hi gays and gals,

i had a little parking lot accident and a 75 year old lady hit me square on the right rear wheel doing about 10mph. Result: snapped both upper and lower control arms. i'll start another "Mini made out of glass" thread later, but for now i need to get the control arms. i have NM springs (~1.25" drop) and H-sport 19mm RSB.

i took the car to NH track the other day on stock run flats and really beat up the outside of both rear (don’t remember camber) and front (1.2 camber) tires, so as it i was already thinking of getting adjustable rear control arms (and camber plates and front tie up bar).

Since now i have to replace the control arms, i will go with the adjustable ones. i am thinking of going with both upper and lower arms to control camber and toe.

About my car: it is a daily driver, 365 days a year in the Northeast. I would not mind a little added noise and chatter (a little), but the parts must be able to live with Boston snow, rain and salt. I will track the car about 4-6 days a year and might AutoX it, so whatever control arms I will go with need to be able to take the beating on the track but also due to spirited road cornering.

Questions that I would love to get answered within 36 hours so I can buy whatever I need to buy
1. Is it true that on 2011 MCS upper and lower rear control arms are the same?
2. Is it worth going with two adjustable control arms (per wheel)? That should allow me to dial in toe and camber, but is it worth it for a few HPDEs?
3. MOST IMPORTANTLY – which control arms are recommended for my case?

Thx a lot – your timely suggestions will make at least one vendor happy very soon. while i'll have the car in the shop i will also be installing camber plates and tie up bar....

Alex

 

double post, sorry

 

"Hi gays and gals"

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

 

h-sport adjustable lower control arms ftw.

 

i am a bit concerned about the design and that middle blue piece being a weak link....

have you (or others) have this on their cars for a while? can it handle the load?
thx

 

H-Sport Control Arms are great. Similar to your RSB. Waylin (Way Motor Works) recommends them highly.

In my opinion - you don't need to spend the $ to get both upper & lower (enought toe adjustment without adjustable uppers). However - if you have to replace them because they are broken - may as well get both.

I have a similar set-up as you: NM Springs; H-Sport RSB; H-Sport Control Arms. (If you don't already have adjustable end-links - you may want to get those too. I would be ruprised if the lady broke both your control arms - if she didn't also at least bend the end-link).

Good luck!

 

i agree about not spending $$ on upper arms... the plan, if lower and upper are the same indeed as i am hearing, to use the "good" lower arm from the other side as an upper arm for the "bad" side and get a set of adjustable, lower arms

how long have you had the H-Sports control arms? thx

 

I also went with the H-sport...but i did the upper and lower. Mainly because after seeing how flimsy the stamped stock upper and lower arms are...I had to replace the upper as well. Way Motor Works hooked me up.

I like the H-sport because they are nice and quiet, and greasable too. Fairly easy to install, just had to zip tie the weird sensor thing that bolts to the factory upper control arm...I think it's for the headlight level or something?

 

I installed the h-sport lower control arms, alta 19mm rsb, bilstein sports, nm springs with way adjustable end links. No problems with the lower h-sports. DRAGON TESTED!!!!!

 

thx guys for your replies, keep them coming....

today, i talked a very reputable vendor and a very knowledgeable Mini fella who has no horse in this race and H-sport were not high on his/their list.

i am leaning towards Alta or Helix ones.... any feedback? thx, Alex

 

ALTA's heim joints are very prone to failure, hence the infamous ALTA clunk. Check the reviews on this site in the vendor section. Another vote for H-sports here.

 

A buddy of mine has the Alta ones...which he loves...but his have gotten very noisy. They still function fantastically of course, but he thinks the salt/weather in this area might have caused the noise issues?

 

Agree with VV. +1 on h-sport as well. I have had my h-sport for 3 years approx and it does not have the infamous Alta clunk on mine. And that clunk is really annoying.

You can feel the quality of the h-sport control arms when you pick it up.

 

I would also check out the SPC controll arms.
Steve

 

does anybody know for sure whether upper and lower rear control arms are identical or not? OEM ones have different part numbers and price. thx

 

If you want the arms to last through snowy and super-salty Northeast winters, avoid the Alta arms. Metal on metal joints will NOT fare well in those conditions... not to mention, they will be quite loud for daily use. Since these lateral links simply locate the rear trailing arm, moving from rubber bushed ends to heim joints/rod ends won't increase harshness that much..... but they will increase noise.

Another vote for the H-Sport arms here. Hotchkis makes high quality suspension components. That is what they focus on. You can rest assured you will be buying a well thought out/well engineered part from them.

 

I have run Hotchkis up on the North Shore for 100k miles without any complaints.

Careful - SCCA Street Touring rules permit uppers OR lowers, not both.

Cheers,

Charlie