Hi everyone,

Im looking into converting the arse end of my mini to coil overs. This is so i can chop away half of the rear subframe and just have the front section with the rear swing arms. I estimate this will save around 20kilos?

What do you guys think about coil overs? Ive heard both good and bad about them, im not sure if they will improve the handling or not.

Cheers

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Mini - The Wizardry on Wheels!

it`s a bit of a "hit & miss" type of thing really ,,,

picking what coil rate to have is gonna take trial & error,,, depending on the type of driving you do (road/club/rally/race)

& to simply cut away the rear section of the subframe will (usually) leave the rear end of the mini with a bit of a "twisty" handling issue

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I too would be interested in peoples thoughts on this. I had visions of doing the same, and fitting an alloy drop tank. This would have 3 benefits - bigger tank, lower centre of gravity, more boot space.

I would reinforce the box section under the rear seat, and add additional bolts to locate the subframe, and seam weld any joints both in the subframe and in the boot around the wheel arches. I would also fit a strut brace triagulated to the rear bulkhead. Hopefully all this would solve the twisting problem...

Seems like a lot of effort just to make a mini handle worse.

I guess I could just fit 13" rims if I wanted to wreck my minis handling...

I'm thinking about doing the same to the back of my van - a lot of hot race minis in miniworld etc. seem to fit a beam axle and coilovers and they don't mention anything about wrecking the handling.... I need to do it for my conversion

anyone know where to get them from in Australia? Avonbar (www.avonbar.com) sell a kit for GBP462 - pricey..... might have to work out how to make some....

(BTW - no idea why they call it a beam axle, when it mounts the radius arms...)

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

There is also a proper beam axle conversion, which doesn't use the trailing arms..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I didn't know that doc.... but still no good for me, I need to make new trailing arms that can take a driveshaft...

these AVO ones look good



GBP289 for a set of 2x front and 2x rear, plus GBP72 each for springs.... yukko

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Obviously salaries in the UK are higher than here, otherwise nobody could afford to buy this stuff.
Yeah it does look nice..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I just can't see why less weight in the rear would help as it so light anyway...
Surley you would need less weight in the front end

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

It would reduce the unsprung weight- IF you don't use the trailing arms, which are bloody heavy.
Less unsprung weight = better handling.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

But in the rear...Yer maybe for the straights but not for the corners.
Thier is bugger all weight in the rear already without a full tank

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Unsprung weight is the weight of the suspension (more specifically, its inertia) not the car. If you reduce this it follows bumps etc better.
Mini trailing arms are bloody heavy, also when the car leans, so do they.. OTOH a proper beam axle weighs bugger all and keeps the tyres square to the road. Jusy like that de Dion rear end of yer Alfa does..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

A couple of points.....

The rubber spring in a mini works as a rising rate spring, the more it compresses the harder it gets. A normal coil spring has a fixed rate.


If you fit a beam axle it could give a lot more grip in the rear because the tyres sit square to the road and this may cause more understeer. And we know a mini needs more understeer!

yes, but i think some of the kits have progressive rate springs. Even so, i doubt it matters too much, as the arse of a mini just 'trundles' along anyway...

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Mini - The Wizardry on Wheels!