I am considering adding coilovers to my Clubman. My objective is improved handling for street and AutoX and I do not track. I am willing to give up ride comfort for handling gains, but this still needs to be practical daily driver. My dream set-up would be Texas Speedworks KW Variant 2s, but they are expensive and a camber plates would need to be added. I have heard good things about the BC coilovers with swift springs, much less expensive and includes camber adjustment, the biggest downside seems to be the travel on the BCs is limited as compared to the KWs. The service and warranty of both systems seem to be very good. Comparing the two systems dollar wise the KWs are roughly double in price (including camber). From an immediate gratification perspective I could buy the BCs and a really good set of rubber for less money than the KWs, but I do not want to be unhappy a year later. I think some of the MINI pros have used both BCs and KWs and hoping they could give some practical advice. For my use / objectives would I realize the benefits of spending roughly double for the KW Variant 2s or would the BC/Swift system be fine for my use ?
i like KWs, and every person who ive read about and met who's had them love them. great for auto-x and fersure tracking. lowers the car pretty low too if you ever wanna get into stance and fitment. im thinking about getting me a set myself when i have the money.
This should be good.... I think you are one of the first to do coilovers on a Clubie... Brealing some new ground here on M/A. The only thing I really have to add is that I've done a lot of work with TSW. They may not offer the lowest cost options but they sure do know about MINI suspensions.
When buying coilovers you get what you pay for, so be prepared if you go cheap. I'd also love to offer up some of the CROSS coilovers, but they've been out for awhile and still can't say when they'll get them. If it's primarly a street car you still could consider just doing springs.
I have had the BC Racing BR series coilovers on my Clubman for several months. Other than a bad strut that they replaced they have been great. They are adjustable from smoother than stock ride to firmer than I care to go. I agree you normally get what you pay for but for my needs, adjustable height and damping, mostly street with occasional track use they fit well. I used the money I save by going with the BC coilovers to put towards a BBK setup.
+1 for the BC coilovers. I have had them for a year on my R52 and love them. I will say the stock springs were pretty harsh for daily driving so I replaced them with Swift springs. That made a world of difference. I heard BC was considering offering Swift springs as an option so you might check that. Here's some info from the BC Racing site.
I am surprised that Bilstien's PSS9 are rarely considered these days. A quality product from a reputable company with an excellent warranty. Not cheap, but as already been said, you get what you pay for.
^ Bilstein PSS9 would be a good choice. Why not the TSW KW V1? Doesn't sound like you really need adjustable damping. Proper damping and suspension travel is more important than camber plates IMO. Just get IE Fixed plates for your uses. - Andrew
TSW are a damn fantastic company. Also a good point re PSS9s. Consider now the PSS10s though. They aren't too expensive for the quality you get. sub $2k
My experience with coilovers is all on R53's not R56's but I have been through (2) sets of Bilstein PSS9's and I don't think they are so great for MINI's. It is that the standard springs, which are progressive I believe, don't match up so well with the damping settings for our cars. I have (2) MINI's, both daily drivers and canyon runners with the occasional (3-4 times a year) track days. The Bilstein damping needs to be set on full soft to cope with the crappy roads here, but then the car "pogos" on the freeway at speeds of 40-50 MPH and smooths out above that. When you stiffen up the damping for the smooth track they work much better, but that shakes you to death on the street. I really should have experimented with different springs or straight rate springs, but I did not. Instead I bought a set of used KW V2 Competition coilovers off NAM from Craig Wilcox the national AutoX champion fron Missouri. Instantly these were way better than the Bilsteins. They are tolerable on the street at their soft damper setting, yet they feel much more controlled, probably because of the straight rate springs, and no pogoing!! They are kind of a ***** to adjust though, especially the rears. For my other MINI I found a smoking deal on NAM for a set of m7 coilovers plus camber plates that I could not pass up. These have been the best coilvers I have ever used. Good street performance at a few clicks up from their softest settings and super easy to adjust for the track. m7 gets bashed a lot and usually for good reason, but these rebadged coilovers (anybody know what their source is?) have been a quality product for me and with about 25,000 miles on them, still work very well. So in conclusion, I think you would have to change springs for the Bilsteins to make them work well and that is extra money. In any case camber plates are a must, so that is extra $ too. I use H-Sport plates on both cars. And you can save a lot of money by buying used. NAM is a good source for this.
i've heard this about the Bilsteins, with lots of other cars too. Bilstein PSS10 or 9, with stiffer and linear-rate eibachs would be awesome...
Now that I have an "extra" set of Bilstein PSS9's, maybe I'll get some Swift springs for them and try again.
my future choice is either bilstein pss9, kw v1, koni coilovers, eibach pro street s (which are slightly cheaper kw v1). most likely it will be the eibachs or the konis, but i will switch them to 6k front and rear linear swift or hyperco springs. with a mild drop...so lots of travel to soak up those bumps. i think that will be awesome. - andrew