Hi all

i have a 53 plate cooper s with the 18" jcw wheels (see proflie pic.)

i want to get some springs to lower by 30mm all round. is this ok with 18" wheels?

Also - if anyone has any for sale let me know!?!

Tom.

It will look great!! I have the same wheels as you and have had eibach springs on for over 2 years.

My advice:

1. Make sure your shocks are in good nick as the springs combined with big wheels have ruined my shocks.

2. Tyre wear will be affected - my inside edge wears faster than the rest of the tyre due to negative camber from lowering - I have had full alignment done but this made no difference.

3. Ride quality is affected. Ride is firmer and is very flat through corners but I found it to be crashy and understeer is more pronounced. This could be in part due to my shocks???

As my shocks are needing replacing Im getting the full JCW suspension kit fitted so my springs are for sale if your interested? PM me if so.

i had the same wheels as you and keano lowered more than 30mm on coilovers and still had no issue.

i had the same wheels as you and keano lowered more than 30mm on coilovers and still had no issue.


Perhaps the problems I mention are down to my shocks rather than the springs then....:confused:

No your advice is valid.

The ride height on my car is extremely hard due to how I have set up the damping and the inside edge of my tyres wear a lot quicker.

But its just part of the territory I suppose so I don’t worry about it, the looks and handling more than make up for it!

It will look great!! I have the same wheels as you and have had eibach springs on for over 2 years.

My advice:

1. Make sure your shocks are in good nick as the springs combined with big wheels have ruined my shocks.

2. Tyre wear will be affected - my inside edge wears faster than the rest of the tyre due to negative camber from lowering - I have had full alignment done but this made no difference.

3. Ride quality is affected. Ride is firmer and is very flat through corners but I found it to be crashy and understeer is more pronounced. This could be in part due to my shocks???

As my shocks are needing replacing Im getting the full JCW suspension kit fitted so my springs are for sale if your interested? PM me if so.

I wil agree with 1 & 3, not found anywear to the tyres. Cant wait to get decent shockers fitted, not a much driving pleasure at the moment.

I wil agree with 1 & 3, not found anywear to the tyres. Cant wait to get decent shockers fitted, not a much driving pleasure at the moment.

Camber plates may have helped with this issue (point 2) but it was one which I couldnt sort out with just an alignment...

Do you know if kw springs would be ok? Do they offer a harsher ride?

Do you know if kw springs would be ok? Do they offer a harsher ride?

The points I raise above are for lowering springs in general with a drop of about 30-40mm - although I think the eibach springs would be slightly softer than the KW. Having said that I havent back to back tested eibach and KW springs.... :confused:

The thing to do would be to find springs and shocks which match each other... When I was deciding what I was going to do when I changed my setup I came to the conclusion that the JCW damper and spring kits very good, esp if the car is a daily driver, the bilsten lowering kit of springs and dampers, these have pre set damping and lowering [30mm] and are popular on the BMW side and use similar dampers to the PSS kit. Koni also offer a 30mm damper and spring kit but with adjustable dampers this is aimed at normal use and some track use - - the blistein and Koni sets are around £350 - 400 as aguide.

koni or h-sport springs drop around 20-25mm and are a softer spring (similar to the eibach in feel) and less harsh than the KW and M7 springs (both are 35mm drops so a bit much for a DD too) ..

The above is just info that Ive gathered and summised to try to help ;)