I have a 05 MCS and I am thinking about lowering it. I have read a lot of threads and have to say that I am a bit confused whether or not I will need the buy new rear, lower control arms??? Some of the posts state that the 05 and up has more adjustability. Is this enough for lowering the MINI with a lowering spring? At what point do you need the adjustable control arm for the alignment? I don't want to wear the tires uneven and make sure that handeling stays good or hopefully improved a bit.

Thanks for your input!

 

100% honest.....springs don't lower the car very much and the added negative camber probably won't cause much added wear that couldn't easily be avoided by just rotating the tires every once in a while (which is always a good idea). It's not until you get into SLAMMING the car that you'll start running into tire wear problems when tires may not last as long as they should.

05 and up do have adjustability, and it will certainly help. If you're just going with springs, you don't have to buy the lower control arms. I've had stock suspension, suspension on lowering springs, lowering springs + konis, and then coilovers slammed. I never noticed any excessive tire wear with either of the lowering spring combos. It wasn't until I lowered my car 2.5+ inches that my rear camber became an issue with the tires.

 

build dates of 12/2004 and up have the adjustable rear camber. If you were buying coilovers and dumping your car, you would probably be fine on your stock ones.

 

the only issue I'd say is the inherent weakness in the stock ones. lowering the car puts added stress on all parts. The lower rear links are not very stiff..you can almost flex them by hand. Some people have had there's break or bend (not safe if it happens at speed).

I replace the lower ones for two reasons - camber correction and peace of mind.

 

There may be some adjustment, but it isn't much. I had my car aligned after putting camber plates on. I'm running stock springs. In the rear I had 1.8 degrees negative camber & all that I could get was 1.5 degrees negative camber before running out of adjustment. I believe the adjustable arms are the way to go if you lower your car & want to have a correct alignment.

 

I agree, you should get lower control arms, I have an 06 and on m7 springs I was at really bad negative camber, around 3-4 degrees. I think if you're lowering over 1" then you should really put in the arms. Also, If you are expecting to keep more of your handling after lowering, getting the right camber will be essential, if you're lowering mostly for looks than you just have to hope your wheels don't have too much negative camber and your tires last. I recommend getting a set when lowering.

 

If you have 3-4 degrees of negative camber from a 1.3" drop.....there is something definitely wrong with the car....a bent suspension piece or something. Most people measure about 1.3-2 degrees of negative camber from lowering springs.

My car was dropped a little less than 3 inches from stock ride height and my rear negative camber (stock control arms) was -2.1 degrees. 3-4 degrees seems pretty extreme for springs that only drop the car 1.3".

 

here's a thought (mebbe a dumb one )

would it make any sense to open the rear hatch, add weight in the cargo area until you've reached the desired rear axle ride height, and then measure the resulting camber?

i think most folks would agree that 1-2 degrees negative is a tolerable range, -2.5 will stick like glue and promote understeer, and 3 or more is too much

try it and see?

i'm running hotchkis lower control arms in mine, which is down about 1.7" and it helps me tune out the understeer by reducing rear negative camber, but it wasn't essential - the rear camber was around -2.1 before i installed them

you might need a good pad and a supply of cinder blocks or sand bags or possibly a selection of good sized friends?

or mebbe i'm wandering off the reservation?

 

It sounds like the right thing to do is to add the control arms. I guess the extra 250 bucks will be worth it to make sure the alignment is correct and that the tires wear evenly.

Are the stock shocks fine with a lowering spring that will drop it 1 to 1.5 inches?

 

I'm running stock shocks with H&Rs and since the springs have settled, it's a bit low for my taste without aftermarket shocks. So I'm either buying shocks or coils soon! BTW, I went with H sport control arms too. ron.

 

What do the shocks have to do with the height of the car? I can't imagine your car being lower due to stock shocks???

Do you guys recommend after market shocks with lowering springs or do the stockers work fine?

 

This is the first time I've heard a firm answer re: how much adjustability there is. -1.8 in the rear is the stock setting, so figure 0.6 total adjustment.. Interesting.

Tampa - most of us run the stock shocks with lowering springs. They will die prematurely. Then replace with an aftermarket shock.

 

I did not write that my shocks lowered my car. I wrote, "since my springs have settled..." The point is that, my springs have settled (lowering the car even more) and because I am SO low, I am no longer comfortable running stock shocks because of bottoming-out. Therefore, aftermarket shocks or coilovers are in my near future.

I hope this helps...

ron.