Who here owns a Mini?

[dale1uk]

I would rather mine was a facelift. Panoramic roof would be nice too.
Slightly more power as standard. Teflon coated charger vanes, better ecu that handles mods better and a few extra tweeks with no real downsides.
Charger pulley
Exhaust
Airbox mod
Remap
Coilovers
R56 front brakes and you're onto a fast little car. Plenty of change from 4k too if you find a good base.
Mine is on 99kmiles now and although I have done a decent amount of work to it I don't think its been a bad little car. (Clutch, timing chain, wheel bearings, bushes etc)

Thanks again for the info. Will keep an eye out for a facelift model. Your list of mods is pretty much the list I'd compiled. I see you haven't mentioned a upgraded intercooler though, any reason why not?

Are there any must have options? I'd prefer a one with either the chrono pack or nav so the speedo and rev counter are both behind the wheel. Since the car will see the track what's the factory optional LSD like? Worth getting one with it or crap compared to an aftermarket unit?

 

[--Mike--]

Thanks again for the info. Will keep an eye out for a facelift model. Your list of mods is pretty much the list I'd compiled. I see you haven't mentioned a upgraded intercooler though, any reason why not?

Are there any must have options? I'd prefer a one with either the chrono pack or nav so the speedo and rev counter are both behind the wheel. Since the car will see the track what's the factory optional LSD like? Worth getting one with it or crap compared to an aftermarket unit?

An updated intercooler is a must, I take temperatures can get very high especially in the summer. The GP is regarded as the best but is quite expensive.

The factory LSD is supposed to be ok so better than nothing! Most facelift cars with the Chili pack should have the LSD - it was a no cost option I think.

 

[Gaygle]

Mine are the older ones (pre CRD, just Zeta) so aren't anodised fancy red... But yeah it would seem they should move nice and freely like your first one... I'll try and get a little lube into mine then and see if they free off.
I was going to try and get away without using the adjustable RCA but I think in reality I know it's going to need it, really not a fan of these morons running -4º or something just to get their wheels to fit! Function over form.

I've got the same ones - Zeta Pro (formerly known as the Meister R Europa)

Oh yeah, and my back hurts and my neck aches.

I spent 4 hours fitting the coilovers today and I must say, the bits that I *thought* would give me hassle, gave me none. And the bits I thought would give me none, gave me all the hassle. I fitted the front and rear O/S coilovers this afternoon and on the front one - the collars for preloading the spring were nice and free, but the collar for locking the ride height was tight as hell, then the shock body was seized solid so I couldn't adjust the ride height. I must have spent about an hour trying everything I could to get the shock body to turn, but it wasn't having it. I ended up fitting it as it came from the guy I bought them from and luckily the ride height is *about* right, but ideally I want to take it up by 5-10mm as it just looks a tiny bit too low.

The rear one was the opposite in that I couldn't get the spring collar to move at all, but the ride height collar/body was free and turning nicely. *sigh*

I have soaked the passenger side coilovers in Shock and Unlock so that I hopefully don't run into the same issues. I've set the preload already on them, but the front ride height collar/shock body is seized solid like the other side. Hopefully the shock and unlock does it stuff overnight and I'll be able to fit them tomorrow, but we'll see.

Top tip - make sure EVERYTHING is free before you start.

Good advice on the 5w/40, mine was burning a bit of oil but since going to a slightly thicker oil it's reduced it's consumption massively. Although maybe I should've gone back to 30wt for the winter. Hey hoo

I use the 5w40 over the 30 oil because on track, the oil temps will get too high for a 30 weight oil and it'll just start burning through it/shearing the oil. I use about 300ml each track day, which is about right.

Stripped the Meisters down this afternoon Gaygle, too impatient to wait for my friend to pop over. All the dampers are good and I managed to free all of the aluminium nuts off. Gave all of the threads a damn good brushing and lubing up, coated everything with Loctite synthetic grease and started reassembling. The rears are very straight forward. 14mm spanner to undo the damping adjuster knob then a 5mm allen key and 14mm ratchet spanner to undo the top nut and release the spring/top mount. Gave the rod a good wiggle and cleaned and greased then fitted the new boots.

The fronts are slightly more involved, same procedure though but the top mount houses a 6304 ZZ bearing, both of which were toast. I'll replace with 6304 2RS though as I reckon the rs will be better suited than the z... other than that all plain sailing.

