How can I tell if I need new struts/shocks? Pushing up and down on the car and waiting to see how it returns is difficult with such little movement in the suspension that the mini has.

I plan to replace my strut mounts as at least one of them has cracked and both towers are mushrooming. I've also just put new wheels on it and I'm thinking about lowering the car a bit. I've read people have been pretty happy with the KONI sport yellow struts and a set of lowering springs (that I can't remember who makes now). But with the cost of the KONIs alone, I could just about pick up a set of Megan Racing EZ street coilovers and would be able to forgo buying the strut tower mounts and let me decide how low I want to go. I don't plan on tracking the car yet but may, and only very occasionally, do that down the line. So...

1. How can I tell I need struts

2. KONI yellows and lowering springs vs Meagan coilovers. Longevity?

Thanks,
Nick

 

Strut mounts cracking and front strut tower mushrooming are ALL signs of worn OEM struts....gas charged struts will not show signs of leaking since the gas is not visible. Worn struts don't dampen allowing excessive upwards suspension travel which is the BANG you hear when going over burms and through pot holes.

I would bet 80% of all 1st Gen front towers require at least a little flattening out which is very important with respect to having a proper alignment done.

I had an Inde shop install new front strut mounts but they didn't pound the towers flat before hand. My alignment guy was not able to work the front camber, as it was more than a degree out of range.

Next day, jacked up the front end to take pressure off the front suspension and with a piece of 2x4 and rubber mallet began to gradually pound down each side for the next hour and half.....Worked great for the first 95% of the way occasionally using a flat edge as a guide and laying the end plate to an M7 Strut Tower brace on top. If it rocked, I knew there was more to go. In the end I used the same M7 Strut tower end plate under the 2x4 to pound the rest home perfectly flat. The contours of the M7 end plate helped a lot.

Next day my alignment guy couldn't believe his eyes at what I had done as he easily got the numbers needed for the front end....

As far as your needs go. Call Way at Way Motor Works. Tell him what you have, what sort of driving you do and what your expectations are. He will guide you to the proper strut for your driving habits and requirements.

 

I figured you would say that... the car has about 100k on it right now and as far as I know, has original struts. So the question at this point is, oem, upgraded struts & lower springs or coilovers?

I'm almost positive Way stands behind those yellow KONIs but I guess I just wanted an opinion on those vs the Meagan coilovers.

Nick

 

Hard to get a reading from some as tolerance of road harshness varies from driver to driver with respect to cool factor vs. function.

If you prefer not to alter the road height and purchasing rear adj lower control arms for a typical CO set up, then the Koni's are the way to go.

I'd be curious of what his thoughts were on matching the Koni yellow adjustables with the TSW Springs. Modest drop, removes the odd OEM rake of the car making it more level with the ground F/R, and possibly providing superior performance over the OEM JCW Suspension.

That set up is on my radar.

 

It is indeed hard to strut one's stuff when one's struts are stuffed.

#couldntresist

Charlie

 

I too am interested to hear replies to this.

I would call Way to get some advice, but I'm no where near ready to buy,... don't want to waste his time.

 

Thanks gray. I should mention that if I do go with the KONIs, I will almost definitely be changing out the springs too with a modest drop. I'd just live with whatever the drop is unless I really hate it one way or another.

Are the adjustable rear lower control arms NECESSARY for a c/o setup? Camber plates? Are these things designed so I can align the car myself anyway/time I want? I still think I'm leaning towards the c/o setup so I can dial in ride quality and height then just get an alignment done and set and forget from there (after I play with some 2x4s first of course ).

Anyone HAVE the meagan c/o's and can talk about how much they like them?

 

How low you want to go dictates whether you need adjustable rear lower control arms. Most coilovers will come with a camber plate. The cheap coilover really only allow you to adjust the ride quality from crappy to really crappy. Ride quality greatly improves with a better damper. The Konis/springs will ride better but you don't get height adjustability. There are lots of people who are happy with their <$1k coilovers and will probably flame me for saying they're not any good but I was never happy with them. Never owned any just ridden in cars with them and was never impressed. Try and find a car with the coilovers your'e thinking about buying and go for a ride. See what you think of the ride quality and whether you'd be happy with it.

 

Thanks for the advice. I think it's time I find me a club.

Still looking for some more input if anyone else has anything to share.

 

I was inquiring about this earlier this year, as I was debating the Megan EZ Street coilovers vs. Koni Yellow shocks with Swift lowering springs.

After doing a bunch of research, I messaged ninjlao, who is on these forums sometimes and was involved with the development of the Swift springs. He can chime in if he sees this, but his advice was actually to get Megan coilover shocks with Swift coilover springs, rather than Koni Yellow shocks with Swift lowering springs. I know that there are a number of people on this forum with this setup, and they have said the ride quality is decent. I haven't bought them yet, so I can't comment on that. This is going to be my next investment as soon as I can afford it.

I also learned that coilover shocks can be rebuilt whereas konis and other shocks wil have to be replaced.

 

In January, I recognized I needed new suspension, and went with the Megan coilovers. They're stiffer than stock, and required more labor to install, but because they're adjustable, I couldn't be happier. In 5 minutes, I can adjust it from softish to stiff for the day and in a other 5 minutes, be back to daily driving softish settings. Plus, I did the math and it's cheaper than stock suspension!

 

Koni shocks can be revalved and modified by any certified Koni rebuilder... just fyi

Konis have a great rep in all aspects of motorsports....so it's never a bad choice

but i guess I can agree that a coilover setup is a good buy if your looking for all in one setup... but "most" budget coilovers.... are valved terribly so dont expect a great ride out of them...

I could see myself going for a ST or KW v1 for a basic street setup...

 

Thanks for the info, good to know. I have heard nothing but positive things about the ST coilovers.

But crazyworld, another thing I forgot to mention, the EZ Street Megans come with strut tower reinforcements. If you don't have some kind of strut tower reinforcements already, this will save you even more money. The slightly more expensive euro street megans come with camber plates as well.

As I said, I haven't bought these yet, but It will probably be my next investment when I have the cash.

 

Yeah I saw how the megan's have the metal plate that mounts on the inside of the strut tower which I liked. If I got them I planned on installing them and getting top mount strut tower protectors as well. Overkill?

marantz2010, what made them take more labor to install?

And christianmc, if I get them, I'll report back my thoughts. I should be making a purchase this month.

 

For the adjustable part for the rears, I had to cut holes in the wheel wells so I could have access to the rear controls. That was timely and involved lots of flying sparks!

 

I haven't talked to way which has helped me in the past. I am going with a yellow koni and tsw lowering springs. I drive over 100 miles a day. Coilovers is just not an option for me. I should have the setup ordered and installed in the next couple of months.

 

Which set of Megan's did you have? EZ Street, Street, Euro Street, etc? What about this note on Megan racing's site: "NOTE: Includes 250mm (approximately ~9.84") damper **** extenders for the rear adjustment."

Let us know how you like the setup!

 

Street Series (that's what my invoice said when I looked).

The extenders are to route the adjustment **** thru the wheel well into the interior of the car. Otherwise, I think you'd have to take the suspension off the car in order to make an adjustment to the rebound. My extenders come inside the car by way of the emergency side compartments in the rear. I pop open the compartment, and 5 seconds later I have my adjustment made.

 

Awesome, thanks for the clarification. Do you have any pictures of the process or of the final product?