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First Generation Faults & Fixes MINI faults and fixes 2001 - 2006

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  #1 (permalink)  
Old Feb 14th, 2003, 12:43 AM
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My MINI Hangs Low

And I never lowered it. I am scraping the hell out of the lower bumper on roads I never scraped on before - roads I take weekly. So maybe you're thinking new potholes. Not that I can see.

And I can see, especially at the last MINI meet I attended, that my boy's front end hangs lower than the Ss attending. Maybe 3 inches.

It just started being noticable within the last week or so - just after dealer repairs on coolant system and washer. Makes no sense. Maybe they were miffed that I asked that the tires be checked. Hmmmmm. That could be perceived as a bit cheeky.

Anyway. I've had the snows on since November. 15" MINI steelies bearing arctic alpins, tirerack supplied.

I would like to know what could cause the car to come down so.

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Old Feb 14th, 2003, 01:36 PM
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What's the overall diameter of your snows compared with your factory tires?

Otherwise, measure the distance from your wheel hub to the lip of the wheel opening (yes, this sounds like an odd way to measure ride height, but that's how it's done) and compare it to another MCS. There's a slight possibility that the springs on your car weren't heat treated and have sagged. Another possibility is physical damage to the suspension (did you hit any major potholes?).

Chip H.

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Old Feb 14th, 2003, 02:23 PM
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Arrow

Have the wheels off the car and the front suspension checked. Also, make sure the wheels themselves are still OK. I know MINI was recommending against using non-MINI steel wheels and the first batch from Tire rack were recalled so I hope nothing has happened to the hubs -- worth checking into. If you are sitting 3" lower than usual that means you have about 2" of ground clearance which signals a problem for sure.

Harry

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"... the only man that can come home at 3 am in the morning without getting into trouble with his spouse is the owner of a British sports car!" -- Phil Bailey
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Old Feb 15th, 2003, 04:46 PM
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Thanks Chip and Harry. I'm leaving now to have a local shop (MINI S owners) have a spin. Definitely something for which I'm booking time at the dealer.

Cheers!

PS- chiph- ever tell you how much your sig rocks?

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Old Feb 15th, 2003, 06:14 PM
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Alright. So Rob at Autotechnic says nothing suspect in the ride considering the oversteer increase with snows. And the DSC he's not used to. Took some crappy roads for the test. Did not scrape once. Could it be I've just been going too fast over these things? Maybe. But the front spoiler is still low.

So i called tirerack cuz it's too cold to measure tires just now (lazy) and would you believe they sent me tires with .01cm more diameter than my 17"ers. That's tirerack. :thumb up: Maybe I'll double check in the Spring .

So I'll be in for my digitally designated oil change *ooo another thread!** within the next two weeks. I'll have them look at it then.

Thanks guys.

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Old Feb 16th, 2003, 10:49 PM
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United-States GMINI,

A voice from the past, where are the pictures???? We need to see pictures. Go out in the snow and take some big guy....

Put some air in the tires....

Sorry, you won't be joining us in Williamsburg, was looking forward to finally meeting up with you..

paddy

"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail..."
-- President George W. Bush - Sept. 20, 2001
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Old Feb 16th, 2003, 11:23 PM
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Re: GMINI,

Quote:
Originally posted by paddy
A voice from the past, where are the pictures???? We need to see pictures. Go out in the snow and take some big guy....

Put some air in the tires....

Sorry, you won't be joining us in Williamsburg, was looking forward to finally meeting up with you..

paddy

Ah. Air in the tires. Good idea!

Too dark for photos just now. Besides the invinca-shield is all gone up front since the post-bambi repaint. Boo-hoo. And don't guess how many chips I got within a week of getting that repaint . I'll take some tuesday.

Sore subject. That and my nixed trip to virginia. Maybe if I can find a hotel for Saturday night. Maybe I can get my dad to meet me there. (ding ding ding). All the mini2ers I know down that way are exceptionally swell folks.

Off Topic, Paddy! jeeze!

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Old Feb 17th, 2003, 02:40 AM
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bring a smile to your mug....

paddy

"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail..."
-- President George W. Bush - Sept. 20, 2001
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Old Feb 17th, 2003, 02:57 AM
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Oh that you did, Paddy!

GM

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