Hey all

I have an 05 MCS R53 at 100K going strong. New LCA bushing and Ireland engineering fixed camber plates were installed by PO

I put on and had balanced a set of 4 kumbo ecsta PA31 stock 17 inch tires a week ago

The car doesn't pull any direction when dirivng in a straight line and drives well around town. But on the highway I feel like it wanders more than it should and I have to bother with the steering more than I should to follow where I want it to go.... my old minis were pretty rock solid for 500 mile trips with little effort..this one would make me annoyed after 45 minutes

I don't have a clue what the IE camber plates do to the highway driving, I just know it has more negative camber and that the front end rides a little higher than stock. For around town driving and spirited turns the car rocks. It just tires me out on the highway. I've got the tires set to 38 psi cold.

I'm guessing I need a good alignment shop. I've heard more caster can make the car not wander as much and track better and also that having 0 toe all around isn't good and will make highway driving tiring.

Anyone want to help me out or educate me what I need to ask for from the shop? I'm guessing with the front IE camber plate it will mess up their alignment specs since they won't match mini factory specs...

 

youll want a bit of toe for it to feel a little more stable. it will increase tire wear very very slightly. also your control arm bushings might be getting soft. allowing the road to minutely able to change the direction of the car.


with the IE plates, you would just have to tell them you have them, and they wont try to adjust the front camber.

 

I can do that. I may need to replace those bushings. I thought the usual tell tale sign was when you kick the front of the tire and it moves back at all? Mine do not.

So I ask for a bit of toe. Is the front caster on this adjustable?

From a few different websites they all say this about caster:

More Caster gives you straighter highway tracking with less “wander” and better self centering steering feel.

Truth in that? I'm looking to get the most out of my alignment visit and don't mind a little extra tire wear for increased stability

 

that's usually a test for failure. they can be worn and mushy instead of firm again. its a thought, I haven't reached that point yet, but a lot of people recommend powerflex bushings on higher mileage cars


im also not sure if our caster is adjustable. adding more positive will help. but some toe will help (toe in 1 deg)

 

I have ie fixed plates and newer power flex lca bushings on my 06. No wandering issues. The alignment is set to MINI spec. It may be that you simply need to have the car aligned if you haven't done that since you purchased the car. If the previous owner installed the ie plates and never had the car aligned, it could be severely toe-in at the front and that could be the issue.

I'd start by having the car realigned if you haven't already. If that isn't it then maybe check over ball joints and other bushings up front to make sure nothing is worn. If the lca bushings were replaced with the stock type and it's been a substantial amount of miles since, they may be bad again already. Definitely go with the polyurethane type if you need to replace them.

Good luck.

 

Yeah...look at the LCA bushing again...back when mine first started to "wander" a tiny bit, they were going (barely 45,000 miles)...got the Polly ones...very happy.

 

Zippy how many miles have you put on those ? I think I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 miles on that first set of purple powerflex bushings so far..

 

The rubber OEM ones were the ones that crapped out so fast....
Had the purple powerfex installed long time ago at Greasysgarage OLD shop...willing to guess they will be a "lifetime part" for 99% of folks....but I bet the rubber ones are a 40,000-60,000 mile part, just like the oil filled "refresh" engine dampers....

 

I had a set of Kumho and noticed the same thing. Hancooks solved it.

 

You also need more time to break in the tires. At least a few hundred miles or more to wear off the oily release agent on the tire surface. Even after break in they're going to respond slower due to a thicker tread, though I'm not sure this would explain the wandering. This is typical for any tire.

 

The Powerflex bushings are basically a lifetime of the car improvement: they rarely fail. Any time you put negative camber in your front end, you'll lose stability on highways--especially ones with worn two track grooves in the lanes. You won't be able to adjust the caster (for better stability) with the IE plates. There was also a mention of adding toe above. For straight line stability, you would have to put a slight toe-in, which is worse for turn-in and handling. I'm not sure I would recommend that. If your alignment is significantly toed out, then going to less toe out or zero toe would help your highway stability.

Eric

 

OP specifically mentioned freeway driving and I believe those tires are run flats.

Could this simply be the slot car effect of a small light weight car on a grooved freeway?

Run flats only make things worse.

Like another commenter stated, ditching the run flats pretty much solved things for me on my R53.

Also, my R53 practically needs a whole new suspension and does not exhibit this behavior, more evidence that it might be the tires.

 

no

 

I have an R53 with 140,000 miles on it. I have maintained since purchasing it used and have updated numerous parts. I have never had the car wander on the highway, to the contrary this little car has been one of the most solid tracking cars I have ever owned.

I wonder if the plates on your car have been set incorrectly. Let us no how things turn out.

BTW, my car is in the shop after an off road excursion due to a texting driver. I hope when it is sorted out it handles as rock solid as it has in the past.

 

The camber plates and increased ride height affected your toe-in measurement. Sounds like you're slightly toed-out, which is great for turn-in and autocross but makes the car feel like it's wandering.

Align to parallel rear toe (this IS adjustable using the mounting bolts, the holes are slotted), and j-u-s-t a very slight 1/16" toe-in up front, with weight in the car that most approximates your typical load (driver-only, or driver-and-passenger, 1/2 tank of gas).

The additional camber, as Eric noted, will mildly affect tramlining and some straight-line stability, but with v-e-r-y slight toe-in up front this is minimized.

Caster is nonadjustable.

Check also for strut tower mushrooming and correct first, if necessary.

Check and correct any spring-perch deformation: While this can't be checked without removing the struts, if you've got IE adjustables, or any non-rubber-isolated upper front strut mounts, your spring perches can deform, as road shock is transmitted more directly to them. Check and correct, and add a large force-distribution washer up top if you're keeping the non-isolated upper strut mounts.

Also, you don't mention wheel width. You'll also notice tramlining and some loss of straight-line stability if you go with wider rubber and/or wider wheels - even going from a 6.5" rim to a 7" rim will be noticeable.