Not according to the guy that did my alignment. He may be wrong, I am not sure but I am getting the arms anyway to give me more room to play/adjust it on my own.

 

I just looked and there is no adjustment (that I could see). But considering there are two control arms and cars are designed to keep the camber relatively steady as the springs compress, I don't see that an inch and a half is going to change the camber dramatically. If the control arms were parallel, the camber wouldn't change at all, but since the inboard points are closer than the outboard ones, it will change a tiny amount, but not enough to worry about.

Now if you have a reason you want more or less camber for other reasons, that's a different story...

 

It is the bolt at the wheel, not near the muffler. This allows the arm to be adjusted. Sorry for the glitch!

 

Sorry I may have missed something. The OEM arms DO have Camber adjustment built in to the lower ones. They started being installed on the late 06 models and continued through the R56. If you need more correction that the oem adjustment allows I do suggest the ALTA versions!

 

Where is it located? We're talking about that aluminum piece that you can easily see from the back of the car, right? How much does a 1 1/2" shorter spring change the camber? More than a fat guy in the driver's seat? I don't remember my trigonometry, but if you take a trapezoid shaped like the one between the 2 control arms and move the outside up an inch, how much does the angle of the larger vertical side change?

 

The distance between the attach points in the middle vs at the wheel might be different. The camber needs to go more negative as the car leans on that wheel, IMO, to maintain traction. Otherwise the car would be riding on the outer edge of the tire rather than the whole surface of the tire.

 

Here is a the -1.9 that I wish to correct...It is a BIG pic so just wait. You can see that the tires will wear unevenly. The Alta Rear Control Arms that I ordered should correct this. I want to be negative, but not so much.

 

Wow! That's surprising to see. I never would have thought it would create such visible -camber. I guess the idea is if you compress the stock springs 1.4 inches, you want a lot more negative camber to counteract the centrifugal force on the car.

I could see that going quickly around a corner, but I wouldn't want to be riding down the highway with the wheels tilted that much.

ToMITa - was the alignment up front able to correct for that condition?

Adam - do you know how much the stock arms can take out of the rear?

 

Good point about "centrifugal force". I never thought of it that way. My alignment guy could not correct it but I am thinking maybe he didn't try hard enough. Anyway, I will correct it when I get the arms. Hope I didn't jump the gun buying them but it will be a nice addition to the car. The front end is okay.

 

I honestly, don' t know how much is available to be removed with the OEM adjustment. I will ask JEff today and see if he knows. Thanks again guys and gals!

 

I just crawled under the car and didn't see any possible adjustment. I thought maybe there'd be an eccentric bolt (right term?) but didn't see one. So it seems like the only possibility would be how much larger the hole is than the diameter of the bolt. I hope I'm wrong because I'm not anxious to spend another $225 for a set of control arms.

I don't track my MINI (or haven't yet), so I really don't need sophisticated changes, just closer to stock camber with the drop.

And with progressive springs, I guess the compression will be quicker than stock from jump street, making matters worse...

 

Don't know, all of our newer cars, were lowered, and our control arms went right on. Sorry! I don't think that there is enough to eliminate the -1.9, but i would guess you could take out 1 degree. Which would leave you in the -1 degree range, and i think this is very acceptable. But that is just speculation on my part. For sure, our control arms will work to get you back to zero, and get rid of some rubber bushings.

BTW, In that picture above, you can see the bolt that is adjustable.

 

So just to be sure, ToMiTa's negative camber is a pretty unique case right? I'm planning to lower my MINI with the H&R springs after Winter is over. However I don't plan to purchase the ALTA control arms, but at the same time don't want to mess up my handling or have uneven tire wear. So when you say 'our' are you referring to the stock ones or did you install the ALTA control arms on all you guys' newer cars?

 

This is not an extreme case. But it just needs adjusted. The OEM adjustments go x amount, and if you want less then use the ALTA arms. (There are other benefits to the ALTA arms as well.) You will be a-ok with just the H&R springs. Sorry for any confusion.

 

I can't see how. Unless that knurled bolt (the one with the chip on top) is slightly eccentric, but it doesn't seem like enough to make a difference

 

It does use an offset centric bolt. That rotating in and out allows for changes.

 

Yes, thats the adjusting nut, it's a cam. Should allow about .5 adjustment.

 

You can do alot with a rat tail file!!!

J/K

 

Be tough to get any accuracy in alignment, though. I think I'll try rotating that collar 180 degrees when I put the springs on and see how that does. If it's not enough, I'll bite hard and invest in adjustable arms.

It was mentioned that there are other advantages to them other than adjustment (like no rubber bushings). How does that help or affect ride quality? What is the reason for having rubber bushings on the stock arms?

 

Graham got his Rear Control Arms installed today. They work great and look cool. I had the mechanic set them at -1.0 for now.

All is as it should be. I will post pic when I get time to take one.

BTW, The factory arms are made out of galvanized steel. I stuck a magnet to one to check.

 

Trying to trick us into thinking they're lightweight aluminum. How sneaky...

Glad the new arms worked out for you.

 

Yeah I think just the trailing arms are aluminum.

 

Here is Graham with new arms....

 

ToMITa, your pics are great. On the white driveway, you can see exactly how much tread is making contact with the ground. Thanks

 

Hey Adam, a few questions. The Privat Netz are listed on the ALTA site as available in both 17 and 18" sizes, but it only gives one price, and I don't see any place to specify which size I want. I'm guessing $149 is for the 17's. What's the price on the 18's, how much do they weigh and what's their width? I'm looking to get them in gloss black within the next few months, around the same time I plan to install the H&R springs. Also, if I order the wheels straight from you guys is there any way to get a wheel/tire combo? I know your set is 17" but what brand and size tires do you have on Howard?
THANKS