I have been looking into lowering springs, dont shoot me if this has already been covered somewhere.

BUT,

how well do the stock struts hold up when paired up with lowering springs? are they fairly performance oriented struts from the factory.

also what concerns should i be worried about with my factory warranty, as the car is not very old at all, and i would like to keep as much of my warranty as i possibly car.

and for general lowering, what is the lowest you can really go without scraping everyhting everywhere (i used to have a supra that was waaay to low and you couldnt pull it out of a driveway without scraping the downpipe).

and for a good ride, with improved handling, what is the best brand (around $200) to go with. i saw a set of tein sport springs around that price, but never seen them on a car.
thanks in advance guys.

sm

 

I had a set of H-Sport springs on my MC and really liked them. They lowered the car about and inch all the way around and I never had any problem with them scraping.

 

also for another note, i would prefer non-progressive rate springs, i had them on two of my previous cars, and i hated the way they made them handle, all wishy washy untill you were on it hard in a corner. not very inspired driving.

sm

 

As you know already lowering a car diminishes its real world capabilities. Even an inch is too much for the MINI under everyday conditions. Those that believe it is better to look good rather than feel good on the street more power to them. First, the stock struts have very good rates for a conventional shock. I’ve had a variety of springs on the same struts for over 54,000 miles. The H-Sports may lower the car an inch at the wheel arch but the raked angle the split rates provide actually reduce the air dam to pavement gap more and over time they settle much more. The Tein H-techs were on the car for a while also and they were a good compromise spring with moderate drop (about ¾ inch when settled), linear rates, but less street compliance than the Alta springs installed now. I like the Alta springs combined with my early model struts better than the other two spring sets. As for looks, the Alta springs lower the rear a little more relative to the front (a little over a half/inch drop in the front), The H-Sports more in the front than rear, and the Tein’s have a level stance.

The struts are showing some lax rebound at 58,000 miles but not complete wallowing and this would be expected with any strut with the same road life experience these had. There are those that say lowering springs trash the struts, my results were different but these struts have heavier oil I’m told than latter models which may have a factor in longevity. When the H-Sports were on (25,000 miles) the front bump stops were smacked on a regular basis so the stock struts did see a long period of time at the limit of travel.

As for warranty work at the local dealership the regional tech refused to authorize any more under-warranty rattle fixes when he saw the lowering springs. I was fed-up with the lame attempts toward rattle & squeak fixes anyway.

FWIW, new struts and the original springs will be on the car in the future because road clearance is becoming more important than looks or at the limit cornering performance.

 

nice info thanks.

so the teins are linear rate springs?

sm

 

If you put lowering springs on the car you can kiss a lot of your suspension warrenty good by. It is too much ammunition for the dealer to void your warrenty. On the other hand if the shocks go bad that would be a good time to get those upgraded struts you have always wanted

 

yeah i kinda figure my warranty would be shot. the car has 700 miles on it as it sits. maybe ill just be content for a while untill i put more miles on it

sm

 

Maybe put some more miles on the car and see what you want out of the car. If you want better turning then a sway bar is what the car really needs.

 

hate to hijack, but im looking to put koni yellows on, but what would a good match of springs be.