OEM springs & new shocks

I am pretty sure those strut plate bushings got abused whenwe took the MINI on a run around the backside of Mt. Rainier with the Club and hit a swale in the road and almost went airborne.  Couldn't see the darn thing in the shade.

Sure makes me happy to know that I am not about to loose pieces in the road....

Hooray indeed! 

I once had a lower A-Arm cut loose and A-Arm, spring and all hit the street when I was traveling 5-10mph in reverse, right after an 80mph run down coast highway!  That would have made the news!!!

I have been a very lucky fellow in all things, generally.

UPDATE to the saga of the CLUNK with the FSD's.

A fellow on Motoring Alliance who has a shop in SoCal responded by saying he has installed many FSD's and the main cause of a clunk was missing installation of the washers under the bearing.  I knew that was not the problem, but he said call him.  I did that, and he has been in the car/hotrod business for many years and he said it could be the top nut is working loose.  I checked and he was right, the nut was ever so slightly loose.  He recommended tightening it to 8lb higher than spec and call him back with the findings.  It seems to have worked!  His suggestion was to drive it a while and let him know if that solved the mystery and if it comes back, over a month or so, try removing the nut and putting blue locktite on the threads and re-torque.

I think he is right since it immediately cured the clunk.  Seemed like a good guy that apparently knew his stuff!  http://www.motoringmagic.com/  His name is Scott.  He installs stuff, like heads and internals, for Jan B.

I am relieved that I can keep the FSD's since they improved the ride so dramatically.  The car really feel planted on the road without spending thousands of dollars on suspension, and then having to deal with a lowered MINI that will not make it over the hospital speed bumps or my driveway.

If you find yourself in SoCal and need a mechanic I would recommend that guy since Jan's always booked/overbooked.

How did you figure that out?

Well that is good news. Heck of a way to find out, but still good news. Should be a snap installing this time since youve done it before.

I am giving up on the Koni's.  The replacement set is starting to clunk again. 

I am sure there is a difference between the older than '07 MINI's and the 2011 MINI so comparing what MINI is calling "Sport Suspension" to was was available then would be pretty different.

I noticed that with the newer Bilstiens they have a category for standard suspension and "Sport Suspension"!!  Apparently someone else has figured out what MINI is doing.  I know the MINI sits higher by 5/8" than our '09 Cooper, and it rides a whole lot harder(Sport Suspension), very jarring in fact!  It rode firm but smooth with the FSD's but they will come apart at some point in time with that darn clunking...

Now to decide which springs to put on the Bilstiens.  Tempting to put on the OEM springs since I like the ride height.

UPDATE:  The B6 Bilsteins designated for the "Sport Suspension" will work with the OEM SS Springs.  The B8's work with lowering springs.



Edited by SMOG - March/06/14 at 7:08pm

You guys both have R53's and I think they are a different beast.  Don't you track your car too?

I just drive the streets and sometimes in a spirited manner, but no track stuff.

I also have no desire to drag the belly of the car on speed bumps, driveway aprons or humps in a dirt road (yes, I go on dirt roads from time to time).

Megans sound like a good track solution though!

Kurt, doesn't that solid top strut bearing (no rubber) tear up other things in the car if it is used as a daily driver?  I can imagine plastic parts and screws falling from some mysterious place inside and outside the car as one drives down our wonderfully potholed streets, sort of like a shower of unknown parts.

Thanks for the tip Kurt.  If I have to go the coilover route the H&R's will probably be the way I go.  Lots of people seem to like them for daily drivers.

Are you saying the strut is so narrow that it fits through the hole in the hat at the top of the spring? 

I am having trouble visualizing. Can you take a picture?

Kurt, I messed up the order of the rubber things and all is well now.  Does a torque of 19 Ft pounds sound right for the rear center strut retaining nuts?

Love using this!

When I was putting in the rear shocks/struts one of the bolts felt like it was going to break (got a bit squisshy when getting close to torque spec which is 122 ft #) so I am replacing that bolt.  But it has been brought to my attention that it might be the trailing arm stripping!  Now that is not good!!

Are there any fixes for that without replacing the trailing arm?

Sounds familiar. When we were installing my new springs last month one of the bolts stripped as well when reinstalling through one of the rear trailing arms. The aluminum threads are really soft and you have to be very careful. By the time we realized it was stripped it was too late. I just kept turning and got it tight. It did end up torquing down fine in the end but I'm sure if I ever have to replace the strut I'll need to either tap it out and use a longer bolt or replace the trailing arm.

Did it!  I ground a small flat spot for the washer and nut on the wheel side of the Trailing Arm.  Ran a 14mm tap through the trailing arm.  Got a 10.9 grade 14mm bolt long enough to do it and then had to run a die down it far enough to get proper thread length on the bolt.

Stay tuned.  Going to get an alignment ASAP.

The overall lowering is 9/16 inch , but I suspect more with settling.

Now the car sits more level and does not have that "stink bug" look of being higher in the back end.






Edited by SMOG - March/13/14 at 1:39pm