Is it the same as a 2006 JCW? Also, I noticed the specs for the camber is -1.6 to -2.0? That seems really aggressive and would eat up the inside rears fairly quickly. I had them dial it out to -1.2. Should I not have done that? Still seems to handle much the same. Just didn't want it to eat up the tires since its my DD. Does anyone have the complete specs?

 

When the GPs originally came out I read in one of the articles that Mini siad the GP had a "special" alignment. However, I am not sure that it is any different than the JCW. I know the alignment shop that I use did not have a GP specific spec, only JCW with 18" wheels.

Here is what I believe the specs are:
Front
Camber:
-35' ± 25' (-0.58° ± 0.42°)
-10’ to -60’ (-0.17° to -1.00°)
(difference between left/right max 30')
Total toe:
0° 18' ± 05' (0.30° ± 0.08°)
13’ to 23’ (0.22° to 0.38°)

Rear
Camber:
-2° 06' ± 30' (-2.1° ± 0.5°)
-1° 36’ to -2° 36’ (-1.6° to -2.6°)
(difference between left/right max 30')
Total toe:
0° 24' ± 08' (0.40° ± 0.13°)
16’ to 32’ (0.27° to 0.53°)

I agree that the Mini does not need (-1.5 to 2.0) negative camber in the rear when the front is stock camber (close to zero). When people increase the negative camber in the front, with aftermarket camber plates, they usually shoot for the rear having about 0.5 to 1 degree less nagative camber in the rear. For example, -2.2 in front and -1.5 in rear.

 

This is all good info from quickmni. I would add that their was a seperate spec sheet for the GP alignment. When my GP was delivered I had a slight pull to the left and the dealer agreed to re-align it. While it was on the rack I had to wait for two hours for MINI to send the dealer the new spec sheet on the GP which ended up being the same as the '06 JCW's.
Note that when MINI does the alignment weight is added to the car to simulate passengers. This is not always done at an independant alignment shop and will change the alignment. The negative camber in the rear of the car will be more effected by the weight change.
I would reccommend that you have an alignment with you sitting in the car and the appropriate amount of fuel in the gas tank. If this is a daily driver you may want to first install I.E. fixed front camber plates. This will add -1.25 negative camber to whatever you had to start with. It will usually fall in the -1.8 range. I reccommend these because the bearing is still mounted in rubber which will provide you with a ride quality similar to stock (I.E. no additional NVH) and will also help to prevent mushrooming. You have some adjustment in the rear camber and would set that at minimum negative which it seems you have done. I was not able to get the rear negative camber as low as you and that may be the difference of weight in the car.
My specs are neg 1.8 front, neg 1.5 rear ( maxed out adjustment), slight toe out (1/16) front and slight toe in rear. This works for me for the streets and tire wear is pretty even.
Steve

 

You guys are invaluable! Thank you for chiming with those numbers. Currently I have a slight drift to the left. I will go back and have the redo it with me in the drivers seat and see how that goes.

Btw do you how much weight they are calling for to be placed in the car? Perhaps I can preload it myself with dumbbells or sand bags.

 

JT///MC
Honestly I do not remember what the weight requirement is that BMW specifies. I have it here somewhere but it is buried. A quick call to the dealer should get you that info. I would really not be woried about that thou as it is a generick number that MINI came up with. I would suggest that you sit in the seat or put an appropriate amount of weight to equal your own body weight.
Steve

 

I think it is 150 lbs. Your actual wieght would be better.
I have never done an alignment with weight in the car. I figure the wieght in the car is always changing depending on what other passengers or stuff I have in the car.
If your car is pulling one direction that should not be due to weight in the car during the alignment. The wieght should not make much difference.

 

Ok, I think I'll be heading back to the shop sometime this week to have them redo the alignment with me in the car this time. I'm not happy about the left drift...

On a positive note, the Hancook V12s are 100x better than the Dunlop DSST's that they replaced. Those tires are so garbage.

 

I run -2.5 front and -1.8 rear (stockish)

 

Here are my alignment specs for reference but it does not apply well unless you can increase the front negative camber. Numbers are in degrees. I get alignment done with no added wieght in the car. I have the stock rear lower control arms so can only adjust rear camber to around -1.6 with the JCW suspension height.

Front:
Left Camber: -2.0 (-1.9 to -2.1)
Right Camber: -2.0 (-1.9 to -2.1)
Cross Camber: 0.0 (0.0 to 0.2)
Left Toe: -0.07 (-0.06 to -0.08 Toe-Out)
Right Toe: -0.07 (-0.06 to -0.08 Toe-Out)
Total Toe: -0.14 (-0.12 to -0.16)
Caster: Not Adjustable

Rear
Left Camber: -1.5 (-1.4 to -1.6)
Right Camber: -1.5 (-1.4 to -1.6)
Cross Camber: 0.0 (0.0 to 0.2)
Left Toe: 0.00 (0.00 to 0.07 Toe-In)
Right Toe: 0.00 (0.00 to 0.07 Toe-In)
Total Toe: 0.00 (0.00 to 0.14 Toe-In)

 

redid the alignment tonight at the same shop and put it back to -1.9 and -2.0 in the rear. They said the toe was going to be hard to adjust b/c of the rocker paneling so the left it alone. Otherwise the front got straightened out and the car drives straight again. Just went with middle of the road Mini JCW spec.

