Okay I'm on the fence on this one and need help. Do I go for the h-sport springs with the stock shocks or the mth software? helpy... Which one am I going to get the more bang for the buck out of :impatient

 

Seriously,

Take the money and go to a DE event. Leave the car alone till after you've thrashed it on the track.

If you've already participated in a DE event, springs AND dampers.

 

I would if I didn't feel the car stuck to the ground a bit better :/

 

Huh? You mean you would if you DID feel the car stuck to the ground a bit better?
Bang for the buck depends on what you're looking for. For your scenario, do you want more power, or a lower, stiffer handling car? People seem to love both mods, so its tough to give advice, since they provide very different returns.

Took my stock MCS to the track, and it sticks just fine. Pushes like a pig in tight turns but other than that... My first mod was a bigger rear sway bar.

 

sway bar is on its way. Getting it possibly installed this weekend and was thinking about doing springs at the same time :/. Just trying to decide :/.. blah i should just do both and get it over with :P

 

The software will gain you a little power, but by far the most noticible change would be suspension. It will tell the little voice in your head that you have increased the power just by the amount of grip you have over what it was stock.

That said, until you can drive the car to it's potential, adding more in the way of power and/or suspension is a waste. Go to a DE and learn the car, then make the decision on power/suspension.

BTW, tires make a huge difference as well. You will notice those immediately, just like suspension.

Good Luck
Mike (#87)

 

Suspension makes a bigger difference than anything else... I've seen many MINIs routinely smoke cars with 2x the power at autocross and at the track. While hp is nice, I'll take a good suspension setup anyday...

 

exactly what i needed to know, thanks guys. springs it is

 

i went the H-sport spring route with stock shocks for 6-8 months, then stock shocks wore out with monthly track days. Similar story with another local track driver here who just replaced his stock shocks being used with H-sport springs.
If you have the $, get shocks also, if not then count on having to get them in less than a year if you do any track time.

 

are shocks part of the mini maintance :P Maybe they would change the shocks on that, or would they blame the springs :P

 

IF you looking for shocks, i got a set of koni's for sale. Let me know.

 

Yes, not only WILL they blame the springs for destroying the shocks, they'd be 100% correct in doing so.

The Mini has nice stock dampers, but they're designed for a certain spring rate and ride height ... and if you increase that spring rate and lower the car, you're going to wreck the shocks eventually. So I'd take everyone's advice and install some new shocks with those springs

 

I'll raise my hand and say, "I'm cheap cheap" at least this round

 

go for the mth... im suprised how much of a improvement it made... the difference is almost all across the entire rev range

that said, i love my eibach/konis... ride hard as a rock, but ive grown to live with it

 

best first mod is rear sway bar. Keeps warranty and makes car more fun to drive. Next best mod is better tires. I'm in SoCal and the Azeni 215-45-16 are really sticky and comfortable.

 

You won't save much money by not doing the struts at the same time as the springs. If you are paying for the install, you will end up paying for it twice after you have installed the springs, then waited to do another install for the shocks when the originals go belly up a short time later. If you are doing the work yourself, you probably won't want to do it twice. Bite the bullet, install them both at once.

Unless you are a drag racer, suspension will always make a much greater impact on your driving than hp.