Pros and cons for modifying car for road driving / hooning?
Discussion
As some of you will know, I'm currently tooling about in a 2016 Mini John Cooper Works, and as tends to be the case after a little while, I always wonder if can improve my driving experiences (fun) in some way, so naturally, this tends to leave one with two options: change the car, or modify.
Now, there's a lot to like about the Mini. It is basically all the car I need in many respects. I can have only one car, so it's practical, can carry passengers, occasionally, has reasonable running costs, has a bit of character, and so on. Is it perfect? No car ever is, and the Mini is no exception. I do like it quite a bit though so I'd like to stick with it.
However, I can't seem to help myself in racking my brain trying to find out ways I can improve it, and have more fun with it, yet when I think about it deeply, I can't quite make my mind up what I should do really. I'm sure I have some weird brain disease that prevents me from being f
king happy with what I have at times 
That said, despite my vast experience with owning various vehicles, I'm tying my brain in knots trying to figure out what to do.
Now, if you go on an owners club forum or facebook group, for example, it's quite easy to see that many folks tend to follow the same sort of path when it comes to modifying, but I often wonder if they truly think about what they're doing and whether it truly delivers a better experience.
Let me, give an example, in Mini circles at least, it seems de rigeur to lower the car, either using lowering springs, or coilovers. Indeed, I look at my car, and I do sometimes think, yeah, a little lowering wouldn't harm the appearance; and, if you ask on most of these groups, then you will rarely ever hear a bad word said for doing so, and I get it, most people want to believe that the item they've spent a lot of money on has improved their car in every way, and won't entertain a bad word said for it.
However, thinking logically about it, lowering looks better, that I can't deny, but does it REALLY drive better? It seems difficult to get an honest answer here, but what I do know is that logically, lowering the suspension will (obviously) reduce travel, and that will make it worse, and most likely, slower, on a bumpy UK road. They will say it 'feels' better, and again I get that, but are they really sure? Or is it just emporers new clothes? I could of course buy comfort orientated, or even any good coilover, such as KWs and the like but then you're into thousands of pounds to buy and set up, is it truly going to be that much better? I can certainly see why someone would convince themselves it was if they'd just dropped £2k on such a setup.
Another thing that seems popular is thicker ARBs. This is said to reduce understeer. So yes, I get why someone would do it, but once again, is it really an improvement? You see, I looked into that, and they aren't without downsides either. For example, I read an article that suggests that while most enthusiasts seek to reduce body roll, it's not always a bad thing, as it communicates more clearly the levels of grip in a more progressive way, that is less likely to spit you off into the scenery if you get it wrong, and trust it a little bit too much. So again, is this modification the no brainer I'm led to believe it is?
Yet another thing that is deemed completely essential is a remap, particularly it seems on this car. I really do totally get why someone would want to go faster, it's a petrolhead religion of sorts, and I am not ruling it out, but again, it's not all upsides. Apart from the extra mechanical stress it puts on the car, which is well documented (even if everyone says "yeah these cars can easily take it", go for it), from a driving perspective, while I get it will be fun to feel that extra shove in the back, and I'm sure it's great fun keeping up with Porsches and BMW M cars up to XXX mph, when you're out there on a B-road, is there now too much power?
I feel like the car currently sits in a sweet spot where it still feels fast, but crucially, you can actually still grab it by the balls and give it some revs, and actually drive the thing hard without worrying either that you're definitely getting banned, but also that slight worry about killing your engine, but also, you possibly lose that inherent balance the car comes with out of the factory. I feel like a remap would end up being an exercise in restraint, and may end up being frustrating.
Then you have the idea of lightweight wheels. This is something I can get on board with, because as most of us know, less unsprung weight is generally better. But is it really worth it? The car came from the factory with the wheels it has, so would I lose something in translation by swapping to 1" smaller wheels, with more sidewalls and less weight? Most people will say there are no downsides, but is that true? I have heard for example it may cause the car to wheelspin more easily, and perhaps feel a little less planted than it used to. The turn in may be slightly soggier. Yes, I'm sure it rides a lot better and most likely will give more progressive loss of grip, so there are pros and cons. However, I'm just trying to establish whether it's truly worth the expense? Am I REALLY going to notice that much difference? I know my wallet will.
