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Our first MINI is our still here ‘04 R50. It is great that people with mechanical talent are picking up these 1st Gen MINIs and breathing new life into them. I am following several restoration threads and enjoy reading about their progress.
A lot of what you have done are things that I thought of as I read through this thread and before I got to the post where you said “I did this or that”. A lot of good choices.
There is one thing, though, that I didn’t seen in the recommendations or what you have chosen to. That is camber plates. That would be the number one thing to do to your MINI to give it that “go kart feeling”. I would highly recommend the IE Fix Camberplates. I have had those on 2 of my MINIs and they are by far the best handling mod. These will give about -1.25 deg of camber in the front, which the car desperately needs. There is no additional noise or vibration, and no noticeable tire wear.
I believe you indicated that your were having issues with compressing the springs on the shocks. Not sure if this helps, but I just did front and rear shocks on my R56. Here is my Harbor Freight spring compressor setup…
Compressed spring DIY tools; use at your own risk
The “clamp” is the large HF bearing puller. It fits nicely under the lower spring perch on the shock. I made a nut tightened for the top of the strut from a 1/2” drive socket with a 1/2” square tube in the drive end. Not sure if that will work with the Koni shocks but it did with the Bilstein B8s I am using.
I will say I am not a fan of the large rear swaybar mod. I had the Whiteline bar you have and found it to be too much with the stock MINI front bar. It moved the handling to one with too much lift-off throttle oversteer and gave it a high speed corner oversteer issue. Problem is, you won’t know that you will have that issue until you actually do have that issue; then it is too late if there is a guardrail near by. If you can find one, I would balance that with the optional MINI 24mm bar from the optional JCW spots suspension package. The other option would be to leave the bar on the softest setting and set the shocks stiff in the front and soft in the rear. And, not sure if you know this, but never fully close the adjustment screw on the Koni shocks. That will lock them up and that will damage them.
Not sure if any of this helps at all…
Looking forward to further posts…
PS: Drilled rotors are fine for the street, if you like their looks.
^^Thanks! I am always happy to hear other ideas and opinions.
To respond to your comments:
1. I did not do camber plates (yet). Just went with stock Lemforder. I've not pushed these cars to any major extent and will likely not be doing so. I just wanted a little more oomph. (most of our cars are straight line jobs- not much in the handling dept )
2. spring compressor. I usually rent one from the local parts place but I figured these were so small I could muscle it. I was wrong. So I have a compressor tool on order. No biggie.
3. Sway bar mod info is interesting. I kept seeing all this praise for the big rear sway bars - as big as 25mm. Saying they were on par with changing the pulley for these cars. Now I am wondering if this will be an issue or not. I will be keeping an eye on the rear end a little more now.
4. The shock settings. I was going to set them soft and see how it felt. Luckily, since everything is new and clean, it will be easy to adjust and modify should it be necessary. Most of our cars have really hard settings so a little soft might be ok.
5. Drilled rotors- I started using slotted and drilled rotors some years ago because of all the rain we would have to drive in. It felt like they were able to bite a little more than solid rotors so I've never deviated. Since we don't track/race the cars I have not invested in anything more involved than R56 rotors and SS lines. (that and not driving like an ***-hat)
As always, I am happy to get input and commentary and if our work inspires you all to get out there and do something, then consider it a pay back for all those before us who have done the same and gotten us to this juncture.
Pep boys near me will swap your springs and (new) top hats onto new struts for $10-15 each with their big good old lever style compressor. Most bmws I can de stack and restack in the fender with a floor jack but the e46 with OEM sport springs I could not, so I had them do it.
have used the j hook compressors once or twice, won’t ever do it again. Not worth the frustration and risk to me, just be super safe using them.
Springs are always give a sketchy feeling. These, however, are pretty small compared to others I've dealt with so I'm not too worried. I usually have everything prepped for a quick assembly so I am not spending an inordinate amount of time trying to assemble and keeping springs under pressure.
I see you have replacement plates on hand. I may have mis-sold the IE camberplates. These are intended for the street more so than the track. They provide a much needed improvement steering feel for the street, and are what MINI should have included with the car originally. The Gen 2 MINIs all came with an adjustment that increases camber by -0.3 deg. Doesn’t sound like much, but it is a very noticeable improvement in steering feel. This is all along the lines of what I think you are expecting to get from the sway bar. In my experience the camberplates are much better option than the sway bar.
