Lowering my MINI project

[naufal.stab]

Hi guys. This weekend was superb. I just bought 4 new non-runflats tyres, fit an ITG air filter in my JCW airbox and have a new set of front spirolot brake discs and pads fitted. This is just the beginning of my project with my MINI. It cost around £400 for all inc labour charge. I think I might write some reviews on what had been done to my car later when I got enough time to write :)

I thought I had done enough for now since lot of bucks had being thrown out for these. Plus, if possible, I wanna keep my JCW as original as possible without doing any mod to the engine at all!!! However, when the mechanic had done fitting my brakes, he'd recommended on lowering my car as it will improve the ride comfort and cornering. He said this will only involve the exterior parts change only (shock absorbers etc). I havent studied about this yet but looking at his lowered car and being told that it will ride better than my JCW, I feel tempted to do some research on this first. If I think it's a worth job to do, perhaps I am willing to spend few more bucks on my JCW :)

The only information I have gathered right now are some of the good brands people keep mentioning and promoting which are eibach, koni, v1(???), bilstein and etc. I googled them but I found they are a bit complicated if I dont have basic knowledge about it. Basically, what's the difference between spring and coilovers?? I looked at ebay eibach prokit lowering spring is just £140 posted. But I also noticed people wanting to lower their cars having budget around £600 for bilstein coilovers or koni or etc. Actually, how does the mechanism works? can someone explain a bit from the scratch?

If I just want to lower my car a bit (not too low to hit the bump, I really dont wanna slow down every time coming near bumps just to avoid hitting them, this is just a nuisance) and hope for a better ride comfort and cornering with low budget (not wiling to spend up to £600!!!), what recommends are there for me to choose? Is buying the eibach spring enough? Please anyone give your kind advice. cheers

[Gismo]

If you want to lower the car by a set amount then springs are your option.
However, if you want to be able to manage how low you go and maintain or increase cornering speed then you'll have to go with coil overs which are fully adjustable spring and shocks combined, hence the price increase.

My advice if you want to increase the performance of your car is, and please don't take this the wrong way, is to get yourself on an advanced driving course at a local track, best value for money for better driving ever.

You only need to sit with the likes of John who can easily keep up with S drivers in a ONE :thumbs up:

You can always stay OEM by fitting the JCW suspension upgrade, drops the car 10mm and ensures that speed bumps do not give you hassle

[jdl_1967]

I didn't lower my R53 JCW, but did replace my 17" wheels with 15" and that small amount of lowering meant the lower front spoiler (the little hidden one) hit every speed hump and any flat surface when driving off a steep ramp like car parks or steep drives.

I've heard that some people grind this off to prevent this. My was slowly being ground away by the natural process of hitting things! ;-)

[Mon the fish]

Get springs if you like your teeth to get rattled out, enjoy absymal ride comfort and want to ruin your OEM shocks.

Coilovers are more expensive for a reason - do it once, do it right. Keep an eye on classifieds - there's a set of Meister's on MT for £450

[Doug_m]

Take it you don't need the BRAKES any more then? I won't bother to get them out and photograph them... :frown:

Sorry but my spiroslots were a great improvement on standard gash!

[ELFMAN]

Sorry but my spiroslots were a great improvement on standard gash!

:hand: Yes, but the R56 'Standard Gash' are better than the stock R53's as they're the same as the old R53 Works setup. The standard R53 brakes were s***e, which is why I swapped them for the Works stuff on my R53 JCW 210.
No problem now as Naufal's sorted :thumbs up:

[Doug_m]

Didnt say r56 standards are crap, my spiro's on standard r53 was a big improvement so least the mans making an improvement!

[ELFMAN]

I agree. Sorry - wasn't clear as to which 'standard' stuff you were referring to!

[naufal.stab]

Thanks Elfman :)

But I still have lots to do. Changing front discs and pads only are not enough. I believe good calipers and hoses also make substantial contributions right? Plus, my rear brakes are still the old one. But not rush into doing everything now since the repairman said rear brakes only do 20% of the works only and is not an immediate job to look after. I am glad I have the spiroslots. they are great! I expect to hear squealing and fading when it's just fitted but none at all!!! On the way back from garage, I did a quite hard brake cause the lorry in front of me was slowing down in the middle of nowhere while I am at xxxmph. It feels good. I know I should let them settle first before pushing hard but that was an uncalled for :p

[ELFMAN]

Ok Naufal, I'll try to sort out something in the couple of weeks, hopefully things will have calmed down a bit by then. You'll have to check if the R56 Calipers will be OK with your new disks, as I'm not sure... and remember, you'll need R56 Pipes to match. Might be a good idea to get Braided Pipes while you're at it, as they'll be an improvement over the standard setup too.