And I guess, this is the point of the post. Modifying is expensive, and I don't want to waste my money, I worked hard for it. However, I find it difficult to determine the real value in it, as I get the impression that people can be a little sheep like in their approaches to things like this without truly analysing whether it truly is better, and whether their impressions (usually right after doing it) are genuine. I'm quite happy to spend the money, hobbies are hobbies and they are never cheap, but I've wasted so much over the years, I truly only want to do something if it substantially increases my enjoyment of the car.
It is quite obvious to me that I can make the car faster, however, I'm am more doubtful as to whether this makes the car truly more fun, particularly when that car is already nigh on 200 bhp / tonne and is, I'd argue, on the verge of being almost too quick to be fully exploitable on the road anyway. Now, modifying to use as a track car, I totally get that, most cars NEED modifications to be truly good on track, but I never spend my time there, and if I did do a track day, it's most likely to be a one off treat that wouldn't be repeated in a hurry.
It's got me thinking whether I'm seriously overthinking all of this, and perhaps the answer is just enjoying it for what it is, and keep the money in my pocket. You're always going to convince yourself that it was money well spent, but I'm honestly not sure.
Apologies for the essay but I would be genuinely interested on your thoughts on this. As I say, I get modifying for track use, and also as a form of personalisation, but for B road fun, where things are not measured against the stopwatch, and you need to take hazards and, to some extent, the law into consideration, is it a waste of money? And why am I never happy?
Now, there's a lot to like about the Mini. It is basically all the car I need in many respects. I can have only one car, so it's practical, can carry passengers, occasionally, has reasonable running costs, has a bit of character, and so on. Is it perfect? No car ever is, and the Mini is no exception. I do like it quite a bit though so I'd like to stick with it.
However, I can't seem to help myself in racking my brain trying to find out ways I can improve it, and have more fun with it, yet when I think about it deeply, I can't quite make my mind up what I should do really. I'm sure I have some weird brain disease that prevents me from being f
king happy with what I have at times That said, despite my vast experience with owning various vehicles, I'm tying my brain in knots trying to figure out what to do.Now, if you go on an owners club forum or facebook group, for example, it's quite easy to see that many folks tend to follow the same sort of path when it comes to modifying, but I often wonder if they truly think about what they're doing and whether it truly delivers a better experience.
Let me, give an example, in Mini circles at least, it seems de rigeur to lower the car, either using lowering springs, or coilovers. Indeed, I look at my car, and I do sometimes think, yeah, a little lowering wouldn't harm the appearance; and, if you ask on most of these groups, then you will rarely ever hear a bad word said for doing so, and I get it, most people want to believe that the item they've spent a lot of money on has improved their car in every way, and won't entertain a bad word said for it.
However, thinking logically about it, lowering looks better, that I can't deny, but does it REALLY drive better? It seems difficult to get an honest answer here, but what I do know is that logically, lowering the suspension will (obviously) reduce travel, and that will make it worse, and most likely, slower, on a bumpy UK road. They will say it 'feels' better, and again I get that, but are they really sure? Or is it just emporers new clothes? I could of course buy comfort orientated, or even any good coilover, such as KWs and the like but then you're into thousands of pounds to buy and set up, is it truly going to be that much better? I can certainly see why someone would convince themselves it was if they'd just dropped £2k on such a setup.
Another thing that seems popular is thicker ARBs. This is said to reduce understeer. So yes, I get why someone would do it, but once again, is it really an improvement? You see, I looked into that, and they aren't without downsides either. For example, I read an article that suggests that while most enthusiasts seek to reduce body roll, it's not always a bad thing, as it communicates more clearly the levels of grip in a more progressive way, that is less likely to spit you off into the scenery if you get it wrong, and trust it a little bit too much. So again, is this modification the no brainer I'm led to believe it is?
Yet another thing that is deemed completely essential is a remap, particularly it seems on this car. I really do totally get why someone would want to go faster, it's a petrolhead religion of sorts, and I am not ruling it out, but again, it's not all upsides. Apart from the extra mechanical stress it puts on the car, which is well documented (even if everyone says "yeah these cars can easily take it", go for it), from a driving perspective, while I get it will be fun to feel that extra shove in the back, and I'm sure it's great fun keeping up with Porsches and BMW M cars up to XXX mph, when you're out there on a B-road, is there now too much power?
