Hello, I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S. Ive had the car for only about three months, since then I put a aem intake kit (21-699c), pretty awesome I must say. My next upgrade is an exhaust or coilovers. I have reviewed many coilovers, the best I have seen are the megan racing, bc racing, and kw v1. I want to lower the coopsta about a 1 1/2" to 2". Does anyone or does anyone know somebody that give me more information on good coilovers.

 

Buy the best your budget allows: KW, Ground Control, JRZ, Moton.
We are talking ~$2-5K in parts alone for coil-overs, camber plates and what not. Plus install, plus alignment.

If that price scares you, you do not NEED coil-overs, you just WANT the look. Then do yourself a favor and just buy shorter springs and cut your costs by an order of magnitude!

Beware that once you lower 1.5-2" you will start scraping the driveways and speed bumps with the front apron. BTDT.

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R56 scraping about on KWv3's

 

I looked at the nm springs but I heard it makes the ride really rough, I read the kW v1 coilovers, which cost about 1500, lower it 1.5-2.5 inches. I would install them myself. I wouldn't buy any coilovers more then what the kW v1 cost, I like the bc racing coilover and wouldn't mind investing in those, but I don't know how much they will drop the car.

Thanks for the input, really appreciate it afadeev

 

If your worried about a rough ride…. That's exactly what the Megans or the BC racing are going to give you. If you want to lower your mini and your worried about the quality of the ride…. spend the money and buy a set of Ohlins….

 

KWs are great I have the V2s.

 

Anyone tried the NM RS Alpha spring kit? Part # NM558856. 1.2" drop front and rear springs for $250.00. Just looking to get rid of the hideous tire to fender gap, maybe lower the center of gravity a bit. I can swap the springs myself, providing that strut removal is not exceptionally difficult. Maybe I should start my own thread?

 

I have never heard of ohlins I guess I'll do some research on those and what is the difference between the kW v1 n kW v2, how is the ride quality feel like on the kW v2, I like the lower springs bc they are cheap but I heard they kill your or struts so I'm gonna save my labor and money and investing in coilovers

 

I went from NM RS springs and they are great. From them I went with Ohlins with Vorshlag camber plates. The Ohlins are the best riding coilover because of the DFV. Both great setups.

 

You are missing the point - it's not about how much to drop the car for cosmetic reasons (and the residual consequences of lower clearance), but:
(a). new vs. old spring rates;
(b). how will new spring rates mate to OEM shocks;
(c). what will lower springs do to the OEM shocks travel range.

As-is, OEM shocks have about 3.1" (front) and 2.4" (rear) of suspension travel before they max out and bang into the upper mounts. Only 0.2" (front) and 1.0" (rear) of that downtravel range is free, than you hit and ride the bump stops. If you lower your car more than that, you will drastically limit what little compression range is available to the OEM shocks, and they will be banging and mushrooming your strut towers that much quicker (never mind the crappy ride): http://www.mini2.com/forum/second-ge...-than-r53.html

In other words, if you lower the car more than 1/4", you want to change out to shorter shocks as well.

It doesn't need to be a top-of-the line coil-over kit (Ohlins are very good - someone asked). But as you explore installing a new set of springs, pay attention to how they will be mating to the shocks, and what those shocks should be!

Either do your own research, and do it well, or buy from a vendor who has done the homework for you!

HTH,
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I agree with afadeev, I feel like the springs are ok but your better off saving time n money investing in coilovers. I have done my homework on the ohlins and I feel like those are mostly for people who track their mini often. I often read people saying stock suspension is rough in the mini but I disagree. So far for me I like the kW coilovers. I have read that it can give you close to the ride quality as the stock mini suspension gives you but also gives you the lower stance. I like the kW v1 coilovers but does anyone have any experience with these on a 08 r56

 

That's exactly my car - '08 MCS, with KW v3 suspension.

It's almost too low for the daily driver car in NYC/NJ, even at the highest ride height setting (1.2" drop). I scrape the front apron when going over driveway dips, and when transitioning between pavement and gravel driveways.

The handling is TREMENDOUSLY improved, with increased suspension travel over stock, and more effective dampening and higher spring rates.

On the softest compression/rebound setting, the ride is comparable to OEM sport suspension. A bit more bouncy than plane OEM springs and shocks.

IIRC, OEM rear spring rates are 163 lbs/in for stock, 173 lbs/in for Sport vs. 230 lbs/in for KW. Front springs are progressive on all of the above, and hard to compare.

If you intend to autoX or track the car, you can crank up the compress and rebound settings (independently on v3, not at all on v1) for improved handling at the expense of comfort, and front/rear adjustments to dial-out the understear without compromising rear traction with a giant sway bar.

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Awesome man, got any pictures, and I really don't plan on tracking my mini that's why I'm kinda set on the kW v1, what is the big difference between the v1 and the v2...v3, as I read your post I think my best bet is to go with the kW. I live in texans which roads are pretty decent except for back roads, so not sure about the scraping.

Appreciate the feedback afadeev

 

Here is the pic of my MCS with the front at the highest possible setting for the KW's, and the rears set to roughly match.
Front arch to ground height is 24 and 3/8", rears 24 and 3/4".

Tires stick out more than stock because they are on wider 16x7" ET40 Rota RB's.

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