I ordered these from Randy Webb a couple of weeks back, but was unable to install them last weekend due to Easter plans. Being that I had already installed H-Sport lower arms a year or so back, I was fairly well-versed for what to expect...

This could be 2 to 3 hour job, but it took me closer to 5 as I used this oppotunity check torque setting on various components, and to do some cleaning. It is much easier to do such things with the arms out of the way .

Wheel ramps work great, but a floor jack to achieve desired loading is also advisable. I used a stock arm, with bolts, to get set all 4 arms to factory length. Indeed, the tops and bottoms are the same span...

I made it a point to install these arms such that all jam nuts are tightened by pulling a wrench downward, as opposed to a knucke-busting upward motion . Also, as one can notice in the photos, I marked the bolts so that I can replace them in their original position. D1 and D2 are for the driver side lower bar, 1 being out, and 2 in. And once again D1 stripped on me . I was amazingly careful, and now I'm wondering if the nut plate is shot. I had purchased a new bolt last time, and all was fine. If the nut plate is x-threaded, I would need to hack it off, and use a nut, or figure out something else. At this point, it's tight enough to drive though. I also put marks on the bolt heads that are inline with the bars. I will check periodically to see if the marks are moving or not, with D1 being my only concern. I will try to get that bolt tomorrow from a local MINI dealer....

I used 3 zip ties to achor the light-leveler; 2 black ones (not exactly visible in the photo) are fished though the bracket holes. Also, on the inside of the bracket where it rests on the bar, I lined it with the felty material of some remnant velcro I almost tossed a way a while ago. Worked wonderfully!

There is noting particularly difficult about this install at all. I guess the toughest thing might be getting access to the top bolts/nuts, but it's simple after pulling-back the heat shield. Also, lining-up the holes so that the bolts can slide-in sometimes requires some creativity, and that's where the floor jack came in handy so I could push or pull in the wheel as needed...

I finished about 1 hour before a storm arrived, so I did have a chance to drive it a few miles. At this point, I can say that it feels more "tight." I was a little apprehensive about pushing her hard with that one bolt in the back of my mind making me a bit tentative...

The H-Sports have a home, but the 4 stockers do not...

I am indeed (as I was before this) in need of an alignment. I'm waiting for some camber plates to arrive, and once installed, I'll finally get everything set! Oh, also waiting for Randy to get his drop-links for the front as well...

I know the rust on my exhuast looks terrible... After making sure everything was stainless, and all of the planning that went into that project, I somehow let the shop guy weld plain steel hangers . I'll fix it in time...

 

Maybe when you get some free time you could get that uderside a little cleaner. I think I saw a few smuges under there.
So, where is the battery and what muffler did you use? Loud??

 

A few photos snagged from my MINI2 thread:









I couldn't find a completed photo... There is a very wide velcro strap anchoring it down, and some blue fabric covering battey, so it looks sharp...

EDIT/ADD: Oh, it's a Borla Turbo muffler... I have the model number somewhere. It sounds like a Borla . The sound is very desirable, at least more my preferences....

 

Back to the arms... I've had a couple PM's about them... These are aluminum arms, and a pair weighs 3.8 pounds on my scale. The stockers (pair) weighs 6.8 pounds.. The Alta website has yet to be updated to show that these are their current offering - no longer steel.

 

Hey Tony,

Nice job! After one winter here in the Northeast the underside of my Mini will never look that good.

I'm still learning the Mini, and so I have a question. Does the Mini really need an adjustable toe link? Or, did you intall the toe link to save unsprung weight?

Ciao,

Michael

 

Thank you Michael. It's been a while...

**** me, to get 3 more pounds... well, it was factor alright . And, even more so though is that I'm really trying to minimize compliance where I can, ideally without too much sacrifice (namely noise and vibration)...