I feel like the car currently sits in a sweet spot where it still feels fast, but crucially, you can actually still grab it by the balls and give it some revs, and actually drive the thing hard without worrying either that you're definitely getting banned, but also that slight worry about killing your engine, but also, you possibly lose that inherent balance the car comes with out of the factory. I feel like a remap would end up being an exercise in restraint, and may end up being frustrating.
Then you have the idea of lightweight wheels. This is something I can get on board with, because as most of us know, less unsprung weight is generally better. But is it really worth it? The car came from the factory with the wheels it has, so would I lose something in translation by swapping to 1" smaller wheels, with more sidewalls and less weight? Most people will say there are no downsides, but is that true? I have heard for example it may cause the car to wheelspin more easily, and perhaps feel a little less planted than it used to. The turn in may be slightly soggier. Yes, I'm sure it rides a lot better and most likely will give more progressive loss of grip, so there are pros and cons. However, I'm just trying to establish whether it's truly worth the expense? Am I REALLY going to notice that much difference? I know my wallet will.
And I guess, this is the point of the post. Modifying is expensive, and I don't want to waste my money, I worked hard for it. However, I find it difficult to determine the real value in it, as I get the impression that people can be a little sheep like in their approaches to things like this without truly analysing whether it truly is better, and whether their impressions (usually right after doing it) are genuine. I'm quite happy to spend the money, hobbies are hobbies and they are never cheap, but I've wasted so much over the years, I truly only want to do something if it substantially increases my enjoyment of the car.
It is quite obvious to me that I can make the car faster, however, I'm am more doubtful as to whether this makes the car truly more fun, particularly when that car is already nigh on 200 bhp / tonne and is, I'd argue, on the verge of being almost too quick to be fully exploitable on the road anyway. Now, modifying to use as a track car, I totally get that, most cars NEED modifications to be truly good on track, but I never spend my time there, and if I did do a track day, it's most likely to be a one off treat that wouldn't be repeated in a hurry.
It's got me thinking whether I'm seriously overthinking all of this, and perhaps the answer is just enjoying it for what it is, and keep the money in my pocket. You're always going to convince yourself that it was money well spent, but I'm honestly not sure.
Apologies for the essay but I would be genuinely interested on your thoughts on this. As I say, I get modifying for track use, and also as a form of personalisation, but for B road fun, where things are not measured against the stopwatch, and you need to take hazards and, to some extent, the law into consideration, is it a waste of money? And why am I never happy?
When I had Alfas in the 80s and 90s the single biggest improvement was usually by just fitting some quality dampers; adjustable Bilsteins or Konis usually did the trick.
In the 00s I did a 200SX S14. The best bits were the HKS induction kit and cat-back exhaust as they got rid of the (fairly chronic) turbo lag. Next best was a short shift kit which sorted the rather long gear change.
Least successful were the suspension mods; I wanted uprated springs and dampers and was recommended Eibach and Tokiko respectively. But to get updated springs you had to get shorter springs and that dropped the car and made it scrape over speed bumps. Grrr. Plus the spring rate was too high for the dampers which really irritated me. I also poly bushed it (as I read PC & Evo) and although it made it very pointy it also introduced some harshness. TL;DR I should have just put some proper dampers on it and left the chassis mods at that.
I did put some larger wheels on it which looked great but also made sure they were lighter than the OEMs. Back in the day that was the point; they were called LIGHT alloy wheels.
IMHO light wheels and trick dampers are two areas that WILL make the driving experience better. Minor engine breathing can help. But a lot of chassis "improvements" are fine for billiard smooth tarmac and circuits but not necessarily so much for normal UK roads.
In the 00s I did a 200SX S14. The best bits were the HKS induction kit and cat-back exhaust as they got rid of the (fairly chronic) turbo lag. Next best was a short shift kit which sorted the rather long gear change.
Least successful were the suspension mods; I wanted uprated springs and dampers and was recommended Eibach and Tokiko respectively. But to get updated springs you had to get shorter springs and that dropped the car and made it scrape over speed bumps. Grrr. Plus the spring rate was too high for the dampers which really irritated me. I also poly bushed it (as I read PC & Evo) and although it made it very pointy it also introduced some harshness. TL;DR I should have just put some proper dampers on it and left the chassis mods at that.