I got the top mount/rose joints all cleaned out... Repeated squirting with WD followed by fingering in a load of grease... They're more like the first one in your video now... Maybe a bit stiffer but I've left them soaking in WD. So I guess they should move nice and smoothly, 1 of mine is pitted though so I ought to look at replacements in the future.

Ahh good stuff. Did you free everything off alright? How did you know that the front bearings were toast?

Now I want to get my springs at least sand blasted... maybe powder coated, any ideas what sort of price that'd be? SB then Hammerite might be a better option... I ought to ring around

Yeah, i'd do that too if I could be bothered Mine have only really got a bit of surface rust and the paint has come off a bit. Not too bothered really.

I would rather mine was a facelift. Panoramic roof would be nice too.
Slightly more power as standard. Teflon coated charger vanes, better ecu that handles mods better and a few extra tweeks with no real downsides.
Charger pulley
Exhaust
Airbox mod
Remap
Coilovers
R56 front brakes and you're onto a fast little car. Plenty of change from 4k too if you find a good base.
Mine is on 99kmiles now and although I have done a decent amount of work to it I don't think its been a bad little car. (Clutch, timing chain, wheel bearings, bushes etc)

I think the one I got was a bit of a rarity. It is a facelift with the panaramic roof, climate control, steering buttons, heated seats and LSD.

I would definitely recommend getting a facelift if you can.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Thanks again for the info. Will keep an eye out for a facelift model. Your list of mods is pretty much the list I'd compiled. I see you haven't mentioned a upgraded intercooler though, any reason why not?

I have been looking at fitting an LSD, probably a stock one just to see, I hear they're quite good.
Intake temps, I've never seen above 45ºC with my stock IC... Perhaps I don't drive it properly... Once you've blasted through the gears though you're doing ~90mph before hitting 4th though so really don't get the opportunity to heat soak it and get them up to 55ºC where IIRC it starts to pull timing... If (when ) I decide to track it though I'll definitly be fitting a decent IC.

I've got the same ones - Zeta Pro (formerly known as the Meister R Europa)

Mine aren't fancy red though... But yeah Europas are the ones...

Oh yeah, and my back hurts and my neck aches.

I spent 4 hours fitting the coilovers today and I must say, the bits that I *thought* would give me hassle, gave me none. And the bits I thought would give me none, gave me all the hassle. I fitted the front and rear O/S coilovers this afternoon and on the front one - the collars for preloading the spring were nice and free, but the collar for locking the ride height was tight as hell, then the shock body was seized solid so I couldn't adjust the ride height. I must have spent about an hour trying everything I could to get the shock body to turn, but it wasn't having it. I ended up fitting it as it came from the guy I bought them from and luckily the ride height is *about* right, but ideally I want to take it up by 5-10mm as it just looks a tiny bit too low.

The rear one was the opposite in that I couldn't get the spring collar to move at all, but the ride height collar/body was free and turning nicely. *sigh*

I have soaked the passenger side coilovers in Shock and Unlock so that I hopefully don't run into the same issues. I've set the preload already on them, but the front ride height collar/shock body is seized solid like the other side. Hopefully the shock and unlock does it stuff overnight and I'll be able to fit them tomorrow, but we'll see.

Top tip - make sure EVERYTHING is free before you start.

Yeah I have spent maybe 10 hours stripping mine down, got everything freed off so now my only potential issues hopefully are what obstacles the car throws at me (pinch bolts) The hood rat PO of these coilies must have had them properly low, the front camber plates were maxed out!
Good news is that only the 2 top mount bearings are toast, all of the spherical bushings have freed up a treat now and move like in your video

I use the 5w40 over the 30 oil because on track, the oil temps will get too high for a 30 weight oil and it'll just start burning through it/shearing the oil. I use about 300ml each track day, which is about right.

Sounds reasonable, fully syn. I take it?

Ahh good stuff. Did you free everything off alright? How did you know that the front bearings were toast?

Photobucket isn't playing ball so cant show you the video but heres a pic, this one had actually seized solid.

Yeah, i'd do that too if I could be bothered Mine have only really got a bit of surface rust and the paint has come off a bit. Not too bothered really.

