Capital Driving Club Discussion Forum

Hey everyone, just wanted to get some opinions. What would be a better option, lighter wheels that are 8 pounds lighter each or an upgraded suspension? The price would be the same for each.

I'm saving up for some upgrades in the spring. Thanks.

First and foremost, do you have tires?

I rode with you at Woodbridge, the car felt great, but lacked grip.

If you are running the MIni GP (as I recall), I'd throw on some good tires (or a separate set of wheels with new tires) and call it a day. Minis out of the box are pretty cool. Other than that, maybe a good alignment.

I'll be getting good tires in the spring definitely, I was just curious if the lighter wheels will make a big difference or should I put my money somewhere else.

8lbs per wheel is a big difference and will definitely help your existing suspension handle better and will also improve acceleration and braking due to less inertia (flywheel) effect.

A properly tuned, fully-adjustable setup with high-quality dampers and stiff springs will make a huge difference. I'm not talking off the shelf Bilstein or Koni dampers and H&R lowering springs here - that stuff is for people who want to look fast when parked. I'm talking about real racing stuff that is custom valved for your specific application, adjustable shock body length, etc. Remember, ride height should not be adjusted via threaded spring perches. Those are for accommodating different length springs and for adjusting pre-load only.

Which one is more important? Yes. Both are. Which one will you notice the most? Hard to say. A good suspension system shines best with lightweight wheels and sticky rubber. You shouldn't do one without the other. Do both as soon as your budget will allow.

+1 on R-comps. They are the single most significant upgrade you can make to an otherwise decently performing stock car.

In my humble opinion, I'd go with the following upgrades in order:

1. Tires
2. Suspension and Tune Suspension
3. Lighten Vehicle

In terms of cost vs. most noticeable gains, tires will probably be the biggest difference with the least amount of cost compared to the other modifications. I don't know the cost of aftermarket parts for the Mini, but generally when you get into trying to lighten the vehicle, it will cost the most per minimal performance gain.

That being said, as Kyle pointed out, everything works together; so doing one upgrade/modification will only see a partial impact on performance - how much impact depends on the modification.


I know when I bought tires, I gained at least a couple of seconds on my time. When I bought suspension upgrades I gained tenths (at most a second).
In terms of cost for my car, the tires and rims cost less than $1000, however my suspension...albeit they are not Motons, but still cost me at least $2500 by the time all is said and done with the various components (Springs, Shocks, Sway bars, camber bolts, castor plates, motor mounts, tie rods, spring perches, etc.)

Based on your info, I'd go with suspension upgrades. As others have mentioned if you need good quality tires, that would become #1. As far as the remainder of the mod list & the quality of items chosen, that totally depends on how competitive you want to be and of course your budget. Also, have you taken any driver's training? An SCCA school will knock more time off your runs than any single car mod. I'd actually then suggest:

1. tires
2. SCCA level 2 or 3 ax school
3. suspension parts
4. drivetrain upgrades
5. lightening mods

Thanks for all the advce. Looks like tires for sure. I'll have a lot to think about after that.

Even if you just do tires or tires and rims, don't forget to get an alignment to take advantage of your new rubber.

See http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/tilt/ for some Mini-specific info. This was on a prepared car that likely has much stiffer springs than yours and they still needed a lot of camber to fight the strut's camber characteristics.

I would add a fourth option. Depending upon whether you intend to enter an SCCA event in stock class, consider camber/reinforcement plates for the front struts. I believe most BMWs need more front camber than the factory hardware allows. Also, MINIs can have problems with mushrooming the strut towers, so reinforcing this area is a good idea when autocrossing. You also will move towards a more neutral handling car by gaining traction at the front. My MINI plows like a tractor (but I admittedly need practice at driving a FWD autocross car).

If you have stock tires and stock struts, I'd bet you'll notice more of a difference with the new tires. The problem there is if you're contemplating a smaller rim, you may as well get the rims to match the tires at the same time. Personally, I'd go with the tires first over struts.