Hello,
Still a little new, but so far this place has been a MAJOR info site. Did a search on this but came up with nothing, so here is my question.

I want a setup were I can drift the mini pretty easy (with out lifting the e-brake on turns) I have been hearing alot about rear sway bar, Which one would be good for this, and the setting on that (middle hole?)? Should I also look into a front sway bar as well to help balance it all out? There's nothing like kicking out the rear end of a car, the feeling is something you can't compare it to at all, I love it. In that note, I miss my rwd cars

Thanks

 

you runnin a cooper or cooper s?

 

OOh ya, sorry forgot my specs. I have a 04 MCS, with H-sport springs, everything else is stock. Thanks.

 

ah nice car. I dont know what to tell you about drifiting. Dont know how to do it in fwd

 

I don't think it's possible to drift a FWD car without using the e-brake to bring the tail around.

And even if you do swing out the rear end, you don't have power going to the rear wheels to keep the drift going. That's why drifters use RWD cars.

That being said, I'd like to see you (or anyone else) drift a MINI, or any FWD car for that matter. Has it been done?

 

The H-Sport Total Vehicle System (Competition) would have worked well for you. Since you already have the springs get the Comp Sway bar set. If you want the back end to kick out a whole lot then set it soft on the front and the 3rd hole (hardest) on the rear. This is good for tight autoX tracks. If you hit the breaks in a turn you will be spinning before you can blink. For Street / Track / Canyon set the rear bar to the middle setting. This is a much more controlled amount of drift or 'stepping out' of the rear.

 

I have seen FWD drift (not on circuit racing but I think they have there own class in Japan), its a lot harder because the power is up front vs the back.

Thanks Technomage. So the front sway does come in play.

 

The proof is in the pudding.
http://www.streetracing.org/home.php?op=go&id=930

 

Would extreme rear toe-out help?

 

It's not that hard to make the rear end come around with a good sway-bar on the stiffest setting. Just go into a corner fast and about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the turn let off on the gas. The engine will now be "braking" the front end and the rear end has more speed and will have to go somewhere....so around you go.:smile: When you apply the gas the back end should straighten out again....have fun.

Disclaimer...not responsible for your death/disfigurement or that of your passengers and on-lookers. This should be performed in an open, safe enviroment....not on the street !!

You can see a bit of drifting here at an AutoX near the end of the clip.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...aster_0005.wmv

 

It comes into play quite a bit. Without it the car is too unbalanced to control the rear end. At the local MINI performance shop most of the people who have gotten just the rear bar came back and had the front installed, at a higher cost mind you.

The best reason I can think of to get a matched set of sway bars is that they are designed to work together. They optimized the Tire Lateral Load Transfer Distribution (TLLTD) for the pair of bars. They track tested it. If you don't know what TLLTD is (and I didn't before I started researching my sways) then read the articles below. Even if you do know what it is, read the articles.

I have two recommended reads on Sway Bars:
This article from Grassroots Motorsports is a must read.

H-Sport has a great PDF on Sway bars Tech.

I am running H-Sport Comp front and rear with soft on the front and mid on the rear.

 

Does it matter what MM? i get. 22mm

 

It matters a lot. Read the H-sport pdf I posted, It goes into details about what different sizes do.

The Comp set has a 25.5mm in the rear and 27mm in the front for a Rate increse over stock.
Front: +16% & +27%
Rear: +226%, +294% & +383%

 

Hammer it in reverse!

 

I have drifted my MCS through two 90* sweepers in the last auto-x when I came in a "little" too fast

I have Hsoprt springs and Hsport rear bar FULL stiff.

 

sway bar is defenitely the choice for it... it's easy for lift throttle oversteer with any big sway on your car

granted.. new tires also help... but that's more voluntary than anything

 

How to get the MINI the most booty-happy:
*disconnect the front sway bar
*H-Sport Comp rear sway bar on full stiff (front-most hole)
*camber links on the back, to add toe-OUT and reduce camber to skid tires easier
*insane driving skills, and lots of run-off area!

 

get some really nice tires up front and some really crappy hard ones on the back

 

I've seen with RWD cars throttle input has a lot to do with how far out the back end stays and where the car ends up going. So with it boot happy in the above situation, how do you control the car's angle (yaw)? Throttle, brake, leaning in seat (joke )?

 

dominic - it'll end up handling like the classic Mini's; it will oversteer the instant you let off the throttle. In that respect, you will control the drifting with the throttle (albiet the inverse of RWD cars) and the appropriate amount of opposite lock.

 

Thanks for all the replys, I can't wait to start this project.

 

Drifting the Mini or Fun runs at Auto-x
Rear Sway bar full stiff (this is not such a good idea for street use)
Rear Tire pressure too high or too low, I like too high
Camber adjustment for front and rear, 1-2 degree more negative camber in front

Lift throttle in a turn will bring the rear out, add throttle to bring it back in/push the front out
Trail braking, this will swing the rear out really fast, be ready.

If you run the middle setting the the H-sport bar, you can do all of the above, but it will be easier to control.

Have fun
The peachtree bmw cca can attest to my drifting the mini. Heh if you have already killed one cone why not 10?
Ben

 

Because then all of your fellow members would have to go pick them up...

 

fwd drifting is awesome. i give you props for that. its hard let alone in a mini. they do awesome e-brake's in seattle


chris

 

Get yourself in some snowy conditions,drifting is fun and not hard on the rubber