Anyone have a pair of stock front springs they could measure?

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pictsidhe

pictsidhe

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I'm looking into jumping up a class in autocross. That allows a lot more stuff to be messed with. One of which is springs. I pulled a rear spring out the other day and measured it, but the fronts are way more effort to get at. Does anyone have a pair of stock takeoffs gathering dust that they could measure? I'd like to know length, exact weight and your 2 letter tag code. I use some 1/2 decent kitchen scales for weight...
 
Alright, here is what I got for the front:

Length: 10.625" [268 mm]
Weight: 3.6 lb (3lb 9.6 oz) [1633 g]
Two letter tag code: K5

Hope this helps.
 
I'm still working on it. BMW designed Mini front suspension to ride just clear of the bumpstops. This gives a reasonable ride on most roads, but settles onto to bumpstops when cornering. Bumpstops increase the spring rate by about 50% where I've found data. Lowering springs from Eibach and HR are softer than stock and drop the car onto the bumpstops all the time, though the inside wheel will come off when cornering. I'm kinda dubious that they will increase cornering power under enthusiastic use. I'd like to drop mine down to F56ICE height and have 20-30% stiffer springs, which will hopefully be a good compromise for going round cones faster and being horrible to daily. The SE has the stiffest springs of any small Mini and they are also shorter than just about all stiffer springs BMW put on bigger cars. So, I'm having fun trying to find some suitable springs. Adjustable rear is possible with OTS aftermarket parts. The front however, is being difficult. Springs that are a little too short can be spaced, ones that are too long are more of a PITA...
The single best way to lower an SE is with smaller diameter wheels and tyres. That preserves the excellent stock suspension but subtracts height and roll moment. Unfortunately, it doesn't look cool or fast.
 
I remember a grassroots racer living near me (don't remember which class) in the 80s who campaigned an MG Midget and it rode on 10-inch Mini wheels with 8-inch wide racing tyres.
 
pictsidhe said:
The single best way to lower an SE is with smaller diameter wheels and tyres. That preserves the excellent stock suspension but subtracts height and roll moment. Unfortunately, it doesn't look cool or fast.
Click to expand...
Four years ago, I used Photoshop to explore the look of tiny Power Spoke wheels on a MINI Cooper SE. Braking would suffer from both tiny discs and tiny tire contact patches. The car's cornering would be terrible:

upload_2025-1-26_10-49-34.webp
 
SameGuy said:
I remember a grassroots racer living near me (don't remember which class) in the 80s who campaigned an MG Midget and it rode on 10-inch Mini wheels with 8-inch wide racing tyres.
Click to expand...

Oooh, I approve! I had a Morris Minor many years ago that first had 13" midget wheels before I found some wider Rostyles.
 
pictsidhe said:
I'm still working on it. BMW designed Mini front suspension to ride just clear of the bumpstops. This gives a reasonable ride on most roads, but settles onto to bumpstops when cornering. Bumpstops increase the spring rate by about 50% where I've found data. Lowering springs from Eibach and HR are softer than stock and drop the car onto the bumpstops all the time, though the inside wheel will come off when cornering. I'm kinda dubious that they will increase cornering power under enthusiastic use. I'd like to drop mine down to F56ICE height and have 20-30% stiffer springs, which will hopefully be a good compromise for going round cones faster and being horrible to daily. The SE has the stiffest springs of any small Mini and they are also shorter than just about all stiffer springs BMW put on bigger cars. So, I'm having fun trying to find some suitable springs. Adjustable rear is possible with OTS aftermarket parts. The front however, is being difficult. Springs that are a little too short can be spaced, ones that are too long are more of a PITA...
The single best way to lower an SE is with smaller diameter wheels and tyres. That preserves the excellent stock suspension but subtracts height and roll moment. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like cool or fast.
Click to expand...
These details would be really helpful for comparison or replacement purposes. Thanks in advance!
 
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