So, last week I noticed that I had a crack on one of the strut mounts. I ordered a set of Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates to replace the stock mounts with something a bit beefier. So I received the plates on thursday and installed them on friday. I managed to get into my buddy's shop and the install went pretty well. I didn't have to do anything besides lift the car and disconnect the strut from the mount and I managed to just slide the old mount out and put the new one in with disconnecting everything else. So I really didn't do much along the line of removing anything. After the install, I noticed the alignment felt way off. Seemed like if I turned the wheel far left, it'd pull to the left, and then if I turned far right, it'd pull to the right. So i went and had an alignment done on saturday as everyone told me to do, and it still seemed to have the same problem. It definitely felt better than before I had the alignment done, but something else must be amidst here. This morning when I was backing out of my driveway, I noticed a very distinct "ca -clunk" from the front end. I was backing straight out when I heard the sound. And on my way to work on the highway the front end felt very, very loose. