10 replies to this topic

[Cerberus]

Going to be getting some lower arms soon.

I was going to get the kit from Mini Spares, with the spherical jointed lower arms and the adjustable tie bars(normal bushes).
However, these are currently out of stock.

So is it worth getting spherical joints?

Or are the special Mini Spares tapered bushes fine for road use? Its a daily driver, about 120 miles a week.

[MRA]

What a lot of rot........ I keep hearing this rubbish about rose joints not lasting very long..

1) There are lots of different types...
2) They are either cheap rubbish, expensive aerospace items or any where in between.
3) THe materials used can be chosen to give long in adverse conditons.

The boots used can be an all encompassing synthetic boot much like your steering track control joint... or a cheaper version that is a simple rubber cup washer.

Rubber bushes last on average about 5 years, where as a steering track rod end can and often do last a lot longer

They give positive handling results, a full rose joint kit on the front will increase turn in....... this is a much sought after characteristic on a Mini, as we all know Classic Mini can suffer with understeer.

[mini13]

I run rose joints on the bottom arms and tie rods of mine, they have been on there over two years (about 10k road miles) and are still fine, car was used all last winter through the snow.

lube them and put boots on them and they will last.

[MRA]

My own have done over 24k miles now and are still in good condition.....

A rose joint is exactly the same principle as a steering track rode end or a upper lower ball joint (swivel pin) the limiting factor is the amount of grit / dirt etc that is allowed to ingress the joint, if you removed the rubber boot from your track rods they wouldn't last long either. However use a fully enclosed boot and you get very good service life..

Especially as some of the tie bar and bottom arm bushes on the market barely last 12 monthes................

Drawbacks to using rose joints..

1) Initial cost is higher
2) They need setting up

[Cerberus]

Thanks for the responses.

I've been told, by my dad, if I go for rose joints, they need a bit of looking after, i.e. greasing occasionally, I assume with a boot this would be required less.
And if the rubber bushes last 5 years, that's plenty for me.

When you say they need setting up, what exactly does that mean??


This is what I'm thinking of getting, as the rose jointed set is out of stock. An with the current VAT free offer on, I'm going to make quite a significant saving.



I'm not looking to get the absolute best of the best. I just want to be able to get rid of the horrible camber settings at the front and get some negative camber on it. I've not had any problems with turn in yet, in fact, its got a much more positive turn in than my previous cars. Even after going round and round some roundabouts to try and identify something, it never under-steered or let go.

I think I'm edging towards the cheaper kit, as I doubt I'd fit the rear tracking brackets with the more expensive kit (atleast not for a while). And, as I've spent at least £600 on it already in the first month'ish, I think I need to limit my spending a bit, .

Edited by Cerberus, 06 December 2010 - 12:47 PM.

[pikey7]

I had rose jointed bottom arms and tie rods. Never had a problem in 3 years of owning it. Will do it again on the next one.

As they are adjustable, you'll need the geometry setting up.

[MRA]

The full rubber boots give excellent coverage and service.

The rose jointed items need setting up.... as does any adjustable suspension parts.

[MRA]

If you use cheap parts expect them to fail quicker..........

[MRA]

You seem to think your all talking to someone who hasn't tried 'em !
2 years max on a road car in my experience, but then again maybe my idea of when there knackered is different to everyone else's........

As we are all pond life and have no experience or engineering knowledge ! When exactly are they beyond their service life ?

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the responses.

I've been told, by my dad, if I go for rose joints, they need a bit of looking after, i.e. greasing occasionally, I assume with a boot this would be required less.
And if the rubber bushes last 5 years, that's plenty for me.

When you say they need setting up, what exactly does that mean??


This is what I'm thinking of getting, as the rose jointed set is out of stock. An with the current VAT free offer on, I'm going to make quite a significant saving.



I'm not looking to get the absolute best of the best. I just want to be able to get rid of the horrible camber settings at the front and get some negative camber on it. I've not had any problems with turn in yet, in fact, its got a much more positive turn in than my previous cars. Even after going round and round some roundabouts to try and identify something, it never under-steered or let go.

I think I'm edging towards the cheaper kit, as I doubt I'd fit the rear tracking brackets with the more expensive kit (atleast not for a while). And, as I've spent at least £600 on it already in the first month'ish, I think I need to limit my spending a bit, .

You can buy those now, if you want to convert to a rose jointed set up, we can supply a conversion kit later

[Cerberus]

The full rubber boots give excellent coverage and service.

The rose jointed items need setting up.... as does any adjustable suspension parts.

Yeah, so its the arm that needs setting up, not the rose joint.

That's what I wasn't sure on, I though you meant the actual rose joint needed setting up somehow, which from my previous experience of rose joints, I didn't see how you could setup a rose joint, .

Thanks anyway.

I think for now I'll probably just get the non-rose jointed arms, due to the cheaper price and availability.


Thanks again for the opinions people.