As for swaybar and shock settings - To mitigate the tendency for oversteer, have the sway bar set on the softest setting. Then shocks can be used to further balance the car. This is done by having the front shocks stiffer than the rears. I would not have the 4 shocks at the same setting. Because the fronts are easily adjusted, I would start with the rears near to the softest setting and the fronts near to the stiffest. See how the car rides and feels. If it is too stiff in the front, dial it back a little. Repeat this until you get a reasonable compromise between ride and stiffness. But, you need to have the front stiffer than the rear. I think you will find a setting in the front where the steering feel and ride will be very much to your liking.
I am very aware of the “conventional wisdom” of just sticking a big sway bar into the rear of a MINI to “fix” its handling woes (understeer). There is a 19mm rear sway bar that is good for the street. A larger bar than that works for autocross, where you basically want the rear of the car to be unstable (some what works, other stuff is needed to make it fully work). However, this is a trait that is highly undesirable for the street and is not what MINI does to improve the performance of each of their steps up in suspension performance (Base Cooper to the S to the JCW to the optional JCW sports suspension). Nor is it what the Pros do to make the ultimate road course race MINI. So I have “followed the money” that MINI/BMW and the Pros have spent in developing their suspensions that feel good and handle well. See my signature for what I have done in that direction for Smokey, my R56…
^^ Interesting info. We've never really considered doing much as it pertains to suspension as long as it sticks to the road and isn't too squirrely. I figured I would need access to a pro shop or some auto cross experts to really do something that was dialed in. At this point, I just need to wrap this project up as soon as possible as I have a few more projects to try and make some progress on before the weather turns. (The garages are full so we have to work outside and I don't work in the cold)
As for the shock settings and the rear swaybar, that should be an easy adjustment. (I currently have the rear swaybar at the middle setting, so I can move it).
A few questions on the IE camber plates. It looks like there are 2 options fixed and adjustable. The fixed offer (1.25* negative camber and are only for stock springs as lowering springs would increase negative camber) The adjustable option offers (over 3* of negative camber). So would I be correct in presuming that using the fixed option with my H&R lowering springs would be a "happy medium"?? (e.g. more than 1.25* and possibly less than 3*)??
Looks like the fixed plates are around $195 and the adjustables around $275 (just on a cursory look). Since I have just over $50 into the new stock Lemforders, I can always shelve them for a future project.
Sorry for the long winded story, but a little context… here goes…
I have been taking my MINIs to the track for about 15 years now. At the start and not knowing anything about MINIs I asked around to friends with MINIs and others about how to improve its handling. Unfortunately, I got the “conventional wisdom” for setting up a FWD car. This came from both people who autocrossed, raced and tracked their cars. I was even told to get rid of the front sway bar and put in a large rear bar. The unfortunate part was that it didn’t end well for my first MINI. It took me a year of talking to people, including driving instructors, before I came across a driving school instructor who was able to see in my video what I did in my driving that precipitated the issue that I had (oversteer at about 90 mph). I found out the hard way why the big rear swaybar is not the way to go for a track car, and for that matter a street car. It will happen at the least expected time, like it did to a friend with his MINI who looped in the middle of an on ramp in a rain storm. This what happens. In the dry a person may be driving at what they think is 60 or 70% for the whole car. But in reality the rear may be at 90% while the front is only at 40% (a rear sway bar decreases the traction at the rear to benefit traction at the front). In the rain the person may slow to what they feel is 50%, but in the reduced traction of the rain they may, in reality, be at 80% for the whole car, but that would mean the rear is at 110% while the front is still less than 100% and they loop it.
Quite frankly, even when I put in the big rear sway bar, it never made sense to me and it never felt like it was the right fix. For my second MINI I decided to find out if MINI really did know what they were doing with suspensions and I optioned it with the base JCW suspension. At that point I became a believer that the MINI engineers were not complete idiots as a lot of “conventional wisdom” people would want you to believe (they don’t know how to make a good handling car, only safe ones). They actually do know how to design a complete suspension package that really does handle well and is track worthy right from the factory. The transformation from the “S” suspension to the JCW suspension was amazing. The only change I made was to add the IE Fixed camberplates. I ran this way for several years before upgrading the sway bars and adding the LSD. This was a really nice, good riding, fun to drive, street car that was track worthy. This car, from the factory, was a much better car to drive on the street and on the track than any “conventional wisdom” mods provided me. I also found wisdom in writings by Randy Pobst about car handling and driving techniques that mirrored the thoughts I was having through all of this pontification.