 

What is the rear toe set at?
The combination of a lot of camber and just a little too much toe is what tends to wear out tires fast. The toe makes the tire scrape across the ground. When you have negative camber the tire with too much toe scrape across the inside edge of the tire wearing it out fast.
For good tire life with near 2 deg camber, you want close to zero toe.

Yes it is a pain for them to adjust the rear toe but it should be done and you are paying for a 4-wheel alignment. Once the toe is adjusted, it usually does not change and will not need to be adjusted at future alignments.

 

Ah damn, that. That's what they didn't adjust. They said it was too hard to access the adjustment bc it was under the rocker or aero panels. The drivers rear toe was slightly out of spec at -.28 degrees and the passenger rear was -.17 within spec. But now I understand what you are saying and will be looking for a new alignment shop or wait for the owner to come back from vacation next week and have him redo the rear toe.

Thanks for explaining quickmini!!!

 

The shop will not be happy doing the rear toe because it is a pain. Some shops will not even do it stating they need a special BMW tool, which they do not require. The first time the shop I go to did the rear toe, it took an hour. Getting the panels off is not too big of a deal but it is extra work for them. Adjusting the toe is a bit of trial and error. They have to loosen the trailing arm bolts, move the arm slightly, and retighten. But things change when they retighten. My alignment guy got very frustrated but was patient enough to get it done to my specs.

Later I got hit in the rear corner and had to get another alignment. The same tech was able to adjust the toe much quicker that second time.

After the rear toe is adjusted, double check that the panels are on correctly. It is easy to forget how they go back together (and they will probably have both sides apart so they can't look at the other side to see how to put back together) and I once had to redo the panels after the alignment. You might even want to take and save a picture of the panels installed properly, before the alignment is performed.

 

I think I will get one of those firestone lifetime alignments so I can go back more often. Plus it sounds like I will need to take off the panels myself at home and then bring it in to them.

 

Got another alignment today and West End Alignment in Gardena (a very well known SoCal alignment shop that specializes in track setups) got everything back to spec except they told me my rear camber was -2.5 with me in car (-2.0 without me)! They said the only way to get it back to -1.5 was for me to get adjustable control arms. The only problem is my car is JCW GP stock ride height. Shouldn't they be able to get my back to -1.5 without issue? Seems like my stock setup out of spec and sort of along the lines of what the previous shop told me.

What do you guys think?


Which controls arms do you recommend? The H-Sports or Helix? I don't track and I really just don't want aggressive inside tire wear for my daily commuter. And how hard is it to install these control arms?


Thanks in advance!

 

I had H-sports on my first R53 and liked them. Seemed very well constructed and all the adjustment you'll need.

They are easy to install...I only had the lowers and installed them in my garage in one night. I'm not that technical either...

 

Thanks Thumper! I just wished they came in red to match the GP scheme. Or should I get the Alta ones? Anyone have experience with those?

 

Both upper and lower RCA's on the GP is a "must" if you want EZ toe adjustments w/o removing the aero panels. When doing the install, just approximate the length of the OEM arms, then go directly to your alignment shop.

 

I have a set of Helix ones, I would recommend them.
Or the SPC ones i think they have red on them...

 

I had the H-Sports on my 2003 MCS and they were great but blue.
I would suggest the H-Sport and TSW (silver). Here is a link:
http://www.waymotorworks.com/02-06-c...pension/links/
Here is a link to SPC control arms. They are silver with red nuts.
http://www.spcperformance.com/compon...AFrom&to=USATo

I would suspect something is a little off (bent) in you rear suspension. You should be able to get to the -1.5 range (not sitting in car) with the JCW suspension and stock arm adjustment.

 

Does anyone else find it odd that I have -2.5 camber in the rear on stock JCW springs/suspension?

Thanks for all the links. I'm leaning towards the H-SPort despite them not coming in red accents. Read about some noise complaints on the Altas but seems like V2 fixed that? Then again, the TSWs look like beefier/cleaner versions of the H-Sports. SPC ones definitely look nice, but when I saw the price, I almost feel out of my seat. I'll those extra $$ for mods on my other cars! This is one of those times when having too many choices makes it harder! Esp when they're all about the same price! hahahaha

 

Yes it is waaaay to much rear camber.

Go with our Hsport camber links, we are currently testing manufactures to make the TSW ones again.

 

Thanks Way. I actually ended up finding out about Duane and his links and went with a custom order for Red powder coated ones like I originally wanted (but cheaper than the Alta ones!).

 

I have H&R clubport coil overs. H sport rear arms, and I just ordered K-MAC camber caster plates. I was searching for good alignment specs and found this thread. Honestly im just replying to give this awesome thread a bump! Thanks a million to all that contributed!!!