Joey's Cooper Thread; Suspension Thoughts

[Joey D]

When I look out my living room window all I see is a big white van...my car is garage kept .

But I don't know, I'm still debating about lowering springs. Struts are more important right now.

 

[Philly]

Oh and for tires I'm getting the Conti DW's, I talked with the guy who's the MINI geek at Tire Rack and he said they were the right tire for the car. I'll blow through them in a season/season and a half any way so if I really hate them they will be outta here quick enough I suppose.

I'm running these on the GTI and I really like them. Their wet grip is probably on par with the dry grip of the garbage all-seasons I had on it before. Only 3,000 miles of use and they seem to be holding up very well too, even with my tendencies to take a lot of corners quite fast.

 

[Joey D]

Good to hear! Are the spine-shatteringly rough? It seems split among people I talk to about the ride quality with them.

 

[Keef]

They'll be a rougher ride than all-seasons, that's just the nature of the beast. Again, try not to concentrate on the roughness as being roughness - think about the fact that it's a small price to pay for more direct handling, better stability, and safer performance in average to hot weather conditions, wet or dry.

Or concentrate on the stiff ride, it's your call. I'm perfectly comfortable with square-blocked Extreme Performance tires, some of which you can hardly think over because they're so loud. Stiff too - but then, that's just another thing that helps isolate the suspension's operation. And that's another reason why good dampers are so important, because with stiff-sidewalled summer tires there is less uncontrolled blubber to absorb impacts.

 

[Eric.]

Joey, if you do shocks you may as well do springs now so you can take care of it all in one go, instead of thinking a few months later you want to put springs on it after taking it all apart to put shocks in.

Also if you do Konis, let me know, I have a friend who is registered as a business who ordered mine cheaper than anywhere.

 

[Joey D]

Eh that's a good point. If I'm going to do it I might as well just do it all at once. It'll save me from having to get an alignment again if I decide to go about getting lowering springs.

I wouldn't have to go super low either. The NM springs go down 1.2" and the TSW springs go down 1.0". Ideally a set of JCW spring would be perfect at .75" of low but engineered to work with the car. I'm thinking NM though, they have a great reputation among MINI owners and they are owned by Neuspeed.

So right now I'm at $750 for Koni's, $250 for springs, $250 for strut bar, and $400 for tires and $150 for an alignment. So $1800? That's the price of coilovers .

 

[Eric.]

1) I paid $500 for Konis
2) $150 for an alignment? I've paid $140 at Plaza for lifetime alignments (3 per year for as long as I own the car). Hell, even my Honda dealership was only $60 for one alignment.


You're going to want more than an inch of drop.

 

[Joey D]

Koni's for the Cooper are between $700 and $900 depending on where you order from. I think Way Motor Werks has them on sale for $660 right now though.

The alignment has to be done at a BMW dealer since it uses weighted sand bags and a special key to align the damn thing. No shop around me will touch any modern BMW product because of it and it's frustrating. $150 is what an alignment is when it's on sale at the dealer too, most of the time it's $189.

And if I got much lower then 1.5" I won't be able to make it into the parking structure at work. There are some nasty speed bumps that anything remotely low can't make it over. Anyone with a sports car can't drive over them at all. It was kind of funny to watch the guy with his Miata get hung up on them though.

I'm thinking 1.2" will close up the gap a bit and still be daily drivable. The Blazer with it's 7/5" drop was too much.

 

[Eric.]

Yep...you're right on the Koni prices. Still, my friend may be able to save you another $20 or so. Let me know if you want to go through him. Konis are on sale everywhere until May I think.


Speed bumps ftl. I can usually clear any of them as long as I don't move fast enough for any suspension movement, otherwise just the slashguards will scrape. Somewhat annoying when there's roadkill or other debris in the road that you have to swerve completely around. I didn't even make it over a shoe the other day.

 

[Keef]

That's the price of coilovers .

But, coilovers are typically must stiffer than your average lowering spring. Those NM springs comined with Koni Yellows should actually ride pretty nice.

Have you considered Eibach Sportline springs? I wonder what their drop is. I agree with Eric that you'll want more than an inch drop - in fact, I'd suggest 1.5-2. The NM springs would be good.

Speed bumps ftl. I can usually clear any of them as long as I don't move fast enough for any suspension movement, otherwise just the slashguards will scrape. Somewhat annoying when there's roadkill or other debris in the road that you have to swerve completely around. I didn't even make it over a shoe the other day.