£20 to have them blasted. Dropped them off at 10 ish, picked up around 2hrs later.

Coat of Hammerite later.

Interesting chat with my mate about preload... On the MT forums Meister have recommended 0mm preload and this seems to be what people are going with. Marcus says that springs behave so much better with a bit of preload and as you have the option to adjust it separately to ride height you should. Choose a suitable preload and choose the same for each, should in theory be equivalent to the sprung corner weight of the car, then just adjust ride height on the bottom one to make sure its level. Goes without saying that it's infinitely better to have preload just under sprung weight on the corner than just over, otherwise the ride will be lumpy.
He's saying half an inch- linear springs aren't linear until around this point- Meister are saying 0... I think I'll put a few mm on so there is a touch of preload and take it from there... It is after all a road car.

I think the one I got was a bit of a rarity. It is a facelift with the panaramic roof, climate control, steering buttons, heated seats and LSD.

I would definitely recommend getting a facelift if you can.

Yep yours looks and sounds a cracker... I just wish I knew more when I bought this one 4 years ago...

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

The best of the two dead bearings (little video)

 

[Sparky]

Go through around 1 litre per month in mine. My 335 drank oil like it was going out of fashion as well so I am use to checking it!

 

[Gaygle]

I have been looking at fitting an LSD, probably a stock one just to see, I hear they're quite good.
Intake temps, I've never seen above 45ºC with my stock IC... Perhaps I don't drive it properly... Once you've blasted through the gears though you're doing ~90mph before hitting 4th though so really don't get the opportunity to heat soak it and get them up to 55ºC where IIRC it starts to pull timing... If (when ) I decide to track it though I'll definitly be fitting a decent IC.

Yeah the stock one is alright, and amazing value for £150 which people paid for it as a factory option, but it only has a 25% lockup so although this this is good, it's not as good as some of the aftermarket ones from Quaife et al - but then these are £800-1000 so it's all relative.

If you're getting up to 45c on the road - you would definitely exceed 55c on track. I chose a 15% pulley and Airtec intercooler as reliability was important to me as performance. Whilst going for a 17% pulley would generate 3-5bhp more, it would also generate a lot more heat, put more pressure on the supercharger and generally put the engine further out of it's intended parameters which would eventually show itself in the form of a failure. 17% would be fine for the road though, as long as you had the intercooler also.

Mine aren't fancy red though... But yeah Europas are the ones...

You got any photos of your coilovers? I want to see if they look the same as mine.

Yeah I have spent maybe 10 hours stripping mine down, got everything freed off so now my only potential issues hopefully are what obstacles the car throws at me (pinch bolts) The hood rat PO of these coilies must have had them properly low, the front camber plates were maxed out!
Good news is that only the 2 top mount bearings are toast, all of the spherical bushings have freed up a treat now and move like in your video

Yeah trying to free something expensive off is a time consuming task. My impact wrench undid the pinch bolt in about 5 seconds flat. Hopefully you have impact tools as it just made everything *so* much easier. Whatever you do - don't do what a lot of people do and use a breakers bar as it normally always shears the head off! The only issue my impact wrench had was removing the rear lower shock bolt. That thing was seized *solid*. The bit of thread you see coming through the captive nut was thick with rust. I had to get my cheapo 12v cigarette lighter impact wrench out which actually got it moving, but then got stuck again. 60 seconds with a blowtorch on the captive nut freed it up nicely and out it came. Like I said though, 90% of my time was taken up with trying to free up the collars/shock body on the coilovers. Had I not been doing that, I would have been able to replace both front and back coilovers within an hour easily - it's a very easy job

Sounds reasonable, fully syn. I take it?

I think i have pretty much taken care of the oil leaks it had when I bought it. The camshaft sensor o ring was leaking as was the rocker cover gasket. I'm sure there are other seals leaking, but these seemed to be the main ones. I have the oil filter housing and the sump gasket in stock ready to fit during the summer when I can be bothered.

Yeah using 5w40 Shell Helix Ultra - cheaper than ECP own brand stuff (£18 for 5 litres of LL01 approved oil!), yet meets lots of approvals and seems to be an all round decent oil. I'm thinking 3 track days and about 1000 road miles will probably be about right to change it.

£20 to have them blasted. Dropped them off at 10 ish, picked up around 2hrs later.

