Last month, we showed the straightforward installation of Brembo brakes. The other part of trackworthiness is suspension. KW Suspension was founded in 1991, and began sponsoring professional racing in 1997. In 1999, it entered the European Touring Car Championship with Acuras and has since become a series sponsor, rather than fielding its own team. KW's North American presence began in 1998 when HPA Motorsports began importing it. KW Suspensions North America was formed 2 years later as a joint venture between HPA and KW Automotive GmbH. KW Suspension was the first company to contact european car and actually have suspension in stock that included a damper, so that's what we chose.
KW's product line includes springs, dampers, matched spring/damper sets and coilovers. KW's adjustable-height coilovers come in two flavors, with fixed and adjustable damping. Variant 1 dampers, with fixed damping, are manufactured by AL-KO. Variant 2 dampers are infinitely adjustable in rebound and are manufactured by Koni. All systems are tuned to KW's own engineering specifications.
Only Variant 1 coilovers were available in September of last year. The ride and handling with KW's fixed damping settings are both excellent, which goes well with our preference for "install it and forget about it" suspension in street cars. Our MINI Cooper S is a pre-production car, built at the end of 2001. Thus, its suspension is like that of MINI Coopers built before Mar. 1, 2002. The difference is in the way the front anti-roll bar end link mounts to the strut. Later Coopers and all production Cooper S's attach the end link to its own bracket on the strut body. On this car, the end link attaches to the lower spring seat, so we used suspension intended for an early-style Cooper. Ride height is adjustable for 30- to 60mm lowering.
When disassembling any stock struts, use of a spring compressor is recommended. We don't know if these springs were to production spec, but we found that spring tension was released before the top nut came off the shaft. Of course, the coilovers can be assembled without a compressor due to the adjustable lower perch.
KW included a can of "PSK," essentially a clear coat spray to help retard corrosion of the damper bodies in harsh climates. We tried using it and later found the coating made adjusting the ride height much more difficult. We ended up using WD40 to lubricate the threads and soften the coating. Certainly in any dry climate, it's a step we wouldn't bother with. Putting together all the rumors we've heard, we believe our Cooper S was jumped in filming a remake of "The Italian Job," starring Charlize Theron, which would explain why the original dampers were completely boogered. When we removed them, one of the original front struts was so stiff we couldn't move it by hand at all, and one moved almost freely. Because of that, we can't really comment on any improvements, but we're pleased with the performance of the KW suspension so far.
The tires on european car's MINI are the same Michelin X Rally tires you saw on the Peugeots as they dominated WRC tarmac competition. They had won 13 of the previous 13 WRC tarmac events when we put them on our car, and have won again in Italy since. Michelin states that, including the four on this car, there are only 19 of them in this size in the United States. Their tall sidewall is necessary for the 18-in. wheels to look right, but the 65cm overall diameter is 1.3-in. greater than that of the MINI's stock 205/45-17 tire. That raises the effective gearing by 5.5%, hurting acceleration, and leads to severe rubbing, especially in the rear.
These are pure competition tires, made to survive 100-mph ditch hooks in cars with straight-cut gears that will make your ears bleed. They aren't DOT-legal, R-compound tires, and you don't want them on your street car. We drove them to Las Vegas and back, and they were really bad for going straight. The tread pattern has the loudest, most consistent whine of any tire we've experienced. The ride is stiff, and they hydroplane easily in the rain. As we expected, the steering is very responsive and the grip seems to be high. And they looked cool as hell sitting on carpet at the SEMA show. If we had a budget to make this a real rally car, they would be perfect.
White wheels were the other essential ingredient in the rally look. Please don't ask The Tire Rack for these wheels for your MINI in white, because it doesn't have them. Specialized Ceramic & Powder Coating, in Huntington Beach, Calif., stripped the original silver paint and powder-coated our wheels. We had to choose the color over the phone and went with the whitest white. The MINI's roof is actually a little bit creamy, but a little brake dust keeps anyone from noticing the difference. We haven't yet gotten all the ducks lined up to change wheels and tires again and make this car work, but we have a set of 12.2-lb Velox PG-5S forged 7x17-in. wheels and super-sticky BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD tires lined up for next month.
Complete List of Modifications
Normally, we tell readers about our project car build-ups one step at a time, slowly revealing an upgrade path that was ideally planned well in advance but takes time to bring to fruition. This car was built all at once. Rather than keep everything a secret, we're showing you all the modifications done to date. We have some additions planned and a few changes to what's listed below, but this is where the car stands now:
SUSPENSION
MINI Madness
(866) 410-5809
www.mini-madness.com
Rear anti-roll bar
KW Suspension
(888) 530-1433
www.kwsuspension.com
Coilovers
BRAKES
Brembo North America
(714) 641-5831
hp.brembo.com
313x28mm front and cross-drilled rear rotors
Motul USA Inc.
