Thanks. That helps. So, a stiff rear sway bar doesn't just decrease traction at the rear, it also increases it at the front.

Yes, hitting a speed bump (for example) straight on would not bring the sway bar's effect into play. However, hit it at an angle and the sway bar will change the ride characteristics. My example was for bumps hit by only one wheel.

I think, in the real world, a large % of bumps affect one side more than the other. So, a stiffer sway bar will change ride quality in many situations.

 

Question. How does stiffer bushings increase handling?

 

The increase in stiffness will reduce the amount of compression incurred by the bushing which in turn decreases the amount of deflection that occurs in the suspension allowing it to better maintain its active alignment, this will also allow it to more quickly react to steering and road inputs. It will however do your ride quality very few favours.

 

I'm looking at that very same mod, or maybe some springs, or both..
PLEASE HELP !!! (I noticed you have the LSD, and anyone here, chime in!)

I have the S with normal suspension and also LSD. When I'm cornering, and correct me if I'm wrong because I really think this is the ls diff, - When I'm cornering, relatively aggressively, and I encounter ANY
frost-heave, bump, or any raised line in the corners (mainly on highway ramps) , my car JUMPS quickly, obviously, but it's as if the lsdiff BITES one direction then the other, as perhaps one wheel gets more power, pulls it one way, the other wheels then gets more, then pulls the opposite.
It's really frustrating, I'm curious if anyone else is experiencing anything like this ... At first I blamed the fully-electronic steering, (as opposed to my 1st gen mini),. but then I've been wondering about the diff. It;s like when i'm cornering, and hit any raised portion, I have to fight with the wheel almost. ...

Thoughts ? Would springs help or perhaps control arms ?? When it comes to suspensions at least, I'm a newbie.. Bushings or a front strut tower brace ??

... Thanks SO MUCH !
Cheers,
-concerned mini-er

 

Yep, mine too. VERY skittish.

 

is this perhaps just torque steer ??

 

I am experiencing the same thing... the front suspension seems very jumpy or skittish. This is NOT torque steer. Torque steer only goes in one direction.

 

Based on your stated purposes, here's a program:

- stiffer rear sway bar - makes the car more willing to turn, with little added NVH, as long as you don't use metal-to-metal Heim joints

- Koni FSD's - they will tighten the handling slightly on curves, and soak up a LOT of terrible surface, while keeping the tires on the road for better adhesion

- chassis bracing - a lower strut bar and the cabrio diagonal braces will stiffen the front end of the car, resist the pot-holes better, and let the suspension do its job

- bushings - put urethane bushings in the lower engine mount (only), the front control arms, and the rear trailing arms. These specific bushings will add little noise or harshness, while greatly improving your ability to precisely control the car.

- lightweight wheels with non-runflat tires - greatly improves acceleration, braking, and adhesion to less-than-perfect surfaces

All that shouldn't run you more than $4K or so, and will leave you with a great-handling comfortable street car...

 

samroberto - I had the same issues with my `05 S with LSD.

Reduced greatly by adding the Cabrio diagonal braces to the front, and cured almost completely by also adding urethane front control-arm bushings.

 

+1 on the FSD's for soaking up the rough stuff. Unfortunately, rumor has it Koni is working on bringing out the yellows first for the r56 in the fall. FSDs to come later.

If going with a traditional strut replacement sans integrated camber plate, I would suggest looking into Ireland's fixed camber plates which are available for the r56. They use an OEM bushing/bearing from a heavier car (my guess is 3 series) mounted to a thick top plate. Check my gallery for side by side pics of the IE fixed plate and R53 strut mount. Due to the limited amount of travel (r56 is only one inch more than the previous gen), stock Minis are bump stop active and will compress enough for the bushing to come into play; the OEM r53/r50 bushings have ripped through on bad potholes (been there, done that, ouch!), let alone mushrooming of the strut tower on said models. Another advantage is better front grip through a sweeper/turn that a rear bar alone does not provide. If worried about increased negative camber, you can ask IE to one off to stock camber or in-between.

I have compared the stock suspension (not sport) on a r56 to my setup (koni fsd, r53 stock springs, IE plates). mine soaks up the rough stuff better.

 

I have H&R springs on my MINI and to answer the negative camber, I have had it aligned twice since I installed them and the camber is right in line with BMW specs for the car. The tech also informed me that BMW likes to run a little negative camber so it will always be there a little.

 

P.S. - In the suggestions I offered above, I'd start with lightweight wheels and tires as being the biggest single bang-for-the-buck, and then proceed to the other stuff.

 

Correct. BMW/MINI likes to have a bit of rear negative camber to promote some understeer. In stock form, front negative camber is small.

 

yeah my stock looked, felt and registered no different from stock, but after the lower the rear was a bit more pronounced, but it was easily fixed when i got the alignment

 

Very much agreed. You don't realize how useless the stock tires are until you put some solid rubber on.

 

I would agree with starting with the 19mm rear swaybar. If you drive more aggressively and track the car, you could always upgrade that to the 22mm and get some more dialed in oversteer! I personally run the following mods on my car and they work great together:

Alta 19mm Rear Sway bar with adjustable end links
Texas Speedwerks Springs
Koni Yellow Shocks
OMP Lower Front Stress Brace
VIP Engine Stabilizer
Powerflex Control Arm Bushings and steering rack bushing
OEM Cabrio Braces

Car feels very controlled, especially with the wheel and tire package I am running (the 15 inch OEM wheels with some 195/60-15 tires that are rated for more performance than stock) Car has a killer stance and will go flat out in the corners and rides incredibly over long road trips on various highway materials (concrete, pavement, etc...)

In the end, you have to ask what you want out of your suspension. If you want to just tighten it up a bit now and love the ride height, add some key bracing and the sway bar. If you want a lower stance, then add some springs. Mach V and TSW both make a lowering spring for your car that will put you in between the JCW ride height and the H&R ride height. If you want a firmer and sportier ride all around, add some shocks such as Koni Yellows for a firmer and more controlled ride. I also think that my car is smoother since adding them!

Good luck and enjoy your ride!