Coat of Hammerite later.

Ah they look good. Wish I had done this now! The springs nearest the camera look quite different to mine? Are they the standard Mini springs??

Interesting chat with my mate about preload... On the MT forums Meister have recommended 0mm preload and this seems to be what people are going with. Marcus says that springs behave so much better with a bit of preload and as you have the option to adjust it separately to ride height you should. Choose a suitable preload and choose the same for each, should in theory be equivalent to the sprung corner weight of the car, then just adjust ride height on the bottom one to make sure its level. Goes without saying that it's infinitely better to have preload just under sprung weight on the corner than just over, otherwise the ride will be lumpy.
He's saying half an inch- linear springs aren't linear until around this point- Meister are saying 0... I think I'll put a few mm on so there is a touch of preload and take it from there... It is after all a road car.

Yeah, I think I put about 5mm preload on them (I used the C Spanner as a guide as it's exactly 5mm thick). I'll give them a go and report back. The thing is the Europas were recommended to have 0mm preload, but then people moaned that they couldn't slam their car so it scraped on the ground, so MeisterR redesigned them as the Zeta Pro which *could* be slammed into the ground, but at the expense of having to fit softer springs (5kg/mm instead of 7kg/mm) as a result of this, they then recommended 5-10mm preload).

Yep yours looks and sounds a cracker... I just wish I knew more when I bought this one 4 years ago...

Yeah she's doing alright at the moment - very pleased with her. Hopefully I won't lose money on her when she is sold, and I should hopefully get back most if not all the money I paid for the mods as I have bought them all second hand. I'm trying to only spend money on performance bits at the moment - but I really want an Aero front bumper. Maybe I can convince myself that it will increase aerodynamics?

 

[Gaygle]

As I mentioned previously - I just ended up fitting the coilovers as they came from the previous owner as the shock bodies were completely rusted to the threads, meaning I can't adjust the ride height. I was initially thinking that the front looked a snippet too low, but having looked at it again in broad daylight - it looks pretty much ok? Opinions?







I only fitted one side yesterday and today my intention was to get the passenger front coilover free so that I could adjust the ride height, and then fit the passenger side coilovers Unfortunately, it wasn't happening. I soaked it in Shock and Unlock all last night, but it was still seized to hell. I tried taking it to my friendly mechanic down the road and he tried couldn't undo it and was worried he'd damage the whole thing. He said the only way to free it would be to use heat - but that this may well damage the seals inside so again, he didn't want to do it. He recommended turning the shock upside down and filling it with WD40/Plusgas and letting it peculate through the threads over the next few days or so. So that's what I've done! The problem is trying to get a grip/counter grip to break the rust. The only place you can hold onto is the threads, and they'll easily be damaged. I can't help but think what a crap design it is though.

Anyway, if it doesn't come free, I won't cry too much. The ride height is pretty much where I would have it anyway and I'd rather put up with it being 5mm lower than I wanted, rather than damaging the whole coilover.

 

[hurfdurf]

My girlfriend just had an email from Mini, a nice little video presentation on a newer model Cooper S. Her finance is fully paid off in 2 months time and they reckon they can do a deal where by she is paying the same level of finance again and be in the new model. Probably won't be even considering it as we are buying a house together but a very clever sales tactic.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Yeah I'm sure you;re right about the IC... I'll keep an eye out seeing as we both know where my car is headed (Cadwell? ) and yeah, you're totally right about the 17% putting a lot of strain on the charger... Do you intent to track yours increasingly often? I reckon I would be happy with only a couple of outings... Although I'm sure it gets addictive!

Haven't got any decent pictures of the front ones, but here's a link to the exact same ones only my springs are black now (and 20k miles old lol
http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f661/%A3100-off-meisterr-europa-coilovers-r53-r56-18003/

Hammer and punch to free the collars off? Failing that apply heat, I wouldn't expect you'd need much and the aluminium should expand much more readily than the steel strut and then BAM with a blast of that freeze ray you have... Rinse and repeat. Although your's is sitting beautifully, have you had to adjust the RCAs at all to avoid too much camber?
I have a Bosch GDS18v-Li impact gun but that isn't particularly ballsy, although I have just bought a 1000w/450Nm corded 1/2" impact gun... That should jigger them loose

Can't find the Shell oil for £18, you got a link? Best I can find is ECP at £20 for 5l with their Love30 discount code valid for the day.

