Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Seeking Info For R53 Coilover Upgrade

I really like my setup from Greene Performance. They start with the BC's and revalve them and add swift springs. The result is a firm but compliant ride. The stock suspension in my GP could be harsh on anything larger than a crack in the road, but with these coilovers I don't get that harshness. If you want a softer ride you could go down in the spring rate. I have 7kg and 8kg, 400lb and 450lb, springs front and rear. I like the ride and my wife doesn't mind it.

 

Another vote for the Greene Performance setup, if you want coils.
If you would rather have an OEM-style non-adjustable, Bilstein Sport + Swift springs are the best setup I've ever seen. Superior to the Konis (FSD or Yellow).

 

If you like the springs.....don't change them. Dampers are all about controlling the springs. Bilstien are great and LOTS of people are running the Yellows very happily. The yellows are adjustable and at full soft are much better than OEM by a long shot.

 

I had the TSW KW V2 setup, before Way bought them out, and I really liked them. I've switched to JRZ's, but it's more for track than street. I'd go with Colin's setup for your criteria, it's going to be the best bang for the buck with excellent support as an added bonus.

Otherwise the KW's or Billsteins would be reasonable alternatives. Not a fan of Koni's, IMHO the other options are better.

 

Not hard at all. As long as the springs match the coilovers dampening, single adjustable coilovers are fairly painless.

You want to look for a rear coilover that adjusts from below rather than the top if possible. You can't get to the top of he rear perch without drilling holes. I you know exactly what you're looking for, it's not an issue, but you can't easily change the dampers on a top adjusting coilover. The flip side is that the single adjustables don't change tremendously when you make small changes, if you're in the general ballpark it's all good.

 

You have to make sure the springs rates are compatible with the valving of the shocks though; if not you're going to be extremely disappointed in the end results.

 

Way has the KW V2 coilovers valved for the MINI, I'm betting your TSW springs are good for those. These are one way adjustable and easy to adjust ride height. They only adjust from the top though.

I'd still go with Colin's setup, but I don't know what the price difference would be, it may be pretty close if your springs work with his coil-overs. If you do this, you'll never need to worry about another setup, it'll work great as a DD and still be competent on the track if you go that route. If Colin's set up us cheaper I'd definitely go that route. Definitely worth a call.

The only way I'd do the Koni's is if you're 100% sure you won't be hitting the track in this car.

 

Yellows are fine for the occasional 8/10'ths track day......trust me (or rather trust my instructors......)

 

I am in the same decision process as Firebro so can also use the same help so I did not want to start another thread and I think my research might also help Firebro.

I need to at least replace my GP1 JCW shocks and think the best route is to replace the JCW shocks and JCW springs. My car has 92,000 miles. I do not need the height adjustability of coilovers but I am leaning towards coilovers because I have not seen a great linear spring/shock combination for the Mini that isn't a coilover. The car is a daily driver (that my wife already does not like riding in because of the harshness over bumps but I think one front shock has stiffened up if that is possible) but I also Auto-X the car so I want shock adjustability to stiffen up the ride for Auto-X but than soften the ride for the street. I know I cannot have the best of both worlds but I would like a compliant street ride that I can stiffen for Auto-X so that it is stiffer than stock JCW for Auto-X. I will have adjustable camber front & rear and adj rear sway bar (currently have 19mm bar and front camber at -2). I plan to upgrade to the Hotchkis Comp rear bar (25.5 hollow). I am running 215/40-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on stock GP wheels. I do have front BBK for a little less unsprung weight. The cost is not a big factor and I am willing to go up to the $3,000 range with camber plates. I would prefer shock adjusters on the bottom so the rear is easily adjustable. If I have to go with top adjuster shocks, I will cut holes in the GP so I can adjust without removing the strut assy.

- I first thought to keep the JCW progressive springs and add Koni Yellows but I believe that linear springs would be better for Auto-X and the coilovers have better shock options.
- I then thought TSW springs with Koni Yellows (or similar) but the TSW springs seem to be on the little soft side. Maybe they would work OK with a 25mm hollow rear bar by going the softer spring and large sway bar route. I also know there have been some issues with the new TSW springs so I am cautious.

So it was on to looking at single adjustable coilovers and I got down to these three options:
1. The KW v2 TSW combination looks just about perfect except for the adjuster being on the top. Cost with Vorshlag camber plates would be about $2,350.
2. Bilstein PSS10 with linear springs instead of the standard progressive springs looks like a good option because the adjusters are on the bottom. However, I do not know if the PSS10 performs better than the KW v2 TSW combo. Cost with linear springs and Vorshlag camber plates is about $2,500.
3. AST 5100 appears to be another great option because the inverted design provides adjusters on the bottom. I am not sure how the performance compares to the KW v2 TSW or PSS10/Linear but if better might be the way to go however they are another step up in cost. Cost with built-in camber plates is about $3,100.

I ruled out BC/Swift as just not good enough and JRZ RS1 as just too expensive.

I see that common spring rates for the single adjust coilovers are 7 Kg (392 #) front and 8 Kg (448 #) rear but I am thinking of going one step softer on each end.

Any thoughts on these three coilover options would be appreciated, especially input on the performance of the Bilstein/Linear and AST 5100 compared to the KW v2 TSW. Also any thoughts on spring rates would be beneficial.

 

I don't believe you will really be able to do anything to get that same feeling you got with the GP2.

The most comfortable full setup is going to be the Bilstein PSS system with progressive springs.

Once you start using systems with solid camber plates, you start introducing noise and harshness.

 

Hm, I know a lot of people in my area who spent well over $2k for coilovers/suspension mods, but I paid I think it was close to $900 for the Bilstein B14's for my other MINI, and they were fantastic in my opinion

The ride quality dropped a bit over OEM, but not enough to feel overly harsh. I'd say if I rated OEM ride quality a 6/10, the Bilstein coilovers dropped it to a 5/10. But they handled well in corners.

If you want better quality comfort ride but lowered center of gravity, why not look into air-ride?

 

Comfort and handling are hard to get hand in hand without spending a decent amount. Something based around an Ohlins DFV or Koni FSD is probably the cheapest way to get both. I know when I ran the mini on the street with 60Nmm springs on the Ohlins it was better than stock. Tire sidewall will make a huge difference too, stay with a 45 series tires and you should be fine. Something like a Conti DW is a pretty good balance between grip and comfort. What specific characteristic are you looking for the suspension to provide?

 

With those springs (which are top notch....!) I would go for the Koni yellows. Switched out my failed FSD's and the ride is substantially better than when the FSD were first installed.. And I have the first version of the TSW (Swift) springs.

 

I went with ST XTA's and the ride is a lot better than the stock SS+ that came on the car. I'm not sure how much I lowered the car, but it's not extreme, maybe 30mm? I had to use spacers to clear the front spring lower perch/adjuster. The INOX bodies of the KW's would have been nice, but it doesn't really make a difference to me since I'm also in CA, and it's not my daily driver.

 

This is what I run - no issue.

That being said Colin's setup is a great performer for the $$.