R53 Mini Air Questions

[nathanrw]

So I have officially decided I want to go air on my R53 Mini Cooper S (once I come up with the money) and I have been looking around at different set ups. I know airlift is supposed to be coming out with a Mini specific front application with camber plates (which I need the camber adjustment) but I have absolutely no idea when they come out. I know people use the MkV GTI front bellows but you also have to grind out your knuckles a little bit. Which is no big deal but if I can keep from doing it, it would be better. Plus, I know the new MkV fronts have camber plates but I read that they're slightly wider which could also cause clearance issues up front. Also, I know airrex has some Mini specific ones but from what I have read they don't go low at all. Anybody have any experience with the Airrex ones? Also, I want to avoid doing a bag over coil at all cost because im worried about clearance issues. (Plus I don't want to use my vmaxx struts). I already know the Airlift AOS universal rears are pretty much perfect for Mini's, I am just worried about the fronts. Basically my main questions are

Any ideas when Airlift plans on coming out with these Mini specific fronts?
Are the MkV fronts with camber plates wider than the ones without camber plates?
Just how low do the Airrex fronts go?

Thanks ahead of time!
-Nathan

[Alex@BagRiders]

We haven't been given an eta on when Air Lift is coming out with a Mini kit, so no clue on that one. Both the Mk5 Slam and Performance (with camber) use the same bag so the widths are the same but I haven't heard of anyone trying to use the Performance struts on a Mini yet. The AirREX struts won't go that low. I don't have any exact numbers but if you want to go as low as possible, you won't be happy with them until they redesign the setup.

[nathanrw]

We haven't been given an eta on when Air Lift is coming out with a Mini kit, so no clue on that one. Both the Mk5 Slam and Performance (with camber) use the same bag so the widths are the same but I haven't heard of anyone trying to use the Performance struts on a Mini yet. The AirREX struts won't go that low. I don't have any exact numbers but if you want to go as low as possible, you won't be happy with them until they redesign the setup.

Do the MkV Performance ones go as low as the slam series?

[Alex@BagRiders]

Do the MkV Performance ones go as low as the slam series?

They do!

[nathanrw]

They do!

Oh. Well alright! Haha. Also, I realized that Ksport has a Mini specific application for the fronts. Any idea how low those go? And how the quality is on those? I would definitely only buy the fronts from them and just use the Airlift aos for the rears though. That is, if they go low enough.

[Alex@BagRiders]

Oh. Well alright! Haha. Also, I realized that Ksport has a Mini specific application for the fronts. Any idea how low those go? And how the quality is on those? I would definitely only buy the fronts from them and just use the Airlift aos for the rears though. That is, if they go low enough.

I'm pretty sure the drop will be very similar to that of the AirREX but I haven't seen a KSport air setup on a Mini before.

[nathanrw]

I'm pretty sure the drop will be very similar to that of the AirREX but I haven't seen a KSport air setup on a Mini before.

Yeah me either. I asked because I saw the 350 on stancenation with ksport air all around and he was tucking the fender in between the lip and tire. Do the Mini kits on the BR website come with the MkV fronts with the camber plates? Or the ones without the camber plates?

[Alex@BagRiders]

Yeah me either. I asked because I saw the 350 on stancenation with ksport air all around and he was tucking the fender in between the lip and tire. Do the Mini kits on the BR website come with the MkV fronts with the camber plates? Or the ones without the camber plates?

Yeah some cars get a whole lot lower than others so it's kind of hard to compare even if they are using the same brand of suspension. The Mini kits that we have on our site right now are just the normal Air Lift Slam Mk5 front struts without camber plates. If we can confirm that the Performance series struts will work on a Mini, we will add them to our kits as well.

[Rally]

Yeah me either. I asked because I saw the 350 on stancenation with ksport air all around and he was tucking the fender in between the lip and tire.

Bagging a 350 and getting low is infinitely easier than a MINI up front. I don't think the fact that they go low on a 350 will be indicative of their MINI setups abilities.

[nathanrw]

Yeah some cars get a whole lot lower than others so it's kind of hard to compare even if they are using the same brand of suspension. The Mini kits that we have on our site right now are just the normal Air Lift Slam Mk5 front struts without camber plates. If we can confirm that the Performance series struts will work on a Mini, we will add them to our kits as well.

Bagging a 350 and getting low is infinitely easier than a MINI up front. I don't think the fact that they go low on a 350 will be indicative of their MINI setups abilities.

Yeah good point. I have never heard of anyone using Ksport air suspension in general so I honestly had no idea that they went very low. But that makes sense. Come time for me to order the parts I may just order the Mini rears and the management pack and then get the MkV performance struts instead of the slam series since I need the camber adjustment.

[nathanrw]

I emailed Ksport and they said that the Mini specific application drops the car 4-6 inches. Is this how much the MkV GTI fronts drop? The Ksports also have the adjustments to spin it down like a coilover so I think that would help a lot with the drop.