I did put some larger wheels on it which looked great but also made sure they were lighter than the OEMs. Back in the day that was the point; they were called LIGHT alloy wheels.
IMHO light wheels and trick dampers are two areas that WILL make the driving experience better. Minor engine breathing can help. But a lot of chassis "improvements" are fine for billiard smooth tarmac and circuits but not necessarily so much for normal UK roads.
hmmm, limited benefit modifying a car for road use - arguably, most of the chassis would have been set up optimally for road use already.
that said, there will be some modifications that you could do, that the factory wouldn't do because of cost. lightweight wheels being one of these, factory wheels will almost certainly be cast, whereas forged wheels are considerably stronger, and therefore can be made lighter.
the other mods a factory might not do is because of regulations - which is where a fruitier exhaust might come in, or a remap for more power.
and then on all of this, is the cost of mod vs performance benefit. yes you could spend thousands rebuilding the engine for an extra 10bhp, but would you feel it? not likely.
personally, i'd do the remap - have had three turbocharged cars, all remapped, no problems. and the extra shove is noticeable. great bang for buck mod in my opinion.
i've also swapped wheels, because i like nice wheels. whether they actually drive any better, debateable, but they look great and weren't that much money. i wouldnt spend £2000 on a new set of wheels though, mine were £500.
that said, there will be some modifications that you could do, that the factory wouldn't do because of cost. lightweight wheels being one of these, factory wheels will almost certainly be cast, whereas forged wheels are considerably stronger, and therefore can be made lighter.
the other mods a factory might not do is because of regulations - which is where a fruitier exhaust might come in, or a remap for more power.
and then on all of this, is the cost of mod vs performance benefit. yes you could spend thousands rebuilding the engine for an extra 10bhp, but would you feel it? not likely.
personally, i'd do the remap - have had three turbocharged cars, all remapped, no problems. and the extra shove is noticeable. great bang for buck mod in my opinion.
i've also swapped wheels, because i like nice wheels. whether they actually drive any better, debateable, but they look great and weren't that much money. i wouldnt spend £2000 on a new set of wheels though, mine were £500.
It depends massively on what the car was set up for originally.
For something already set up more for handling than comfort like the JCW, I think the biggest improvement would come from fitting higher quality (but not necessarily different rate) dampers. Many people (IMO) ruin good cars for road use by stiffening the suspension which plays merry hell with the suspension kinematics because you lose the designed-in dynamic toe and camber changes.
Removing weight, especially unsprung weight, is rarely a bad thing. In my experience fitting slightly smaller wheels with higher profile tyres also improves many "sporty" modern cars. Fitting narrower tyres can also sometimes improve feel, as long as you don't take it to the point of ruining traction (which is quite easy to do in a FWD car).
For something already set up more for handling than comfort like the JCW, I think the biggest improvement would come from fitting higher quality (but not necessarily different rate) dampers. Many people (IMO) ruin good cars for road use by stiffening the suspension which plays merry hell with the suspension kinematics because you lose the designed-in dynamic toe and camber changes.
Removing weight, especially unsprung weight, is rarely a bad thing. In my experience fitting slightly smaller wheels with higher profile tyres also improves many "sporty" modern cars. Fitting narrower tyres can also sometimes improve feel, as long as you don't take it to the point of ruining traction (which is quite easy to do in a FWD car).
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 30th July 16:36
I've modified cars in the past (exhausts, suspension, tuning boxes, wheels, etc) and looking back I think there is a lot of snake oil on owners forums with people more focused on justifying negligible improvements because of the money they've spent. I went a different route and invested in a couple of things:
- driver training to get the most out of the car (and any other car I buy!)
- a "crappy" slow 2nd car to make the fun car feel like a rocket ship every time I get in it, although saying that the 2nd car is quite fun to hustle along
As with everything, your mileage may vary!
Chris
- driver training to get the most out of the car (and any other car I buy!)
- a "crappy" slow 2nd car to make the fun car feel like a rocket ship every time I get in it, although saying that the 2nd car is quite fun to hustle along
As with everything, your mileage may vary!
Chris
I’ve been down this path of thought a fair bit. I wrote about it on the ‘What am I getting wrong about sports cars' thread in general gassing.
