+1 for the Boston-area BMWCCAs. I drove my MINI up there for a track weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and had a blast. Great instructors and a well-organized event. Show up before the gates open and you'll get a garage spot - first come, first served, as I recall. They also go to bigger tracks like Tremblant in Montreal, Lime Rock, and Watkins Glen. If you run NHMS in the summer, make sure you have some good track pads, like Carbotech XP12/XP8 (front/rear). That track's tough on brakes. Keep an eye on your tire pressures, listen to your instructor, and I promise you'll have a good time.
Got in my new lower control arms and the inner and outer ball joints last week. Man these things are BEEFY! I'm use to Honda ball joints which are tiny compared to these things. I'll be painting the lower control arms today to match the wheel carriers. I was thinking about getting them powder coated but since the paint is cheaper (I have enough left over from the carriers to paint them ) so I'll just be going that route instead. Maybe I'll sand blast the original ones and get them powder coated sometime. I just would need to address the rust issue on them before anything. I'll be ordering the Powerflex LCA bushings for the new control arms. I have faith that they will be what I want and need for my MINI. Then it's off to the suspension after this. Still not sure what I want. I've been looking at the BC and Megan Racing suspension. Also, the Ksport Kontrol suspension looks pretty good. But I am leaning a lot towards the Tein SS suspension still. This was an AWESOME suspension kit on my last car, and I am still interested in this route. Just wish it came with camber plates :nonod:
So I have a lot of what I am replacing. I have newer wheel carriers (painted blue), new wheel bearing and hubs, new inner and outer ball joints, and new front lower control arms (painted blue). I just ordered TSW rear control arms and Powerflew bushings. In the next week or so I will be ordering some suspension. I think I might be going with Tein SS coilovers. I just can't imagine them being sh*tty! I had them in a previous car and absolutely loved them! But anyways, here's a pic of the new front lower control arms for you guys! ***These are the same color as the wheel carriers. This pic was taken outside, the pic of the wheel carriers was taken inside, that's why these look like a lighter blue!
So now I should have everything I need for my install. I have new wheel carriers, new wheel bearings, new inner and outer ball joints, new Powerflex bushings, new front lower control arms, new rear lower control arms, new tie rod ends, and my suspension will be here tomorrow. Found an awesome deal on new Tein SS coilovers and ordered them. When I receive my suspension tomorrow, I'll take pics of everything I have and then either friday or saturday I'll be installing everything. That will be an all day event for me. Lots of pics and a nice write up on it soon to follow!
Take your time on the install and don't rush for the sake of finishing. Also, lock down a ride to work on Monday in case it hits the fan. Take my word for it, if the MINI's your only car, it takes a load off your shoulders knowing you have a backup plan.
Thanks! I plan to take my time and I do have a spare vehicle to use just in case something goes wrong and I can't finish the install. I will have it started on friday and hopefully finished on saturday sometime. I will take plenty of time along with plenty of photos of it. It's going to be an adventure to say the least! Anyone in the area interested in seeing it all go down or giving me a hand, let me know! I'll be in the Lowell, MA......... You can even do this opcorn: or this :beer :lol:
My new suspension arrived today!!! Tein SS Coilovers New front lower control arms New TSW rear control arms New Powerflex bushings New tie rod ends (I must have forgotten them in the picture :confused5 Newer wheel carriers with NEW bolts New inner and outer ball joints New wheel bearings And...........................................some MINI Cooper GUM!!! Here's what everything together looks like...... Saturday I'll get to put it all in!!!
Metalman... what is your preferred color for ball......... joints? I take it black ones don't float your boat. . :devil:
Yeah they don't really match, but it's the only color that Tein makes, lol I can't wait to put them in though lol I was thinking about painting them to match too! :idea:
Ahhhhhh ......... Let me think, what would be nice.... Hmmmmm........ Some small ghosted Union Jacks perhaps?
Well, I wish I could say that the install went well. I wish I could also say I finished the install. Had A LOT of issues arise on Saturday. Most of the front end came apart without issues. The first problem I ran into was with the CV axle nut. Whoever put it on must have thought that you had to bend the end into the slot completely. I ended up have to chisel the bent part off the nut. They pushed it so far in that you couldn't get anything in there to bend it back out. It was flush with the axle threaded end! So that gave me quiet the problem. After that, everything came out without issues. Took off the wheel carrier, suspension, and the lower control arm. I used a torch on the LCA bushing to melt the rubber and rip out the old LCA. Then I took a sawzall and cut the band inside the bushing housing and used a hammer to pop it out. Now, I don't have access to a press, and I didn't feel like dropping the whole subframe. So I devised a solution to my problem. I got a long bolt (about 6" long) and I picked up a couple 3" steel squares and 2 big washers. I then put a washer on the bolt, a steel square (with a small hole drilled through the middle), and fed it through the back of the bushing housing (I put it in from under the seats towards the front of the car). I then put the bolt through the new bushing and then put the 2nd square on the bolt, along with the 2nd washer, and I put the nut on the end. (Sorry for the hand drawing, I didn't have any available hands to take a picture of it.) I SLOWLY tightened it down and forced the new bushing into place. This took a few tries to get it right, but it worked well. So after the bushings were in place I managed to get the inner bushing part into place, slide on the LCA and new ball joints. Installed the new suspension on the wheel carrier, and put it back into the car. I reassembled the front end and dropped it back to the ground, and found another issue. The camber is WAYYYYYY off! The passenger side is fine. We took it apart and reassembled it. I'm thinking the wheel bearing hub must be miss aligned and is slightly tilted. The strut mount plates are fine, and they both are sitting like mirrored versions of one another. This is the only thing I can think of so I will have to take a look at it again tomorrow and hopefully it'll be the cause of this issue. I just ran out of time this weekend, and I'm working today so tomorrow will just have to be the day to take it apart.