http://www.meganracing.com/products/...=964&catid=108

And if so, what do they do and how hard are they to install?

 

I personally haven't sold a set. But I can sell you a set and you can let us know what you think.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/product...4&cat=0&page=1

 

Where does it go? What does it do?

 

It goes between the lower outer ball joint and the spindle/knuckle. This way it changes the angle of the control arm.

 

here's a very good write about this type of mod. http://new.minimania.com/ArticleV.cfm?DisplayID=2132

The guy that designed them is a local AutoX guy, had a MINI now running a Porsche, and ran them on the MINI and now runs them on his Porsche and claims they are one of the best mods you can do.

I have not tried them nor talked to anyone but him with a MINI.

Can't hurt, but you will need an alignment after install.

 

Excellent! I might have to look into this even further. From that article, it looks like it couldn't hurt to install these on the car. My only question is whether or not it would cause any premature wear to any other suspension components?

 

I don't think they will work with 15" rims, just so you know. This came up a while ago when a similar product emerged.

 

Hmm...that could be an issue since I switch between 15 inch and 17 inch wheels depending on the season. Maybe my spacers will have to do for mods for now..

 

like many mods that change the OEM setup you could see a change in wear.

They won't fit on a 15, might fit a 16 is you cut enough of the ball joint bolt off AFTER install.

 

Roll Center adjusters get rid of slop in the steering after lowering the car. In our cars, in my opinion, it's a pretty essential mod as it sets the suspension geometry back into shape. Tire wear should remain unchanged as all it is doing is setting the lower control arms back into correct positioning. As far as those Megan ones goes, they look like knock offs of Moonface RCAs, which I believe were the first to make aluminum control arms and RCAs for our vehicles. Unfortunately, Moonface isn't a well known company in the states but has a high pedigree in Japan for it's racing products and background. Here are the products I referred to:

 

Moonface is a silly name, but their products seem nice.

Why are tie rod extenders not included? Isn't bumpsteer a concern?

- Andrew

 

I couldn't find anything on the Web about their products for Minis- I would love to know how much those aluminum control arms weigh...

I was going to buy the tubular arms from Mini-Madness to save weight when it's time to replace the factory bushings. It would be great to have aluminum up front to match my R56 trailing arms & SPC camber links in the back.

 

Way. you wanna cut me a deal on them and I will give you a detailed write-up on how they work in comparison to stock during hard mountain driving and/or daily driving?

 

I'd like more info on the control arms. Those look sweet.

 

I wish someone would make them for the r55/56's. I need them BADLY

 

That always confused me. I'm not sure why the US companies don't sell tie rod extenders with their roll center kits. It's undoubtedly gonna cause some bumpsteer.

There are a few companies in japan that offer extended tie rods with their roll center setups.

Here's the tie rod spacers. Pretty simple setup





Pic of the moonface stuff some people can see what is going on with the control arm spacer and the caster control arms.

 

The RCAs put the lower control arms back into stock geometry which also sets bumpsteer back. During R&D Moonface deemed it was unnecessary to produce tie-rod spacers as they didn't notice any added effect so long as the RCAs were installed.

 

In theory the tie rod and the control arm should always be at the same angle though, right? Both of them are thrown out of whack when lowered.

On any other car I've dealt with, extending the control arm without touching the tie rod was a big no-no and led to crazy bumpsteer.

Interesting if moonface didn't find this to be the case. One less custom part I need to machine when I attack my suspension geometry this winter

 

Theoretically yes they should be the same angle. But according to my convo when I asked Moonface about this that was the response I was presented with.

 

Cool. I believe mini mania fielded a similar response when asked why they didn't offer a tie rod extension with their control arm spacers.

 

I would have thought the same thing, but apparently what makes sense isn't necessary? I would think that you would want the adjustable tie rod end for sure, but maybe they know something we don't...

 

A couple JDM companies make ball joint extenders for Subarus and do not include the tie rod ends. However, they're just plain wrong in that case and bumpsteer is very bad (for that car).

At least 1 JDM company does include them with their kit for Subaru, and Whiteline from Australia does as well. These kits are quite nice.

Just another data point from the Subaru world. Just because one company does something doesn't mean it's right. Not saying this is the case here in the Mini world.

To be honest I need to stick my head under the car and have a look for myself. But damn is it cold!

Would be nice if the write-up on minimania kit that has nice roll center locations also showed bumpsteer change.

Rally, do you have a link to what minimania said about tie rod extenders?

- Andrew

 

I'm still skeptical as well. Everything I've ever read , learned, or experienced still says you would need the tie rod extension. Who knows...guess I need to do some measuring.

I had no idea whiteline had a setup for us too. Have you seen any sets for the R56? The ball joint is pointed up rather than down like on the R53. A bit more like a subaru setup now. I'm in desperate need and have been trying to design my own for a while now, but a pre-made kit would make life easy.

I can't seem to find the mini mania response.

Here's a great read. A bunch of the top suspension gurus in the MINI world debate these spacers and the need for tie rod geometry: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ifier-psa.html

 

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the Whiteline kit for Subaru.

Baer makes tie rod ends with adjustable spacing for a drop. I couldn't find a Mini fitment though.

Thanks for the link!

- Andrew

 

Rumor has it that z3 tie rods fit our cars as well, so any aftermarket solution used on them could be used on ours. I haven't investigated it though.