Need help deciding on what to do with suspension on my 09 factory JCW Clubman. As I understand the current shock/spring that I have is the "S" suspension. I have already a 22mm rear sway. "not installed yet"

I already have a R53 fully built track car with Cross coilover and all alta links/arms/sway and bushing.. So this JCW may not see the tracks. well maybe once, just to try it out. but 80% will be my daily driver. and 20% my weekend canyon run with the boys.

With 2 kids in the back.. I am not looking to slam the car, or have a harsh ride. or family will not sit in it...

so my option is
1. springs only.
2. JCW shock/spring (is it the same shock that I am currently using?)
3. $1000 range coilover. megan/BC/H&R....
4. $2000 range V2/V3//etc
5. or just do it. ohlins/JRZ... full controls

of course I will have arms , links, camber kit...

I was really leaning to option "2". But I dont want to "kick myself" after a few months that "I should have gotten XYZ...."

What would you do?

Please advise. as I have $$$ to spend at this moment. before it is too late and it land in my wife hands.

 

You already have a track MINI.
For your daily driver you can go full JCW suspension and lose about a half inch of clearance, but it might be a bit harsh for wife and kiddies. I could not say for sure--try to get a ride with another MINI owner that has it. I initially thought I would go JCW, but can't find someone with one.
Other alternative is my current plan. Put that 22mm RSB on and enjoy it. Get front camber plates and crank in a touch of negitive camber up front.(1 to 1.5 degrees) Next will be shocks. If not lowering, go with Koni FDS or Bilstein HD.

 

I had the JCW suspension for nearly 3 years and it's very good as a daily driver. Takes out just a little bit of the wheel gap, good for sprited weekend drives, not harsh at all and soaks up the bumps very nicely. I never had any complaints from kids or sisters or the girlfriend or even my parents when they were in my JCW.

I'd say it's a great choice for what you're looking for. With the addition of the larger sway bar you'd have a really nice setup on your clubman and I doubt you'd be wondering what's on the other side of the fence, especially since you have your track ready R53.

I upgraded to the KW V2 coilovers and they are fantastic but MUCH harsher as a daily driver and, of course, much lower too.

 

Sooper Cooper seals it for me. If I had a JCW, the JCW suspension would be my choice.

 

I was very impressed with mine and only upgraded it for better performance on the track. The KWs outperform the JCW easily, but at the cost of comfort which would be true of any suspension made specifically for track duty.

When you order a JCW suspension, Mini even chooses the spring rates (from a few predefined values) best suited for your car based on the its weight determined by the options that were installed at the factory, so the suspension works very well on the car.

I have the AccessPORT as well and the JCW suspension handled the extra power no problem.

 

You want comfort as a daily driver and be track capable, I would recommend AST 5100 with Vorshlag adjustable camber bars and pillow mounts in the back. I run full race hypercoils at 450 in/lbs front and back and it is so much more comfortable than my regular sport suspension. You can run the street setup with 350 in/lbs front and back. The springs are swappable and the coils fully rebuildable and upgradable.

And on the street they are comfortable and quiet.

 

The AST 5100 was actually my first choice when I was looking to upgrade. The deciding factor was budget for the total cost of all the upgrades I recently did.

If you've got the cash, definitely can't go wrong with AST. In a perfect world, they'd be on my car right now!

 

You would generally get what you pay for. I went the frugal route as well but had to replace a set of coils already because of design defects and bad customer service. Ended up with ASTs after lots of research and a whole year of talking to track fanatics and suspension experts.

 

Agreed. I skipped the frugal route completely as I'd read enough bad things on here about cheaper coilovers and I wanted a set that functioned well on the track and that was well made and reliable.

The KWs are great and I'd recommend them without hesitation along with the AST and the Billstiens too for the OPs 4th point regarding coilovers in the $2000 price range. I'm sure I'm missing some other good ones in that list.

I won't specifically list the ones I would avoid so that I don't offend anyone who may have them and/or start a flame war.

The consensus to the OP is that if you do decide to get coilovers, don't skimp on the price.

 

Just a note. There is quite a difference between OPs #4 and #5. The KW has a series for competition that is in #5, similar to Ohlins, Motons and ASTs. KW V2,V3 (not V1) are street coilovers that can be used on the HPDE track, but it is not usually used for racing.

