I have a few questions about the PSS9, I have mine set to the maximum height and I still find it extremely low compare to stock, I went to measure a car at the dealer and found it to be 25.5" in front and 25" in the back at the fender lip just above the centre of the wheel.

My question is; to raise it to the maximium according to the range specified by Bilstein, I had to contract the coils, would the ride height also affect the ride?, I would think if you put the spring under tension, it should ride rougher .

After looking at it set to the maximum, I got to wonder if anyone here have them to the lowest setting??? I wouldn't even dare driving it that low.

Also do I need and alignment after doing this?

Do I need sway bar links? I noticed going out of my driveway backing in a 45 deg. angle to the street, when 3 wheels are down the curb and the front driver was still over the curb, that wheel was off the ground as if the stabilizer bar was binding not allowing suspension travel.

So now that I have the PSS9s on the car what else do I need in order to have a good street driver?

I found 224 posts on the PSS9's settings but they only talk about firmness, a few of them mentionned giving 8 or 10 turns but no talk about any measurement between the low point and the high point.

Now I wonder if it will be driveable in the snow since the highest setting is that low.

As for the ride, I have it set to 5, 5 and found it a little harsher than with the stock suspension, I also had both rear tires hit the fender after driving for only 5 minutes.

I'll post before and after pictures as soon as I get home.

 

Alignment is recommended after this as well as a rear camber adjustment. I used the Alta adjustable lower control arms for the rear. The measurements I told you in the PM that I couldnt find are 10.5" rear, 6.5/8" front, measuring from the points i told you.

Scroll through the pics, it will come up as one pic but you can browse the rest:
Here is the Car WAY SLAMMED with H&R Coilovers:
http://www.sfbavw.net/gallery/Slammed_/DSC05528

http://www.sfbavw.net/gallery/Coilovers_/DSC05541


Here it is with the PSS9's:
http://www.sfbavw.net/gallery/NewD2005_/DSC05552

Here are some install shots from the H&R's (just in case)
http://www.sfbavw.net/gallery/MINIcoil_/DSC05501

You should have plenty of room to go up and in no way should be lower than my shots with the Pss9's.

Higher center of gravity and more travel on the hocks will create a totally different ride.

 

Man I like your car, so tell me, I asked about your tire size before, I have 215/45-17, what size have you got on the PSS9 pictures?

Tonight I'll compare my pictures to yours and if you have the same size tires, I'll give you the measurement of my fender lip to ground.

I will also measure the distance from your points and see if I get similar measurement but first I need your tire size and compare my pictures.

I see you don't have camber plates, I thought you did, I noticed your rear adjustable ones, I heard the 05 might have adjustable ones in the back, I didn't pay any attention when I did my swap but I will check it out.

Thanks again for your help, I'll report back when I get home.

 

You have a 2005, do you find the passenger front control arm doesn't go low enough to clear the strut? or is it something different on the convertible?

I have to compress my spring and strut a good 2 inches in order to clear the mounting point and on the driver's side I had to hold it up it was going much lower than needed and most people talked about having problem with the driver's side ?

 

I originally had that problem as well with the passenger side. Pull of the drivers side, and leave it off, you will find it easier then work on the passenger side.


I believe I have 215/45/17, but wil check it may be the 205/45/17.

05 did have a slight rear adjustment but it wasnt enough for me to risk heavy tire wear. I will take measurements for you as well.

 

I had mine corner balanced which determined te ride height. I run mine 5 rear and 4 front... I have front and rear sway bars and the car is prettty neutral. All that means is depending I can induce over and under steer

 

Here is my before and after picture, too bad the after shot is so dark, I'll have to try again.

It looks so low but after taking the measurement at the new car on the dealer's lot, it looks like what I was hoping for.

New car lot was 25 1/2" front and 25" rear.
Mine is 24 1/2" front and 24 3/8" rear.

The new car has 205's instead of my 215's and the diam. is 0.4", so 0.2" is about 3/16" that I have to add to this.

I wanted 1" in the front and about 3/4" in the back and I got 1" fr. and 5/8" rear.

But when I look at the pictures it almost look as if I would have got 2 1/2" fr. and 2" rear, adding some camber might help by bringing the top of the wheel inward a little, it sure look slam on a black car with chrome wheels.

