Wanted: OEM GP trailing arms.

 

I do have an EDGEy idea......

 

yeah, or you could just buy the 07 ones, they are the same, and cost half as much, plus, you can actually buy them without having a GP serial number, there is a topic around hear about the swap, and there is at least 3 guys i know that have the 07 arms installed.

Beecher

oh, and if i remember correctly, actuall GP arms list at 670 each, and i think the 07 ones list at 260 each.

hope this helps

 

Supeeeeeerb idea! Thanks.

 

Check with Helix, one of their R53 got R56 brakes and trailing arms on. I've discussed with them about the option before. It's doable.

 

Thanks, I'll call Eric on Monday. How's the camera project going?

 

Yes, R56 trailing arms can be fitted to an R53 with the correct manipulation... but I'm not interested. I don't want something to be "made" to fit my car, I want the real thing, that was designed for my model.

Which is why I am (eventually) going to get the actual GP trailing arms.

I have done careful comparison of the "RR AXLE SUPPORT, WHEEL SUSP., WHL BEARING" sections between the standard R53, the GP and the R56... (courtesy of RealOEM.com)

And it became clear that the GP setup is truly a hybrid of the R53 and the R56... with some parts from each - however there are a few parts in that area that are unique to the GP alone, and the actual trailing arms are obviously the most significant of those.

I've even obtained a preliminary quote for the GP trailing arms, and no, they weren't cheap.

Anyway, for anyone serious about this, here's a list of the "UNIQUE TO GP" parts in that region of the car (based upon unique part #s):

33306776315 - TRAILING ARM, LEFT (Qty: 1)
33326776316 - TRAILING ARM, RIGHT (Qty: 1)
33306777619 - REAR AXLE CARRIER (Qty: 1)
33306776366 - HEX BOLT WITH WASHER (Qty: 2)
33306776365 - SPACER RING (Qty: 2)

Everything else either comes with the R53 or comes with the R56, which means you can obtain them easily from any MINI dealership.

 

Edge,
If the R56 arms were truly identical to those of the GP, I would obviously be taking that route. As it is my intention to stay OEM (too difficult to explain why) on all performance mods, I would not be interested in "fabricating" the 56 arms to fit. Thank you for clarifying that need. So it's back to looking for some real GP trailing arms. The part numbers will be extremely useful for that purpose. Geat thanks!

 

You don't need to explain a darn thing... my MINI is named Mr. OEM for a reason, you know. You're welcome! You and I are definitely on similar mod paths... only you have a greater challenge by starting with a 2002 instead of a 2005. The fact you swapped out the tranny (did your old one fail or did you do it as completely voluntary upgrade?) with the 2005 version is proof that you're as committed to the idea as I am.

Allow me to go a step further with parts info. The following parts are what you'll also need to order to match a GP (i.e. they do not come with the R53)... but these parts are easily obtainable because they are all identical (same part #s) as the R56:

--- From RR AXLE SUPPORT ---
33306772665 - BRACKET, TRAILING ARM LEFT (Qty: 1)
33306772666 - BRACKET, TRAILING ARM RIGHT (Qty: 1)
33306770528 - HEXAGON SCREW WITH FLANGE (Qty: 2)
33326770089 - SCREW SELF-TAPPING (Qty: 2)
33306768048 - HEX BOLT WITH WASHER (Qty: 2)
33326760374 - SELF-LOCKING COLLAR NUT (Qty: 2)
33306770138 - CAGE NUT (Qty: 2)
33326763265 - HEX SCREW WITH COLLAR (Qty: 4)
33326760668 - HEX NUT WIHT FLANGE (Qty: 4)
33326774032 - STOP BUFFER (Qty: 2)
33506771928 - HEX BOLT WITH WASHER (Qty: 8)
12521437136 - CLIP (Qty: 2)

--- From STABILIZER, REAR ---
33506772789 - REAR SWING SUPPORT (Qty: 2)
31356757707 - HEX NUT WITH PLATE (Qty: 4)

--- From REAR SPRING, STRUT ---
33326771715 - SCREW SELF-TAPPING (Qty: 2)

So you see, with all of these parts that are shared with the R56, plus all of the "UNIQUE TO GP" parts, it takes quite a bit to get ALL of the GP hardware together!

In case you want to look through them yourself, here are the pages I used to extract these part numbers:

RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S RR AXLE SUPPORT, WHEEL SUSP., WHL BEARING
RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S JCW GP RR AXLE SUPPORT, WHEEL SUSP., WHL BEARING
RealOEM.com - R56 Cooper S RR AXLE SUPPORT, WHEEL SUSP., WHL BEARING

also...

RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S STABILIZER, REAR
RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S JCW GP STABILIZER, REAR
RealOEM.com - R56 Cooper S STABILIZER, REAR

and...

RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S SINGLE COMPONENTS FOR REAR SPRING STRUT
RealOEM.com - R53 Cooper S JCW GP REAR SPRING STRUT COIL SPRING AND PARTS
RealOEM.com - R56 Cooper S SINGLE COMPONENTS FOR REAR SPRING STRUT

IMPORTANT NOTE #1: The R53 page I used above is for R53s built from 05/2003 onwards. If you have a 2002 model, you might want to do your own comparison and use this page instead for the standard R53. Apparently they made some significant changes to that area in mid-2003!

IMPORTANT NOTE #2: Since I haven't held them in my hands side-by-side, I do want to concede that it is possible that the R56 trailing arms are indeed 100% identical to the GP trailing arms. They certainly are very similar... but they have different part numbers. Are the different part numbers a deliberate ploy to try to prevent us from doing what we want to do? I don't know... maybe. Still, I will feel better removing all doubt and using the actual GP part numbers.

IMPORTANT NOTE #3: People with very late 2006 builds and have the new wheel hubs (same as R56) might need a slightly different combination of parts. My info above applies to the "usual" wheel hub size that the vast majority of R53s were manufactured with.

IMPORTANT NOTE #4: For obvious reasons, I have left out the GP shocks & springs in the comparison. Those are specifically weighted to the GP anyway, so would not be a good match for a regular R53. If you obtain the JCW suspension (the right way, using your VIN), then you will get the shocks & springs best suited for the weight of your MINI.

 

Note: Worthwhile discussion and info on the conversion process (including the much cheaper R56-based conversion) is here.

 

The Feb 08 NAM Alliance Magazine has a full writeup with step by step directions and a full parts listing written by Ryephile