Coilover options

Something to think about... manufacturers generally have set margins they try hit for their products, else it's not worth it to them to put the R & D into making them. If you have $1000 for a suspension setup, which do you think has better internal components, has more R & D into them, and will spring/dampen your car better? A $1000 setup with ride height adjustment as well as lots of knobs for separate rebound and compression adjustments or a basic strut replacement with no adjustments at all that costs $1000 as well?

If you aren't tracking the car the adjustments generally aren't needed and to be honest, most folks don't know what those knobs do. By playing with them they can make things worse. Also, on cheaper coilovers, they don't do much (see profit margin statement above). Name brands like KW and Bilstein and tried and true and generally pretty spot on for aggressive street driving with street tires (Bilsteins have lifetime warranty as well). I have the F56 JCW with ride height adjustable (only) JCW Pro suspension (made by KW) and I find them wonderful for a balance of comfort and aggressive driving:


MINI designed the JCW PRO coilovers to have a notch manufactured in them for wheel clearance as well.

Thanks, I was going about as fast as I felt I could safely do on the Dragon and it was a lot of fun for the heavily modded F56 S (JB4 + fully adjustable Bilstein coilovers and other go fast bits) and GP1 that were on the trip with me, especially when tracking down other MINIs. We were really well matched throughout the trip with the GP1 only falling behind a tiny bit on the Dragon because the F56 has rev matching which made things a ~whole~ lot easier. Haha. Credit to the GP1 pilot for his heel/toe ability. Goes to show you it's more about the driver.

My JCW is lowered ~1in on JCW PRO coilovers (made by KW, ride height adjustable only, warranteed) and at the time of the video I was running on Falken RT-615Ks. Since the R56 the chassis of these MINIs are so rigid, IMO any structural bracing is for looks only for your average street/trackday car. Stock front/rear sway bar, but admittedly, some friends of mine like more play in the rear, while I enjoy the stability and compliance over the bumpy backroads in the Northeast. At the limit the car pushes ever so slightly and I'd love a bit more camber up front. This car handles wonderfully!

Also to note, this was with the stock JCW brake pads. No excessive brake pad dust to speak of. No fading whatsoever. They were amazing... hanging with my friend running EBC Reds and the other Carbontech XP10s F / XP 8 rear. All of us were really pleased with our brakes for the pounding we put them through. The amount of heat pouring from the engine bay and wheel wells were amazing.

ChimChimGoFast said:

The video is great, i noticed the camera didnt really display to much pitch in heavy turns. Are you using any other suspension components outside of the coilovers for rigidity? Sway bars, strut brace, etc.

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