Well what about us who live outside the US? If we have some manufacturing fault with the Ledas, what do we do?

BTW, what features do the megans have that the PSS9s or the Ledas don't? Apart from the unreliability, for which the megans are legendary

 

Independent ride height adjustability and adjustable spring preload, a very cool feature.

 

Well, I think Leda's are made in England (or Europe somewhere), so depending upon where you live, it may be MORE convenient than for those living in the US

 

the spring preload is adjustable on the ledas.

i live in aus. no-one makes anything here

 

ARB, Old Man Emu and IPF come to mind. At least, some of the lights will work on the MINI.

 

I see you have a lot ot track experience and that is most likely why you , like I , like the Leda product. They are a nice piece for the track but most street drivers will not want to put up with maintanence that we consider normal. I have had 3 different styles of Leda product over the years and presently have the " new " version. I still have to get them re valved every 10k to 12 k miles and recharge the nitrogen every 6k to 8k. I do the gas recharging myself but still have to send the shocks themselves back to Racers Edge for rebuilding. They are great about it but even if you call them they will say that 12k to 15k is about normal between rebuilds. If you are a street guy that uses the car as a sunday fun toy and does some track events the Leda's will most likely work out well for you .

 

Don, sorry I didn't reply earlier (busy day)...

I received 3 PMs just recently, two from NAMers who provided additional links to Leda failures and general disappointment with the product. Those folks wish not to get involved in the thread, and take it off course, again. I have posted numerous times in the past as well, and refuse to go dig those up, nor the numerous emails I still have from Karl (who was the only bright spot in that whole ordeal)....

The oil-filled Ledas, the ones for which most most of us would entertain buying due to their price point, were the ones for which a multitude of bad experiences exist. As explained to me, at least a year or two ago, not exactly many MINI's were running with Ledas. Yet, the number of reported incidents was certainly an indication of something being wrong. Of the 10 or so folks here on NAM who have/had Ledas, I recall like 8 or 9 who had expressed disgust with them, namely the need for frequent rebuilds, and the associated down-time. The MTBF is sadly low, and not acceptable.

Upon the original install of them, bump stops were not used, so I heard wicked bottoming-out. I then went back to the stock plates, put in durometers, and I was bump stopping like crazy, as confirmed by some putty on top of the stop. The car was never lowered much as measurements and photos indicated/proved. The amount of travel is very minimal, and for those who have bump stops, most likely don't even know that they are hitting them more than they should because of the already rough ride. There is a thread here about that topic...

I even had a shorter body made, still not enough. Like I said earlier, on one batch, the valving did not work (metal shavings were holding it up). On another delivery, one had much more stiction than the other. I included some photos here on NAM to get the input of those who are more knowleable than me, and the response was that this is just not acceptable. Shortly thereafter, after many months of anguish, I virtually traded these straight-up for some PSS9's, supposedly a less capable shock; but one that has not given me any issues whatsoever...

I was just on MINI2 for another reason, and found these:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-ty...light=leda+oil

http://www.mini2.com/forum/engine-dr...-owners-3.html (start at post #49)

I would venture to guess that there are many more MINI's out there with PSS9's than Ledas. Yet, I don't recall such threads of disappointment regarding the Bilsteins. I'm guessing it's for good reason...

Don, if you truly believe in the Ledas (for the MINI), I encourage you to start a thread on them, explaining their virtures, and why you think they are worthwhile. You will get your fair share of, to be polite, constructive criticism .

Ok, back to these new coilovers from M7!

 

You've seen Ledas with spring preload adjustment separate/independent from height adjustment? I guess there must be a version made that way, but I've looked around at Ledas offered for MINIs and none of them had that feature.

Oh well, like TonyB wrote, back to these M7 coilovers. I'm still trying to figure out the very thick shaft on the dampers.....what's that about?

 

Anxiously awaiting more info/experinces with the M7 coil-overs

 

M7 is serious....Piloti shoes!

 

Drummond Motor Sport/DMS is made there, as is Whiteline

 

Please keep in mind the tendency on this forum is to hear about the bad rather than good experiences. For instance, have you heard about the many dozens of Precision's customers complaining about their Ledas? If not, maybe there is another side to this story and that is why I am posting in this thread.
If CustomAV and other M7 minions want a thread about the virtues of the coilovers M7 is going to sell keep to the topic and do not draw in selected negatives of another product.
For all I know the manufacturer of these new M7 dampers has a rich OEM and racing background and is now branching out for the Mini. But what is odd is that whoever is making them is keeping their name off the product.
Enjoy your new dampers…

 

All I can say is that we've got many people running our TSW/Leda coilovers with nary an issue... They will require more maintenance than a Bilstein PSS9's, but then again, they also offer a whole lot more possibilities and can grow with your needs/wants. The PSS9 is a fine choice for a street driven car, as well as for track/AX, but they definitely don't offer the same performance as a proper set of Ledas - JMHO. You get a lot of high-end features with the Ledas for a whole lot less than say, Motons - no, the Ledas aren't quite as sophisticated, but then again, they're a middle tier player.

Personally, I think there's a definite bias towards pricing for coilovers in the MINI world for whatever reason... It seems that $1200-1400 is about the max that people seem to want to pay for an exceptional suspension - which is why, I think, people jumped on the cheaper coilovers... In other circles, e.g. the BMW world, $1200-1400 won't touch the truly exceptional coilovers (e.g. GC/Advance, TC Kline, Group N). Same is true in the MINI world. You can pay that much for a decent street coilover - but for truly excellent performance, you have to pay to play.

