Freedom of movement of my lower control arms with powerflex bushings seemed fine to me.

Neat comparison video on the offset bushings vs. stock Greg!



Jeremy

 

I guess that means he was tripping over his bushings!

Matt

 

Takes some bushings grande to post some of this stuff.

 

Can't get the video to go. Is it still online?

 

I just got it to play...

 

Still doesn't play for me.
Registered for the site, thinking that would help it work, but it didn't.

 

the link still works fine for me. you need to see this. it will explain a bit about the MINI's front suspension geometry. it is almost impossible to model. one must almost measure toe and camber as the suspension moves through its range of motion and reverse engineer where the actual pivot points are located. hats off to onasled for taking on this challenge.

 

I am getting a mix of powerflex, minimadness and stock to replace my aging bushings. They will be installed on Tuesday so lets hope it works out since I have a 6 hour ride to MOT on Friday.

 

Greg, actually the Mini front suspension is very linier in motion at the wheel. So the toe and camber change is very typical and not abnormal during motion.

This is a bad sketch of just where the R-50, 53 pivot points really are. Real is in red and the misconception is in blue.

 

I was really just teasing you...and Greg was right...I was in the wine cellar...I do my best work after a couple of glasses...any more and I cannot see my work.

I did not have a chance to make a video, but I'll take a look at the one provided here...yes Matt, tripping over my bush -ing...I need a little trim... eeew!!!

 

Got it to work on my office computer (which has no speakers), but for some
reason, it won't play on my home computer.

 

If your sub-frame is off, can you peform a test for me? Raise the sub-frame off the floor...12" should be fine. Raise the LCA as far as it will go then drop it and tell us what it does...I know what mine does, just want a second opinion - for others.

 

Sorry Meb my subframe was off and on last spring.

Travel up and down was fine as I remember(these are not offset bushings). Lots of lube helps too!

Jeremy

 

Silver, copper...or clear

 

I got my bushings yesterday (PowerFlex), going in this week - I'll vid and photo - Just for giggles I might also be able to set-up a 'suspension cam' to show the action of the P/F's 'real-world' that hopefully answers some questions...

 

I had the following installed at Tyrol Sorts in Queens:

Madness Front control arm polyurethane bushings
Powerflex Gearbox Mount
Powerflex Steering Rack Mount

I am very happy with ride.

 

OK, so I got my PowerFlex's in Friday, then took the time to 'ramp-up' road-testing on Saturday. First things first - I didn't vid the LCA action because (a) I didn't get the front subframe all the way out from underneath the car (jackstands wouldn't permit enough clearance for removal without completely disconnecting the power steering, and the resevoir doesn't just "slide down" behind the engine, at least not in mine), (b) taking my time to make sure everything was right, and (c) wasting a couple of hours trying to remove the outer ball joints / locate a splitter that would work on the MINI, spent 13 hours until I had the car back on the ground, so honestly wasn't in the mood to spend the time documentation would have taken...

However, some observations: the action of the LCA, with the P/F's installed, now has less resistance the farther "off center" it travels than with the (admittedly worn) OEM bushings - through what proved to be the 'normal' range of travel the resistance was minimal, and I mean move-it-up-and-down-w/-my-pinkie minimal, and consistant, with no attempt by the LCA to "re-center" as it would with the OEM - those of you who've wiggled the LCA's w/ the OEM bushings note that the farther it travels the more resistance that builds, and upon release it tries to re-center, right? Actually I noted no change to the resistance (w/ the P/F's) until reaching the travel limit of the inner ball joint, which is (should) be past the point of actual 'operational' travel, so based on this and concerns posted here and elsewear regarding alterations to spring rates I feel the P/F's does allow a 'purer', (more linear) spring and damper action.

Now that I've put a few (street) miles on I can say that the ride has improved, both from a handling perspective but more noticably in the way my MINI handles 'sharp edged' pavement breaks on bad pavement, bridge expansion joints and minor speed bumps (I went looking for them ) - firmer yet less harsh, less noise, less 'drama' - yes, possibly because of the state of the OEM's w/ 62k on them, but they were worn not disintegrated. IMHO the ride and handling is now very much in keeping with character of the MINI...

Additional observation: I tend to have a higher level of both mechanical aptitude and patience than the average person, and at times found this extremely frustrating: unable to get bolts to thread because of the most minor misalingment, inadequate instructions on some removal steps - so this not a DIY project for the faint of heart...

Will post more follow-ups as time and thoughts permit...

 

Thanks for putting the picture up. I have yet to pull the sub frame off of my car so I havent gotten a real good chance to really stare at the setup and play with it. I now see why this binding issue comes up, very interesting.

 

your observations mimic mine...and only once in the few times that I removed the sub-frame did I have trouble aligning the sub-frame...it was frustrating but I took a few steps back and started over and all was fine.

Glad it all worked out.

 

Thanks! Actually the subframe itself went back in suprisingly well - the biggest issue I had was getting the bolts to 'catch' when installing the second LCA bushing bracket; it seemed that the sway bar bushings against the 'collars' on the bar were fighting the correct alignment of the bolts, and, of course, working under the car on jackstands limited my visability, as well as trying to be careful not to cross-thread the bolts, at the same time holding the LCA bracket in place, etc. all with one hand while using the other hand to try to start the bolt - just those 2 bolts must have taken me about 1/2 hour (yes, including a couple of walks away from the car to calm down ) until I got 'em, but they fought me, and I won ... I also had a small issue with the lower motor mount hanging up, but a tap-tap w/ the hammer and it popped into place - and boy was getting the steering-shaft-to-rack bracket apart and back together, ah, 'fun' (limited space for both hands and wrench, combined with surface rust of the bracket made it difficult to get into place to allow insertion of the bolt - of anything that's the one part - the 'knuckle' - that should be PB Blaster'ed ahead of time)...

Side note: regarding wheel alignment afterword, I've still to have it checked, but roadtesting shows no wander at 60+ mph, and stops (both hard and easy) from 30+ with no hands on the wheel are dead straight - now I can wait a little until I can complete my research and have it done to 'my' spec.s...

Before I forget I'd like to thank everybody who contributes to this subject, agree or disagree, it all helped ...

 

My personal take on this control arm bushing job is;

It's much faster with 2 people work together than 1 and if you have 2 people the sub -frame does not need to come completely off. You can take a axe handle and pry (slightly) on the sub-frame just enough to slip the rear bolt of the bracket out of place. Re-assymbly went smooth. But definately not a job for someone with limited automotive knowledge and tools.

 

Just got the Powerflex bushings in and the motorsport kit with them. What is everyone's thoughts on the additional kit, not sure if I want to put them on or just do the bushings by themselves?

 

how about these instead of the powerflex

http://www.superflex.co.uk/photopage.php?part_id=130

these look to be different to the power flex versions and are fitted by the leading tuners here in the uk.

 

cause the center piece can rotate. Another way to skin the cat!

Matt

 

Same concept as Powerflex