So far so good. About 2K miles of "very spirited driving" including the Dragon two different weekends (about 8 runs per weekend = 200 miles) no problems at all. Just don't get greedy and keep the lowering to an inch or less.

 

Any updates on solution?
pretty disappointed at how i can't even low my car to fit my taste without my car falling apart.

whats the point of buying coilovers for someone who got em for aesthetic reasons, if you can't lower them more than an inch without getting crap load of vibrations and driving under worries of cv joints blowing out?

 

Here's the link to the thread where you can find all the info:

http://www.newmini-technik.de/viewto...p?f=163&t=2465

Check the last pages for the final solution!!

And here's the link to the other solution:

http://www.newmini-technik.de/viewto...p?f=203&t=5139

Make sure you don't make the same mistake than me, I had trouble using 2nd and 4th gear, because I think I made something wrong....

 

Umm, well thanks I guess...but most of us don't read German...

 

Well, you could use an online translator or what, but there will be some more info on the 1st link I posted about what springs have to be used inside the CV joint...

So just wait a little bit, until my friends have their cars equipped with different types of springs, to test which of them works best...

I will post the data you need here, once they've finished testing...

 

its possible that the tires that you have are worn, and due to the stiffer springs the vibration is more noticable

 

Anybody ever find a solution for this problem yet? Lowered mine on H & R springs and the vibration is there.

 

My suspension is lowered a full 2 inches [with 1" of additional compression travel to boot] and I have NO vibrations on my very old '02 MCS with stock axles. Why some people have issues and most don't leads me to point to the installation being wrong. The other possibilities are the CV's might've been overly stressed or damaged during installation, or they're going bad, or they were broken in on perfectly level and straight roads so there is only one groove the pivots ride in.

 

The installation is not wrong. Move on.

 

All I'm saying is all the installs I've done with lowered setups never had a problem with vibrations. Either you're being overly sensitive and basically imagining things or there is something actually wrong that was only accentuated by the suspension tweaks.

Everyone here should know that ALL lowering springs that I'm aware of for the MINI end up resting the car on the bumpstops. The stock bumpstops are compressible, but they do significantly increase wheel rate, which will accentuate minor imperfections in the pavement and may appear to be a vibration.

 

+1

 

uh

some of us know the difference between road imperfections and drive train related vibrations. I also have one of those cars that got vibrations when lowering my car (with M7 springs) and they got worse when I installed coil-overs and ran the car even lower. It's not installing related, some cars just appear to have CV's or axels that are extra sensitive to lowering... at least that's how I see this...

 

My car has been lowered for over a year AND it's a 2002!!!
No vibrations, none, nada, absoluto none-o.

I don't think you're stupid or numb, just barking up the wrong tree.

 

not sure what value you add with the last 2 posts; there are plenty of people that have no issues, like you (and I'm happy for you), but unfortunately a few that do, like me... if you do a bit of reading you'll discover that the year of the car, the mileage or springs don't matter... I can understand that people point at the install, but for those that have uninstalled and rechecked everything nothing has changed... that's all...

 

--->cooldaddy: are you sure you're not riding on bumpstops? You said you are riding even lower with coilovers; how do you know if you have any free compression travel left?

I don't buy the "my car vibrates now that it's lowered", with all due respect to people that feel this is what they're experiencing. The CV's are designed to operate over a range of angles. Since our cars are front drive, the CV's are required to operate at far greater angles than a rear drive/front steer car. If you're running stock/FSD/Koni Yellow shocks, then you're operating your suspension within stock limits. I can assure you BMW specified a CV that operates within their specified angles of the stock dampers. Even with lowering springs, you're not changing the limits of travel, just shifting where inside those limits the car sits at rest. The net effect is the exact same as having a really loaded car [one light person, no luggage versus four supersized adults & luggage and sunroof and four extra large sodas]. Both situations are within the limits of the stock range of travel, so the CV's aren't "out of spec". When you start running adjustable length coilovers and have them adjusted to the extreme [like my MINI, for example], then you're running beyond the stock CV angles, and all bets are off. Even then there will be some comfort zone.