We have an R50 Mini Cooper with the 6spd Cooper S gearbox, so recognise that a Mini is a very good alround car.
Why don’t you spend the money allocated for performance improvements into driver training or experiences instead: Rally instruction, fast laps at MIRA. That sort of thing.
We have an R50 Mini Cooper with the 6spd Cooper S gearbox, so recognise that a Mini is a very good alround car.
Why don’t you spend the money allocated for performance improvements into driver training or experiences instead: Rally instruction, fast laps at MIRA. That sort of thing.
Edited by sassthathoopie on Wednesday 31st July 07:05
Thanks so far chaps.
Seems like dampers might be a worthwhile mod, I have been suggested to look at the Koni Active dampers, which apparently smooth out the ride in normal driving but firm up in the corners. I guess I'd be better off not lowering at all then from what you're all saying so far, which is a shame in a way as I quite like the look, but this thread is purely about improving the drive, so that concern is not relevant here!
Lighter wheels, yep, I can get on board with this, although I do actually like the current wheels to look at, but there's no doubt they are chuffing heavy, and to make matters worse, the car has spacers on it, which make it look better for sure, but no doubt adds even more weight to that axle.
I'm sorted for noise already, as the car has a K&N Intake and JCW Pro exhaust which already makes all the right noises! I agree that usually making a car sound as good as it can generally increases enjoyment of it.
Edit: Driver training is not something that had occurred to me but is an interesting point.
Seems like dampers might be a worthwhile mod, I have been suggested to look at the Koni Active dampers, which apparently smooth out the ride in normal driving but firm up in the corners. I guess I'd be better off not lowering at all then from what you're all saying so far, which is a shame in a way as I quite like the look, but this thread is purely about improving the drive, so that concern is not relevant here!
Lighter wheels, yep, I can get on board with this, although I do actually like the current wheels to look at, but there's no doubt they are chuffing heavy, and to make matters worse, the car has spacers on it, which make it look better for sure, but no doubt adds even more weight to that axle.
I'm sorted for noise already, as the car has a K&N Intake and JCW Pro exhaust which already makes all the right noises! I agree that usually making a car sound as good as it can generally increases enjoyment of it.
Edit: Driver training is not something that had occurred to me but is an interesting point.
Problem is you will end up with a stiffer ride that is not suited to the UK roads today. (Am assuming you're UK-based!)
So, what you want is to Dakar it for modern UK roads. Higher, softer, suspension, bigger tyres/smaller alloys, ding-proof the bodywork (not because you're bouncing off desert rocks but to protect it from car park dings!).
That's what I'm toying with doing for my piTTy. It already has crap 16" wheels that desperatedly need wheel spacers when every other TT owner is rolling around with 18s that fill the arches so I might as well go the whole hog and make it off road... well, once I get other bits sorted out.
Re ARBs, I understand that if you have stiffer fronts, it reduces body roll BUT you can get more understeer. Stiffer rears is what you want, apparently.
So, what you want is to Dakar it for modern UK roads. Higher, softer, suspension, bigger tyres/smaller alloys, ding-proof the bodywork (not because you're bouncing off desert rocks but to protect it from car park dings!).
That's what I'm toying with doing for my piTTy. It already has crap 16" wheels that desperatedly need wheel spacers when every other TT owner is rolling around with 18s that fill the arches so I might as well go the whole hog and make it off road... well, once I get other bits sorted out.
Re ARBs, I understand that if you have stiffer fronts, it reduces body roll BUT you can get more understeer. Stiffer rears is what you want, apparently.
TameRacingDriver said:
Seems like dampers might be a worthwhile mod, I have been suggested to look at the Koni Active dampers, which apparently smooth out the ride in normal driving but firm up in the corners.
I've spent the last few years driving around in cars with adaptive dampers (albeit barges) and I really like the way you get several sets of dampers for the price of one; fluid in a straight line but tightening up nicely when you start cornering harder.Didn't realise you can now retro fit them. That's cool.
fatboy b said:
slopes said:
Isn't one of the better known mods for handling to replace the soft rubber suspension bushes with slightly harder urethane ones?
Yeah but doesn’t sound quite so good when you’re bragging down the pub does it? 