JMHO, but suspension is the MOST important performance mod you can make on the MINI - after more than 3 years of AX'ing and track work in our MINIs, I can say without a doubt that you're better served by dropping $2K on your suspension than you are $2K on performance mods. You'll be much, much faster around the course - period. 2nd best mod? A BBK - again, dropping $ into a BBK will also payoff a whole lot more than $ on performance mods.

My mantra is to start with suspension, then brakes, then performance mods...

Of course, if you're into going fast in a straight line...

 

Are these coilovers made from this company - i know that they can custom fab for you too. http://www.bcec.com.tw/index.asp
I think they are the OEM for Megan and alot of others JDM like Apexi.

 

Sorry I still have not posted pics. The car went to the dealership for a couple days for some carcking interior panels and basic maintanence. It was rainging for a few days and such.

The coilovers now have about 400 miles on them and I love them!

I spent a few minutes last weekend tightening the back end a bit. Just a couple of turns on the old thumb screw and holy crap the back end tightened up so much! I took off for a favorite road with a coupld of good turns and was amazed with the performance!

I'll take being called an m7 minion a compliment I realize I seem to post a lot about the fabulous products by m7 because they are nice! I am in no way affiliated with m7 just a loyal follower. If they make it I will try it. If I don't like it then I will try something else (I have yet to find an m7 product I don't like...)

Oh well... take my findings with a grain of salt as they are my results.

But I will say that you will not be dissapointed with these at all!
chris

 

I didn't say "independent" preload adjustment....

yeh i know. But whiteline are not really what you'd call the best suspension company. I'd buy their swaybars etc, but what i actually meant was their are no places like dmh, m7, helix, WMS, etc. People who have invested a hell of a lot of time on the mini, whereas people down here have only come to the game recently, except for Peak performance, which is a 10 hour drive from where i am....

 

CustomAV
Do you track your car or AutoX at all. If you do when will you be doing this so we can get your impression on how these are on the track. I believe any coilover would make a good first impression if you never upgraded before. I think the crowd really wants to know how these are on the track and AutoX.
Well some people do. I guess I should say I do.
Thanks

 

Interesting they spec 8kg front and 6kg rear similar to where the Megans are now...but both f/r springs are 180mm instead of 150mm front and 180mm rear.

 

I appreciate all the questions and constructive ideas from you guys.
But as always the thread gets sidelined by discussions regarding everything
from Alien bumblebees... to BBK's. So I will make a special thread towards the end of the day (vendor thread) to discuss the M7 Coilovers and it's arrival in 5 weeks...

Peter
M7 Tuning
562-608-8123

 

For all of you that were having the discussion about BBK's Those posts have been split out and are now in a new thead

 

I just talked to Dave at DDM who installed the M7 COs in Custom AV's car and he is very impresssed by them.....Dave's specialty is not M62 but rather suspension and he likes them better than my PSS9s......poop!

 

Precision’s specialty is setup and that is the main reason we have won four consecutive BMW class championships. We think that dampers/springs are the single most important modification one can make.
So when I read the quoted comment I became concerned. How can anyone make a judgment concerning the functionality of dampers without copious quantitative data from both the street and track?
It might be cheap to have some Asian company who had a booth at SEMA knock-off dampers but all together another to get them to perform correctly. Since M7 hasn’t named their manufacturer I cannot comment on the build quality other than to say they might be wonderful -- who knows, they just might be.
But in the world of performance dampers there are few serious players for good reasons: proper engineering and testing takes a great deal of investment that just cannot be undertaken by a tuning shop.
Specialty aftermarket damper companies for sports cars include Bilstein, Leda, Penske, Koni, JRZ, Ohlins, Moton, KW,…

 

The current world is hell on established vendors in every market...... none of this stuff is very difficult.... and beyond the scope of engineers from all over the world...... China graduates far more engineers than we do every year..... reverse engineering is practiced by people all over the world...even the US....... I have seen craftsmanship in products that are supposed to be the best that frankly are lacking...... just because you don't know the name of the OEM does not mean it is not quality..... nor does it mean that it is.... Dave has a very nice Miatta with Ohlins and gets sought out to set up cars as well..... there is a small community down south called NASCAR that is getting pretty sophisticated and the epicenter is our backyard....... Hell Ricky Bobby is my neighbor......Dave has friends.....

Dave likes the M7 COs and I trust his judgement..... is it the best, probably not.... does it have the potential to be the est value...absolutely.......the companies you mention are all very good..... Dave did like them better than my PSS9s and I may make a change...... it is just a hobby for me so I guess I don't get too wrapped up in the extreme edge....just the edge.....

 

"none of this stuff is very difficult...."
Really?

"there is a small community down south called NASCAR that is getting pretty sophisticated and the epicenter is our backyard....... "
Exactly. Thanks for making my point about develpoment!

 

I also think folks should understand the goals and background the seller has. Koni/Truechoice for example have not properly worked out suspension travel challenges with the Mini, and caused some serious difficulty for me while setting my 99 Si - a travel realted problem again. So although Koni may have experience, Truechoice's product mates their dampers to Eibach springs and coilover sleeves. In other words they are mating the experience of two big names whos goals may or may not enhance the final product...from where I sit it does not work.

This is but one example. I would rahter put my money on the experience of folks tracking their cars professionally, and, successfully because I track mine. If I were looking for the best ride, I might look elsewhere.

A name guarantees nothing. txworks and dmh appear to be the folks performing valuable testing in a venue most of us look to. I'm not knocking the M7 system either, but testing tells the truth.

I completely agree with Don, the spring and dampers are the single most important component package - emphasis on package. My current setup has its share of problems and these affect my rythm at the track. I could give a rats a#@ about bling. I care about function.