Aug. 24, 2007 - MINI brake problem and solution

After hearing some brake talk recently on whiteroofradio.com, I thought this was a good time to share a potentially common brake issue I had with my MINI.

I took my MINI to the track for the first time a few years ago and noticed the rear end would slide all over the place under hard braking.  I am running stock rotors with some Carbotech Panther XP8 pads (the greatest track pads I have ever used, by the way).  This instability was quite unnerving and caused me to have a minor off track experience.

I heard (or read) that installing a more aggressive rear sway bar would solve this issue.  I thought I would give it a try since I heard the rear sway bar would make the car handle better in general.  Well, I'm hear to say the sway bar (I got the Alta) made the car handle much better, but did not solve the rear end stability issue.

After debating the issue with my track buddies, we thought it might be too much rear brake bias.  Since I didn't have a big brake kit handy, I grabbed my stock rear brake pads and quickly put them back on the car between track sessions.  Sure enough, this did the trick.  The MINI stayed very firmly planted lap after lap.

So it appears the rumors are true.  The front brake system on the R53 MINI seems to be a little weak compared to the rear.  Normally, I don't believe in big brake kits, but in this case, it's probably not a bad idea if you take your MINI to the track on a regular basis.  Actually, it seems like the JCW front brakes might even be the best match.

Now all I have to do is confirm if I can put the R56 stock front brakes (which should be the same as the R53 JCW brakes, but cost less) on my R53, and then I will be good to go.