bobesser

Bump!

Have you been thinking about safety in the snow/ice? This set is pretty much the answer. Bob

I have a full suspension with Springs, Shocks, and Sway Bars. They were taken off a 2009 JCW with about 16,000 miles, so, they have a lot of life left in them. They are the regular suspension that comes on MINI Coopers S's, and as I understand, they are the same as the "Sport" suspension on the non-S Coopers. If you have a non-S and always wanted the Sport Suspension, or you have an S and want nearly new springs and shocks, this will get you there. The whole set for $200 picked up. Bob

Close ups of the Thread. If you want any more pictures, please PM me or email at esserengineer@gmail.com

$500 for wheels/tires/TPMS - Just put them on and go. It's that time again! Time to put on snow tires so you don't bend your MINI on slick roads. These are Bridgestone LM-60 Run Flat tires mounted on 17" Kazera Wheels. They will fit JCW brakes, so, should fit just about any MINI. TPMS are installed. The tires have about two seasons on them, and look extremely fresh with lots of tread. The wheels look pretty good, but, they do have some curb rash. A bit of black paint would hide it well. Bob

More Pics

Full listing here: http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?listingId=128333707 This is a 2009 Factory JCW. It is in excellent shape and has 34500 miles. Midnight Black over Lounge Leather Carbon Black. It has most of the major options: Convenience Package Cold Weather Package Premium Package Center Armrest Foglights HIFI Sound Aerodynamics Kit White Turn Signals JCW Suspension and gobs of factory carbon fiber Bob

Best that I can tell, the FSDs are 'not for aftermarket lowering springs.' This would be something like Eibachs or TSWs or some springs that lower 1-2 inches. The JCW springs are 'factory' and should be okay - much the same way that the Mazdaspeed3 has springs that are shorted than the regular Mazda 3. Remember that the factory can't lower a car too much or it runs afoul of federal height regulations. Bob

My research shows the JCW suspension gives a 10 mm drop (per ECS Tuning site and others). I worked with their MINI parts guy and we got the correct set. As understand, the four different variants correspond to the iterations of with/without sunroof and with/without auto trans. I will post pics in a week to see if anyone notices any drop on the height. So far, the FSDs are *much* smoother than stock 'S' suspension (not even sport). Bob

With much thanks to Lona and Craig and their hospitality and the use of the Garage Mahal, I was able to do the springs and shocks this morning. The JCW springs do not have much of a drop, so, no victory pictures. Thanks!!! Bob

OH MAN! I did the front bar on Sunday and what a pain it was. Six full hours of work using a lift and having help. Regarding the rules, "Port installed" is allowed in stock class, so, I am upgrading to the JCW suspension. The problem is, to remain stock, I have to have the *whole* JCW suspension and then I can swap one bar. So, I am putting on the JCW front swaybar (done), the JCW springs, Koni FSD shocks (<- just decided since it is still a daily driver) and a H-Sport competition rear bar. Thanks for the offers of help. I will definitely be calling on some help when the shocks arrive. Craig, When can I borrow your tools? Attached photo is my car after the swap and the Spec Racer Ford that I got to drive around the cul-de-sac after the work was done.

I was aware of needing to drill out the rear hats. How hard is it to get the struts out of the spindle? Need to do the front bar for D-Stock compliance. Bob

Glad to hear. I had just looked over this: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/230072-suspension-install-rear-sway-bar-56k-beware.html and was concerned. Bob

I am prepping for a suspension swap (springs/shocks/sway bars). I have done this on other cars with only minor issues. It looks a bit more involved due to needing to lower the subframes for the swaybars. Also, I don't have the special socket needed to screw on the front strut top nut. Any advice greatly appreciated. The car is an '09 JCW. Parts are: JCW springs and bars plus Koni Yellow shocks. Bob

Those were my non-comp runs. My official best time was 49.721. Bob