Hi everyone

I'm in the middle of the R56 RTA swap on my 06 R53 right as I write this to you... I've got the stock R53 RTAs removed and I am ready to swap to R56...

I know the past articles I've read say that the R56 lower shock mounting bolt and R56 RTA bushing bolt are SELF tapping... but I guess I'm just nervous about how easy it might be to F that up...

Did none of you first tap the hole with the right thread size and then bolt in?
Or did you really just go with the self-tapping thing and it all worked out?..



I love the unsprung weight savings, but I'm slightly worried about down the road when I replace RTA bushings or swap out shocks... how many times do you think the soft aluminum of the RTA will accept having bolts removed and bolted back in before you start losing threads? Is this a concern for anyone?

 

FYI I called both MINI Corsa and Custom MINI shop and all the conversions they've done to date involved R56 trailing arms that were already threaded at both ends... so that leads me to believe they must have been used trailing arms...

I bought my R56 RTAs brand new from BMW and none of the holes (bushing, shock, abs sensor) are tapped from the factory...