For what it's worth, I've found the MINI is "one of those cars" that is really sensitive to hub-centric wheel alignment and perfectly square wheel-to-hub faces. Cheap wheels [not to be confused with inexpensive] that are not perfectly true, running old or inaccurate hubcentric rings, or dirty hub faces WILL induce vibrations. Simply rotating tires can cause havok, even on stock wheels that have some corrosion. This is much more likely in my experience than the CV's being finicky.

 

that I don't know. I cut the stock items in half when I ran the M7 springs, left them unchanged when I went with coil-overs. I guess measuring (approximate) travel shouldn't be that difficult to do, then see where the bumpstops come into play?

I've checked into the wheel issues you listed, basically checked off all the items you mentioned.

So it's the travel & bumpstops I'll have to refocus on...

 

Hi guys,
Are there any specific rates for the camber angles for each wheel to have a minimum vibration?
I know that there are three different type of the original springs? May this be the real solution or the main difference who have the vibration and go back the stock and not the have the correct spring rate?
On the other hand I haven't got any problems with driving lonely but full of 4 people on the car after 70 miles I have the same issue.

What is the best solution? Do I have to have a coilover or set the camber rate to a minus position?

Kind regards.

 

I just installed M7 springs and I too am having the vibration issue. I am going to try out the TSW springs to see if raising it up a bit makes any difference and may add credibility to the CV joint angle theory.

I should know in the next week as I hope to install them this weekend.

 

OK, couldn't wait till this weekend and installed the TSW springs.

Let's just say, I have some M7 springs for sale.

While I have nothing against the M7 springs (ride was good, stance was awesome) I got a really bad vibration and rubbing after the install.

Now with the TSW's, I have a little less aggresive stance, but no rubbing and no vibration. It appears that rasing my car up about 1/2 inch helped.

 

I have checked these numerous times on my car. I originally had Eibachs, then I replaced them with coilovers and have the ride height as high as they will go.
The vibration improved with the coilovers but did not go away. I have it worst around 3k RPM in any gear, car loaded or unloaded.
Time to get this thread back on track. I had seen in earlier posts adjusting camber would help. I have not been able to purchase camber plates yet.
It is all related to the operating angles of the inner CV joint on the passenger side.

 

i installed tein springs and have this vibration upon acceleration, tried changing wheels, same problem....very annoying!

 

if it's the CV joint, why does the gear not matter? 3k rpm in ANY gear? the vibration is coincident with engine speed, not axle speed? that has me scratching my head...particularly since max torque is 4k not 3k so the symptom is apparently not just a function of how much "twist" is fed through the bearings.

for a data point, I'm down 1.5" with H&R and running -2.5 front with no problems - BUT, I have never had an issue. Not with the camber at 0.0 either... - AND, I am still running the original axles and joints at 95.5k without unusual wear or vibration of any kind...

I know the issue is real, but I'm stumped that engine speed is the trigger... What else could contribute, that might be affected by the chassis changes I wonder?

 

alrite to put a damper on everyones "fun"yes, they were installed correctly, i just installed them yesterday. im having the SAME exact vibration, its not speed related, its not rpm related. in nuetral doing 115 its gone. accelerating thru any gear up to that....in a wide range of rpms it vibrates.. and yes i took it down an airport runway a buddy of mine works at and it still does it (perfectly smooth driving surface) i talked to the gentleman at m7 and he told me that some cars do it, and some dont. the axles are at a different angle then they are engineered to be and if i continue to drive it will eventually go away. so just because "your" car doesn't vibrate doesn't mean others wont...

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...=1#post2246911

Interesting

 

I'm having the same problem after installing the Alta, H&R springs. I am thinking about changing them out for a pair of TSW's since they aren't as low or will the problem just go away after a few thousand miles?. I have put about 1000 miles on the car since I installed the springs and it hasen't changed a bit.

Has anyone found another fix for this problem? What about changing out the right side axle??? Some folks seem to have found that helpful.

I really don't feel like changing out the springs again unless I have to, but don't want to mess up the CV's either. Any input is appreciated!!!