• Home
  • TMS Weekly Article 4
A Growing MINI Problem

Sunday in the Park at the Lime Rock Historics is a great event for the 2002 group. Thirty or forty 02s in all guises make the trip. Stock, retro-mod, rat-rod; all the cars are appreciated, but the people make the day.

I drove out in my recently "finished" (when are they ever truly done?) '73 with my wife in the passenger's seat and my good friend Jeremy in his classic Mini followed behind. We enjoyed a day of perfect weather and awesome cars, then decided to get a little lost on some of the beautiful back roads when it was time to head home. Having just completed the car, I had everything I could possibly need stuffed in the trunk. Tools, spare parts, fluids, and even a jack stand rattled around the trunk arranged in plastic totes.

We found a perfect driving road in a hilly area. Beautiful, twisty turns, wonderful early fall scenery, and two vintage cars. It was exactly the reward we want when getting dirty keeping these relics rolling.
"The driver, now identified as an elegant grandmotherly-type in her 70's or 80's, honked her horn and laughed at us."
Then the pavement ended and we found ourselves on a narrow dirt road. Oops. If that wasn't enough, we came upon a gold Camry that couldn't have been doing more than 5 MPH. We followed at a respectful distance, but the driver did figure that the two rally-inspired cars trailing might want a touch more speed and we were allowed to pass.

We came across a breathtaking lake in the mountains. I peeked in the rearview to see if Jeremy was enjoying the view, too.

No Mini.

I backtracked the trail and found Jeremy and the Mini about a quarter of a mile behind. The front wheels were pointed in different directions. As we crawled under to take a look, the Camry rattled by. The driver, now identified as an elegant grandmotherly-type in her 70's or 80's, honked her horn and laughed at us. Ouch. No cell signal, of course. That would have been too easy.

The Mini's suspension is odd to those of us used to German vehicles. A track rod that locates the hub had come loose, not a tie rod failure. The bolt simply disappeared. Cursing himself for purchasing a bumper sticker that read "The parts falling off this vehicle are of the finest British manufacture," Jeremy went hunting on the road for the rogue bolt. I popped open the 02's trunk and gathered some tools. I grabbed the bag of beautiful new fasteners I had collected for just such an occurrence, arrogantly confident I'd have a solution. The smallest set I had was an M10. Why would anything smaller be needed to get us home? The bolt was, of course, an M8. I didn't have anything that fit.

Time to scrounge. The hoods went up and we started looking for something that could be temporarily removed. There aren't a lot of M8 bolts used on the 2002. The driving lights on the Mini, however, were mounted with M8s. Sure enough, we had one the right length.


Well, then.

Next came the challenge of lifting the car. I had the factory 2002 jack, compatible with the 2002's factory jack points and not much else. Using the Mini's tow bolt, We were able to get the car just high enough to slip a jack stand under the frame and wrestle the track rod back into position. The bolt went in, the car went down, and we gingerly made our way home.

We learned several lessons from the fiasco. Never drive anywhere in a Mini without a compatible jack. No amount of German preparation can withstand a British car's ability to creatively fail. Perhaps most importantly, bumper stickers are not to be trifled with.

-Rob T.


 




Why I Chose Koni Dampers for my E30

Few cars handle like a BMW thanks to their incredibly well-designed suspension, but that isn’t to say you can’t make improvements to give your car a bump in handling performance.

Several options to upgrade your suspension components involve sacrificing ride quality for better handling, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Many enthusiasts turn to higher quality shocks and struts with lowering springs to achieve their desired result, but there are so many setups to choose, it is tough to decide which one is right for your car. You need the correct shocks for your specific BMW and adjustability to adjust your damper settings. Koni dampers are the perfect choice for anyone who wants a range of ability from their BMW and wants to retain a factory-like ride quality that will function perfectly, even when lowered.

When I went to refresh my suspension the first time in my E30 a few years back, I was caught between a few companies that all seemed to offer excellent options for shocks and struts. Since I knew H&R Race springs would be installed, the dampers would have to work well when lowered and provide a soft ride on the street, but that was stiff enough to handle the reduced ride height. After deliberation, I decided to swing for Koni adjustable yellow dampers for a few reasons.

When it comes to the parts I choose for my BMW that are not OEM, it is important that the aftermarket replacements are produced by companies with a history for motorsport excellence. Koni, which began in 1897, has been manufacturing dampers for nearly a century. Their designs can be found everywhere from F1-winning Ferraris all the way back to 1957 to suspension bridges in the most extreme climates worldwide. This heritage is critical, as their reputation for performance products is the only interaction a new buyer will know before they experience the dampers themselves.

"Their designs can be found everywhere from F1-winning Ferraris all the way back to 1957 to suspension bridges in the most extreme climates worldwide."


With their history, and their guaranteed lifetime warranty, I chose Koni dampers. Their adjustable dampers allowed me to adjust my damper settings for something that offers near factory comfort, even on stiff settings, that completely outperform the OEM options. I know I will catch flak for preferring Koni by the BMW purist proselytes, but the benefits of adjustable dampers with a more durable design and Monotube or Twin-tube designs are too big to discount.

Speaking to those mono/twin tube designs, Koni is the only manufacturer in the world to offer all three designs, which means they offer perfect damper solutions for your BMW depending on what the car prefers. According to Koni, some cars prefer the mono-tube design while others like either the twin-tube low-pressure gas or the twin-tube hydraulic type. Whichever is most effective for your car, Koni produces the proper configuration to make your BMW handle better than ever without compromise.

I have since replaced those shocks and struts after a few years of dutiful daily driving without ever experiencing a harsh ride or decrease in performance during their life. Like all wearable parts, they do eventually need to be replaced. The awesome service life, fantastic performance, and adjustability to tweak my ride quality whenever I needed had completely made a fanboy out of me, so I once again chose Koni dampers for my E30. I am confident that the suspension is as sorted as it can be with this mild setup and definitely have no worries should anything happen down the road. That peace of mind thanks to their lifetime warranty (should anything happen to your dampers) is a rare feeling in a thirty-year-old car, which has actually come in handy more than once. A company that stands behind their products and makes the owner’s life better with them is one that I can trust when it comes to aftermarket parts for my favorite car.

With another few thousand miles under the belts of these new dampers, I have enjoyed nothing but a cushy ride and tight cornering performance from my Koni adjustable shocks and struts. If you love your BMW as much as I love mine, Koni should be your go-to choice for street, performance, or even track-spec suspension. Their new Active Shock Absorbers offer the best ride quality on the market while maintaining factory handling characteristics, Yellows are fantastic for your street driven car that needs spirited suspension, and their high-performance coilovers make excellent additions to your dedicated track BMW. Make the right choice when it is time to replace your shocks and struts and choose Koni for a better ride, better performance, and a better product.

 




Locking Up

We love to read about the experiences you have made in your BMW. Road trips, DIYs, and even situations that could have gone better all make for wonderful memories that strengthen the bond between you and your car. If you love your BMW, and the Turner Motorsport community, send us your favorite stories to be featured in the next issue of Turner Motorsport Weekly.


Category

Brand