Does that mean the shaft doesn't extend far enough to allow setting the lower perch at the top of the threads, without adding extra preload?

Sorry for all the uninformed comments/questions but I don't have these yet because I'm waiting for the outcome of this issue.

 

..... you guys are going to blow these things up...

 

Megan,
any progress with these? the curioius as to what changes have been solidified. thanks

 

i hope so! lol. well i hope we get new front struts before then. like i said in the past on this post, that increasing the spring pre-load isnt the answer. it is the answer for 2 weeks untill i get new fixed struts though.

 

been a while, do we have a solution for these yet??

 

completely random, but BOY am I glad I decided to go H&R!!

 

I'm in line as well...

 

Steve any updates on this? I think eveyone is anxious for an update. I know I am.

 

Congratulations!!


As for the solution...

Right now I'm just waiting for the shocks and springs to come in to offer the replacements to everyone.

I don't want to get into a situation where I don't have enough to supply to everyone. And then it becomes a "why did he get the replacements before I did?!" thing going on.

 

Great news, Steve. Thanks for the update and I will be impatiently waiting.

 

Man, they already shipped out the next set of MC dampers, with the Origional fronts... means I'm gonna have to change them all out one-by-one. Anyway, yah, the test replacment is coming and will be here shortly. When I get a stronger ETA, I will let you guys know.

Just know that I'm working on this as best I can. As a MCS owner, this is important to me.

 

cool just let us know when u want us to email u are info. im sure u were gonna tell us when the eta gets closer anyways.

 

Thanks!

Oh, BTW, I haven't had to touch my H&R's since they went on, can your customers say the same..opps!

No I see they can't.

Good luck, and good job on earning any future business

 

lol. ...

 

2 days away from a month since this problem arose. are we any closer to a solution??

I have been thinking about this a bit , and a wont a longer shock piston make it harder to install the strut assembly? i had a hell of a time finageling it into the lower mounts on the front, and a longer overall piston length will make it harder am i correct? i am thinking this due to the piston being full extended when there is no weight on it due to the pressure in the strut.

i have a feeling we are going to have to pop the wheel hubs from the control arm for this install. (which = time, money, and tools).

so anyways status?

 

...if the stock struts fit...

The lower ball joint is supposed to be removed so that the control can swing down far enough. This is very easy; remove the ball joint nut, place a very long prybar thru the wishbone portion of the arm so it catches the subframe and have an individual apply light pressure to the bar while you give the control arm an assertive tap on the side. It wall fall right out. This adds about 10 minutes to each side including reinstall.

The amount of pressure applied to the bar is relative to the length of the bar. My bar is 6' long, so not a lot of pressure.

 

The dampers cannot be altered.

So, a slightly longer (8kg/mm) 460# spring will be used along with a shorter bumpstop.

This will require some swaybar adjusments and perhaps a few other tweaks.

Mine are on the way and as soon as they arrive I'll install and give a report here, as Steve asked.

 

Does that mean the new struts are in and coming to the rest of us?

 

460 in the front and 335 in the rear =

The swaybar is easy, it's the "other tweaks" I'm worried about, plus adjustment to a harsher ride.

I guess I'm in the "anxiously awaiting an objective assessment" camp.

 

i thought the front were pretty easy to install. and shoudl the spring rates be so different??? i guess im waiting for this report of these changes too.

 

I'm guessing so Sid. I was on the phone with Steve yesterday - the first time I actually shared a conversation with Steve regarding front dampers short stroke. During this conversation he told me about the fix and that he was sending 'stuff' out.

May I suggest you call him?

A 100# difference is not really a bad thing...in some ways it's better. I do have comfort concerns as well; a 460# spring is not a bad thing in and of itself. The realtionship to the damper is important...

 

Uhmmm!!?? You mean to say that after 4 weeks of waiting and numerous discussions about the right approach to solving this issue, Megan came up with a solution that is in fact the same as my suggestion originally posted only a few days after discovering the problem? I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing as it might show Megan's lack of resourcefulness or unwillingness to commit any more financial resources to cure the problem. Because as we all know, anything can be made or altered, it just takes money and this point does not get lost on me (trust me). I would hope that it simply means that Megan tested out all possible avenues and this was by far the best solution...??

So, STEVE, when can we expect to start receiving the replacement parts and are new instructions going to be included suggesting the "other" tweeks as MEB pointed out?

 

'other' tweaks are alignment settings etc - nothing to do with the physical Megans.

 

Lack of resourcefulness or unwilling to commit?! Seriously?!

We've been going through NUMEROUS possibilities and methods to try to solve the issue at hand. We've gone through the idea of a longer piston, and threads all the way to the top of the shock body to utilize every inch of the cylinder. The construction of the cylinders doesn't allow this to happen so we're working as best we can on other solutions.

I APOLOGIZE for the fact that this is taking so long, but don't immediately assume that we are simply sitting here letting the time pass for who knows what reason. The Mini Cooper community is one that we planned to cater to in the best possible way. Being an owner I sincerely wanted to be able to offer a suspension system that was both cost effective and performed well and I am working as hard as I can to meet the needs of the community.

 

Thank you Steve, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!