Aero bumper/grilles and skirts... Mmmmm

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Replacement 6304zz bearings fitted. Built everything up and now ready for fitting, set at 5mm preload...

Ready to shear bolts

 

[Gaygle]

Replacement 6304zz bearings fitted. Built everything up and now ready for fitting, set at 5mm preload...

Mine are done and fitted now. 5mm preload wasn't enough for me - the car felt quite soft still and less harsh that OEM suspension. I needed to go to 10mm and i've increased the damper to 16 clicks from soft at the front, and still running at 8 clicks from soft on rear.

I did have a very annoying/worrying problem in that when I drove over slightly uneven road surfaces - the suspension would knock horribly, almost like something was seriously loose. I thought it might be the spring, so I tensioned that even more and nothing changed, then I had a look at the ARB link and found that one of the bolts was about 1/2 a turn too loose. Once tightened - silence!!

I've set my ride heights now and I've very happy with them. They were 345mm/350mm at the front (highest point on wing->centre of centre caps) with standard suspension, but now they are 320mm and it looks spot on IMO. The rears are 325mm down from 340mm(?).

Ready to shear bolts

That's a powerful impact gun! But I've heard it's a bit heavy and bulky? Have you fitted yours yet - did you run into any issues?

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Yep it is both heavy and bulky but it is 450nm of jigga jigga
Just finished days and going onto nights tomorrow so I'll spend the day swearing at the car/gravel/weather etc and hopefully get a few hours kip in the afternoon.
Yours are different springs to mine though arent they so I'll start with 5mm and go from there

 

[Gaygle]

Yeah I'm sure you;re right about the IC... I'll keep an eye out seeing as we both know where my car is headed (Cadwell? ) and yeah, you're totally right about the 17% putting a lot of strain on the charger... Do you intent to track yours increasingly often? I reckon I would be happy with only a couple of outings... Although I'm sure it gets addictive!

Yeah trying for once a month at the moment - they're so much fun. Hopefully off to Bedford on the 27th Feb.

Haven't got any decent pictures of the front ones, but here's a link to the exact same ones only my springs are black now (and 20k miles old lol
http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f661/%A3100-off-meisterr-europa-coilovers-r53-r56-18003/

Ah right, strange. Mine had black springs from standard, and have Zeta Pro written on them.

Hammer and punch to free the collars off? Failing that apply heat, I wouldn't expect you'd need much and the aluminium should expand much more readily than the steel strut and then BAM with a blast of that freeze ray you have... Rinse and repeat.

Yeah, the collars were the easy bit. Took me about 10 minutes to release the front lower collar with a bit of heat, plus gas and a screwdriver/hammer. The difficult bit is getting the lower shock body free as there is nothing to grip on to. Quite why they don't build a hex bolt into the mould of the shock body I don't know - at least you'd be able to get a wrench on it without worrying about damaging the body. Ah well, i've given up now anyway. As soon as I preloaded the springs to what I wanted, the ride height was exactly where I wanted it anyway. Pretty lucky!

Although your's is sitting beautifully, have you had to adjust the RCAs at all to avoid too much camber?

I need to get it on an alignment machine now I've finished messing around with the ride heights - but I doubt it's added on too much negative camber. I think the people that need to worry about that are the ones sitting at McDonalds scraping around on their wheel arches.

I have a Bosch GDS18v-Li impact gun but that isn't particularly ballsy, although I have just bought a 1000w/450Nm corded 1/2" impact gun... That should jigger them loose

Ah you're well sorted then. I still don't know how I ever worked on cars without power tools!? They just make everything SO much easier. I had the TC/DSC/ABS light come on today on my M3 - turns out the rear wheel sensor is broken. The bolt that holds the wheel sensor on though was rusted to hell and was an allen key head. Why do they use allen key headed bolts where they get easily rusted?! They're the worst bolts ever and predictably, the allen key rounded the bolt in no time at all. The only way I was going to get it off was to hammer a 9mm socket onto it, but I was worried I'd shear the bolt and then I'd have created another 2 hours work for myself. Not with an impact wrench though! I set it on the lowest torque and just let it shock the bolt out. 5 seconds later and it was out!

