Suspension Springs, struts, coilovers, sway-bars, camber plates, and all other modifications to suspension components for Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.

Suspension H&R Coilovers vs. Koni Coilover Kit

Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:53 AM
  #1  
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H&R Coilovers vs. Koni Coilover Kit

I need some help!

I'm looking into these two coilover kits. Mainly only these two because of their range of height adjustment ( I need to be at about -.75" drop in the rear)

I'm uncertain whether it's necessary for me to have the adjustable damper the Koni's offer, and is it worth the extra $200 for the Koni's just to get this adjustability???

Right now, the Mini is primarily a street car, although I will hit up a few autox's this coming year, but mainly for fun and sport, not competition...

It's my daily driver, and my current setup (m7 springs with oem 05 shocks) is dropping me too much in the rear. This gets further compacted by how soft it is back there, when there is even the slightest bit of weight back there (groceries for instance). So I know I need something stiffer back there, and ideally that'd be a linear spring.

Any thoughts?
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 01:48 PM
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hm... that's weird, from tire rack's website, the H&R's price is comparable to the konis on shox.com

just a heads up... u can find konis on ebay for 999 US too
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 06:18 PM
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I hear ya!

But I can get the H&R's for $815 to my door.

Koni's would be $200 more to my door.

Is the adjusability worth it?
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by jymontoya
I hear ya!

But I can get the H&R's for $815 to my door.

Koni's would be $200 more to my door.

Is the adjusability worth it?
not, H$Rs are very well tuned.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:16 PM
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Originally Posted by ScuderiaMini
not, H$Rs are very well tuned.
i wonder about the eibach pro system as well, no dampering, but would the level of dampering be as good as H&R?
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:36 PM
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adjustability is a nice feature if want to change the set-up for street versus autox versus track. If you're picky about how the car rides, even if it's only used on the street, sooner than later you're going to regret that you 'saved' $200...



Originally Posted by ScuderiaMini
not, H$Rs are very well tuned.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:39 PM
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thx for schooling. Have you used them before? I did. It is PITA to adjust the rear shocks. i do not like the springs on that kit either. If you are looking for adjustability you need to look at PSS9s.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:46 PM
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how hard... just drop the entire spring and strut assembly... true it gets annoying, nowadays with my koni yellows i set them 2 turns and left them... never touched them again

KWs seems to have good rep as well.... there's also the FK silverline that the VW guys seems to rave alot on, or KWs V2
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:49 PM
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From: Boerne/SAtown TX
Originally Posted by kyriian
how hard... just drop the entire spring and strut assembly... true it gets annoying, nowadays with my koni yellows i set them 2 turns and left them... never touched them again

KWs seems to have good rep as well.... there's also the FK silverline that the VW guys seems to rave alot on, or KWs V2
FKs are for MKIIIs, not very popular nowadays. H&R dominates the market.

You are right, it gets annoying, and time consuming to adjust the rear. Agreed w/KWs although they use Koni shocks, which there is nothing wrong with them, just not very user friendly.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 07:56 PM
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sure you're welcome... I just find it interesting that people who want to improve their suspension set-up start to remove features that are actually quite nice...

anyway, yes I run the Koni's and yes the rear are a pain to adjust but the fronts are not and they do have impact on the overall ride and to a small degree the amount of understeer.

no worries, I wanted the PSS9s but they went up in price and I couldn't pass up a great deal on the Konis...



Originally Posted by ScuderiaMini
thx for schooling. Have you used them before? I did. It is PITA to adjust the rear shocks. i do not like the springs on that kit either. If you are looking for adjustability you need to look at PSS9s.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 08:49 PM
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i was hoping to get those konis too... the megans sound nice but as everyone said, konis are more expensive for a reason....

also, ive had konis... ive liked them... i wish i can afford LEDAs but i cant...
 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 07:18 AM
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From: same as yesterday
ScuderiaMini mentioned that he didn't like the springs on the Konis, you might want to check with him on that...
 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by ScuderiaMini
thx for schooling. Have you used them before? I did. It is PITA to adjust the rear shocks. i do not like the springs on that kit either. If you are looking for adjustability you need to look at PSS9s.
What didn't you like about the springs??

How do you know the H&R's are different?
 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 09:29 PM
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I have H&Rs. 15k miles. AutoX, track and DD. I would not change a thing. Stiff to be sure, but not harsh.

Here's mine. It's about as low as they can go. I have about 1/2" more I could spin them down, but I rub now:





 
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