Looking for opinions on the cross suspension from anyone that has it installed on their Mini S.

Tia.

MiniBull

 

I installed mine today. So far, I'm happy with it, although I still need to adjust the ride height, get a four-wheel alignment, and get the car corner-balanced.

I disassembled the coilovers before installing them, because I found some posts in another forum from 2004 where someone said he had gotten some Cross coilovers with buggered threads and stuck adjusters. No problems with mine - everything turns smoothly and feels very solid and precise.

The only problem with my installation was that the stock bolt that fastens the bottom of the rear shock to the trailing arm would not fit through the bushing in the bottom of the coilover. The bushing in the coilover is 12mm, and I think the factory bolt is 13mm. No big deal - I went to the hardware store and found a high strength 12mm bolt/nut/washer combo to use as a replacement. I don't know if the larger stock bolt is because I have a cabrio, or because I have a late-2006 build car and there was a running design change. Don from DMH has installed the Cross units on three other MINIs with no problem, so there's *something* different about my car - I'm just not sure why.

When I installed the coilovers today, I also put in a 25mm rear sway bar and switched from my stock 17" rims/runflats to my lightweight autocross wheels (15"/non runflat), so it's hard to tell what changes in the ride were from the coilovers and what changes were from the other parts. But, the car feels much more "composed" and unaffected by bumps in the road, uneven pavement surfaces, and things like that. There's no knocking or other disturbing noises from any of the parts, even the camber plates. Right now, I have the fronts set in the middle position, and the rears set two clicks harder than the middle.

I'll post a more-thorough writeup once I get everything adjusted and aligned, but even with my high expectations, I'm pleasantly surprised. I was definitely nervous about the 400# springs in the front, but the valving is well-suited to the spring weight, so everything works fine together.

 

Can you tell me what ride height you are running, or intend to run? The distance to the top of the wheel well (around 24") or the stock jack points (around 4") would enable me to make comparisons.
Thanks,
phil

 

Right now, I'm just running whatever height the coilovers gave me out of the box. I'm going to drive the car around for a few hundred miles while I let everything settle before I adjust it down any further. I know it's a little lower than stock right now, because I have less clearance between the floor and the jack points than I used to.

The damping and spring rates seem like a good match - I'm not getting any jarring or bottoming out, even over some nasty roads this afternoon. Since I can adjust all four corner heights without affecting the pre-load or shaft travel, It should just be a matter of lowering it until I'm happy with the looks, while making sure nothing rubs and I still have adequate clearance under the front lip. I'm thinking maybe a 1.25 - 1.5" total drop when all's said and done. I'll be sure to post pictures/measurements when I'm finished.

 

Are these warranteed for the street or track?

mb

 

They're intended for race use, and warranted for both street and race use, although there is an exclusion for parts that are "severely abused due to intense racing".

That sounds vague, but there's no way to tell whether Cross would use that exclusion to deny a reasonable warranty claim, or if they're just protecting themselves from someone that puts on a set of their coilovers and tries to run the Paris-Dakar rally with them or something silly like that.

 

Can you tell how it differs from the stock ride?

Also, please post pics when you can of the ride height.

Tia.

Minibull

 

I should hopefully have the ride height dialed in during the next week, and I'll post pictures.

As for the ride, it just seems more "composed", if that makes sense. I drove for a few miles today on road that had been graded and groomed, but not blacktopped yet. I could hear the bumps as I hit them, but they didn't upset the car the way bumps used to. Right now, I have the front dampers set in the middle position, and the rear set two click stiffer than the middle. The autocross I was supposed to go to today was canceled, so I haven't tried any sporting driving yet.

Again, at the same time I installed the coilovers, I also put on a rear sway bar and switched from my OEM 17" wheels and runflats to lightweight 15" aftermarket wheels and non-runflat tires, so I'm not able to isolate the differences from the coilovers themselves and the differences from the other changes.

 

They will be on at least 2 cars at MOTD. They are on my car as well and when I return from the Dragon you're welcome to take a test ride.