As onasled shared with me via PM when I was contemplating these, the arms are not louder per se, but there is added noise. If you heard something rattling before, well, you might here it a bit more now . I'll be snugging-up a few items next weekend, but even if I cannot alleviate such sounds, they truly are minimal against the exhaust and engine/SC...

When I got to work this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the one bolt in question (D1) did not move! MINI of Mtn View didn't have any in stock, but they special ordred me a couple (I want an extra) that should be here by Thu. I also ordered a front driver side driving light lens (that long orange one) due to a deer impact last week...

That all being said, I drove home a little more aggressively knowing that the bolt seems to be secure enough for the interim... As I shared earlier, things are, for lack of a better word - tighter. There is one turn in particular that I want to hit again. Normally (prior to these arms) I could feel weight loading as I go into the turn, and as I come-out, I would get a slight spring or jump as it unloaded. I didn't get that today. I'll push them harder next time, but something tells me that I don't have the ***** to do so until I get that new bolt in there . I however feel fairly confident that what I sensing is very real as I've hit that turn slower before, and still had the recoil effect; again very slight, but a difference nonetheless...

With the Webb ver 2 camber plates done, I should have those on soon. I then can finally get an alignment done. Indeed, having the ability to adjust tow will be nice...

Oh, the underside was only that clean because it was beautiful Sunday afternoon, I had the radio on, and no one was timing me on this install .

Ciao my friend!

 

Tony, .... b e c a r e f u l ...!
If you haven't aligned it yet, you shouldn't be pushing it to much. Besides, the biggest handling benefit to these is getting your front and rear toe right and of course the camber. I know you know this, but when it's done, THEN the big smile really comes
Yea, the noise you will hear will be the pavement against the tires. Otherwise these are as quiet as stock. Not having those rubber bushings anymore is huge handling plus.

Look forward to hearing how you like the front plates when they go in. I'm just not sure myself if it's something I want to do, as my MCS is becoming less of a fun daily driver with all the mods so far. I'm about at the point of stopping and maybe just getting a Berkin to take over.

 

No doubt, she's "squirrely" when pushed. But, it's been that way since it got lowered with the Ledas last Oct. I didn't want to spend $ on an alignment as the camber plates and Ledas weren't working ideally with my set-up. While I didn't expect the wait to be this long, Randy has done much to make sure that this will be a wonderful set-up for me; and it's almost there!

I hear ya on stopping the mod game. It's still not as rough of a ride as the FJ40 was . If I can hit my goal of 10:1 weight to bhp with the stock blower, I'll call it quits then. With the weight of my MCS, that would be about 220 or so WHP.

Birkin indeed! Westfield, Caterham... all Lotus 7 replicas. That would be one heck of a garage with those 2 British legends: a MINI and Lotus 7 . I would make the goal a very reasonable 5:1 (1,200 to 1,300 lbs with 240 to 260 bhp Duratec). MINI for Fall/Winter, and the Caterham for the Spring/Summer. I figure another year mod'ing the MINI, then I'll get very serious into that project. Please, let's keep-in-touch! Oh, PM sometime, if you don't mind, re your brake experiences...

 

TonyB,

just wondering what kind of rims do you have on your ride?

 

Those are 16x7 Volk CE28Ns. They weigh 10.75 lbs each, and are very strong!

 

Nice...
Can you post a pic of it on your car?


Thanx

 

TonyB: want to trade my 17x7 motegis for them? ill beg.... LOL

how do they compare to the h-sport control arms... polyurethane bushings shouldn't give better ride and less noise..

if the altas don't make noise, then why go with h-sport at all?

 

i don't have any really good shots of my wheels. here is one that i just got from another thread:



kyriian, the h-sports were good to me, and no complaints at all. they are more cushy as compared to the alta's heim joints. the h-sports make for less noise as far as i can tell... the h-sports certainly look nicer, and i will miss that annodized blue on my ib mcs...

 

Hey Tony thanks.

