension back on. The shudder/vibration is no fun and is killing the driving enjoyment. I'm no mechanic, but I'm wondering if new camber plates, new front sway bar links, new engine bushings, and/or replacing the front control arm rear rubber bushing would have any affect. I also wonder if the springs were not loaded equally or if this is the effect of having the front shocks stiffer than the rear.

After trips to two different suspension/handing/tire shops and being told that there's no fix, I'm about ready to take it back to stock height.

 

You'll have to replace the axles to get rid of the vibration. Likely what is happening is that when the car is run for significant miles at a certain ride height the CV joints wear into a pattern. If you lower the car the CV joints are trying to wear into a different pattern and it can cause some vibrations. It's pretty common. Unfortunately the axles are not cheap.

 

Well, I suppose that's about what I expected. I suppose it's a "live with it" situation or go back to the stock suspension or pop for new axles.

 

or just buy some driveshaft shop axles. Stronger than OEM at half the price

 

Dibs on springs! Lol

Jk

 

Looks like the Driveshaft Shop only has axles for 2001-2006 Minis, not for my 2008. One more trip to a specialty spring shop tomorrow to have them take a last look, but I think I can live with the issue for now.

 

Man sorry this is happening for you. It would drive me crazy, too. Funny that I only heard about this happening for some MINIS that were slammed on coils. The thought of stock ride height is almost as bad as a vibration.

 

The more I drive it, the more I get used to it. It's funny - it happens only at certain RPMs in 2nd gear as well - the higher the rev, the less the shudder, so I'm just shifting at different engine speeds to experiment. I think I'm close to getting it down where I can almost neutralize the feeling. I agree about the ride height - now that it's been lowered for almost month, I love the look. And, the new springs and shocks definitely ride way better than the stock suspension.

We'll see what the "expert" suspension shop in town has to say tomorrow. At the very least, it will give me the chance to have them firm up the rear Koni's - I have them on full soft and under harder acceleration, there's definite squat. Probably have the rears turned a half turn while it's up on the lift.

 

Yeah, mine are on full soft now. It cornered like a champ on full firm, but as a daily driver it's a little harsh. I'm going to set mine in the middle when I feel enough motivation to pull the struts...

 

Good afternoon Minidaho,

Please know that you are not alone. I too have this dreaded vibration. I installed Mach V motorsports springs on the SS struts. They provided 1.25" of drop up front and 1.0" in the rear.

This vibration is because the CV joint is no longer at ideal angles, the CV now sits more flat with a more obtuse angles on the CV joints themselves.

This vibration is rhythmic much like a out-of-balance tire. It only happens at certain speeds. I can accelerate in first or second and as soon as I get near, or just past 30 MPH the vibration is noticeable. The harder I accelerate the more noticeable the vibration. This happens again - but not as noticeable - at 50-60 MPH.

I have replaced my driver side drive shaft with a re-manufactured one from O'Reily Auto Parts (only $117!) with a lifetime warranty (more on this in a bit). I installed it and the vibration was a bit less but still there. I am afraid that if I do not clear this up it will cause more problems. As of now I just live with it. I have wondered if a genuine MINI CV would fix the problem since all I have in place is a reman unit in there. That of course is another Oprah...

The good part is that I can just yank this one out (a 30 min job) and install a new one since these have a limited lifetime warranty on them. I figure I will get one that will eventually vibrate less than another.

I often contemplate just removing the springs altogether...

I am very curious that if I installed a spring that offered more drop would the vibration go away? I am sure there is a small gap of degrees that the angle crates this vibration. Unfortunately no one here (that I have found) has been able to confirm why some MINI's do it and some do not. As of now, there is a very small group of us that experience this and there are no known connections from one car to another.

 

I notice a little less vibration if I shift at higher revs and also if there is some weight in the back. (I'm carting around my stock rims today - about 90 lbs of weight evenly distributed behind the front seats) and I've noticed less wobble than usual. I'm not overly concerned with the wobble, since I can only feel it in one gear and at lower speeds. If it were there at a highway-ish speed, I'd probably feel differently.