anyway good info. I've recently bought Bilstein Sports, but didn't get a chance to drive on them before revalving. very stoked to see how they perform though.

 

Good to know, thanks Eddie.

Someone should dyno these things!

- Andy

 

I have not had it aligned yet but the Butt-O-Meter say a wee bit softer, as far a jarring, than the OEM Sport Suspension. It lowers the car as advertised and seems to do it in a manner that it not Butt high(used to look like a Stink Bug); looks pretty good IMHO.

It is not as smooth a ride as the FSD's on the Sport Suspension springs, so as far as comfort goes not as nice as the FSD's.

I will drive them a bit after alignment before I decide to keep them or go back to OEM Sport Suspension springs and a different shock.

Here is a before and after shot of the profile and a wheel shot after lowering.

 

^you're on sport springs + the bilsteins?

car looks great btw

 

Thanks, but they are on Swift Spec-R springs and Bilstein B8's.

The Sport Springs and B6's might keep the OEM height and better ride than the crappy MINI shocks.

 

ohhh no wonder.

 

I did encounter one problem when I was installing the rear driver side strut. The lower mounting bolt, which is a weird 3 lobed self tapping thing felt like it was stretching or stripping out the trailing arm. I might end up installing an insert and a regular grade10.1 bolt in the trailing arm. Bummer...

Not sure of any other fix for that situation.

 

ahhh yea. hugely common problem. everyone ends up just installing a helicoil or something. gotta be very very careful with that one

 

Yes, the other side went in perfectly but the side in question started with the fingers fairly easily and then got pretty tough to turn about 3/4 the way in. I knew something was amiss.

Are any helicoil or other inserts better than other? Any easier to install than others?

 

UPDATE: It was not the bolt that was failing, it was the threads in the trailing arm, which I feared it may be.

After removing the bolt and measuring it and the hole through the struts (OEM, Bilstein & Koni) the hole was 15.5mm, the bolt threads are 14mm and the smooth section of the strut bolt was 13.3mm. So that raises questions.

1. A bolt with a smooth section of 14 or 15mm would slide through the strut easily so why not use a larger bolt?

2. With a larger bolt then the hole that is stripped in the Trailing Arm could be tapped out larger and torqued to spec couldn't it?

3. I measured every possible way for clearance of a nut with washer on the wheel side of that Trailing Arm with both sets of wheels, the OEM and the Team Dynamics, and there would be zero interference by using a nut and washer, so why not a longer bolt that went through everything??

A lot less money and hassle and the biggest hassle about the through bolt is having to remove the wheel to torque the lower strut bolt, and honestly, how often do you torque them?!?

Any thoughts?

 

sadly i think the cause is something along the lines of aluminum trailing arm/threads, and harder/steel? bolt. have to be very very careful. not sure how im gonna approach it myself.

 

I know that a through bolt would solve any question of threads in a Trailing Arm holding a strut so that is the direction I am headed.

A longer bolt, possibly threading the trailing arm a bit but, putting a lock nut & washer on the wheel side of the trailing arm. There is room to do it and the only thing that needs to be done is file a small flat for the washer. It would not take much filing to do it.

Then the entire thing is captured and the Trailing Arm is not relying on something like an insert in it to hold the strut. It would just be threads in the arm and a capture nut on the back side.

I have driven "off road" a lot, like 5 miles a day minimum for 20 years on steep mountain roads, and desert driving, etc. so I understand some of the stresses that a suspension can take. The only time I have had a suspension component fail was with a stock suspension in another British car after I hit a deer or dog carcass in the road; the truck in front of me high centered the carcass at 75mph and I had nowhere to go. Lucky I could maintain control!

So, I have no desire to have things fail while moving

I will keep this updated to explain what I end up doing and maybe photos.

 

There are 2 prominent insert makers - Helicoil and Timesert that I am aware of. I've used both and they both work well. I found on this site the size required is M14X1.5X105. It was some time ago when I researched this a bit anticipating the problem when I was in strut replacement mode. Fortunately I didn't have to use it, sorry you do. As I recall, getting the kit to put the insert in was a little pricey for a one-time fix. I also discovered that no one had it in stock at the local parts stores, so a special order is probably necessary. The thing about using an insert is that if done properly you can retain the use of that lobed bolt which is the stock alignment adjustment and if you put the insert in with Loctite red and let it set up, it will be better than new. Drill and tap straight!

 

gotcha. sounds good. Enjoy the suspension. it's a very good setup IMO

 

Yes, Helicoil, Time-sert, Keen-Sert, Big-Sert and they are are all a little different. If I have to remove the Trailing Arm and put it in a drill press I will use one of these inserts and Thread Lock Red is the stuff to make sure it stays put. m14 X 1.5 is the thread and pitch but the length of the insert is much shorter, like only 1-1/2 inches in the Trailing Arm. 105mm is the total length of the 3 lobed self tapping bolt.

I am sure MINI made it the way they did for manufacturing ease and not just strength. If a MINI was made for strength then it would be much heavier!

If the long bolt method starts to rattle or show any signs of movement or failure I will go the insert route.

PITA!!

 

Big time PITA. Good luck with the fix!

 

any tips on how to AVOID this?

 

Is bolt through with a nut on the other side a feasible option?

 

When the old bolt is removed to put a new strut in make very sure that the Trailing Arm hole, that is threaded, is very clean!

Do not cross thread....

 

That is what I am working on.

 

Just finished putting a bolt through the Trailing Arm AND a locking nut and washer on the wheel side.

I had to grind/file a flat on the wheel side for the washer and nut to sit flat on the trailing arm. It worked.

I also used a 14mm tap to chase the threads through the trailing arm.

I replaced the bolt with a 14mm grade 10.9 bolt that was long enough to do it, however I had to get a die to increase the threaded portion of that bolt.

All pretty easy and no clearance issues with the 17 inch wheels. Not sure how it would work with 16 inch wheels but I cannot use them with the big brakes (Brembo) anyway.

It lowered the car a total of 9/16 inch lower than on '09 Cooper with standard suspension, probably 1" overall from stock "Sport Suspension" position.

 

SO,

I'll be doing the struts and RSB this week, probably on Thursday - do you guys recommend putting antiseize in the threads?

 

I don't think it is a bad idea at all as long as it is aluminum compatible. I believe some are not.

 

I would not recommend Antiseize on the lower shock bolt because 1) that is one bolt you do not want backing out and 2) the antiseize will lube up the threads and may make it even easier to cross thread.

The rear shocks on my car have been swapped probably almost a dozen times and never cross threaded. Just make sure you install carefully. Start the threads by hand and if at any point you get resistance, STOP and back out. I've always used an extra jack to locate the lower arm and or lower shock hole so that it's perfectly aligned when I start the threads.

 

Some people recommend it on the pinch bolt for the front and the bottom bolt for the rears. It couldn't hurt and it might save you a headache when the car is older.

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