Im leaning towards the coilovers still. I'm gonna call Colin and get the skinny on his set-up. The Yellows are still in the game, but I've got a bit before I need to decide.
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.
I have to disagree slightly on the camber plates and suspension comfort. I agree that the solid bearing camber plates add a little noise and harshness but not like that of the springs/shocks not absorbing a sharp bump well. My GP1 without camber plates was more jarring over bumps than my 2003 MCS with H&R springs and camber plates. I later added camber plates to the GP1 which did add a "roughness" to the ride but not a large difference.
Are you talking about the lowering springs? because they are actually progressive. So you know. Unless you mean the coilover springs, and as a swift dealer i can tell you they come in all sizes and rates depending on the application. I have driven Daves KW V2 TSW, they are much better than standard KWs however I still dont love them because they are a old school twin tube shock design so when you drive the car hard over a road thats not say the most ideal smooth surface or really even one thats pretty nice (Hellbender) the car develops a floaty quality. This is because the shock just cant cycle well enough to keep the tyres on the road for optimal contact. So you know if you are trying to call me, It wont work, I am over seas you will have to get me via Email still. I will be happy to answer any questions about the suspension i sell on here or via email/pm.
Thanks for the info Colin. I'll email you one day early next week after our British car show is behind us. I'll keep you in mind for the TSW springs.
I have had Koni FSDs for 50K miles. Last week I drove about 10 miles over washboard gravel roads, and wife commented the car seemed kind of smooth given the bad road. I noticed there was almost no jiggling (cowl shake) when I intentionally ran through the washboard areas - you know the kind created by trucks on gravel roads. Of course no complaints at all on any paved road, even bumpy ones, compared to the OEMs we had at first. OK, so I don't track or autoX, and the car is a daily driver too. But when we go on club drives in the twisties, I keep up with the best of them, and then some. The FSDs keep the car planted while accommodating the bumps and patchy pavement. And, the car has virtually NO RATTLES even on gravel. 215/40/18 Michelin AS-3s on 8/18 autobahn wheels. 2006 R52, Lots of mods.