"I bought a new packet of rubbers."
"Cool. Fancy your luck with Trace behind the bar then?"
fatboy b said:
slopes said:
Isn't one of the better known mods for handling to replace the soft rubber suspension bushes with slightly harder urethane ones?
Yeah but doesn’t sound quite so good when you’re bragging down the pub does it? Had a few minis in the past between me and the Mrs, we have two between us now, albeit mine is basically a track car and modified as such.
I think as a rule Minis are setup pretty optimally for road use as standard and all things considered should probably be left alone.
My track car is great fun to throw around on occasions on the roads but it wears pretty thin within a few days and I stick it back in the garage again, wouldn’t want to drive it full time.
I think as a rule Minis are setup pretty optimally for road use as standard and all things considered should probably be left alone.
My track car is great fun to throw around on occasions on the roads but it wears pretty thin within a few days and I stick it back in the garage again, wouldn’t want to drive it full time.
Hoofy said:
Problem is you will end up with a stiffer ride that is not suited to the UK roads today. (Am assuming you're UK-based!)
So, what you want is to Dakar it for modern UK roads. Higher, softer, suspension, bigger tyres/smaller alloys, ding-proof the bodywork (not because you're bouncing off desert rocks but to protect it from car park dings!).
That's what I'm toying with doing for my piTTy. It already has crap 16" wheels that desperatedly need wheel spacers when every other TT owner is rolling around with 18s that fill the arches so I might as well go the whole hog and make it off road... well, once I get other bits sorted out.
Re ARBs, I understand that if you have stiffer fronts, it reduces body roll BUT you can get more understeer. Stiffer rears is what you want, apparently.
I know where you're coming from with the Dakar idea, always thought that 911 would be a great configuration for the road. Doing that to a TT sounds pretty cool to be fair So, what you want is to Dakar it for modern UK roads. Higher, softer, suspension, bigger tyres/smaller alloys, ding-proof the bodywork (not because you're bouncing off desert rocks but to protect it from car park dings!).
That's what I'm toying with doing for my piTTy. It already has crap 16" wheels that desperatedly need wheel spacers when every other TT owner is rolling around with 18s that fill the arches so I might as well go the whole hog and make it off road... well, once I get other bits sorted out.
Re ARBs, I understand that if you have stiffer fronts, it reduces body roll BUT you can get more understeer. Stiffer rears is what you want, apparently.
Yeah I think I meant the rear ARB mainly. When I asked about putting similar on an MX5 the place (who are specialists) told me not to bother and if I wanted it to handle as well as it could, just put the money towards coilovers.
AC43 said:
I've spent the last few years driving around in cars with adaptive dampers (albeit barges) and I really like the way you get several sets of dampers for the price of one; fluid in a straight line but tightening up nicely when you start cornering harder.
Didn't realise you can now retro fit them. That's cool.
Technically they're not adaptive dampers, but are an alternative to them for cars that had passive dampers. I don't know how they work but are supposed to be compliant in normal driving then somehow firm up when you start pushing it.Didn't realise you can now retro fit them. That's cool.
C4ME said:
In a younger, more naive phase, I have had cars I modified after falling for the snake oil. Almost universally I hated them after a while on UK roads. I eventually gave all that up and focussed on learning to drive whatever I had at any time. Yes they rolled a bit more, yes they were softer, but the pleasure came from learning and working with the dynamics.
My three favourite driving cars on the road in the last 30 years have been a completely standard Porsche 964, a mid 90s Fiat Punto, plus I am really enjoying a base model Hyundai i10 at the moment. No modifications, all exactly how they came out the factory. With the Fiat and Hyundai it is all about hustling the car, keeping the speed through corners, and feeling the dynamics at relatively low speeds. All three enjoyed up the rev range too.
I have had track cars and in many ways the same focus on learning and enjoying the dynamics applies. Beefing up components was about being able to take the punishment rather than chasing ultimate lap times.
An alternative point of view to throw into the discussion.
Yeah it's a fair point, making the most of what you have and working with it. Often do that in the Mrs Aygo. Takes a totally different approach to driving it. My three favourite driving cars on the road in the last 30 years have been a completely standard Porsche 964, a mid 90s Fiat Punto, plus I am really enjoying a base model Hyundai i10 at the moment. No modifications, all exactly how they came out the factory. With the Fiat and Hyundai it is all about hustling the car, keeping the speed through corners, and feeling the dynamics at relatively low speeds. All three enjoyed up the rev range too.
