I see I have a crack in the rubber of my driver front strut mount, and the other one squeaks in colder weather, and 82,000 on the original shocks, so a change in shocks/struts is in order by the end of winter. I have the older pre-5/2003 Sports Suspension Plus dampers which had the thicker oil and stiffer performance compared to the later ones. I like them, but they're no longer available. I think the current oem replacement ones would be a step down in performance. I'm thinking the most cost effective option would be Koni (Yellow) Sports with the stock springs, but a few other options come to mind. I'm not looking at the Koni FSD, as I want a more performance oriented shock than that. Bilstein Sports usually raise the ride height a little due to the high pressure gas charge (I'm assuming about 3/8"), but I've also read that the spring perches for the R50/R53 are about 7 mm lower, making it end out about the same. JCW springs would lower about 10 mm, which might be acceptable, but I'd prefer it if they were a little stiffer than the stock SS+ springs, and I think they're about the same rate. I mention springs with the Bilsteins because the ones for the R50/R53 are the Sports ones that are engineered specifically for lowering springs with shorter piston shafts, although I think they're supposed to be ok with stock height springs. The never made the HD ones for the 1st gen MINIs AFAIK. TSW springs have a linear rate of 200 #/in front and back, compared to about 165-170 for stock or JCW springs, and only drop the R50/R53 about 3/4" front and back, less than any other aftermarket spring I know of. These with the Bilsteins would give a little more drop than I'd like (i.e. none), and all other aftermarket springs seem to give even more drop. And, Bilsteins with a set of springs would cost a lot more than Koni Sports with OEM springs, and they're often said to be a bit harsher than the Koni Sports, although one could get them revalved a little softer and more digressive, but at further increased cost. Ohlins coilovers look really nice and can be adjusted from about 5 mm drop to 35 mm drop, much higher than any other coilovers I know of, but are very pricey and I'd still have to buy two new strut mounts to go with them. Also, do most of you replace the bump stops and upper and lower spring seat pads? I figure that 11 year old rubber parts are probably past their prime and probably should replace the mounting bolts while I'm at it. If anyone has some experience with the above, please chime in.
Welcome to MA. I've had great results with Koni Yellows although both MINI's I've had them on are also lowered. I've also had coil overs, and while I liked the handling performance the ride harshness as a DD didn't make sense to me.
KONI Yellows and Swift springs will give you a lowered "a little" look and ride 100% better than FSD's. Don't waste your money on TSW springs because the old ones were made buy Swift and built up a great reputation but the new ones are made by KW after someone bought TSW. KW is not SWIFT, not even close. I have a set of custom KW coil overs with the new TSW springs and they were ok for almost a year. The springs were starting to sag so I talked to a few people and everyone recommended Swift springs. I also had KONI coil over set up and that set was ok for about 6 months befor the springs started to coil bind and Koni does not stock parts in the USA so it took 2 months to get warranty springs. The new springs also failed so that suspension came off my car. Ok back to my current Custom KW's with Swift springs. I spoke to Colin and he was able to order me a set of Swifts and now my set up is even better than when it was new and rides great. If I had it to do over again I would buy the set below. Swift Springs are some of the best springs you can buy. Swift Spec-R Lowering Springs – Greene Performance If you need upper strut parts why not buy a great set of coil overs with adjustable camber plates included. Colin has a custom set of coil over with Swift springs included just under 2k. See here: BC Racing Coilovers with Swift Springs and Custom Revalve – Greene Performance
As indicated in the title, I'd like to preserve stock ride height for winter clearance and reasonable suspension travel over bumps and rough roads. I believe the Swift Spec-R lower front 0.7", rear 0.5" and are progressive springs with an end-rate of 280 front 308 rear per their web page. Would prefer staying at oem ride height, but these are a little taller than the new TSW ones (0.75" front and back, 200#/in front and back linear springs), so they get my consideration. Can't find the specs on the BC Racing/Swift coilovers in terms of lowering, but some webpages indicate they lower 1 - 2.5 inches which is lower than I'm comfortable with even at the top of their range of adjustment. Thanks for the replies so far, chkmini, msc02, and dave.o!
With Colin's custom BC coil overs you can have a lower Summer setting and for the Winter you can have a 4x4 set up and still have a very nice not rough ride. The coil overs have 30 settings to choose from and come with adjustable camber plates. If you talk with Colin he can order whatever spring rates you want with them. Also Swift spring are not progressive.
The pic in the link sure looked like they are: ... unless the lower coils are touching each other when installed on a fully extended shock or strut, then they'd be linear for all intents and purposes. Not that there's anything wrong with a progressive spring, mind you, just acts a little different than a linear one.
The coilovers from Greeneperformance.com are fully.adjustable in terms of ride height. You can absolutely set them to the stock height and adjust the dampers to suit your tastes. Talk to Colin. He'll get you squared away. I've been running them for about 8 months now, with no issue on my daily driver. (60 miles of commuting/day) I know there are several others who have had them even longer.... and as far as I know, no issues either.
Just ordered Koni Sports and an H-Sport 19mm bar, plus replacement parts for most of the rubber bits, washers and bolts, and a pair of regular strut mounts. Now just have to wait for them to get here and a warmish weekend day to do the back shocks and bar. I might have the shop do the fronts, though. BTW, great prices and service from James at Motoringwerks and also from ECSTuning.