I haven't had to deal with owning a lowered car for a while now. This RX7 is like a 4x4 at the moment.

I have driven a friend's schlammed E21 though. The frame rails all the way back have scrapes, the muffler scrapes because of the departure angle, his oilpan has scrapes , everything scrapes. All you have to do is slow down and be conscious of asphalt trickery like raised manhole covers, ruts (he's literally gotten high-centered at an especially rippled intersection near here), and parking lots. Your Mini has such short overhangs and such a short wheelbase that I'm confident you'll have little problem finding your way around. Now, a car like mine with a foot and a half of metal handing off either end...that's a different story!

That guy streets it like that in Chicago. He's crazy.

 

[Eric.]

Yep that's one nice thing with the Civic, short overhangs. The bottom edge of my bumper has some scrapes on it though. And various bits under the car have some paint missing from either bad roads or whatever that managed to make some contact. Besides the front and my splashguards, I don't normally have clearance issues. I think the next lowest point is around the middle of the exhaust.

I autocross with a guy with a lowered Sky Redline that you'd think was on coilovers. The front airdam (the black plastic part that's further back and lower than the bumper) will touch the ground sometimes under braking. And its not because it has brake dive issues.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I haven't had to deal with owning a lowered car for a while now. This RX7 is like a 4x4 at the moment.

I have driven a friend's schlammed E21 though. The frame rails all the way back have scrapes, the muffler scrapes because of the departure angle, his oilpan has scrapes , everything scrapes. All you have to do is slow down and be conscious of asphalt trickery like raised manhole covers, ruts (he's literally gotten high-centered at an especially rippled intersection near here), and parking lots. Your Mini has such short overhangs and such a short wheelbase that I'm confident you'll have little problem finding your way around. Now, a car like mine with a foot and a half of metal handing off either end...that's a different story!

That guy streets it like that in Chicago. He's crazy.

The 6 is still at stock total-4x4 status... And I've had both the mufflers and the front bumper scrape in/around Detroit.

So yeah. ^That dude's crazy. Fixed the image for you btw, you've got an extra http:// in there.

 

[Philly]

Good to hear! Are the spine-shatteringly rough? It seems split among people I talk to about the ride quality with them.

They weren't bad for me. You're going to feel a lot from the road but nothing too harsh. It isn't uncomfortable in my car at all. And I'm running 17" wheels. Yours will be even softer.

 

[Eric.]

I honestly don't notice a difference in ride quality going from my Michelin all seasons to Dunlop Star Specs.

 

[Keef]

Suspension thoughts?

Stop being stingy, buy suspension, and slam that bitch.

 

[Joey D]

I don't have a job right now, I'm waiting to solve that issue before doing anything to my car. Although I do need to replace the struts sooner vs. later because they ride is floaty yet uncomfortable at the same time. It seriously feels like my struts are filled with wet concrete.

If I don't get a job soon I'll probably get Koni FSD's since it's pretty much the same price as OEM.

 

[Keef]

I don't have a job right now

Oh yeah. Don't you hate how you save up all this money and you're like, hmm, what the heck am I even saving this for, and then BAM one day you find out.

It seriously feels like my struts are filled with wet concrete.

In my experience, "wet concrete" seems to be a good metaphor for everything. My brake pedal felt like that. But right now it just feels like somebody put way too much water in the wet concrete.

 

[mira_alex]

Suspension thoughts?

Stop being stingy, buy suspension, and slam that bitch.

ha this is my friend Ray, he has VMAXX coilovers, but pretty much custom, they have been cut and what not. His frame sit, well lets just say you can't put a penny under it, sitting vertically.

 

[Keef]

ha this is my friend Ray, he has VMAXX coilovers, but pretty much custom, they have been cut and what not. His frame sit, well lets just say you can't put a penny under it, sitting vertically.

No offense to your buddy, especially since there aren't really any good slammable coils for Minis, but I would typically steer clear of VMAXX and their low-cost competitors for slammage. Because you have to adjust height by the spring perch, thereby shortening the damper, the damper gets serious punishment that accounted for in any design, really. Blowing out slammed dampers is pretty common because none of them are designed for that sort of abuse. A friend who was laying frame in his Miata blew out two of them within 6 months. Thankfully they got replaced under warranty. Looking cool isn't worth the trouble of busted coilovers.

If at all possible, always stick with a coilover that has an adjustable lower mount so you don't have to mess with damper travel.

 

[Joey D]

Ya that slammed R53 is epic, I'd totally rock it.