I posted this question in the general forum and then found this suspension forum.....if you don't mind please post any experience with JCW suspension at autocross.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=107754


ALso if you were to supplement your JCW suspension for autocross, what one item would you get?

Thanks in advance....

 

As far as supplementing, the JCW kit does nothing about front camber, so some camber plates up front would tie things together very nicely.

 

Thanks for the input! Would you mind explaining to me in layman's terms what the front camber plates would do for me? What camber settings you would recommend and any brand recommendations?

 

Front camber plates add camber to the front of the car.

Look at a MINI that has "used" tires and is driven hard. You'll see that most of the wear on the front is on the outside shoulder of the tire. That's because when you go around a corner, the tire rolls over onto the outside shoulder a little. The camber plates will tilt the tire so that when you go around a corner, most of the tire surface is in contact with the pavement, not just the outside shoulder (exagerated, but that's the general idea).

So, your tires will last longer becuase you won't need to get new ones when the shoulders are worn out but the rest of the tire is still in good shape. You'll be able to go around corners more quickly because there's more rubber on the road.

Other benefits are that they reinforce the strut tower to possibly prevent mushrooming. Also, MINIs from the factory will probably not have the same camber angle on both sides. With and adjustable camber plate, you can even out the camber side to side.

The also increase the "road feel" you get sitting in the driver's seat. Through both the steering wheel and the seat of the pants, you "feel" more about what the tires are doing.

The downsides are that many of the camber plates will raise the ride height of the front of the car by maybe 1/4". I can't tell the difference. Some people think that's the end of the world. They also cause the car to make a bit more noise as the strut mount is more solid than it was before, so more bangs and crashes are heard. But, it's not bad in the noise department, IMHO.

-2.0° seems to be a good setting for an all-around car. For a track only car, -3.0° is better, but that will cause tires to wear out more quickly when going straight, so it wouldn't work well for a daily driver.

Helix adjustable plates seem to be thought of as the "gold standard". That's what I have. No complaints. The Ireland Engineering plates are much cheaper, and lower quality. Not bad enough that they need to be avoided, but if you can spend the extra for the Helix plates, I would.

 

Thanks very much for your explaination! Very clear and concise So I guess with camber plates one should plan for coiloevers to fix the rise in height

Is this an easy install? Or something best left for a professional?

 

If 1/4" is going to bother you, yeah, I guess you need coilovers to fix it. It doesn't bother me. People don't point at my car and laugh because the front is 1/4" higher than the rear. I don't think anybody actually notices.

If you're building a show car, then yes, it might be worth worrying about. If your building a car to drive, don't worry about it.

in theory, it's easy. In practice... I had mine done by a professional.

 

I have Ireland Engineering adjustable plates with TSW springs and the height is fine.

 

I have the H-Sport type and there work very well.

 

IE plates have the same height as the stock strut bearings. FYI

 

I know that to some people, increased ride height is unbearable, but to me, it's not something worth worrying about. Like I said, nobody has looked at my car and asked "why is the front higher than the back?"... because you cannot tell. Yes, the front was raised a tiny bit by the Helix plates, but not enough to worry about, IMHO.

 

Thanks everyone. I agree 1/4 isnt all that. BTW, MiniMM, your car looks great!

 

bump of an old thread, any other autocross expierences with the JCW kit. Thinking of that with camber plates.

 

nobody has used the jcw kit in autocross?

 

Never.

Snid himself has it on his Cooper. Kicks Cooper S butt with it and camber plates, or so I've heard. Have you been searching the track forums down at the bottom? Probably more autox experience there than here.

 

yea i searched a bit down there, ill shoot him a pm and see what hes got to say, thanks

 

I refrained from posting here again because there are just so many variables.

You have to worry about car classing - what modifications can you make for what classes. How competitive do you want to be, etc.

I lucked into my setup... It started life as a Cooper with the base suspension. I installed a (no longer available) RDR / Helix 22.5mm rear swaybar. Then the JCW suspension without and swaybar changes - so I have the small / stock front bar still. Then, Helix camber plates, Bavarian Autosport offset polyurethane front control arm bushings (add caster), and a rear rollbar (not swaybar, rollbar - the back half of a rollcage).

So, my setup is not really JCW suspension + camber plates.

And, I am more interested in track performance than autocross performance. My car does handle both well, though.

Oh yeah, and it did year round duty in northern Vermont, including driving through snow.

And my opinions of what the JCW suspension did to the handling of my car do not match what many other people have expressed. I think it did nothing to change the oversteer / understeer balance of the car, but it did raise the overall grip in the car. So, I could go through a turn faster before you started to lose traction, but once I did, it was the same understeer / oversteer as before the suspension upgrade. Some people have said they felt a reduction in understeer after the upgrade - I didn't.

So, umm... I really like the JCW suspension. But, there are so many other questions to take into consideration when deciding what to do.

The autocrosses I run in are not super-competitive. But, I have won first in class for the season for the last three years (including a voluntary bump up a class last season).