I recently got a 2011 justa. My current plan is to keep it for a few years, take a few advanced driving courses in it and really run it hard then eventually upgrade and go crazy.

For the time being though, I am going to be doing mods (one at a time due to budget constraints) mostly to improve handling as it seems there isn't much performance enhancement to be done on a justa. What I'm looking for advice on is first off, whether or not I'm missing any mods that could make a significant difference in handling and second what order I should do these mods in to get the biggest gains first.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Wheels & Tires
Rear Sway Bar
Springs & Rear Control Arms
Shocks

 

Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

 

As you already know the best way to make your MINI faster is to take some driver training.

Your list is good. I'd add front camber plates to your list. Make sure your wheels are light weight. I'd stick with 15" rims.

 

Other than the weight, what is the advantage of the 15" wheels? I have to admit, I hate how 15" wheels look and unless the gains were huge, I would really like to avoid 15" wheels. I was looking at 17" wheels.

 

JCW alcantara/leather steering wheel. Yea, it's expensive, but you touch it every time you drive. It is so much nicer in the hands...

 

Generally, smaller wheels are lighter than larger wheels. IMO, unless you are running in a specific class, get wheels that you: 1. Fit the car properly 2. Satisfy your aesthetic needs 3. are within your budget.

If you can, put the shocks on at the same time as springs and camber plates. When I put my TSW springs on the stock shocks, life was harsh. Putting on Koni yellows made a big difference for ride and perceived handling.

I have the JCW steering wheel, at least once a week I look down during driving and think 'man this thing is nice'.

Also, keep an eye on the Marketplace. Things like wheels, rear control arms, and sway bars come up every few weeks. That may be a way to stretch your budget.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Thanks everyone! Any advice on the order in which I should do these mods?

Is there any reason other than weight to go with 15" wheels?

I was looking at NM springs, do they suffer from the same issue as the TSW springs? Will they result in an extremely rough ride on the stock shocks?

If it is OK to get the suspension pieces separately, what order should I get them in?

I looked at the Jcw Alcantara steering wheel, and to be honest it seems like a really expensive upgrade for a steering wheel that's mostly wrapped in faux suede. I don't doubt that it has a better hand feel than the stock steering wheel, but I definitely think there are other mods I'd rather spend that kind of money on.

 

Torque arm insert and a better air filter/intake mods made quite a driveability difference in my Justa, but just a subtle power increase from the K&N.

 

What do the torque arm inserts do for you?

Did you do the full DDM intake or just the upgraded filter? I have the DDM intake in my list of mods, but I have it with my cosmetic mods since I heard the main difference it makes is in sound, not performance. But if it makes things run better too I'll definitely add it to my list here!

 

The torque arm insert will aid in shifting and putting the power to the wheels because it prevents the engine from rocking back as much as the factory bushing allows.

As for suspension, the biggest bang for buck is a rear sway bar. It's generally common knowledge to replace shocks and springs at the same time because you got to remove the shocks to replace the springs, so why not do both at the same time while you're in there. Rear control arms are really only there to re-correct the rear alignment if you lower the car too much from stock (talking like 1.5"), however saying that, people install them even for NM springs, which are about 1".

As for benefits of 15" wheels, you get lighter weight than bigger wheels, which aids in acceleration and braking (less unsprung weight to have to rotate or slow down) and you can usually run a meatier tire which helps with traction, all good things if you want to do anything at an autocross or drivers education event.

 

Great info! Thanks! Definitely adding the torque arm insert to my list. Especially since it's such an inexpensive and easy mod.

The sway bar will be my first suspension mod then.

I wouldn't have a problem doing shocks and springs at the same time, however that just means waiting longer to do them. It's a lot harder to come up with $900 for both shocks and springs rather than $250 for just springs.

So do I not need the rear control arms? Or at least wait on them until I've done everything else? I was under the impression that even with the NM springs, the rear camber would need to be adjusted.

From what you're saying it sounds like 15" wheels can be considerably better. Any reason why more people don't us them? It seems like most people around here are on 17's.

Are front camber plates a requirement or a recommendation? And what do they do for the handling?

 

Other than looks, there is no advantage to getting a larger wheel. Compared to a smaller wheel, a larger wheel

-is heavier
-more money
-requires more expensive tires
-hurts ride quality because you'd have to use a lower profile tire

Keeping that in mind, I went with some lightweight 16s. Its a nice compromise between looks and performance, at least in my opinion.

 

Honestly the stock shock/spring combo is not bad so you can afford to wait a little on those. The rear control arms in my opinion are a wait and see piece because every car is going to be different. If you were looking at the Eibach or H&R springs, they'd be a definite purchase because of how much they lower. But the TSW and NM springs are on that edge of whether you need them or not.

Most people aren't on 15s because of looks. 17s fit the car better and give the impression that it fills the wheel well better. There's nothing wrong with 17s, and honestly you could probably find lightweight 16s and split the difference lol.

Camber plates are not a requirement but are recommended if you are going to be heavy into autocross or track duty because of the ability to dial in your negative camber, which is a huge benefit for the MINI.

