Aluminum Trailing Arm Conversion | Time Attack MINI Cooper Ep. #8
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- First gen MINIs were produced with trailing arms in the rear suspension that are made of heavy stamped steel. With the introduction of the JCW GP in 2006, the rear trailing arms were changed to aluminum to save unsprung weight, which helps the rear suspension react more quickly to the changing road surface. These arms can be found on every second gen MINI in a junk yard, and can be bought with hardware for not a lot of money.
You are the reason I went over budget on my R53 suspension refresh. I had all the parts I needed, then I saw this video and was made aware of this swap. I came across a set of these trailing arms almost by accident and bought them. And also bought a new set of rear wheel bearings because I cannot see the point of transferring 20 year old, 170k mile bearings over to the new trailing arms. So all that was a few hundred extra dollars I had not planned on. But oh well. I was there, so I did it! Light is right!
The "while you're in there" effect strikes again 😆 Glad I could be of service!
He’s back! I’ve loved the updates. Been one of my favorite MINI content channels since picking up my R53.
I'm glad! Let me know if there's something specific you'd like to see.
I like that you weigh them to get real numbers!
The internet lied to us! That’s where I learned the numbers I previously stated!
Great work man, can’t wait to ride in it!
You will be blown away 😎
If I remember correctly It’s about 12-15lbs saved of unsprung weight. Excited to see how it does on the track.
just found your channel, UK watcher here, I’ve got an 03 indi blue cooper and looking forward to see what else you do to yours, earned a new sub! 😎
Great video man!! You make me want a mini!
Follow your gut, go get one. 👌🏻 They are wonderful.
@@collinryser I just worry about the maintenance and stuff
Are they hard to work on??
They’re pretty tightly packed, so they can be frustrating for a DIY’er if you’re not used to them. If you find one that’s been cared for, you can have a mechanic inspect it to see if it needs anything major before you buy it and avoid any surprises.
@@collinryser that's a good idea I'll have to start doing some research and see what I can find! Thanks!
Great episode - I need to do this! I'm waiting for the sunroof delete as that saves 50lbs, but I haven't seen an easy delete option i.e. an insert done before.
I’m thinking of doing an entire roof skin swap 🧐
Yes swapping the skin seems like the cleanest option since there's no carbon or fibreglass sunroof cassette insert available. Would be a great episode since I don't think anyone's covered it on RUclips and so many want the 50lbs gone!
Hell yeah. Car stuff
Hell yeah
Love your videos man so informative and well done .I have just got myself a 05 r52 ( sorry it's summer and couldn't resist the soft top + they are cheaper in the UK than a tin top ) I bloody love it wish I had got into the whole supercharged mini thing years ago . Best part of my day by far is the drive to and from work what a blast 😀. I'm going to do the gen 2 trailing arm mod as mine are quite rusty . Will watch this again before I start . Keep the content coming it's brilliant you have a great camera presence and attitude and the camera quality is spot on .is it your mum that films it ? If it is that's so bloody cool 😊. Keep it up and thanks from all us mini nuts in the UK .
Thank you, I really appreciate it. I love my supercharged car as well, it’s my favorite out of my three cars.
Make sure when you get the aluminum arms that you get trailing arm bushings for a second gen and not a first gen. 👌🏻
Love the vid!
Thank you! 😊
I really like your content, why don't you do something for the braking system? for example by changing the brake hoses?
Nice man! I've been thinking about doing this for a while now due to the rust belt. Quick question, I swapped over to the 6speed a while back and it just recently started to knock. Thought I threw a rod bearing at first but then it went away. I've noticed since then when it's warm, with the clutch engaged "pedal up" it'll knock and when I press it in goes away. The Throughout bearing is brand new, the single mass fw was resurfaced, but I did use the old clutch and pressure plate. The oil pan gasket did recently start slightly leaking which I've been waiting on funds to repair. Have you ran into an issue like this? Any ideas?
Do the r50 wheel speed sensors bolt right up to the r56 arms? I saw on a 3D printing site adapter bushings specifically for this conversion
You could have cleaned the trailing arms up and hit them with a thin (weight!) coat of some color…. Blue maybe ?
Did you use the r50 or r56 bolts to bolt the trailing arm brackets up
At the time that I was doing the install I realized that I had actually goofed and bought first gen bushings to mount to the second gen arms so I ended up having to do some trimming and I think I went to a hardware store and bought generic bolts. If I did it again, I would use all R56 hardware.
@@collinryser sounds like a tricky one,I’ve got r56 mounts with my alloy arms,just trying to figure out if I should use the r50 bolts or get some r56 bolts,some have said r50,so I’ve ordered a new set off bmw 😎
@@minioner5080 You could check realoem.com and see if they are the same bolt. I’m sure they are probably very similar if not the same.
@@collinryser I’ll take a look at that,thanks 👍🏻
Wo kann man diese Hülsen für die Stossdämpfer kaufen??
Aluminium dude…
i don't think that the swap is a good idea , i saw many aluminum arms break on a mini r56
What was the case of the failures you saw?
I'm not doing it because it will add more weight on the front when the car is scaled. It's the same reason I am not adding a composite hatch. Looks sexier though!
Ten pounds off of the rear will hardly affect the front to rear balance, but I’ve also changed plenty of other things that have moved weight around the car.
The 5 speed transmission will be a bit lighter than the 6 speed I’m using right now, and the Sparco seat is much lighter than the standard one, but I’ve also removed the rear seat backs and the spare tire.
I’m also not done yet, I still have more plans. 👏🏻
talks to much dont teach anything