Jcw suspension fitted - elfman

[Crombers]

Glad your happy with the set up .................................................. ..........(personally I just wanna hear the thing, therfore booking a slot or two 'up yer jacksy' next weekend, sir ......................... just like old times , eh )

[GCA3N]

Again what a right up. You have some good points and for someone like yourself who is very passionate about your car and more importantly have the funds to be able to do these superb modifications I think you have done the right thing. If money was no object there is loads of stuff I'd like to add not so much factory stuff (with exception too the jcw suspension which I kinda feel I might have missed out on now) but things like the recaros the carbon fibre bit ie the jcw spoiler, but as with most folks it's what you can afford isn't it. Anyway your car sounds amazing I am curious as to why ur insurance would go up now. Must just be the cost of the modification.

[ELFMAN]

Glad your happy with the set up .................................................. ..........(personally I just wanna hear the thing, therfore booking a slot or two 'up yer jacksy' next weekend, sir ......................... just like old times , eh )

Crombers, you are one Big Sad Man. I just think you might be disappointed with the sound - remember, it sounds nice, but it ain't a patch on the old car. You're welcome to have a listen out on the road to see what you think. The 'Up yer Jacksy' bit does make me slightly concerned though. Just keep yer distance and keep yer mitts aff ma Werther's!

Greig - Re. insurance, I don't think the Aviva folks really understood the JCW Tuning Kit, even though I explained it in great detail about five times, so if they now want to add some dosh for the Suspension, that's OK by me. All that matters is that they have all the details and I'm legally covered.

[MINI William]

Elfman what a fantastic and enjoyable writeup you have done. Realy pleased that you are enjoying your new bit of kit. I hope there is some before and after pictures on the way to show the new stance the elfmobile has

[ELFMAN]

Thanks William!

The more I drive it, the more I'm surprised that despite it being very stiff (oo-er missus etc), it seems to be less 'harsh' than the Sports Suspension - almost as if the rough edges have been smoothed off, and it feels a lot more 'planted' on the road. I know a really crappy road will still show up some deficiencies, but on most surfaces it seems to be a lot more 'secure' feeling. I noticed that previously at high speeds, it was just a bit uncomfortable and not totally happy with what it was being asked to do. This is a very similar feeling I had when I swapped my R53 Sports Plus for the JCW suspension - although I reckon the R56 Sports setup is a bit more forgiving than the older car's. I wonder what it would be like with non-runflats, but then it might be set up specifically to incorporate the dynamics of the runflats.

The suspension now seems to have caught up with the engine, and you feel as if you can deploy the power with a lot more confidence that the car will react positively, rather than the wee bit of 'floatiness' it used to exhibit. Even though it's only lowered by about 10mm, it sits better and there's no 'tip-toes' feeling when pressing on. I think the previous combination of the ride height and hard runflats didn't do it any favours. This setup seems to make the tyres 'work' the road a bit better, rather than sometimes seeming to skip over it.

There seems to be no 'slack' at all now (not that there was much before!). It's one of these things that your suspension feels pretty good - as mine did - but a few subtle and well-matched components can certainly improve it. Just a wee point - my R53 with the JCW Suspension ALWAYS used to skelp one particular speedbump on my way home, and this one doesn't. So the ride height is either slightly higher, or the front plastic lip isn't as deep as the old car. I think the new car has started higher, so the 10mm drop is still high enough to clear the bumps. It's be interesting to compare the standard ride heights for the R53 and the R56...

I'll need to find out how to post photos - never got around to sorting out that part. I'll have to take some new ones ASAP when I get the chance and some of you guys can give me a hand to post them. Is there a max. size for images on the website? All my 'before' pics of the car are quite Hi-Def and large size. In the meantime, check my Sig Pic and imagine it 10mm lower!

[MINI William]

Thanks William!

The more I drive it, the more I'm surprised that despite it being very stiff (oo-er missus etc), it seems to be less 'harsh' than the Sports Suspension - almost as if the rough edges have been smoothed off, and it feels a lot more 'planted' on the road. I know a really crappy road will still show up some deficiencies, but on most surfaces it seems to be a lot more 'secure' feeling. I noticed that previously at high speeds, it was just a bit uncomfortable and not totally happy with what it was being asked to do. This is a very similar feeling I had when I swapped my R53 Sports Plus for the JCW suspension - although I reckon the R56 Sports setup is a bit more forgiving than the older car's. I wonder what it would be like with non-runflats, but then it might be set up specifically to incorporate the dynamics of the runflats.

The suspension now seems to have caught up with the engine, and you feel as if you can deploy the power with a lot more confidence that the car will react positively, rather than the wee bit of 'floatiness' it used to exhibit. Even though it's only lowered by about 10mm, it sits better and there's no 'tip-toes' feeling when pressing on. I think the previous combination of the ride height and hard runflats didn't do it any favours. This setup seems to make the tyres 'work' the road a bit better, rather than sometimes seeming to skip over it.

There seems to be no 'slack' at all now (not that there was much before!). It's one of these things that your suspension feels pretty good - as mine did - but a few subtle and well-matched components can certainly improve it. Just a wee point - my R53 with the JCW Suspension ALWAYS used to skelp one particular speedbump on my way home, and this one doesn't. So the ride height is either slightly higher, or the front plastic lip isn't as deep as the old car. I think the new car has started higher, so the 10mm drop is still high enough to clear the bumps. It's be interesting to compare the standard ride heights for the R53 and the R56...

I'll need to find out how to post photos - never got around to sorting out that part. I'll have to take some new ones ASAP when I get the chance and some of you guys can give me a hand to post them. Is there a max. size for images on the website? All my 'before' pics of the car are quite Hi-Def and large size. In the meantime, check my Sig Pic and imagine it 10mm lower!

If you need a hand posting pictures then give me a shout or if you want email me them and ill post them on your behalf. Just set up a photobucket account and and load the picys up then its jst a simple case of copy and paste

[ELFMAN]

Cheers William, that would be good of you.

Been wanting to do a wee 'Gallery' for a while, and have never got around to it with any of my MINIs. I'll try to get some pics done this weekend (is there a size limit for each image?) and to keep it simple, if you can PM your Email I'll send them for you to put on the site. I'll maybe get around to the Photobucket thing, but if you can do it this time it'll mean I can get the pics on-site while I actually still have the car!

[Gismo]

Max size is 1024 pixels on any side

[stoney]

elfman i can pop round and show you how to do it if you want and all i ask in return is a wee seat in the passanger side down the clyde side

[MINI William]

Cheers William, that would be good of you.

Been wanting to do a wee 'Gallery' for a while, and have never got around to it with any of my MINIs. I'll try to get some pics done this weekend (is there a size limit for each image?) and to keep it simple, if you can PM your Email I'll send them for you to put on the site. I'll maybe get around to the Photobucket thing, but if you can do it this time it'll mean I can get the pics on-site while I actually still have the car!

Not a prob Euan PM in the post.