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HQ: I received your PM but I feel it would be better to reply in your thread, I hope you don't mind.
The whole point of my suspension work was to bring the R53 chassis up a level in overall grip and predictability on Hoosier R6's on the racetrack. I track my MINI frequently [7 days this year for example]. To achieve this the suspension pivots up front were relocated and bump-steer compensated. The whole car sits very low for minimum CG height while retaining acceptable roll center geometry. The end result is somewhere between the R53 GP and the R56 suspension geometry. The front Anti dive is between the two generations to provide greater forward bite at the expense of a slightly more numb steering feel and more torque steer than a stock R53, but not as much as a stock R56. The big difference is the spherical FCAB, which eliminates all slop from both generations' steering input.
Most of the changes are up front. I lowered the outer ball joint, raised the inner ball joint, raised the steering rack both those deltas combined to keep the tie rod planar with the control arm and minimize bump-steer. I'm using a shorter damper body with stock-levels of total stroke. The result is essentially a raised subframe in relation to the strut tower and body, and this means I can run the car very low while keeping the control arms "about level" in reference to the ground plane. All of the relocation spacers were made from either 6061 aluminum [outer ball joint] or mild steel [inner balljoint and steering rack spacers]. Of course I used high-grade bolts, since they had to be slightly longer.
The rear suspension is a simple R56 trailing arm conversion with a Powerflex polyurethane insert to keep lateral compliance low.
In the end, the car performs excellent, even with "low end" TSW KW V3 coilovers. The only car to clearly outperform my setup this year was a Lotus 2-eleven with wider tires and $5x price coilovers. With my MINI setup costing <$40k and his costing well over double that, I'm quite pleased. The KW's damping curves are perfectly acceptable for all but the most competitive race car. I don't run wheel-to-wheel or ever plan to, and I'm also not highly funded, so the dollar-to-function value factor does matter for me.
If you're really serious about laying down track records then a MINI isn't your best first choice as a platform, even if it is a great car and fantastic fun. I'm not out there to kill the clock, but to have an enjoyable driving experience while not embarrassing myself.
I'm out of time at the moment, but considering your budget there's an easy bill of materials to get you to the 90%ile of the MINI's peak performance.
Cheers,
Ryan
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