I'm wondering if anyone is running these yet? http://raceland.com/mini-coilovers/c...2007-2013.html Doesn't seem like they have a dampener? So I'm assuming the ride is going to be harsh.

 

$399 for a set of shocks/springs? 1) that is unbelievably cheap, which leads me to wonder about the quality and performance. 2) The spring rates look wrong - 155 front / 215 rear? Granted my setup is on the stiff side, I'm 400 front /342 rear. Front needs to be higher rate than rear because of the weight distribution of the Mini. 3) Looking at the pic, it appears there are "helper" springs which will compress first so your total travel will be reduced.

I guess if you're on a tight budget and just want to get slammed they may do the job, but I'd be worried about replacing them in a year.

 

Front rate really doesn't need to be higher. In fact I prefer the rear to be higher. I'm 4.5K F 5.5K R.

Also, those raceland rates obviously has no R&D put into them and are probably softer than stock. I would stay away. I'd actually rather just cut stock springs for less and have a safer, better quality set up.

 

Everytime I see the name I cringe.....
A set of coilovers for less than the cost of springs or shocks/struts....
At some point you have to say..."if it sounds too good to be..."
And EVERY review I have ever seen says it...pretty bad ...even folks with blown oem struts thought they were hard....a couple posts I have ever seen were folks that had blown struts.. so they were happy.
Simple fact is a set of koni yellow sports with a decent set of springs will beat a set of coilovers till you didn't over $2500 on them, PLUS a full $500-1000 to set them up with corner weighing, and custom alignment.
Sometimes nothing is as $$$ as going cheap.

 

On certain cars they aren't awful.

I autocrossed a NA Miata with Racelands and decent Nitto NT-05 tires. Has lots of body roll for how low it is, and is not all that predictable. Usually oversteers since the front rate is not high enough for how high the rear is. But the shocks react so slowly there's always time to catch it.

 

As I recall from that other thread about suspension setups, you're optimizing for autocross so going with a higher spring rate in the rear would make sense to help make the car rotate. But for the average driver on the street it makes sense to tune for understeer.

 

This is more for a topic of discussion. I'm a true believer of you get what you pay for. But at the same time I ran racelands on my Mk1 for three years with no problems. I just value people's opinions and I want to know if anyone has ran them yet because they are brand new for the second gen. I contacted raceland last night about the spring rates and they said that they are correct. They also offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. And a lifetime guarantee on the coilovers so literally you can blow them out any year and replace them for a new pair. They really stand by their product.

 

I have absolutely zero experience with Raceland, so I could be talking out my posterior. But do the math on those spring rates and I think you'll agree something isn't right.

 

I suppose. But there's quite a bit of inherent understeer in the car. Even if just a street car, it ought to have neutral rates.

Their lifetime guarantee is against manufacturer defect. Shocks blowing is a fact of life. Koni's also have lifetime guarantee. Guess what? You blow the shocks from going over 6 speed bumps while slammed is not covered.

Appearing to stand by a bad product does not equate it to being a good product. As stated before, the spring rates are moronic.

 

Okay folks, which then is the absolutely minimum coilover approved. Some of us are working on a self-imposed budget.

Thanks.

 

If the budget is the issue, keep an eye on used stuff. You will normally find megans, someone has a set of rebuilt st's on there now. Try and understand why they are selling, and what they liked and hated.

Have fun,
Mike