For the guy who wanted his Mini slammed as low as possible, I'd say get the PSS9 and leave them to the factory setting and you'll look like a low rider slamed to the ground, but you won't be able to raise it at the push of a switch.

I need to take picture in the same light as the before shot.

Now tell me what else I should get and where to buy so I can get this finished before winter, I won't be driving it this winter, I have a few other vehicles to chose from, so I'll keep this one looking good.

I'm going down to measure my struts and compare to your measurements.

 

I checked the measurement like you did, from the bottom of the shocks to the middle of the 2 adjusting rings and I got 10 1/4" in the front and 8 1/2" in the back.

I also took a few bad photos in the garage, let me know how you think it compares to your car.

 

And here's a couple more pics.

 

How do they do this corner balance? and should all alignment shops know how to do this?

 

I went back in the garage with the Bilstein instructions and for the front they give us a range between 210mm and 230mm from the top of the adjusting ring to the center of the mounting bolt hole and it took another 3 turns to get it to 229mm, so I now have 13 full turns from the factory setting and it raised the car about 1/8" all around??? but I didn't drive it so it might not have settled from the jacking.

The rears were at the maximium, the range is 175mm to 195mm again from the center of the lower mouting hole to the top of the main adjuting ring and that's where I'm at, so that's as high as it can go without getting outside the recommended ranges.

I'm now waiting for recommendations to the next best modification from here.

Thanks guys for the help, at least I'm making progress.

 

Oh boy, I now have 10.5" front after my last adjustment and you have 6 5/8".
And in the back I'm still at 8.5" and you're at 10.5", 2" is a lot at 8.5" I'm at the limit of the recommended range of 195mm

 

my bad. 10 3/8 Front, 7 9/16 rear was my final tally. I was reading rear as front and vice versa and found my last measurements. I started for break in 9 all the way around, then moved them to 6 and now run 5 all the way around.

 

Thanks now that makes more sense, I think I finally got mine closer to my goal, I think I will be happy now.
I would like to relax my sway bar now, I think with the lower suspension, the links need to be replaced with adjustable one.

1- Larger rear sway bar.
2- Adjustable end links
3- Rear Adjustable Control Arms
4- (Maybe) Front Camber plate (Do I need them or can I go without them?)
5- Front Strut brace

What else should I order, I need to order it all at once, to save on the Customs fees, so I'm open to all suggestion and would like to order ASAP so I can test drive before the snow.

 

Front Camber plates are your call, I seem to be doing fine w/o them....


No pulley, intake or chip?

 

A speed shop that specializes will do it. It is a fairly common practice with the track crowd. Start calling around to the speed shops and tunres and people will know what your talking about. You will need an alignment after

 

I just got the car, I had the suspension in order before I even picked up the car, I had the tires and wheels sitting in my garage before the car got home, so the pulley is not yet on my list, I might do more than just the pulley, that's why I'm not touching that part just yet, I do have an OBX headers already but if I go with the twincharge, I won't need it, but if I go with a ported head and cam than I will.
My next priority once the suspension is done might be brakes upgrade and I feel it's needed.
I like to start with the safety stuff before adding power, what's the point to go faster if you can steer or stop

I see you've got a LSD, did you get it from the factory or was it aftermarket?

 

I live in the North Pole and here speed shops specialize in 1/4 mile stuff, but I guess I might be lucky and find someone who will know but I doubt it.

 

LSD was an OEM option I had to have!

 

Lucky you, I wish it was on my car, that is one thing that almost made me think twice about buying this car, but the saving is so much more than ordering it from the factory, plus I got it right away for about $8-9k less and it was new, so I thought I'll get a LSD later and install it.:smile:

I've read all the posts on the PSS9 and found info I had missed before because I didn't have a hands-on experience, I also found a place to get my corner balanced done and the wheel alignment at the same time.

How much camber do you have without camber plate on your car?

 

no camber in the front, with no abnormal wear, and the rear sits just as well with the lower adjustable control arms, I will dig up my alignment specs from when it was done and give you actual settings..

 

I found a shop in Edmonton Alberta to help me out with my corner balancing, it's only 4 miles away

 

Great, I think you'll find that the balance will define the height.