I would love to get my hands (and measuring tape) on one of these to see if they would fit...

Looks like the perfect compliment to the 2007 aluminum rear trailing arm upgrade!

E46 3-SERIES FRONT CONTROL ARM FEBI BILSTEIN
$120.00


E46 3-SERIES CONTROL ARM BUSHING KIT OEM (PAIR)
$69.00

 

No way they will fit. Almost everything about them is different then Mini.

 

Same great concept, different taste

Wus up Greg?

 

Sure would be nice if we could license Moog or another Mfr to make the equivelant product for us...

Maybe the next GP model will have'em ; )

 

I just finished installing these last night.
SWEEEEEEEET!

I am now installing the R56 rear alloy trailing arms!
SWEEEEEEETEST!

 

Bahawton- Thanks for the thread link. I'm having a local mod shop (He is also a mini enthusiast) mod and retrofit bmw 3 series lower front control arms to fit my r53 mcs jcw. My car will be used as the test mule. Mr. Don Joe is pretty confident that this can be done. I will keep everyone updated and have pic's if the project is successful. Unlike the r56 and gp rear trailing arms, the 3 series front lower control arms are forged aluminum. They are noticeably light. If this project is successful, I will post the weight savings!

 

rutherfong, I'm interested. Please do update this thread, with good news, or not... Thanks much.

Looks like you joined NAM just recently. Welcome aboard!

 

I sure would like to have aluminum all the way around- I'm running SPC/Eibach lateral links & will be installing R56 trailing arms in the rear ; )

 

I spoke to the shop and the front aluminum lower control arm project is going along well. He is pretty sure the arms can be modified to fit the existing suspension mounts, etc. I explained to him the desire to have the ability to return to oem if necessary in the future. I hope to check out the project when I'm off next Friday. I hope to also snap some pics while I'm there.

 

The thought of this scares me. You better hope their welds hold up.

Whats the point of this anyway? Do you really think you are going to notice any difference by changing the material or that it is going to help lap times?

 

If he saves a lb an arm he'll notice the difference.

It's his dime lets see what happens

 

I've dropped 200 lbs on my car through a series of small changes like this- A lot of the weight was rotating mass...

Bottom line- It makes a noticible difference if you have surplus cash ; )

 

 

The individual working on my mini does hot rods, race vehicles, classic restorations, tuning on such vehicles as the mitsubishi evo. I originally took my vehicle to him to repair paint damage from **** poor vinyl decal apps. He is using my vehicle for prototype work.

Why the mini? Because he owns one too! The new mini is not the the lightest vehicle and it can gain great benefits from reduction in unsprung weight. It is fairly easy to lose unsprung weight in the rear of the vehicle, especially with the aluminum r56/gp arms. It is a little bit more challenging at the front end...maybe lighter rotors, calipers, and hence, the benefits of forged lower control arms.

Do I recommend doing this modification. Probably not. I think you can spend less money finding better and easier ways to lose weight and increase performance. Just look at the Madness control arms. I want to keep my modifications BMW parts specific. I just want to let everyone know if it can be done.

There is always risks involved with any type of modifications. This is about having fun and hopefully reaping a whole lot of benefits from it. To my knowledge, there isn't a shop in Sacramento, CA that specializes in mini performance. I'm happy I found him....a fellow enthusiast who is local and I can trust to know what he is doing.

 

You have taken into consideration that these are not designed for FWD application? A lot more stress in FWD.

 

300+ HP Subaru WRXs have similar aluminum suspension systems...

I know they only send half the power to the front wheels, but they severely abuse the suspension when rallying with no problems.

Plus BMWs are almost 1,000 lbs heavier & they don't use different control arms on their AWD models.

None of us are structurial engineers, so we'll never really know if the BMW arms are up to the task 'till we try.

 

Hey Rutherfong,

Any updates on the upgrade???

 

Bueller...
Bueller...
Bueller...

 

Don't hold your breath on this.

 

That's what I figured...

Looks like I may have to order some parts & make the measurements.

 

Late to the party, but... why use Al?

I'm not that experienced in the car world, but in the bicycle world I have 20+ years of watching frame materials come & go, and break - with only those forces a human body can exert... and Al breaks!

I've even broken a few frames myself. In the earlier days it was straight-gauge 6061, later we moved on to special cured 7000 series alloys. All had the same limited fatigue life (re ductility & cycles to failure). Aluminum is about saving weight AND saving dollars simultaniously.

IMO not a good choice in such a critical area on a car. One could save almost as much weight by employing any of a number of steel alloys or if $ is not as much of an object... Titanium. Weight savings and precise tolerances can be had by means beyond Al.

Aluminum's mollecular structure is much weaker (larger gaps between) than steel or Ti. There are good reasons for using the propper metals in critical locations.

In my, albeit limited experience this would be scary!

 

Almost all new performance cars have forged aluminum suspension to reduce unsprung weight.

Chevy, Ford, and Dodge also use aluminum control arms on their heavy duty trucks so I don't think strength is a big issue...

 

Complete misrepresentation!

You're taking this out of context! Take any material, build it big and thick enough and no problem. Spindly little tubes are not in the same universe as big forged arms, or even large-diameter thick-walled tubing. Apples/Watermellons.

But it is quite interesting that those 'truck' companies are going the Al route. Says more about customer/use and company priority than it could ever say about durability.

There are great applications for Al, others not. You don't hear about winter wheels made from Al for good reason. The same can be said for using tubes in the application we're looking at... at least THE TUBES we're looking at. How long ago was it that M7 was selling a tubular arm like this? Didn't they too stop due to breakage? I guess some folks will always seek the lightest option. But there's light n strong, then there's silly light. It costs $ to drop weight AND maintain strength. Loosing unsprung weight is great if you can do it too.

If track specific, then beg your pardon. But even if it is... best have a back up set of arms too.

 

Aluminum suspension isn't constructed out of tubular aluminum (look at the original pictures of the forged BMW control arms that we were looking to retro-fit.

M7 sold tubular Chromoly control arms (not aluminum) so I don't understand you're referrence.

Here's the bottom line- Aluminum is used by all the OEMs for suspension on many of their vehicles. The real question is will the BMW arms last in a FWD Mini. None of us will be able to answer this question 'till we try because we're not structural engineers ; )

 

Uh.... lets see... Tubular steel wasn't strong enough - IT BROKE! And you think AL is going to be better? Uh huh.

If you need a structural engineer to figure out the science for you that's cool. But the calculations we're talking about do not require a degree.

Sorry man, but from your words it appears you love this idea and really don't care to hear the realities.

As I said, if this were a track-specific car I could understand, but even then, I'd keep spares.

SNL's old "bad idea beer" adverts come to mind.