Hello everyone, I'm getting ready to buy some control arms for Brutus.

I want to go with Ireland Engineering brand, but then I'm thinking H-sport.

How important is it to grease the bushings on control arms? Could greasing the bushings on the H-sports be contributing to the premature failure?

thanks in advance.

 

if you get the h-sports watch out for this:
the stock arms have a steel bushing that runs the full width of the attach channel. you can crank down the through bolts to the specified torque and not damage any bushing material.

if you try this with the h-sports, you can deform the chassis channel sides and crush / deform the poly end bushings. don't use the stock bolt torque spec. with the h-sports. i wonder if this is a possible cause for some h-sport failures?

 

overtightening makes sense to me, did not realize. thanks for the input.:smile:

 

Make sure to use some lock tite if you are not using the stock torque though so they do not back off on you...

 

I've installed H-Sport upper and lower control arms.
Put around 2,000 miles on the controls arms without any problems what so ever. That includes (2) track days at Infineon and (2) track days at Thunderhill.

 

Hey right on man!

I'm gonna get the Hsports, just have to wait for them now.

 

Hey James,

If ya need help on the install let me know. Ive done it before so I might be of some assistance. My friend who installed them on a car told me I should have run the gas tank really low before installing them.... maybe they just dropped the tank out? Ill ask and see what he says.

Got it all aligned today at his brothers shop. When I went in my rear was at -2.5! Since you have the M7s and sit a bit lower you might be to like 3.0! I had it adjusted to 1.2 and I must say I am suprised as to how much better it grips around the turns. It was only $40 and took him about 30 minutes.

Just for reference the setting I am running now is front and back toe in 1/16 and -1.2 camber in the rear. I forgot to ask him to check the front camber setting so Ill wait til my friend gets here on the 10th so I can just pop into the shop and check myself.

 

why is the hsport worth the money is my big question....

im shopping for control arms right now and the only difference i see with h-sport and alta or rdr or any brand is that alta uses helm joints and h-sport uses poly bushings

is poly just better?

 

H-sports do look nice with the red/blue and black finish. Functionally they are very similar no matter which brand you decide on. Similar weight to stock control arms.

For lightest weight (50% of stock) consider the RDR control arms(Teflon-lined heim joints )-
http://helix13.com/html/products/pro...p?p=suspension

It's your choice- prices are similar as are install times.

 

Different applications: heim joints are rock solid...no give...they are excellent in the competitive environment of the auto-x, or on the track. They will beat you silly when used on anything but the smoothest road. (I know, I have RDRs on my street MCS, a bruised tailbone is a no cost extra ). The polys are not as rugged as heim joints. While they are okay for occasional track use, they will rupture and tear under prolonged or extremely hard use at the track. When you set up your car, think of what types of use you are most likely to be subjected. Unless it is a dedicated track car, or you are a budding Michael Schumacher, go with the poly bushings. But, it you are a masochist (like myself) and don't mind sitting on a pillow for weeks at a time, then go heim joints!

p.s. another distinct advantage of the heim joints is their chatter over poor roads. I always tell my passengers that this is what a real race car suspension sounds like. Cool factor 10+.

 

thanks for the great response

i use the control arms mainly to adjust camber back when i get coils... guess for 70% street i can stick with h-sport ones

 

thanks for the some great information. I have been thinking about suspension upgrades and trying to get some information with what bits to put where. This info has really helped. Any other rookie stuff would help too. I have been browsing/searching too.

 

Suspension upgrade breakdown.

If only one upgrade do the rear adjustable swaybar first. Three holes and pick the sofest or middle setting. For MC choose 19mm and for MCS choose either 22mm or 19mm (thicker is stiffer). H-sport comps are 25mm but lightweight thin wall for effective 22mm performance at half the weight but slightly higher cost (mostly for competition). Colors differ. Check out the Rspeed bar- it's the newest and at a decent price.

If you want to do more then rear swaybar and lowering springs is a common choice- A little lower would be M7, alta and others with less than 1" drop.
More drop would be H-sport and even more drop would be HR.

Coilovers are nice and highly adjustable but much more costly.

Once you add springs or coilovers you will notice that the rear negative camber can be much more than stock. Likely about -2.4 degrees. To adjust for less camber back into the stock range you will need rear control arms that are adjustable. (see above discussion).

For front camber adjustment needed for max performance on the track or at autocross add front camber plates.

Have fun

 

minihune... thanks for the breakdown. That helps. I was looking at the ALta for sway bar... I don't autoX (yet), but want something stable for canyon roads, but also soft enough for daily commute... is the Alta 22mm gonna work the best.

By the way... I have a 2004 DS/B MCS... I assume the Alta 22mm is gonna work the best for my needs?!?!?!

 

..... you might find that the H-Sport Comp rear sway bar is the best. Great bar as far as I'm concerned, and other here I'm sure

 

any 22mm sway bar would work well for you anyways! i dont think there are any chages to the 04 suspension in sway bar fitment that im aware of...

 

I ran the RDR control arms on my mini. The worked great and did make some noise. Plus you need to lube then and clean them from time to time if you drive in allot of rain and winter conditions.

When I buy a mini again i will do the H sports but I will look into a longer sleve with in the poly bushing.

 

GCM, go H-sport for the sway bar. Its super lightweight compared to the rest of the sway bars because it tubular. Its very sturdy as well

 

Hey bud,

This place has the ALTA 22mm bar (and 19mm bar) on the cheap.

http://www.jscspeed.com/mini/suspension/amp_swaybar.htm

Not affiliated, just a happy customer.

Marty

 

Yes, jscspeed is where I got all of my Alta products as well. They have good prices and they deliver on time.

 

GCM, I'd recommend Hsport. I have a UUC 19mm bar on the soft setting and it's alright. Only paid $100 that's why I went with it.

As far as springs go, I have m7's and Jason has Hsports. You can't go wrong either way. Good luck and of course let me know if you need any help

 

I have noticed the the poly bushings on the h-sport control arms ease up the ride alot.... just thought id throw that in.

 

any body ever run the Ireland Engineering arms with the poly bushings? they seem like a good alternative but haven't heard of anybody using them. also has anyone ever used a 19mm then a 22mm or vice versa? what were the differences you felt? Dinan, UUC, Pilo all recommend the 19mm but the majority around here say go 22mm. if i plan on trying Auto-X and not too often will the 22mm be total overkill, and is there a 3 hole 19mm?

 

I don't know of any MINIs with the IE control arms (they come in a street version with urethane bushings ($230 a pair) for a less stiff ride and longer wear). Race control arms have rod ends (better control but more vibration and noise) sold for $190 a pair.

The IE rear 22mm swaybar info states:
$169 - 22mm adjustable hollow rear sway bar kit for the Mini Cooper. Kit includes bar, bushings and end links. Most rear bars sold by other companies make you use the wimpy factory end links. Our bars include adjustable links with rod ends that others charge extra for. Also our bars are adjustable via a billet aluminum slider rather than having 2 or 3 holes.

For autocross the 22mm would work fine for the MCS - usually with the soft or middle setting.
For the 19mm bar in an MCS the middle or stiffest setting might work. Depends on the wheels/tires, suspension, alignment and driving style.

 

discodan, reason I'm going hsport is the zerk fittings for greasing. I too was dabating over the same brands. There almost priced the same, can't go wrong.
I drive with a UUC 19mm bar,still on the soft setting and it's great. If I auto crossed though, I'd get a 3 position bar (hsport), just to have the option of three settings. I don't think a 22mm bar is overkill at all. good luck