 

What would be considered lightweight for 16" wheels? The 17's I was looking at are 21lbs, which I know is fairly heavy. And what tires would you recommend at 16"? I was looking at Michelin Pilot Super Sports at 17", but they don't come in 16"

I will leave the shocks/springs/control arms for the end.

I won't be heavy into autocross or track. Those will probably only be a few times a year and just for fun, I don't expect to really be competitive. So it would seem that for me, I probably don't need the front camber plates.

Another question, I only plan on keeping this justa for a few years, probably 3.5 years max. If I trade in the car at the dealer, will all of these mods need to be reversed before I trade it in? I can't image the dealer is going to give me extra money for all of this stuff. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to give me less because of them.

 

I would say anything under 15lbs is pretty good for a 16, but the lighter you go the better. I use the stock size tires (for first gens at least) which is 195/55/16, although a lot of people go 205/50/16 because it gives you a more options. I don't know if those sizes are applicable to second gens like yours though.

What most people do here before selling their car or trading it in is put most of the stock parts back on and sell the aftermarket stuff in the marketplace here. The dealer certainly won't give you any extra money for the modifications and at least that way you can recoup some of the money you spent.

 

Is there going to be much difference between a 14lb 16" and a 16lb 17"? There are even 14lb 17", though they're like $350 each.

 

I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to notice a 2lb difference at the level you said you want to compete. Having said that, you'd still be spending more on the wheels themselves, more on tires, and end up with a harsher ride and marginally worse performance (whatever the 2lb/corner would amount to) all for a slightly nicer look.

Another thing to consider is that even if say a 15 and 17 were to weigh the same weight, the 15 would still function as a lighter wheel because more weight would be positioned nearer to the hub where it has less effect on the amount of force required to turn the wheel.

 

I get the feeling the the 17"s wheels are really what you want, go with a light 17" wheel because two pounds in almost nothing. I couldn't go below 17" wheels because of how 16"s and 15"s look, yuck! You can still have a comfortable ride running 38-40 psi, you don't shouldn't have the need for anymore psi. You're looking at OZ wheels right? OZ make some of the lightest wheels is every size!

 

There are a couple of options on the air intake for the Justa, the DDM or the K&N are two. I just covered the holes inside the factory intake, there is a slight increase in sound but a much firmer connection to the gas pedal in response. Also used the drop in K&N OEM replacement filter. When engaged in spirited driving in 5-8,000 feet in altitude on mountain roads I just remove the factory air intake tube/box and let the filter grab the air direct. I think it makes a heck of a difference in those circumstances to the throttle response, one you can definitely hear.

Oh, and I have very lightweight 16" wheels with 205/55/16 summer performance non runflat tires; great look, great handling.

 

Performance wise, evolve is coming out with some cooper mods and tuning last time I checked. Unsure of what they are yet though.

 

I'm not dead set on getting 17's, I'm just trying to get all of the info I can to weigh looks against performance. It sounds to me like as long as I go with some light weight 16's or 17's that, for my applications, the performance difference won't be huge.

This is good info, thanks! I hadn't considered just covering the holes in the factory intake. Does anyone have any experience with this DIY mod to the factory intake vs a replacement like the DDM or K&N?

Good to know! I will definitely keep my eyes out for some updates from them.

So as it stands, here is my updated list in chronological order:

DIY Intake
Torque Arm Insert
Rear Sway Bar
Wheels & Tires
Shocks & Springs
Rear Control Arms (if needed)

Am I missing anything here or is there anything that should maybe be done in a different order?

 

i think your original order:

Wheels & Tires
Rear Sway Bar
Springs & Rear Control Arms
Shocks

is actually the right way to go about it. intake will do nothing on the base cooper. idk about the torque arm insert. wheels and tires will make the biggest difference. the common go-to tire without going to rcomps are: rivals, zii's, and rs3s. after that, rear sway bar/springs will make the biggest difference.

i think though, you should start with the driving first, and then look to doing mods. two major reasons - the first, you can learn to drive the car, then really feel what the improvements to the car are doing and how you can use them. second, and more importantly - the mods you'll want to do depends on what kind of goals you have. for example, if you really get into autoxing, like i did (check my blog below), you are going to have some restrictions as to what mods you can do if you want to run in a particular class.

just food for thought

 

Thanks for the reply!

The DIY intake mod won't cost anything, it's just tape, so that is a bit inconsequential. If I want a DDM or K&N intake later I'll do that with the cosmetic mods.

As far as tires go, it seems like a lot of people on here talk about the Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I know those are Max Performance vs Extreme Performance for the ones you mentioned, but how do they compare?

I totally agree with you about going to driving school first and that is my plan

I don't have any intention of getting heavy into autox or tracking at this point, but if I do I will be sure to look into the different classes I could/would like to run in. Thanks!

 

gotcha. as far as tires go, i think you'll be fine with the michelin pilots. the ones i mentioned above in the extreme category are the grippiest that are available, and are a "must" if you're competitively autoxing - otherwise, unnecessary and wear fast.

 

Cool, thanks again!