I have seen some who've said you don't have to cut. But when I installed mine no matter what we did (move the bolts, etc..) there was no way to get the ball head wrench in there. I didn't want to cut either so we just bent the lip of the strut tower hole upward a bit. Just took a pair of plyers wrapped in tape and carefully bent the edge all the way around. Now the wrench goes right in and except for some scratches in the paint (which I will fix) you can hardly tell we did it. And I suppose if I ever wanted to go back to stock I could bend the edge back down.

 

Mmh, that might be a solution for the towers. I'm still not convinced that I'll be needing the adjustement though...

 

Mini Bee that's a great idea. Even for people who want or really feel the need to cut the towers...having the lip bent up will make it so much easier to make a nice clean cut....now if only you had posted this about a month and a half ago!

 

Great idea I will try that method on my next install.

 

Im going to be putting mine up for sale shortly......only used them for 2 months...loved them. Time to part out though....:(

 

The BCs are on special this Thursday and Friday ONLY ... $950 SHIPPED.
See vendor anouncements

 

i'll soon be joining the BC bandwagon. called up my friend who happens to be the local distributor of BC coilovers (in my country) and finally confirmed my purchase for the BC BR-type coilovers. can't wait

 

Hey Macky ...you should be happy.

Where is "your country"

 

^ Philippines

 

Very cool ...I was trying to guess.

I Had a friend from "My Country" named Macky and thought we may have stumbledf on eachother.

 

my BC coilovers are delayed arriving at the end of february. can't wait!

weird though that i was charged extra by the local distributor for the extenders for the rear

 

does this install the same for other coil overs with adjustable camber plates like megans. would i still have to cut the front towers?

 

Hello to all! I would like your help here. I installed 3 days ago the BC BR series like the ones above, but the rears do not have the top mount, so I used the oem ones. My question is if I have adjust the rear ones correctly. I am not sure about where the top hut of the rears should go. What I have done is, I lowered the top hut as much as it go, since there is a point where it stoppes form going further down.Then I adjust the upper nut to just reach the spring and the second to lock the upper one. I used the last one to adjust the height. My concern is where shall I have the top hut?

 

<coopergti>...
Any way you can take a photo of what you have assembled now ?

I did do an install with OEM top plates before.

As I recall I had to use some spacers...

 

I'll try to take some photos and upload them. You might have a point at the spacers because the extenders are scratching a bit at the holes or will it be better to widen the holes a bit more?

 

What will be a good dampener setting for mainly street driving but having the option to take it to the track? This is for fronts and rears.

 

my BC coils are here! will have them installed by friday next week

what's getting me worried is that i might need spacers for my rims not to rub on the front struts :( rims are 17x7.5 +45 offset. crap

 

couldn't wait had them installed a while ago. the guys who did the install are well known in our local racing scene but it was their first time to do a coilover install on a Mini so it took longer than expected. we even found out that you need not remove the side panels when drilling the holes for the extenders (the hard way)

also, there was an unexpected problem with the adjuster ***** for the rear: they don't fit! the tread of the ****'s nut/screw was too big for the top of the rear struts! the guys who i ordered it from (same guys who did the install) will have it sorted out 1st thing tomorrow morning

they drilled a slightly smaller hole for the rear extenders, i think about 1", quite adequate if you ask me

the Mini will be in another shop tomorrow for a new exhaust so i won't have time tomorrow to have it aligned. weird thing that on the drive home the Mini developed a not-so-loud high-pitched whirring sound in high speeds. i immediately pulled over and checked the inner lip of both rims in front & the inner tire for any signs of rubbing but didn't find any. hoping that the whirring will magically disappear when i have the car aligned. plan to set the camber to -1 on all four corners for regular use

initial setting is 8 clicks from full soft on all four corners. initial impression that the bouncing was gone, comfortable ride. didn't get to test the handling yet. maybe after the alignment

 

prolly your alignment.

i have taken the plunge and joined ryan in jumping to swift springs. i will post my impressions soon..........

 

(expensive) problem solved. the whirring that i was hearing turned out to be a busted front right wheel bearing. aw crap. this just keeps getting better and better

 

looking forward to hearing your impressions...... The bouncing really is annoying even at a quite soft setting. Makes me wish I sometimes bought quality shocks and lowering springs! Maybe the Swifts will bring some balance to these budget coilovers.

Steve

 

my initial impressions of swift coilover replacement springs are very positive. first a shout out to ryan for guiding me through the process. i honestly can't believe there is a better handling daily driving mini on the planet! really, you say?

my oem mcs cabrio suspension lasted about a month. i have a street and track set up, but will describe my daily driving set up. i came from a bmw e46 m3, and am a spirited driver. my first change was an h-sport 19mm adjustable rear sway bar. next, dunlop direzza z1 star specs 215/45-17 went on. omp lower strut bar and m7 front strut bar and plates were next. ss brake lines, carbotech bobcats and ate super blue followed. bc coilovers were next, with tsw adj links, helix rear control arms. summer wheels are oz ultraleggera's. alignment set at -2.0 front with 1/32" toe out in the front. -1.5 with zero toe in the rear. so you might think things were tight enough...but i just wasn't satisfied with the ride. sometimes it was harsh, sometimes it was inconsistent, but at the end of the day, i always felt it could be better.

i am happy to say that the ride is noticably much softer, predictable and less jarring now. much smoother transition in and out of turns now...very confidence inspiring. i think the nvh is only slightly louder than stock, but less than the bc springs.

downside....not cheap. otherwise, none that i can think of. i finally feel like it's dialed in!!!

thanks again ryan

 

I had my SWIFT springs installed this week too and all I can say is WOW! They've made a huge difference. I had my BCs set at full soft in the back because the ride was just bone-jarring at times. Now I need to dial them back in a bit because I'm a little bouncy back there. The ride quality is almost the same as it was with the KONI FSDs but I have the adjustability I want. Many thanks to Ryephile for suggesting this and helping me get the right sizes.

 

This is great to hear from you guys! I really might consider throwing a set of these on during the summer assuming I dont spend anything on go-fast parts! Can you tell us how much you spent and where you got them from (through Ryephile maybe?) Thanks again for the comments.

Steve

 

REALLY interesting, guys... I'm pretty happy with my FSDs and am finally getting my v3 TSW front springs in the next few days (had the rears on for 2+ months - long story)... but good to know that there is a solution with the characteristics y'all are describing if I want to take it up another notch...