I only made the sway bar changes after studying what MINI did in their suspensions, in particular what they did between the JCW base suspension and the optional JCW sports suspension. I was able to find a pair of sway bars (27 mm solid front and 25mm hollow rear) that provided, given the adjustability of the rear bar, the same stiffness ratios front to rear that the two JCW suspensions have. This meant that the balance that I enjoyed with the stock suspension would not be changed and I would have a huge step up in roll stiffness that I was looking for. There were other benefits too. This setup served me well for a long time. This includes hitting antifreeze (like hitting ice) at the apex of a 105 mph, gas pedal to the floor corner that has guardrails 2 foot off the track and I never left the track. This would not have been the case with a “conventional wisdom” setup, I am sure of that.
As for camber plates - the fixed is what you want for the street. As long as the springs are stock diameter, they will work. The nice thing about the IE fixed plates is that they are made from a BMW upper shock support, with the bearing mounted in urethane, the same as the stock MINI part, but stronger. This means the ride, noise and vibration won’t change. The slight increase in camber from the lower springs will be minimal. I believe the adjustable one is a solid bearing with little or no urethane. I would not run this on a street car. I think you would learn to dislike the car if you did.
Adding to Eddie's comments, my experience with adjustable camber plates (Helix installed same time as other performance mods in early 2006) resulted in inability (or willingness) for mainstream alignment shops to perform that while using typical (Hunter-style) equipment. My saga on that is outlined in my sig topic but in brief, the most-local MINI dealer did a lousy job (labor charge subsequently refunded) and several tire/alignment shops I contacted weren't interested in the extra labor required to make adjustments, lower the car to ground level, roll back/forth to the settle the suspension, then lift again and repeat the setup, measurement and adjustment process. As do-over, I'd likely have swapped those Helix plates for non-adjustable IE. I re-did myself using SPC Fastrax alignment tool but I'd much preferred if that had been done professionally. Regardless, the car tracks straight with even tread wear. Mine also has aftermarket Eibach sway bars from 2006, with the front 25mm and rear 19mm perhaps not being ideal diameters for balanced non-tracking handling.
I didn't call them yet. I was put off by the $25 that they were charging for shipping. And I am concerned that the vendors I spoke to claim that they are out of stock and backlogged- to the point most are not doing business with IE any longer.
I'll give them a call later today and see what I can find out. If they do not pan out, what are my alternatives? (again, aside from $500+ fancy jobs)
Can anyone give me a size off the top of their heads? I am needing a bolt and nut combo for my front carriers. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, both pinch bolts snapped inside the carrier and I had to drill them out. I was thinking of just running down to the local ACE hardware and sourcing some SS bolts. The ones from Mini are pricey and since I'm not threading anything in, it should not be an issue to use something different.
Can anyone give me a size off the top of their heads? I am needing a bolt and nut combo for my front carriers. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, both pinch bolts snapped inside the carrier and I had to drill them out. I was thinking of just running down to the local ACE hardware and sourcing some SS bolts. The ones from Mini are pricey and since I'm not threading anything in, it should not be an issue to use something different.
Considering that bolts main purpose in life, seems reasonable to me... You'll spend at least that going all stainless, and you'll want to make sure its Grade 8 or better with a fine thread for the clamping force, which you're not going to find at the local hardware store. Just finding the right bolt in stainless will be quite the task. What is your time worth? Buy the Mini bolt and nut, can probably grab it from your local dealer just walking in, and be done.
Didn't get much done today as I spent time fighting with my lawnmower that decided to throw a belt in the middle of my front lawn. Found a replacement I had on hand and it was just a little too tight so no dice. Got too hot so I called it a day.
Before all that happened I managed to swap out the bad steering shaft. It went nice and smooth so I will recommend that you all take a look at your shafts () and make sure the u-joint in the engine bay moves freely. I did not notice this until I went to re-install it after the sub-frame refresh. In the past the car always felt a little "heavy" when compared to the other R53 we have and when I swapped the PS pump it would not return to center easily. Well, this, I am sure was the culprit.
Several folks sell this part and it was over priced everywhere I looked. Found it at Rock Auto. Dorman Brand P/N 425-750. Cost $132.79. Most others were twice that!!
