I've got an '05 MCS that I just put M7 springs on. Obviously it now has negative camber in the rear which is clearly visable by eye, let alone by alignment specs. Anyway, I'm going to replace the lower control arms and I don't want heim-joint type, so here are the two options I'm considering...

Bavarian Aotorsport (set of 4; upper and lowers) $300 w/free shipping




Ireland Engineering (set of 2; lowers only) $220 plus shipping



With shipping the I.E. bars would be about $235 so is it worth it to just pay $65 more and get all four bars? Is there any advantage to that? I haven't done an alignment on a MINI yet but it looks like there is a toe adjuster at the front of the trailing arms so I don't really see any reason to change to the upper bars. Is there a reason to?

Or, I was considering this option...
I buy the set of four bars from Bavarian for $300 total and use two of them on my car and then sell the other two to someone on this board for $150 plus what it costs me to ship them (probably around $10)

Would anyone be interested in that option? Here is the info on them from the Bavarian website...

(Click for a larger image) Our exclusive street performance bushings and mounts are made with a more forgiving urethane formula! During spirited driving, polyurethane bushings and mounts provide more responsive handling and maintain better control over suspension geometry than stock bushings. Along with this improvement in handling, though, comes a stiffer ride -- a welcome side-effect on a smooth race track, but much more noticeable on the streets. Our street performance urethane is formulated with a touch of polyester. This new compound is more forgiving than 100% urethane, so it’s better for street BMWs.

 

Get the Irelands - they work and they're pain and squeak free.

Paul

 

Agree, go with IE without a doubt over those oter things.

 

Allow me to disagree with the folks here based upon personal experience. I used these for several track events and for about 30K miles of commuting.

The poly material in these arms will deflect and deform to a point where there is at least a 1/4" of play in the lower arms. The lower arm absorbs a the bulk of the load with respect to the upper arm. And, the inner lower bushing was nearly squeezed from the bushing housing.

This failure caused a 90mph off at Lime Rock last year. I would only recommend the rod end arms from IE and these will not last long on public roads. The IE rod ends are not Aurora rod ends, so they are noisy and non-self lubricating. They also cost about $25.00 insread of $70.00...you get what you pay for. Still, and I think Greg would agree, rod ends are not really suited to public road use. They do not like the constant pounding. I used these too.

 

meb... Thanks for the input. Just to verify, was it the IE street version that you had the problem with?

I'm leaning towards the B.A. arms since they have a great reputation with their BMW parts. If I went with those would it be worth it to use all four or use two and sell two?

 

I'm not sure what they call the arms, but the bushing are poly. I have never experienced poly distorting or failing like this either...

Just keep an eye on all the links, especially the lower inside link/bushing.

 

I'm not sure what you saying. Are you saying dont use the IE's or the BA's for street use? I'm about ready to install some M7 springs myself and am trying to figure out what lower control arms to use. I only do street driving no autoX. Was told the Altas are noisy. I am leaning to using H sport's. What you think?

 

Buy SPC arms and you'll be set. These incorporate the same material as stock bushings, are adjustable and beefy as hell.

 

Where do you get them? They look nice.

 

these guys are awesome. beefy and quiet, gets from me. my mechanic had these in stock and easily convinced me to get them

 

They're available at lots of places...

http://www.spcperformance.com/PROD_D...TSPORTCOM.html

http://store.specprod.com/CGI-BIN/LA...64B063+M37+ENG

 

I bought a set, put them up for sale and no one responded...so I installed them. Very nice...but I'm not taking these off. About $300 new and worth every penny!

 

I have the SPC also, and they are very impressive. Easily adjusted, incredibly over-engineered albeit a little heavy (but about the same as stock.) When I took them in for alignment the guy was very impressed! He was the one who was not so impressed with my setup before.

 

you can get the SPC's on ebay for $268 plus a minimal shipping fee

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPC-0...QQcmdZViewItem

 

thx for the link.

 

welcome!!! I just bought them though ...for when my current adjustables fail.

 

i guess that was more of a "i just bought these" link

 

Dang , just checked your gallery. That is one sweet MC you have there . Very nice engine bay .

 

Wud up Glen?....yeah, I found them, then realized that there might not be other opportunities to get them at that price, so after I posted the link, I went back, through the link I posted, and bought them.

I found the link through a google search for MINI Cooper SPC control arms...and it was either the 1st or second link that came up

It will probably be a couple of years until I switch them out, but still, having them on hand is a comfort. I just got a custom alignment, last week, so no need to mess with that for a while.

 

Thanks, did all the work myself, you should see the interior, also did that work myself. You can see pics in the "mad modders" thread in the interior exterior forum...or find the pics in my gallery.

 

Found the SPC arms for $307 with free shipping at Performance Tuning. Check it out here:

http://www.ptuning.com/html/search-r...c&cmbYear=2006

This is the route I'm going.

 

Here is a completely different eBay listing...$269 = $10 shipping, and they have 5 sets in stock...Just another option for those looking to save $27 more.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPC-R...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Does anyone have a picture of the GP trailing arms?