(909) 625-1292
www.motul.com
RBF600 Factory Line brake fluid
WHEELS AND TIRES
BFGoodrich
(877) 788-8899
www.bfgoodrichtires.com
g-Force T/A KD 205/40-17 tires
H&R Special Springs
(888) 827-8881
www.hrsprings.com
5mm wheel spacers and long lug bolts
Specialized Ceramic & Powder Coating
(714) 841-2479
White powdercoating
Sube Sports
(714) 847-1501
www.subesports.com
Michelin 20/65-18 X TL N43 Rally tires
The Tire Rack
(888) 541-1777
www.tirerack.com
Speed Star Racing GT1 7.5x18-in. wheels
Velox Performance
(888) 899-9988
www.veloxperformance.com
PG-5s 7x17-in. wheels
Wheel Warehouse
(714) 772-1281
www.wheelwarehouse.com
Mounting and balancing
ENGINE
BMP Design/PROMINI
(800) 648-7278
www.bmpd.com
Supersprint exhaust system
Monster Mini
(909) 351-9566
www.monstermini.com
Spark plug wires
INTERIOR
BMP Design/PROMINI
(800) 648-7278
www.bmpd.com
Dual gauge kit
Odyssey Dry Cell Batteries
(660) 429-2165
www.odysseyfactory.com
PC680 lightweight battery
MDI/SCHROTH
(888) 536-8550
www.schroth.com
Schroth ProfiIII asm harnesses
Mini Mania
(800) 946-2642
new.minimania.com
Bolt-in Autopower rollcage
MOMO Automotive Accessories Inc.
(949) 380-7556
www.momo.it
Aluminum Sport shift knob
Sube Sports
(714) 847-1501
www.subesports.com
Cobra Sportline seats
EXTERIOR
Hella Inc.
(800) 247-5924
www.hellausa.com
FF200 and FF1000 driving lamps
Mini Mania
(800) 946-2642
new.minimania.com
Skid plate
Modern Image
(714) 375-0591
www.modernimage.net
Vinyl graphics
Rogue Engineering
(201) 444-8150
www.rogueengineering.com
Hood stripe kit
-
-
The complete KW Variant 1, fixed-damping coilover kit. The box we received contained only German instructions, but KW was quick to e-mail documentation in English.
The complete KW Variant 1, fixed-damping coilover kit. The box we received contained only
-
-
The rear shock assembly is removed from the vehicle with two bolts holding the upper mount to the body and one large bolt holding the lower bushing to the suspension's trailing arm. Disconnecting the anti-roll bar end links is helpful. The KW strut is installed just like the stock unit. The KW rear suspension is lighter than stock by 0.8 lb per side.
The rear shock assembly is removed from the vehicle with two bolts holding the upper mount
-
The KW rear shock is assembled in this order, reusing some of the stock hardware. Don't forget to clear the air from the inner chamber of the damper before assembly. Turn it upside down and push the shaft into the body until all the bubbles are out and just oil is moving through the valves. Continue compressing the damper slowly as you turn it right-side-up. Hold it for a few seconds so that any bubbles have time to move away from the valve, then allow it to expand. Repeat the process until no bubbles are heard passing through the valve as the shaft reaches full extension.
The KW rear shock is assembled in this order, reusing some of the stock hardware. Don't fo
-
The stock rear damper shaft has a 45* shoulder and a washer to provide a flat mounting surface for the top hardware, which is stronger in bending than the 90* shoulder on the KW shaft. This difference probably won't matter in service, as the damper is not loaded in bending the way a MacPherson strut would be.
The stock rear damper shaft has a 45* shoulder and a washer to provide a flat mounting sur
-
We couldn't find any way other than an impact wrench to start the self-locking nylon-insert nut at the top of the rear damper, but once the flats on the shaft were exposed, we switched to two wrenches. It's best to avoid using an impact wrench on damper shafts, as some piston assemblies can be damaged by it.
We couldn't find any way other than an impact wrench to start the self-locking nylon-inser
-
To remove the front struts, first separate the brake line and ABS sensor wire from the strut housing (not yet done here). Then disconnect the anti-roll bar end link from the bar. A hex cavity is provided in the end of the ball joint stud to keep it from rotating.
To remove the front struts, first separate the brake line and ABS sensor wire from the str
-
Next, the large bolt pinching the bottom of the strut in the steering knuckle is removed, allowing the suspension to droop and the knuckle to come away from the strut. If any "persuasion" is required, keep it gentle. The three nuts holding the strut top mount to the body in the engine compartment are removed, allowing the strut to come free.
Next, the large bolt pinching the bottom of the strut in the steering knuckle is removed,
-
Once the spring is removed from the stock strut, an impact wrench will quickly remove the nut from the anti-roll bar end link stud. Reinstalling it is somewhat more delicate, and a means of holding the narrow flats on the ball joint must be found. A really cheap, made-in-India open-end wrench was ground thinner on our Craftsman belt/disc sander (see "Tool of the Month," this issue). It didn't even break and was part of a set that cost about $8 more than 10 years ago.
Once the spring is removed from the stock strut, an impact wrench will quickly remove the
-
As in the rear, some of the stock front upper mounting hardware is reused. The complete strut is now ready to be installed in the car. The KW front suspension is 2.6 lb lighter than stock, per side.
As in the rear, some of the stock front upper mounting hardware is reused. The complete st
-
Done by Dan Barnes
Removed stock battery box, sunroof replaced with 1/8-in. polycarbonate
Done by Dan Barnes Removed stock battery box, sunroof replaced with 1/8-in. polycarbonate