Install was easy (perfect fit) especially with the engine out of the way. Took more time to remove the damned knee plastic under the dash. It was ON there. You'll need a 13 mm on the engine side, a 10mm on the cabin side and a T25 torx to remove the bolts that hold the under shaft cover.
Some pics: ( I just noticed, I meant to set them side by side identically. I have one the wrong way. It was already starting to get hot so I was rushing...) Nevertheless, you get the idea.
^^Thanks! I am always happy to hear other ideas and opinions.
To respond to your comments:
1. I did not do camber plates (yet). Just went with stock Lemforder. I've not pushed these cars to any major extent and will likely not be doing so. I just wanted a little more oomph. (most of our cars are straight line jobs- not much in the handling dept )
2. spring compressor. I usually rent one from the local parts place but I figured these were so small I could muscle it. I was wrong. So I have a compressor tool on order. No biggie.
3. Sway bar mod info is interesting. I kept seeing all this praise for the big rear sway bars - as big as 25mm. Saying they were on par with changing the pulley for these cars. Now I am wondering if this will be an issue or not. I will be keeping an eye on the rear end a little more now.
4. The shock settings. I was going to set them soft and see how it felt. Luckily, since everything is new and clean, it will be easy to adjust and modify should it be necessary. Most of our cars have really hard settings so a little soft might be ok.
5. Drilled rotors- I started using slotted and drilled rotors some years ago because of all the rain we would have to drive in. It felt like they were able to bite a little more than solid rotors so I've never deviated. Since we don't track/race the cars I have not invested in anything more involved than R56 rotors and SS lines. (that and not driving like an ***-hat)
As always, I am happy to get input and commentary and if our work inspires you all to get out there and do something, then consider it a pay back for all those before us who have done the same and gotten us to this juncture.
So done w/ Lemforders. Replaced countless times & the last pair I got from ECS are now Chinese Lemforders. Put em in the parts bin & slapped Silver Project camber plates on. Now, camber is properly set even. So far, so good.
Not sure if it was clear about the pinch bolt difference between the R53 and the R56. The R56 is a bolt and nut, there are no threads in the steering knuckle. Just drill out the treads on your steering knuckle and be done with it. Use a lot amount of Never Seize on the whole length of the bolt and you will never have any issue with taking these apart if needed to in the future.
Back to work with a little progress. Funny how something you think should take a few minutes turns into hours... Ugh. Anyway, today we tackled the rest of the rear end, installed the shocks and springs (with my new spring compressors)- I may need to do some pics. Pretty nice set up. So, we did the brakes, shocks and that stupid lower bolt (and I ordered new ones with a new triangle washer) was still a bear to thread into the rear sub frame so I had to stop and chase all the threads, use ample anti-seize and they finally cooperated. Installed the inner fender plastics and called it good back there.
Then dropped the oil pan. (even after draining it had a surprising amount of oil left behind. Dumped it out, cleaned the pan. No sludge, no flakes, no nothing. Spotless!! Installed a new oil pick up o-ring and a new gasket. Then I decided to look at the water inlet again (I had been thinking I had done these already (did it on the other car). On a whim I pulled the covers and was glad I did. They were rough and I happened to have the right o-rings so that all got cleaned and re-sealed. I'll need to do some touch up on my fancy engine paint. Nevertheless, it was some progress. Engine is wrapped up.
Plan tomorrow is to clean/paint the trans, crack it open, press new bearings on the LSD and swap the ring gear, new shaft seals and button it up. Maybe do the rear main and mate the two parts. Not sure yet as I also ordered new shift cables that just arrived so I might spend some time fiddling with those.
A little more progress today. First started with the shifter cables. Scored a deal online and it turned out to not be a deal as the cables do not fit so I have to deal with the hassle of the return and sourcing others. In the meantime, we pulled the shift box and have it all prepped for when the correct cables arrive.
Note: box has captured torx bolts TT40.
While inside the box, found a torn o-ring. Swapped it for a good one. Looks like it acts as a bumper for the shifter...
) 
) and make sure the u-joint in the engine bay moves freely. I did not notice this until I went to re-install it after the sub-frame refresh. In the past the car always felt a little "heavy" when compared to the other R53 we have and when I swapped the PS pump it would not return to center easily. Well, this, I am sure was the culprit.
