I just recently got a mini cooper (R52). Now I kinda have a need for speed but unfortunately I've learned that there isn't much you can do to these types of Minis to make them go much faster, so I am going for the more stance look, or as the people in my area call it "slammed" lol. Now I am thinking about installing D2 coilovers onto my car, and when I called a place to speak to them about this, they said I will need to buy 5mm wheel spacers for my car. Is this true for anyone who has a stanced or "slammed" mini? Thanks

 

anyone?

 

first off, mini's arnt meant for straight line speed, and you could easily obtain 250 whp, which is a decent amount in a light weight car. it takes some $$$$


as for stancing, that will take a lot of trial and error or being intuitive with math and measurements. slamming a mini also requires a shelf of axles, im sure youll go through them, minis that are slammed seem to chew right through them. the geometry of the axles is not ideal. slammed also requires some crazy camber in the rear, and youll want 15 inch wheels. theres plenty of stanced minis around, do some searching

 

Ya I've been looking at some 15x8 rims that would fit my car perfectly, Im just interested on what the 5mm wheel spacers do and if I really need them.

 

If you buy the correct offset, you won't need spacers.

Honestly man, "hard-parking" in a parking lot with your Bros isn't nearly as much fun as driving spiritedly in a great handling car. Stancing kind of bastardizes a great car, and you'll eventually tire of it.

And yes- your car may gain an insatiable appetite for tires and axles.

 

I guess its your own personal interest. Different styles for different people. Me I like going to car meets in my local area and parking up with my friends and looking at other peoples cars.

 

some tires have different sidewalls than others, spacers really should be the last option on what you should get, do the stance first then figure out what spacers you need. clearing the brakes isn't the problem, it will be the springs and fenders.

 

Now I'm starting to understand, this is why the place that I'm getting my coils installed at are telling me I need 5mm spacers in order to install the coils

 

Different strokes for different folks.

And as stated earlier. With correct offset, you will not need spacers. Just depends on what wheels you run and they offset they carry. Some wheels you will need a lot some you won't need any at all

 

probably gonna be looking at some deep dished rims, so based off that I think I'm gonna have to get some spacers lol

 

Not necessarily. "Deeper dish" means lower offset. Lower offset means more inner clearance for a given wheel width so you'd technically have a less of a need for spacers the lower your offset is (assuming your worried about inner clearance).

 

Looool at all these replies.

-Don't get 15's, get 17's
-Lowering it doesn't mean you will destroy driveshafts
-You don't need 'crazy camber' to lower it

 

Loooool at yourself, bud.

Know that a lightweight 15" wheel, paired with proper rubber will make the car not only easier to drive and more compliant, but handle better. Go find some race-prepped R53's. They don't run 17's, *hint *hint.

'Slamming' the car will wear driveshafts more quickly due to the increased drive angle. It's not debatable. How low you go and the axle quality will contribute largely. Having said that, just don't go nuts with lowering and you'll be fine.

 

Read his posts.
He doesn't want it to handle well, he wants it to look a certain way to impress his friends.
Reminds me of the folks that do piercings on their pets.
If he wants to buy your MINI, don't sell it to him.

 

I've done over 25k on suspension wound all the way down and never had any issues with driveshafts.

He wants to go stance so why don't you let him instead of building his car for him. 15's look stupid on a mini, way too small. 16's look weird as well unless extremely low. You need 17's to get decent fitment.

 

You must have not "slammed" a mini before then... The axles on these cars are known to be extremely weak, when you slam it to the ground.

I have a friend that is maxed out on his VMaxx Coils, and he's gone through a more than a handful of broken axles in a month or so (OEM and aftermarket race axles)

That being said, and as other have said... its all personal preference (15's look stupid, 16's look weird, etc.) is your personal preference... common sense tells me though, 15's are smaller, so more room to drop it down, which leaves more room to slam it and stance... Then again, what you consider slammed/stanced is all again, down to personal preference.