14 replies to this topic

[RacingGreen]

I have seriously been thinking of fitting a beam an coilovers to my car as i now how the money, but i have seen two different designs of the beam axles and wondered if one stlye was better than the other?

FRA Mini Stlye:



Style that huddersfield sell:



Any ideas of which one i should go for?

Thanks
Mike

[bluebottle]

they are both essentially the same, the huddersfield one is made of box steel, no idea what the FRA one is made of (steel or alloy).
mini spares do an alloy version.
so really seeing as they all do much the same thing, its really just down to price, or weight, or availability.

[minimadjonesy]

The FRA and MiniSport alloy ones would be the ones I would go for! Also bear in mind that to fit radius arms to the Huddersfield one you need to cut off the knuckle cup!
Also the alloy one won't rust!

[Guess-Works.com]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

[Woody]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

Why would you want to loose the indipendant rear suspension ?

[vasi]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

I've not seen one of these but know of which you speak.

Saw shots of a mini with this done but I'm pretty sure it was fabricated from the ground up, spaceframe rear end, boot floor cut out etc.

[RacingGreen]

Any pictures of the minisport axle as there isn't any on their site?

Also, would the be any advantage in the minisport axle over the FRA, as its near double the price?

Thanks Again
Mike

[Bluemini]

I had a Huddersfield one and it was fine. Go for a steel one. you want to keep a bit of wieght on the rear end else you'll be all over the place.

[RacingGreen]

yeah, i was thinking, that, i want it to be light, but not too light. I am probably going for that and some spax lowered height coilovers. :grin:

How much would i need to modify my radius arms to fit the beam?

[bluebottle]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

yes , you can get a beam axle (as opposed to a rear beam)
my mate had a 4-link rear beam axle fitted to his hillclimber when he got it, you have a plate that mounts on the heel board, 2 parallel, and 2 diagonal rods, and the axle itself.
the coil overs mount about 12" inches inbd of the wheel arch, to a cross member that mounts where the old shockers were. so you loose your boot floor.
all this sounds very posh, but the first time out he spun the car at over 90mph, with no warning. next event, much the same happened, so a bit of diagnostics, and a lot of checking it turned out the axle had a bit of toe out built into it!....but seeing as the axle tube itself is not adjustable, it was stuck on ebay, and a speedex (same as huddersfield) type rear beam was fitted, which improved things no end!.

the only time i've heard of these rear beam axles being used with success in autocross, or offroad type events. i've not yet seen one in the paddock of any of the events i've been to.

[Bluemini]

How much would i need to modify my radius arms to fit the beam?

You just need to cut the lug off were the knuckle joint would normally locate.

[Oldskoolbaby]

My best mate is building his own beam axle out of an original subframe. He's literally cutting the back part of the subframe to leave the front that attatches to the heel board. This way all you need to buy is the coil overs.

[bluebottle]

sorry to be pedantic, but a rear beam axle is actually an axle, all the other ones which keep the original trailing arms are called rear beams.

[Alburglar]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

kad do one using these trailing arms. V pricey tho!
http://www.kad-uk.com/suspension.htm

[bluebottle]

Isn't there also a true beam axle replacement which replaces the trailing arms ?

kad do one using these trailing arms. V pricey tho!
http://www.kad-uk.com/suspension.htm

those are just replacement ,lightweight arms al, nothing to to do with a beam axle.