 

I use to have ohlins on my Audi B5 stage 3 S4. I was a best suspension I every rode on. it ride better and softer then oem stock. but the best thing, wife never knew I had spend $$ on it..

now with AST. am I going to get the same feeling.?
I research moton, ohlins. but dont have it for mini.
and JRZ is freaking $7000. 1/3 of my car.

So is AST really that good. I have never heard of then before.

 

I can't comment directly since I've never used them, but when I was researching which coil overs to get for my car though they were always very highly regarded by their owners and considered an excellent choice for the Mini.

Slinger can give a better review as I believe he's riding on AST on his car.

 

AST are pretty similar to the Ohlins or Motons, high pressure reverse Monotubes but they are less expensive. They are made in Holland and they specialized in race cars with racing applications. I got mine from Vorshlag with the Vorshlag camber plates and real pillow mounts. The front and rear shocks are both pivoted so as they move up and down, they keep an optimal angle so there is no binding. Terry, the Vorshlag owner, told me the ASTs were custom valved and have a custom length for the Mini. Go to Vorshlag.com to take a look. You can adjust it higher than any other current coilover available which is good for the street (down only 1" from stock).

I run the full race GTS version, 450 in/lb front and rear hypercoils because it is also a track car. They is enough adjustments (height and rebound) to make them really comfortable with great handling on the street. They have a street version as well with 350 in/lb front and rear. It is surprising that with spring rates so high (more than twice above stock), they are comfortable.

 

Ohlins are available for Mini and not really that expensive (~$2k-ish). That's probably what I would get for an all around street/track/mini-champion set-up. If I wasn't completely broke. Love Ohlins.

AST is good too. I remember seeing the 4100 series listed for Mini, however I am not sure if that is actually the case or if something has changed. They are non-inverted but still quite good. The 4100 would be my next choice in my hypothetical world of being able to buy what I want. It's hard to swallow the premium in price for the 5000 series over the 4000 IMO.

Bilstein PSS9 would be worth considering as well, with custom rates, but I might lean towards one of the first 2.

JRZ RS Pro can be had for much less than 7 grand, though are still pretty expensive. I cannot fathom a world in which I would write that check, however, in the off chance I build a Mini race car for more than just track days but actual competition, JRZ would be it.

KW's are fine, especially for the money, but sometimes their off the shelf stuff just misses the mark. Spring rates must be customized IMO and then you just hope the valving works. The competition stuff is pretty good.

- Andrew

 

On the cheap side, the stock dampers really do suck. I have not been on a JCW set-up, however I just don't like what Mini does with suspension so I would go another route. Bilstein HDs with a good medium/mild drop spring should be good for DD and just for fun. I would prefer that over BC/Megan, but some people need the drop.

I think an H&R coilover with custom valving and spring rates would be awesome, but then you're getting close to 2 grand anyway. The standard springs are junk, but they're good Bilstein shocks.

- Andrew

 

I think the AST 4000 series is currently not available for Minis.

 

Are Ohlins available for the R56? Can you please link? I was looking @ the KW V2's, but if Ohlins are available for not much more, I'd take them into heavy consideration.

 

They are available for R53, so you would need the rear adapter thing to run them on an R56. They come with non-adjustable front top mounts which is sort of a bummer. But inverted front and rear so damper adjustment on the bottom in the rear so you can actually reach it is nice.

http://www.roadandtrackbyohlins.com/...bmw_mini_1.pdf

EDIT: unfortunately the price has gone WAY up and they are over $3k. Sorry. Looks like there are a few sets on ebay from reputable shock companies though.

- andrew

 

Why not go cross again? You can change how firm they ride.

 

Those ohlins are really quite pricey as well at over 3k. Can you change the non adjustable top plate to a adjustable camber plate?

 

I have not run cross so i cannot really comment. But I think Andyroo would prefer bilsteins, judging from his previous preferences.

 

I'm sure you could. At most you'd need a customized topnut but probably not.

They used to be much cheaper, at around $2k. There are a few sets on ebay under that price. Maybe i got a quote for the wrong part number or something.

- Andrew

 

AST 4100s are available for the R56: https://picasaweb.google.com/racamaj...66412951382706
AST4100 coilovers, 19mm alta sway bar, alta end links, vorshlag camber plates, swift springs; lowered ~1.25"

 

So they use non-inverterd fronts and inverted rears? Interesting.

- drew

 

Interesting combo shown there, 4100 fronts, and 5100 rear.