I have run my Bilsteins at several different settings from full soft to 2-2 (1 being the firmest) and I still get what I consider too much body roll. I have not measured ride height but it seems to be as low if not lower than the H sports and Konis, which had almost no body roll. Is this because the car is riding too high on the spring and there is no preload? Should the car be lowered more. Does Bilstein make a more "stout" spring to cut down on the roll. The sway bar is an HSport in the middle position. The car has been corner balanced. I am at a loss and I will take it to a friend who has lots of experience setting up MINIs but I was looking for some input.

 

not sure what you mean by body roll, but:

the shocks affect roll only in transitions; they affect the rate of movement, not the range of movement.

the anti-roll bars affect roll in transitions and steady state by apply an increased resistance to roll the more the body leans, subject to the spring rate. The anti-roll bar transfers some of the spring force from the less loaded wheel to the loaded wheel.

spring rate is the primary factor affecting roll; even with stiffer anti-roll bars, softer springs will produce less anti-roll force.

corner weighting has nothing to do with roll, it only equalizes the spring load side to side so neither RH nor LH turns are favored more.

 

Roll, pitch, yaw. I think the spring rate is too soft. The current set up is the best so far. 3 in the rear and 2 in the front. I still have what I think is an oversteer condition but manageable. I'm thinking if I lower the car some that will add some preload to the spring and may do the trick. The problem is that negates the corner balance and the alignment which will both have to be done again.

 

you better get your terms straight.


roll, pitch and yaw refer to rotations about three DIFFERENT usually perpendicular axes. Roll means the chassis rotates about an axis from the front of the car to the rear.

lowering the car does not add pre-load to the springs. If you want stiffer springs, you need to replace them.

 

I would compare springs rates vs what you had before. That would be
the easiest way to figure out where you stand. You might want to
consider putting the swaybar to the stiffest setting and set the front and
rear at the same stiffness. See if your car turns okay and then if it
turns too much (oversteer) soften the rear damp or firm up the front
and play with it a little bit.

If you want to add spring preload on a coilover system, the only way
would be to raise the height...but you probably don't want to do that,
right?

I would swap out the springs if it doesn't work out.

 

I am a pilot and that was a short way of saying I understand what roll is.....I was too subtle.

I did not know that lowering the car further onto the spring would not pre load.....would that not put the spring into a more "loaded" condition? Honest question....I don't know.

 

Thanks, actually the car is pretty nice right now....I will call Bilstein tomorrow and see what spring options there are. I will also contact HSport to find out their spec as well. Thanks for the help

 

>would that not put the spring into a more "loaded" condition? Honest question....I don't know.



:smile: No, because when you lower it the spring extends all the way.
There is no preload when you lower it beyond the spring's
uncompressed state....some people even get rattling springs on some
coilover systems that doesn't come with helper springs when lowered
too far. The springs are separating from the strut top mounts.

When you raise the height the springs are forced to compress
between the seat locks and strut top, thus creating preload.

 

Thanks