hey berky...tell me, can you heel and toe like 2nd nature? cause if you
can't, I can't say you can drive MT either. im not talking about some
wimpy 3500rpm downshifts, im talking 5000+rpm heel and toe before
a turn like you mean it 5-4-3-2 and sometimes down to 1st.

ok, back to 18" issues.

 

before i answer that question, could you please tell me if you are rallymini's advocate???

for your question, I will not discuss my driving skills here with you. I tell one thing here, I am pretty good, and yes I can how about yourself Mr. DA?

 

PSS9s are expensive and there will be a lot of things that i would not use in daily driving, unless they go lower on the price. H&Rs are pretty good, Jason, JBS3F has a set and the car drives very smooth, considering the 2" front and back drop, literally slammed but much softer than my car right now. So H&Rs is another option. I have been hearing about the KWs lately, they have been around for a long time, but no experience with them at all, if anyone used a set, any input would be highly appreciated. Konis, are on top of the list.

 

that wasnt a Madonna song, it was Olivia Newton John

 

Yeah they are expensive. Me and buddy just installed the new SHS KW coilovers on his '06 GLI and the ride is very nice, not too harsh. It did very well when we took our trip to the Dragon a few months ago. So KW would be another option.

I don't know if I'm so much worried about the dampering adjustability as I'm not sure how much I would use it. I'm sure I'll be screwing around with the height because I'll never be happy with that. But whatever I get coilovers are a must.

 

that was my point

 

 

Yes I know, just emphasizing it's importance.

 

Oh...I stand corrected!!

 

well, you and i are about the same age so I can say crap to you, right?
rallymini was probably not even a fish when that music was popular. jk

yep, i do the cheater style on these organ pedal cars and do
both cheater style and traditional h&t on conventional pedal cars
like my G35C.

ok, back to these bilsthing shocks.

 

I just ordered the Koni coilovers yesterday. Hopefully they will get here in a couple of days. I have the week after Christmas off, so as soon as I get them on I'll post a report between those and my H-Sports with stock dampers.

 

nparker, where did you get them from? Which ones did you order? I will wait for you.

 

Great thread topic, Tit.

Not all of us are suspension experts, and it's nice to come somewhere and learn from folks who know more. It's unfortunate that a few folks came to the thread just to denigrate those who are trying different things and are learning, but such is the forum life.

I bought my car lightly used, and the previous owner had already installed H & R's but was running them with the S-lites, and Toyo Proxes (non runflat). The ride was stiff, obviously, but I noticed that I really felt the surface of the road transmitted though the seat of my pants. every ripple, bump and coarse concrete patch.

After buying the car, I wanted to swtich to 18's for non track use, because I like the look (I figured I'd buy a set of lightweight 17's for track use, as most 16's won't fit around Brembo's).

When shopping for 18's, I was planning to buy a set of Yoko Parada's to go with them, until the guy at the local motorsport shop talked me out of it. He suggested that I try the Pirelli PZero M + S, because the compound of the tire was supposedly a little more forgiving, and created less road noise. Not being the tire expert, I took him at his word and was stunned at the M + S in comparison to what was on the car.

The 18" Pirelli was smoother than the 17" Toyo. The ride was actually better, and I was worried about the ride being worse, all because I was being vain about 18's.

Anyway, to make a long story short, your tire compound can certainly contribute to the ride quality. Maybe with a different set of rubber, mixed with some tire pressure adjustments, mixed with all the good info here, you'll find the ride quality you are looking for.

I have been considering switching to some adjustable shocks, and after reading some of the replies here, may make the leap in the not too distant future. I'd do get some of the choppiness that the H & R purportedly has with 18's, and I'd love to keep the wheels and improve the ride

 

JCW Driver,

so agreed

 

ok, so, coil overs and WRC's. what else?

 

that is pretty much it for now i guess. I do not take my car on track, currently working on a 1990 M3 which previously belonged to an ex-Spurs player, bought it real cheap and preparing it for track days, a basic set-up, nothing serious, for fun factor. Money is being injected to that direction.

As far as the Mini is concerned mid summer, more bling (front splitters, rear wing, seats...etc.) M3 is good for performance, Mini is daily driver.

 

I dont even think i'm going to go much past wheels now.

Ive got my SS, my CAI, ime still working on that exhaust. throw in some wheels, and i'm gonna be done.

The Mustangs easing up all the cash now.

Anyways, i was thinking of getting these....

these in 18 inch are only 99 buck a pop!

then save the 16's for winter.

all show no go ( well, a little go ) works for me.

ive got a Mustang to go fast in

 

you will be amazed how well the 18s go, unlike the rest of the community here. Keep in mind the autocross guys are running on low profiles too, but on smaller rims, which is bringning the diameter down to get more turns, but if you go to some real challenge series like BTCC, DTM, FIA WRC (road courses) you will see big rims all around. But i really would doubt the structure of $99.00 wheels(you are going for the looks anyways). Just be careful on the road, because they are lee forgiving, way too less

 

well, i'm just kinda worried about having to buy tires for 18's, lol

tires for my 16s are 600 bucks. whats a set of decent summer tires for 18's run?

 

between $400.00 and $1300.00 (those 18" 205/40/18 RFs)

 

haha, well i guess thats not a big gap in pricing

whats a set of 600 dollar 18 inch tires like? Goodyears? Yokos perhaps?

 

if you shop around you should be able to put your hands on nice set of Yokos, Toyos and maybe Mics for $600.00

 

yeah, i'll get around to it next year, gotta save up for bodywork on the Mustang, lol

then i want a set of billet Magnum 500's for the mustang in 17 and 18. lowered.

(can i keep talking about 18's if they apply to my mustang? )

the big rims for the shows and street use and stock 14 inchers with hub caps trim rings and Polyglas GT tires for judged shows.

 

one suggestions, if you are going for show on 18s, get some comfortable tires instead of performance, will help to improve the ride.

 

Great thread! I just discovered this thread after searching for "shocks". Tit, those wheels look great with your DS/DS MINI. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with as the best compromise for ride quality.

I have a 2004 Cooper S that I installed H-Sport springs on the factory shocks shortly after I bought it. I knew the ride would be fairly stiff, but I was surprised just how stiff it was. I've finally decided the time has come to replace the shocks. The real capper for this decision is that the latest car I purchased turns out to ride much, much softer and smoother than my MINI. That car happens to be a 2005 Lotus Elise with the optional stiffer Sport Suspension. I saw that a couple of you advocate the Koni Yellows. I've had good experience with them on a Miata with Eibach springs.

After reading some of the posts concerning 18" wheels, I realize that I may have exacerbated the problem with the factory shocks with my wheel choice. I replaced the factory wheels and tires with 16" Volk LE37s and Toyo Proxes T1-S tires. The total weight for both wheel and tire together is only about 30 lbs. The wheels alone are only 11.2 lbs each. With the factory shocks designed to dampen probably around 50 lbs, I can see where they would be overly stiff for light weight wheels. Adding the H-Sport springs only makes this worse.

My question is: Has anyone experimented with H-Sport springs and various shocks to find the best ride compromise? Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

John

BTW, I don't mean to hijack this thread, so I can start a new thread if you y'all think it would be better.