# Small car, big bags



## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

Well, after 5 months of piecing together my system it's finally up and running. 




















If any of you have followed Retromini's build thread you would know that no struts exist for our application so we have to piece things together. Thanks to him I already knew what I needed for the rear, but I wanted to have air-struts for the front. So staring at my suspension for quite some time I realized that MKIV & MKV front struts are set up very similar to Mini's so I bit the bullet and ordered MKV front struts from Airlift. After a lot of trimming and a custom mount they went on.










Airlift universal struts in the rear.










Since I wasn't planning on taking away any space from my little trunk I did a very stealth install.
My compressor & tank are underneath the trunk.




















Manifolds are inside my quarter panel. It's not the roomiest place, but they fit and can easily be removed for repair.






























After the fuse holder that came with my kit melted, I went out and bought a real fuse holder.










Aside from a few small leaks, some clunking, and wanting another 1/2 inch of drop in the front, I'm very happy with the results.

Thanks to [email protected] for the super fast shipping and also Ben & Jesse @ Airlift for all the technical support.


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## CoopaCoopaCoopa (Apr 25, 2009)

So stealthy!! I love it. Good job sir :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## tomespo (Jul 21, 2008)

damn, u didnt even give me a call! i would have come by when u did the install to hang out and b.s .. me you and stoof g37 all gotta meetup one day and take pics for sure! give me a call sometime tomorrow i wanna see it


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## fasttt600 (Apr 12, 2007)

Looks great. I love the stealth install.


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## STOOF G37 (Nov 26, 2009)

Nice work! :thumbup:


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## Aloha-boy (Mar 9, 2001)

Wow that's soooo sweet!!! What needs to be done to get that 1/2" more drop?


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## marks631 (May 9, 2010)

car looks great! :thumbup: for a local new yorker! im from long island!


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## RobbDizzle (Aug 22, 2007)

Sweet, very creative with the modded mkV struts. :thumbup:


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## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

Nicely done sir :thumbup:

we gotta do a photoshoot


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## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

Aloha-boy said:


> Wow that's soooo sweet!!! What needs to be done to get that 1/2" more drop?


I need new struts. I'm currently running MKV sleeve-type struts. Maybe next year I will go for the XL bellow versions. For now I'm happy.


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## NJbean89MK5 (Sep 25, 2009)

looks sick...love the install:beer:


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## furr (Jul 3, 2009)

sick :thumbup:


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## [email protected] (Aug 21, 2009)

Love the stealth install!


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

Looking good Suad, thanks for the shout out. 

Now we need a better photo shoot of it.


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## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

Long overdue....


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

Loooooong overdue... pics look sweet!


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## eastcoaststeeze (Jul 20, 2009)

:thumbup::thumbup:


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## John Reid (Jun 30, 2010)

How's the under-mounted compressor & tank holding up after this amount of time on the road?

Curious since I want to go air, but my available trunk space is already dedicated to audio.


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## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

Everything is running like the day I installed it. :thumbup::thumbup: Now the compressor is in an insulated enclosure to keep down the vibrations:


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

Are there any more bagged mini's around? I know we've sent out several setups, where are you guys hiding??


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## skateaholic247 (Jun 7, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> are there any more bagged mini's around? I know we've sent out several setups, where are you guys hiding??


this. Moar miniz plz.


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## hussdog426 (Nov 20, 2011)

Looks good with the stealth install


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## babydubz (Dec 13, 2007)

my favourite bagged Mini


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## AbsoluteCarnage (Apr 23, 2010)

Doing my research for bags for my R53. Was it worth it to bag it? Any problems with running the lines and wiring? Looks awesome! :thumbup:


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## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

AbsoluteCarnage said:


> Doing my research for bags for my R53. Was it worth it to bag it? Any problems with running the lines and wiring? Looks awesome! :thumbup:


The car definitely lost that tight "MINI" feel. On the other hand it gained a whole lot of comfort. I eventually sold my kit as I was having constant problems with my airlift struts blowing. Although, my kit was never designed to be used on a MINI. Airlift's top mount design for front struts is inferior. It doesn't allow for a wide range of articulation (chamber and caster) during driving conditions which causes the bushing to tear. Looking back, I wish I had saved some more money for Bagyards.

Lines and wiring are straightforward. Just take your time and install them properly. Take care not to allow chaffing of any of your lines. Use braided leader lines!


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## AbsoluteCarnage (Apr 23, 2010)

2800kubik said:


> The car definitely lost that tight "MINI" feel. On the other hand it gained a whole lot of comfort. I eventually sold my kit as I was having constant problems with my airlift struts blowing. Although, my kit was never designed to be used on a MINI. Airlift's top mount design for front struts is inferior. It doesn't allow for a wide range of articulation (chamber and caster) during driving conditions which causes the bushing to tear. Looking back, I wish I had saved some more money for Bagyards.
> 
> Lines and wiring are straightforward. Just take your time and install them properly. Take care not to allow chaffing of any of your lines. Use braided leader lines!


I'm thinking of going with BagRiders kit. They're one of the few companies i'm finding with put together sets specific for Mini.


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## AbsoluteCarnage (Apr 23, 2010)

ALSO would you say its worth it to get bags? or just do coils? or none of the above haha.


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## 2800kubik (Sep 22, 2004)

They're worth it if you can get good reliability out of them, but at the end of the day they're a luxury.


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