Hi,
I tend to agree with Swamos. The suspension on the car is pretty good out of the box. I would recommend doing a few track days and driver training days with the standard suspension to get to know what the car can or cant do. Then you will be in a better position to know what you want to achieve by changing the suspension. If you are a newbie to the track you will get much better value for your money by doing a few proper drive days with instructors etc than you will get from modifying the car.
Having said that I have done a lot of suspension work on my car, and it makes a huge difference on the track. However, there is also the possibility that if it is not done properly it can actually make things worse.
What you do to the suspension will depend on what you are aims are? Do you want to improve track performance at the cost of road performance? Do you want to improve the "look" of the car etc.
Big improvements can be made pretty easily. The best starting point is a bigger stiffer rear bar with stiffer and slightly lowered springs front and rear. You can do that for less than $1G.
To go the full monty you can have coilovers, which allows you to change springs easily depending on conditions, preference, track etc. Also if you are doing serious track work you definitely need to have adjustable camber front and rear. To do all of this you are looking at around $2G+ depending on the quality of products you use.
These mods will make the car sit flatter and feel more stable through corners. You will be able to hold more corner speed. However, you still will have difficulty gettting on the gas out of corners. Unfortunately that is a characteristic of the car due to its FWD and diff set-up. Track tyres help to some degree, but do not cure the problem.
My suspension was done in Sydney at Peak Performance, using a mix of components from whiteline suspension and RPM. I dont know anyone up north. However, you need to find someone who has worked on the mini before and knows the car.
In summary my advice would be to go out and enjoy the car as it is, do a few more track days (preferably with good instructors). If you are still enjoying it and progressing after 4 or so days, then you seriously need to start thinking about tyres and/or suspension.
Robbo |