I work on other peoples Mini's so much I haven't
been under mine in a long time, until yesterday.

Get to the point....

I was putting new gaskets in my exhaust when I looked up
at my springs. I was surprised to see about 5 of the upper
most coils totally together resting against one another. Only
about three or so near the bottom had space between them.

Hardly any wonder my car bottoms out so quick. Did I just
not notice this when I installed them or have they weekened.
The car does not look any lower than when they were installed,
and I just past 20k miles, or about 18k on these springs.

Anybody looked at their H-Sports lately??

 

I think that is normal since they are progressive springs. And if they were sagging i think you would see more of a drop. How many miles are on the springs? Maybe your shocks are bad.

 

Yah the top few are always compressed on my car.

 

Anyone running a lowering spring for more then 10K miles should check to make sure their front struts, and maybe rears, are still working. Chances are you will not really know untill you remove them and test them out of the car. I would bet that with 20K on your h-sports that your entire suspension is about done.

 

Kellzir.. 18,000 on the springs

mdsbrain..thanks, but if they are compressed flat together whats the point..

onasled.. It really doesn't sound reasonable that you would be replacing your
suspension every 20K certainly not springs..on all of my other cars they have
lasted the life of the car, struts maybe but even that sounds excessive. Any
other test...removing just to test if there good or not...lots of work. Don't
mind if there's really a chance they could be bad.

 

... there IS really a chance they could be bad. Many here have had this problem. The Mini struts just don't do well with lowering springs on the street. Again, my bet would be that there would be a lot of surprised people who have them that might find that their struts have actually failed.

 

Are there better struts available....without going to
a real expensive coil over arrangement?

 

i would also agree that the struts will prematurely wear out given the
different spring rates and shorter stroke. i will think about replacing
my dampers with aftermarket ones once i pass 20k miles on the
h-sport springs. so far i have about 17k+ miles and they seem to be
doing okay upon visual inspection and ride. the springs themselves
(unless sagging) should last much longer.

Also it is not unusual for the top coils of progressive rate springs to be
compressed in the working position...it serves 2 purposes. one as the
main spring and one as helper spring to prevent rattling.

 

H- Sport front springs are pregressive, and, lighter than stock. If you didn't have bottoming problems I would be surprised.

 

Well it sounds like it may be time to replace my struts/shocks.

Any comment as to whats best to use...

I drive the car hard.....go on many full out street runs...bad boy.

Don't drive it daily hence the low miles, had the car since 11/03

I only track the car once or twice a year.

Honestly, can't afford nice coil over set-up right now, and if they
also fail with so few miles then I don't think I would be interested
even if I had the money.

Thank you guys in advance for your comments.

 

I was going to suggest PSS9 for street, but they're more expensive than most - but I'm sure worth every penny. I'm still having fun with my Megans - awsome value, lots of features. About $1,000.00 shipped.

 

when my stockers blow, im thinking about getting Koni yellow's.

 

How many miles do you have
on the Megans set-up, do they
look and feel like a quality product..
What settings have you run.

Are they manufacturers or just someone thats putting
a package together from misc. other manufacturers?

 

I really like the Koni yellows with the H-sport springs.....talk to chad at detroit tunes.....that is what he runs on his personal car...... i now have PSS9s but the H sport and Konis are hard to beat for the money. IMO

 

Is it possible that my springs are toast? I have never had to replace
springs on any other car, but I guess its possible that I have driven
this car with bad dampers long enough to wreck the springs..

Do you think thats poss?

 

I don't really know for sure but I would doubt it...... spring steel is pretty resilliant stuff but the strut is a different matter...... I would call chad and ask him his opinion as that is what he runs and recomends..... I would put on the yellows and see where it gets you... contact H-Sport and get their opinion...... go slow...dont spend what you don't have to..... I have a feeling ( I might be wrong, would not be the first time ) that if you put in the Konis your springs will magically come back to life.....

 

I am jumping in just to try to help with a few questions.

It is almost impossible to damage the factory springs, even if the shocks go bad. The springs can go bad, but usually not before 100,000 miles.

Now, it is true that the aftermarket springs settle a little after a while.
But I have seen some springs that completely sag and end up lowering the car way too much, (I am not going to give brands)

One thing to keep in mind, if you want to replace the springs, make sure you choose springs from a reputable company, (here a some names Koni, bilstein, eibach.....I am sure there is other ones.)

Also it is a good idea to replace the shocks at the same time, (again koni yellows.....)

I have personally driven cars with good aftermarket shocks and lowered springs, that combination last as long as the factory set up.

hope this helps

Victor

 

Mini Works: The springs in question are H-Sport.. Give me your opinion
if you think they could be shot if I drove them say 5k with bad dampers.
What I don't want to do is buy new struts and shocks say Koni yellows
and have bad springs make the new shocks go bad premiturly (spelling)
and then need to replace everything the second time..

SpiderX: Thanks for your input today also. I will check with H-Sport
I'll also talk to this Chad person, can you tell me how to reach him?

 

Hello Bad4Fun,

Personally I have no experience with H Sport Springs. never used them or drove a car with their springs.
But if the springs are bad, it is not the fault of the dampers, that is a issue with the springs.

I usally recommend the Koni Sport Suspension kit to my customers,
for street and track events,
this kit includes
- 4 koni yellow adjustable shocks
- and 4 Koni springs ( designed to work perfectly with the yellow shocks).

I am sure there are some other options.

Do not hesitate if you have any questions
Thanks

Victor

 

If its not likely that the springs are bad..
Does Koni make an adjustable shock/strut that will work
with the springs I have...........i.e. stock style spring
perches.

 

Hello,

The Koni Sport yellow adjustable shocks are designed to be used with sport springs, as they are a little shorther then stock shocks.

I can guarantee you that the koni yellow will perform very well,

As long as your springs are in good condition,

If it was my car, I would sell your current springs, and purchase the koni adjustable shocks with a new set of springs.

Victor

 

hey Bad4Fun....

Do you know if your bump-stops were cut when the springs were installed? I previously had a set of Alta springs on that were giving me a hard ride, and when I changed from those to a set of eibachs, we found that the previous installer didn't cut the bumpstops in half. Basically, my suspsension was over-damped because the shocks were perminantly under load (well...more that they could've been, anyway).

On a side note, I had my shocks checked when I change the springs, and they were A-OK....after about 35,000kms of driving on the previous springs with the full-sized bump-stops...

It could be something to consider, as I hadn't until I was about to change them...

 

I would be willing to bet that your springs are fine ($1) Chad is "Detroit Tuned" I'm not trying to take anything from Victor but I know that Chad has this rig and I used to.. (Konis and H sport) I loved that rig for hard driving ...... car stayed as flat as a pancake........Victor's advice is exactly what I would say if I were him with no experience with the H-sports..... Victor tried to help me with a Hamann part and Hamann was not cooperative....no fault of Victor.....Victor seems like a good guy to do business with and he was first to answer you "distress call" anyway best of luck.... H-sport is "Hotchkis" (sp?) and you can google them if someone doesn't give you the site......

 

Nice to hear from around the world.....
Actually you bring up a good point, Since
I did the installation over two years ago,
I'm not sure if I cut the bump stops, Can't
remember yesterday, let alone two years ago.

Thanks for adding in.

 

You have been a great help.. have a call into H-Sport
and am feeling better about the outcome. I'm hoping
I can just get some new struts/shocks (Koni) and use
my H-Sport springs. Also Tit made me wonder if I cut
the bump stops in half or not? can't remember.