I've also noticed, with some surprise, the rear end get a little squirrley when the throttle transitions from open to closed in the middle of say 90-100 mph sweepers. I only let off to shift in this particular turn. First time the car did this, I was a little alarmed. I'm very accustomed to it now, but it would be great if I could eliminate this with lighter links and better bushings.

Your threads are always full of usefull detail! Thanks

Ciao,


Michael

 

Is this a worthwhile mod for the average 'spirited' off track MINI driver? Does it make any sense to just do the lower control arms or do all 4 need to be replaced to notice the difference in handling?

 

Michael, even if this small car is dialed-in, sweepers at 100+ will not be her forte, but it is fun, if not scary at times . Thanks for the kind words, btw.

veggivet, that's a tough question, the way I see it. I just got a replacement bolt for the one that I stripped, and after it goes on tomorrow, I should be able drive it a little harder. I think most would say that it's probably not worth it though. You will notice a difference just by doing the lower arms, but as far as difference from there by doing the uppers as well, I cannot yet comment...

With that all said, I don't track my MCS. But, I'm very fortunate to live in a canyon. Actually, one of the reasons I chose this house was due to the roads leading to and from it . Certainly not track conditions, but I would venture to guess that not many have the opportunity to regularly push their cars to this degree, safely on public roads.

I had a 914 (2.0) before, and the MCS is just easier to take fast, especially in not so ideal conditions. I will do virtually all that I can to make her handle better, so an an extra 200 bucks (for the uppers) was a no-brainer for me...

 

This shouldn't be surprising in a FWD car that's setup to be fast rather than safe. The faster you want to go, the looser it needs to be. Sounds like you've got control of it though...

 

Thanks, Tony B.
I was all set to install the lowers (from MossMini), but I noticed in the pre-assembly process that one of the holes was about 1 mm too small. I couldn't fit the bushing in, and I didn't want to ruin the coating by drilling it larger. Fortunately, I found this out before I took off the OEM arms!! I'm now thinking I'll hold off on this upgrade and do it when I do the exhaust.

Thanks again for the info.

 

Just finished doing the Lower Alta arms. Mine were the grey alumins which worked out well since i have a DS mini. As Tony said you will feel a difference. By just doing the lower arms the car is responding much like it was when i first bought it. Before the Rubber bushings had time to wear. When i get the fun budget back up to get the top set of bars. I'll install them as well.


Is it needed for the occasional spirited driver .. no not really .. and i dont mean this as an offense to anyone. Most dont push the car to the limit of the car but just the driver. With stock set up the car is more forgiving and will give you a warning before it goes nuts. When going to tight with the setup you gain more curve ablitiy but you begin to loose the warning. Which isnt that wise for those with out practice. This is my opinion on this But hey if your comfortable with your feel for the car and want to improve the handling even more Then by all means do the upgrade

 

Jeffs,

I was surprised by 'drop throttle' movement in the back end. I found this a bit disconcerting as it requires more attention than I like in these situations. Any drop throttle squirlyness should be eliminated, IMO. Getting a little loose at slow speeds is okay, but dialing in highspeed stability is definately one of my goals. Where the compromise between slow speed oversteer and highspeed stabiliy is with this car, and my ability, is something I've got in front of me. The PSS9's are on their way, so here we go.

 

Thanks, Mugami. You've convinced me to at least do the lower arms. I am now appreciating more understeer since I changed to lighter wheels and very sticky tires. You are 100% correct about pushing the car. I would guess less than 10% of all MINI owners are really driving the car to anything approaching its limits.

 

I did get that bolt replaced with a new one. It snugged-up beautifully, so thankfully only the bolt was stripped, which I thought was the case... This is nice! I really need an alignment now, but I can tell that this is worthwhile addition, at least for what I want.

Looks like I need some rear pads... the thickness of the pads is about the same as that of the backing-plate; and from what I recall, that's a pretty good indicator it's time. A good time to install a rear caliper stiffening kit (have a bbk in the front):

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...&cat=81&page=1