Can't find the Shell oil for £18, you got a link? Best I can find is ECP at £20 for 5l with their Love30 discount code valid for the day.

I used Carparts4less - it was about £19.99 at the time and I had a 12.5% discount code!

Aero bumper/grilles and skirts... Mmmmm

Think I'll be doing this in the next couple of months...

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Yeah trying for once a month at the moment - they're so much fun. Hopefully off to Bedford on the 27th Feb.

Let me know if you do any further up north

Ah right, strange. Mine had black springs from standard, and have Zeta Pro written on them.

Odd, still not actually sure what the difference between

Yeah, the collars were the easy bit. Took me about 10 minutes to release the front lower collar with a bit of heat, plus gas and a screwdriver/hammer. The difficult bit is getting the lower shock body free as there is nothing to grip on to. Quite why they don't build a hex bolt into the mould of the shock body I don't know - at least you'd be able to get a wrench on it without worrying about damaging the body. Ah well, i've given up now anyway. As soon as I preloaded the springs to what I wanted, the ride height was exactly where I wanted it anyway. Pretty lucky!

Ah right, I though you had the collars stuck, yeah no sure how you're meant to free the bottoms off. I did think that when I was stripping these down lol

I need to get it on an alignment machine now I've finished messing around with the ride heights - but I doubt it's added on too much negative camber. I think the people that need to worry about that are the ones sitting at McDonalds scraping around on their wheel arches.

Fair enough perhaps I wont really need this RCAs after all, at least I have them either way

Ah you're well sorted then. I still don't know how I ever worked on cars without power tools!? They just make everything SO much easier. I had the TC/DSC/ABS light come on today on my M3 - turns out the rear wheel sensor is broken. The bolt that holds the wheel sensor on though was rusted to hell and was an allen key head. Why do they use allen key headed bolts where they get easily rusted?! They're the worst bolts ever and predictably, the allen key rounded the bolt in no time at all. The only way I was going to get it off was to hammer a 9mm socket onto it, but I was worried I'd shear the bolt and then I'd have created another 2 hours work for myself. Not with an impact wrench though! I set it on the lowest torque and just let it shock the bolt out. 5 seconds later and it was out!

I've often wondered what the best type of fastener is on cars. Like you say cap heads are a pain but at least invariably smashing a Torx in there will grip it nicely. I guess with a regular hex head at least you can wire brush it and give yourself half a chance, Welding a nut onto stuffed bolt heads often works wonders presumably because of the heat. Either way though an impact gun makes the world of difference.

I used Carparts4less - it was about £19.99 at the time and I had a 12.5% discount code!

Cheers I'll check them out, are they the sister company to ECP?

Think I'll be doing this in the next couple of months...

Following... It seems the expensive part isn't necessarily buying the parts it's having them sprayed :/

P.S. this new forum makes multi quotes a doddle

 

[dale1uk]

What's the standard seating position like in the R53? Also what are the stock seats like for support on track?

Due to occasionally needing to use the back seats fixed buckets would not an option. Are there any go to reclining buckets that fit?

Also if anyone's doing a track day at Cadwell/Blyton/Croft in the next few months let me know. I'm planning on getting my mx5 on track again before I sell it so would try and get on the same day so I can have a nosey and see what the Minis are like out on track.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

The stock seats are just about adequate for fast road driving but I would like more support on track. Recaro Sportster CS are the ones you want but expect to pay way over £1000...

Rears done, fronts I'm struggling with the pinch bolt and I've obviously run out of Map gas at an opportune moment
Gave it a good brushing a soacked in WD but I think I'll pop down to halfords and pick up some of that freeze spray Gaygle was using.

 

[dale1uk]

The stock seats are just about adequate for fast road driving but I would like more support on track. Recaro Sportster CS are the ones you want but expect to pay way over £1000...

Ouch over £1000 each new, think I'll pass on those. Even selling the kevlar Recaros I have in my mx5 wouldn't buy a pair of them! I take it these are the same seats that came as an option on the JCW?

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Yeah I believe so.
Used they're about £1000-1500. I wouldn't worry too much, you won't fall out of the standard seats.

 

[Gaygle]

Yeah I believe so.
Used they're about £1000-1500. I wouldn't worry too much, you won't fall out of the standard seats.

How did the fronts go?