Will some people with a little knowledge of suspension please put their 2 cents on this thread.

This is what I have planned to order for my setup. It's a frequently driven MCS. The car will be getting twin charged shortly. It may see a little track but only on a "fun with the pals" kind of weekends.

My plans:
KW Variant 1 (would go with Variant 2 but don't think I need dampening)
H-Sport front and rear sway bars
Upgrade control arms
Upgrade camber plates

 

sounds like a good plan. I however would go with the varient 2s but thats me. The price difference isn't all that much. Although are you really sure you need coil overs? If your planning at tracking the car heavy, my guess would be yes.

Make sure you have them properly adjusted.

You might wanna look into the M7 USS. Might make the car handle much better going faster too

 

I"m not a fan of the KW V1's, but I DEFINITELY wouldn't want a larger front swaybar.

 

I'd get the h-sport control arms and the rdr camber plates.

 

The KW Variant 1s are serving me well. Good ride and control. I suggest trying to catch a ride with someone with a similar suspension setup and see if you like it.

Mine are the old versions with the dual spring design. Picked them up on ebay for the price of a set of springs.

 

Why not a larger front swaybar as well?

I think coilovers are a little overkill for me but I found a set of KW Variant 1's for really, really good price...cheaper than say a set of normal lowering springs.

 

I have been told the front of the car is tight enough,without the upper strut brace or replacing the front sway bar .My source Randy Webb.

 

Suspension is such a personal preference as well...

I have a front strut brace (and can feel the difference)
Adjustable end links on front and rear anti-rollbars
Adjustable upper & lower control arms
H&R springs
Koni adjustable shocks
(I am NOT a fan of coilovers ! Being a motorcycle racer, on and off-road we know to keep these 2 seperate. Even racers with coilovers use and change springs ... ONE spring can't do everything)

The combo for ME is great

A couple of 1st place in SCCA Autocross and also @ MMW'05
works on the freeway as wall but yes a bit twitchy

 

i would opt for bilstein pss9"s for coilovers, but i am partial to bilstein. i would also,after listening to MEB, wait to do the sway bars last as a fine tuning of your suspension. the latter i have personal experience with as my rspeed bar proved to leave my mini way too loose. im much happier with my stock bar back on. i might be tempted to try a 19mm after i get new shocks (biltein sp"s) of course.

 

which tires are you running and size? (probably the most important question
people forget to ask).

 

Ken is right, people should start the handling mods with tires and correct psi. Just switching tires will add positive effects. Besides, the set up you are considering is pretty good. The only thing that is questionable is the front sway bar, i do not think it is needed for daily driving.

 

Believe it or not, I actually had to put in the front bar. THe combination of camber/LSD/r compound tires made my Mini into a drift car on the autocross course. Adding the front bar calmed it down to a reasonable amount of oversterr.