Hey guys,

I'm flirting with the idea of lowering my cooper and all I want to do is get rid of the wheel gap, but I guess if it's helpful for people wanting to slam theirs it would be an easy place to look up some info.

So my question is: What are the hidden cost of lowering a MINI?

Along with the cost of spring/shocks or coilovers, what is necessary or a good suggestion to get when doing the work.

So if you go lower then 1.5" (just an example height) you need to get blank and you should think about getting bank

And if you done the job before what are some tools you should have on-hand if you break something or whatever.

Thanks Buds.

 

If you plan on slamming, you may end up with vibrations from the front. No conclusive evidence on what causes it, but I heard replacing the CV joints has fixed it for some. I'm going to attempt this "fix" on my R53 after my next paycheck haha. Many say you need adjustable RLCAs if you want to bring the rear camber back to stock spec. Im still on stock RLCAs, though and I dont think the camber is too bad. Also, an alignment is necessary. You definitely need a spring compressor and probably a strong friend as getting the OEM front macpherson struts was a 2 man job on my R53.

 

Tires....just lowering changes the camber...wears out the inside rears...not as bad on a 05-06 since there is a little bit of adjustment, but you can burn throgh tires pretty fast...
If you keep the same struts...they often fail much more quickly...so doing the spring change with shorter shaft "sport" shocks/struts makes sense.....

 

Lowering:
Springs/shocks/ coilovers
camber plates (if going 1.5" or more)
new lower control arms
camber adjustment/alignment

 

you really should get a alignment, and rear camber arms, ideally it might not hurt to get camber plates.
Sway bars are nice.
Depends on if you want to lower it for looks or you want to improve the handling.

 

Also remember to check all the other parts. My tie rod ends were done so I changed those as well.

I took mine in for an alighment today, they got one of the rears in spec, but the other side is off by 3 degrees as one of the rear control arms is bent accoridng to them, so i'm going to be ordering soem adjustables for the rear.

You also may need new strut mounts (most likely do) as these wear on these cars quickly.

My pinch bolts also broke, so that made the install 10 times more of a pain because I had to drill them out, just a heads up as the design of the pinch bolts just makes it probable that if you live somewhere with salt, it's going to brake.

 

Thanks for the replies guys So, so far the list goes:

Musts:
Alignment
Lower control arms

Should really consider:
Camber plates (if going past 1.5")
Rear control arms

Have on hand:
Pinch bolts
Strut Mounts

Anything more, less?

 

Like everyone else has said:
Rear Hsport adjustable camber links to get your rear camber and toe correct
Alignment

Everything else is a want.

 

Lowering too much can definately cause vibrations up front. You end up with the angle of the axle being to severe between the wheels and the engine. I had this happen when I installed my KWV2's. At low rpm's is when the vibration became apparent. At higher rpm's I could not feel it. I had other issues too (torn lower engine mount), but this was enough to make me bring it to a shop to be checked out. Ended up needing the axles/cv joints rebuilt.

With respect to your original questions,yYou also may need wheel spacers depending upon what wheels you have and the offset.

 

You should note how much you lowered the car as we only see vibration problems from slammed cars, moderate lowering doesn't have that effect unless using H&R's which we see it all the time with them.

 

Depending on mileage on your car you may need some wear items, front lower control arm bushings, inner and outter tie rods, rear tailing arm bushings, to complete your alignment. But the only add on must have is the lower rear control arms. These fix the camber in the rear.

On these slammed MINIs, is the shock bottoming and wearing the ball joints out from over loading?

 

I lowered only about 2" in the front and have these vibrations.

 

Check your axle drive line angles as well as the ball joints and lower control arm bushings. If you can move the control arm back and forth then you need to replace the worn part. This is probably a job for a shop as most DIYers dont have the heavy tools to press bushings and suspension parts.

 

Perhaps I'm showing my age but why lower to such extremes? IMHO, it's not worth the risk of excess wear and damage to critical components. Just a mildly-lowered MINI has enough problems with speed bumps and driveways. If you do slam it, suggest you get a skid plate before you crack your oil pan.

 

Wheels....just decreasing changes the camber...wears out the within raises...not as bad on a 05-06 since there is a little bit of modification, but you burns up up throgh tires fairly quick...
If you keep the same struts...they often fall short much more easily...so doing the springtime modify with smaller base "sport" shocks/struts is practical.....

 

"only" 2 inches is pretty damn low...and I'm not old.

- drew

 

I don't like wheel gap

 

different strokes.

 

Something to be aware of before purchasing expensive camber correction products, with aggressive offsets/widths, would you not need lots of negative camber to fit the wheel in the fender.
I would like to reduce the camber and save my tires but I'm also considering 8" wide et30 wheels so I may be between a rock and a hard place.
Am I correct?

 

No feedback?

 

No clue on that, sorry man.

As an update to my previous posts I've gone about 1500 miles at my current height and the vibes are decreasing. I'm starting to believe the CV groove theory. I don't even notice them anymore unless I'm trying to.

 

My MINI currently has just over 291,000 miles on it with about 200k of those miles lowered ~2 1/2 inches. I've never had any vibration issues, I have gone through one axle. Busted a boot and didn't catch it. If you catch them early it is much cheaper to replace a boot rather than a whole axle. I would suggest rear control arms, and then other items as they wear out. Depending on the tires you run will determine how fast they wear out. My alignment is close, but not perfect. Depending on the tire I can get from 15k to 35k out of a set with the exact same alignment specs.

Good luck,

Nik

 

I just find it strange that the more I drive the lest pronounced the vibrations become...I'll keep updating as I learn more. Luckily, last time I checked both axle boots were fine.

 

My car is down all the way on Megan coilovers.
I am 17x8 et 35 rear and et30 front (5mm spacers added to clear big brakes). Minor rubbing of plastic flares in front at camber of like -2 degrees but to me its perfect. I am running 205/45 rubber and will likely go to 205/40 to clear completely when time comes for new tires. Rears have plenty of room, especially if I trim plastic.

 

As I stated earlier, when I first lowered my MINI (by 1.4"), I was running 18x8 wheels (+45 offset) and 215/35-18 tires. With the addition of new lower control arms and the alignment and camber adjusted (within factory settings), I had zero ubbing issues. I now run 17x7.5 wheels (+45 offset) with 215/45-17 tires and still have no issues. The important thing about lowering is maintaining the correct suspension/chassis geometry. That said, if you plan on lowering 1.5" or more, you will need to look into a set of camber plates, in addition to the lowering arms, to make sure things are done right.