Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Chassis bracing

I think you may have misunderstood something because Jan recommending bytetronic is like oil and water mixing.

Are you 100% sure because I am sure he would have said ViPEC not Craptronic.

 

TSW.......real world testing.

Cusco doesn't seem to really tie the front end together properly.

 

Your just wrong.

Tested them, the Cusco really works, ask Ian Stewart if you don't believe me, he was running one on his NASA national championship winning Mini. The only system that ties the front and rear together.

 

I'm not sure the Cusco was available a few years ago when I opted for my Madness brace. I'd defiantly entertain it if I were to do it over.

 

It's been around awhile, but not always easy to get one.

 

Got mine through Jan at RMW back in the day.

 

I'm not even sure on this one anymore! Maybe sending an email to Cusco USA would work.

 

Do you have front camber plates or coilovers with camber adjustment and rear adjustable control arms? The best settings go beyond OEM adjustment ability.

 

Ok. I misunderstood your initial question. Thought you were looking for the hardware suggestions. You are simply looking for the alignment specs to get started at?

 

PM sent.

 

Does the min really suffer from much chassis flex

 

My experience is completely different than this opinion, and therefore disagree completely.

While stock, I had unacceptable amount of cowl shake all the time, whether hitting potholes, RR tracks, or just cruising on freeway. Since I put tower plates and braces plus TSW X-brace from Way Motors, the R-52 feels virtually solid. No shake - the RV mirror is quiet so you can see out of it all the time. Hitting RR tracks at any speed is no problem, the car feels just great. When I first bought the car I was disappointed with the way it drove, rode and handled, and wondered why it was considered so great. Now I know it desperately needs these mods.

 

Didn't some first gen BMW Minis have problems with windshields cracking without being hit?

 

I'm not gonna argue the chassis stiffness or lack of it on a first generation MINI because I'm not the least bit qualified to do so but I have read a number of posts from people who have hardtops that have installed bracing report that certain squeaks, rattles, etc. have been eliminated by doing so. I have also read reports to the contrary so while it is not cure all for everyone it seems to have worked for some.

 

Old fart ramble below....

I'm not a structural engineer or an expert, but you get my .02 anyway. From my experience & mine alone with such things the MINI seems to be a very structurally sound & stiff car.

My MINI does not have a big honking hole in the roof & that may make my MINI feel stiffer. I added an M7 strut brace to keep the strut tops from mushrooming which it has done nicely. Don't know if it added any structual benefits, but it may have. Who knows? I've also added the braces from the rag top MINI, cheap & easy to install.

I have not installed any under-body bracing & can't comment on their effect to stiffness or handling. The fact that I drive on real roads means ground clearance is important to me. I felt an under strut system would be asking to be ripped off on some Ohio Back-road.

These added pieces I installed made no difference in the feel of the car. I've read that others really feel the difference from smoothing things out to making their MINI handle like a 917 Porsche. The placebo effect is strong with some folks.

Hey Dave I've outed myself. M7 parts on my MINI.

 

I was going to mention the placebo effect, but I had a pretty good idea how that was going to go over, even though I think it's contributing significantly...

Look, it's ok if you have an M7 part, as long as you have a quality part to counterbalance it's bad juju-edness.

 

I've got the TSW X brace. Since the car came with them on I can't say how well it improved the car. But I road along in a couple other MINI's during autocross and they didn't have a cross brace. The difference is very noticeable!

The only thing I don't like is the TSW brace scrapes on everything. Speed bumps...scrape!
High angle driveway....scrape!

Does anyone who has a full cage also run a cross brace? Once I go full cage I'm considering removing it.

 

You'll notice it on the track and autox, no one will argue that.

I have a four point but not full cage, and that makes a big difference on the track, a full cage would be even better. On the street, no difference.