I need some advice... There's somebody selling some red JCW sport springs that have 25K on them. His JCW is an auto w/o a sunroof. I have an MCS (manual) with a sunroof. I know when you buy the springs they match up the weight of your vehicle to the appropriate springs. My question is, will an auto-JCW w/o sunroof be equivalent weight to a manual MCS w/sunroof. I suspect not but I can't find out for sure. I wish they would post some sort of numerical value on the springs like on my downhill mountain bike shocks. I can buy a spring from 200lbs to 800lbs rating. If only cars were so simple. Ric PS I know there are LOTS of spring choices out there, but I don't want my car down 1.5", the JCW lowering is about .5"
Cars are that simple. They have spring rates just as your bike springs do. I'm not sure if JCW advertises them, but they do have the rating somewhere. RealOEM suggests that the dealer or parts counter has a full Spring chart for the various options including the JCW springs. I'd imagine that the spring rates are included there and may be accessible if you have a cool/knowledgeable parts guy. With that said, I'd be willing to bet that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two slightly different curb weights. Especially in a street car.
I think you would likely get the same springs if you ordered them from MINI. My brother and I each just had JCW springs and struts installed 2 weeks ago, and when he called to add mine to his order, they told him that because our cars both had sunroofs, they would use the same springs. I think that the sunroof is the big weight item that dictates which springs you get. I can't imagine they have that many different spring rates manufactured and sitting around.
Thanks Andrew and MinIntrigue. I think I'll see if I can find the exact number and will also stick to somebody who's also got a sunroof config.