It's just a spherical bearing; it transfers load to its carrier. The damper shaft gets no loading except its intended compression loads. The stock bushed carrier however does add a bending load to the shaft as the shaft is used to deflect the bushing. The BC design is superior in decoupling the shaft movement from the chassis, NVH notwithstanding.

 

Hey, the Cross coilovers say they work on R53 and GP models. They will also go on my R50 without a problem won't they?

 

The flat top hat transfers more stresss through the spherical bearing into the damper shaft, which can lead to damper failure during extreme stress. To say that BC Racing has done "more homework" than Endless when it comes to suspension tuning is a pretty ridiculous statement.

I just want to point out the fact that Mini Cooper suspension assembly is probably a mistake from the factory. I believe that MINI made the chassis first and then ordered the suspension techs to make the suspension around the construction of the chassis. This is why the rear suspension is such a problem. If you look at the stock suspension the construction of the suspension mounts are completely horizontal, and the suspension is forced to come out at an angle to connect to the arms. You can tell it's a mistake because Mini try to cover it up by putting in a huge rubber bushing




Now your saying that the BC has enough movement in the suspension assembly. I know that they do not make them properly. So I have to hear what makes you think they are efficient. Ill give you a lowdown real quick on heim joints, which keep in mind are a vital part of any suspension. For example you would probably know this best if you were to drive a 240sx but they sell a whole mess of arms and rods on ebay, Stuff that usually costs about 300 dollars now can be bought made in China for about a little less than 100 the more popular companies are Megan and TC Sportline. Well I actually do not have a problem with these, except for the fact that the Heim joint (spherical bushing) blows out after a couple months of driving. The good thing is that you can replace the bushings with better well known american made ones. They will eventually wear out also but will last you a few years. You will notice that these bearings most of the time looks the same, that is because the casing around it is essential for a Heim. In other words the spherical bushing generally has a 20% max range in motion to be safe. anything beyond that has too little contact with the ball, the movement in the bearing isn't much at all(at least not for the movement of the mini shock). If those BC plates clears it definately either has more than 20% movement or it barely fits and will hit from the coilover. I know the topmount is nowhere near slanted enough.

And if they were to think that angling out the heim joint in the top mount would work they are also dead wrong about that. This is where the shock shaft would be too stressed and will snap, this is what Endless did thinking it would work. BC didn't go that far, in my opinion they just tried to make anything that worked. Look at the picture of the BC coilovers on the first page, they look nothing like the stock top mount, they look like Generic topmounts that just happens to fit on the Mini. They are not a bad set for the price, I even bought it to check it out, but then again I don't expect much from Chinese made suspensions.

The only way to make it work is to make a top mount that either looks exactly like the stock with a tilted heim joint, or What I am going to be doing, which is modify my frame, build up on it and make it sit like the way the Mini should have been designed.

 

Stop arguing you little girls. Its not the end of the world.

And oh, never mind my last question. I found the answer.

 

What kind of stress? Spherical bearings inherently eliminate bending loads because they articulate. What do you mean by "damper failure during extreme stress"? Are you saying the damper shaft with snap? This can only occur if the spherical bearing binds beyond its range of motion

So what? The mount does not have to be tangential to be effective.

If they're not made correctly, why aren't there any known failures? Your sweeping generalization that spherical bearings must "blow out" is a gross mischaracterization. They typically fail due to negligent maintenance, lack of lubrication, or exceeding their articulation parameters.

You keep contradicting yourself. Your idea to make the mounting hats tangential is a waste of time, there's nothing wrong with the current BC setup. The only improvement will be less shearing force on the mounting bolts going from the mounting hat to the chassis. If you think saving the couple pounds of force will save the day, more power to you. I'd suggest finding a more useful problem to solve, like the front roll-center problem on the R56.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

So after all this...

These are waiting to go on Friday!

 

NICE!!!
You wont be dissappointed.

 

Here they are!! I am very happy with them. A bit stiff, but its manageable.
I just put in new H-Sport lower control arms to suck in all that extra camber. Its perfect now!

 

One of the best coopers I've seen

 

Thanks...

I just try not to carried away like so many Mini owners do. People will, if they aren't careful, will start covering it with stickers and putting stuffed animals in the rear window and all. Thats basically my worst fear.

Its back to the black outs now...

 

The car looks great Miniman, Congrats, glad you got the coilovers installed!

Maybe you should go a click, maybe two softer. It took me a month of playing around with my set up to get it just right. I'm sure you'll find the right balance in time! Did you mount the extension cables? Kind of a hassle to set up but, it sure makes things a lot easier to adjust that's for sure.

 

& did you grind away at the top mounts? kinda wished i didn't on mine :(

 

You do not have to at all. I installed my BC coils last week (which btw I love) and the alen bolts can be swapped out for different bolts and be adjusted easily without any cutting.

 

well, the damage has been done

 

Yeah, no need to cut anything, Using T handled Ball end hex wrench will allow a person to reach the bolts for adjusting. Cutting the towers is unnecessary and way too permanent ! I was able to explain the "Ball ended Hex wrenches" to Miniman so, I'm pretty sure he didn't cut anything. I had never heard about changing the bolts before, sound like another safe non evasive way to reach the adjusting bolts! Hopefully this info will help others from having to cut their towers!