At least to my own private nirvana; yours may be better or different, this is just one man's path. We start 18 months ago with a floppy, sloppy justa and begin to make changes:

1. Get rid of the skinny, little, rock-hard run-flats and replace with 16" wheels and 205/50 Z-rated tires. Result: meh, but now at least there's a little grip.
2. Bolt on a 22mm solid rear bar. The car now actually rotates in a corner! This is a really good thing. No more grinding understeer and plowing through corners. Things are getting better.
3. Stick in poly rear trailing arm bushing inserts. Now the rear end doesn't do weird, scary things when stressed. A surprisingly big improvement in stability for such small pieces. Highly recommended.
4. Install Koni adjustable dampers and H&R springs, along with poly rear damper bushings. Holy crap! Body lean is vastly diminished and the car is really, really planted and stable in turns. Ride is firm, but supple and very controlled. It's like a different car.
5. Have poly front control arm bushings installed. Steering is more precise and feedback is better. I know what's going on up front.

The good news is that, when you get rid of the chewing gum, tin foil and rubber hands that hold the stock suspension together, the fundamental design is solid; the car is just a hoot to drive fast. In fact, there's so much performance there, I may have to take up auto-crossing to experience it all. The public roads aren't a good place to push this hard. Next? I'm thinking a software flash and an exhaust. But, that's another road.

 

What year is your Justa?

I've gone with lighter wheels and 205/50 summer rubber on mine as well, in addition to a 19mm RSB. I have a box of ST coilovers sitting in my spare room right now, waiting to be installed.. can't wait.

 

im looking to soften my mini up.. right now i have BC Sports with Swift springs. My car is low and stiff (and awesome!!) but i am buying another sports car and need this to be my drive into the mountains car..

I need more ground clearance and more travel. Im willing to invest in new shocks & springs and am looking for recomendations. Will the Koni FSD's be good?

*My current setup will go back on for the track

Thanks!

phil.

 

How about :

• Raise your car back up a bit
• Swap out for softer springs from Swift
• Soften the dampening adjustment a few notches

I will bet that all of those things will take care of ya!

 

The only things I'd add are:

1. Camber. Getting rotation just from using a big rear bar is not the same as having a proper alignment (and maybe a little more rear bar). Some decent front camber from fixed camber plates or at the very least the free camber mod is a MUST in my opinion. For bonus points dial out some of the rear camber in the rear using adjustable rear control arms if you're lowered. The car will react a lot better, have a better balance, be easier to drive, and have more overall grip after this step. More money to spend for sure, but "right" way to do it IMO. Alignment is key. And no you won't have to worry about excessive tire wear unless you go really crazy and you should keep toe very close to 0.

2. I don't think the poly rear shock mounts are a good idea. They need some deflection/articulation back there.

3. The Konis are awesome, but for those that drive on crappy beat up roads I'd stick with a spring that doesn't lower the car as much.

Just my opinions! You're right that these cars have so much potential that can be unlocked with a few small easy steps.

-Andrew

 

andyroo...good points. The free camber mod was the first thing I did on the car; sort of took that one for granted. I do have adjustable rear lower arms on the car, and of course I had the whole thing aligned when all this was complete. If I remember the spec sheet correctly, there's about -9° up front and -1.7° in the rear, although my memory could be off. Yes, camber plates are on my horizon, when I can justify the expense.

 

This is interesting. I've heard it before, but even my engineering degree can't explain why. Can you elaborate andy?

 

hi winderpool, thx for reply in a different thread. i am basically following same set up/logic here (to add to the existing mods). can't wait to get my Yellows and trailing arm poly bushings as well as front sway and front control arm poly bushings installed! i'll report back once everything installed.

 

I think you'll be happy with the results, especially what you get from the dampers and the trailing arm poly inserts.

 

sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm new...

Why don't I see any talk about front sway bars?

I see TireRack has kits with both front and rear, but I only hear about rear sway bars.

 

Mini's already have a lot of understeer, stiffer front sway bars will just add to it. That is why you dont see much discussion re front sways.