I have had track cars and in many ways the same focus on learning and enjoying the dynamics applies. Beefing up components was about being able to take the punishment rather than chasing ultimate lap times.
An alternative point of view to throw into the discussion.
911Spanker said:
People spend loads of money on mods and ruin their car.
They are then too proud to admit they cocked up.
I have modified all cars (for road use) but tend to go to experienced marquee specialists to do the job properly.
Owners forums can be a load of cack - everyone has an ahole etc.
Yup, done it a few times myself in honesty, I'm reluctant to repeat the mistakes as I'm getting to a point in my life where my money has to be well spent or invested. Agree it's hard to get proper insights from forums since virtually every mod is said to be good, in practice, not all are.They are then too proud to admit they cocked up.
I have modified all cars (for road use) but tend to go to experienced marquee specialists to do the job properly.
Owners forums can be a load of cack - everyone has an a
hole etc.Jamescrs said:
Had a few minis in the past between me and the Mrs, we have two between us now, albeit mine is basically a track car and modified as such.
I think as a rule Minis are setup pretty optimally for road use as standard and all things considered should probably be left alone.
My track car is great fun to throw around on occasions on the roads but it wears pretty thin within a few days and I stick it back in the garage again, wouldn’t want to drive it full time.
Thanks for your impressions, I think you're probably right. Half the time when I'm driving it, it feels good fun in all honesty, it probably doesn't want for much. Then when I'm sitting there bored, I'm thinking of ways to try and seek out that last 10-20%. Stupid obsessed brain I think as a rule Minis are setup pretty optimally for road use as standard and all things considered should probably be left alone.
My track car is great fun to throw around on occasions on the roads but it wears pretty thin within a few days and I stick it back in the garage again, wouldn’t want to drive it full time.
If it’s a road car I typically go for mods that improve the livability of the car and address any annoying issues. Ditching run flats, fitting better tyres, decent phone holder, carplay upgrade etc. Not sexy but they make a difference.
I advise against the modding rabbit hole unless you really know what you actually want and instead go for service items. Even a decent bush refresh with quality oem parts can transform a used car way more than some anti roll bars and an exhaust.
I advise against the modding rabbit hole unless you really know what you actually want and instead go for service items. Even a decent bush refresh with quality oem parts can transform a used car way more than some anti roll bars and an exhaust.
TameRacingDriver said:
Thanks so far chaps.
Seems like dampers might be a worthwhile mod, I have been suggested to look at the Koni Active dampers, which apparently smooth out the ride in normal driving but firm up in the corners. I guess I'd be better off not lowering at all then from what you're all saying so far, which is a shame in a way as I quite like the look, but this thread is purely about improving the drive, so that concern is not relevant here!
Lighter wheels, yep, I can get on board with this, although I do actually like the current wheels to look at, but there's no doubt they are chuffing heavy, and to make matters worse, the car has spacers on it, which make it look better for sure, but no doubt adds even more weight to that axle.
I'm sorted for noise already, as the car has a K&N Intake and JCW Pro exhaust which already makes all the right noises! I agree that usually making a car sound as good as it can generally increases enjoyment of it.
Edit: Driver training is not something that had occurred to me but is an interesting point.
My opinion - Koni active - run, don’t walk, awaySeems like dampers might be a worthwhile mod, I have been suggested to look at the Koni Active dampers, which apparently smooth out the ride in normal driving but firm up in the corners. I guess I'd be better off not lowering at all then from what you're all saying so far, which is a shame in a way as I quite like the look, but this thread is purely about improving the drive, so that concern is not relevant here!
Lighter wheels, yep, I can get on board with this, although I do actually like the current wheels to look at, but there's no doubt they are chuffing heavy, and to make matters worse, the car has spacers on it, which make it look better for sure, but no doubt adds even more weight to that axle.
I'm sorted for noise already, as the car has a K&N Intake and JCW Pro exhaust which already makes all the right noises! I agree that usually making a car sound as good as it can generally increases enjoyment of it.
Edit: Driver training is not something that had occurred to me but is an interesting point.
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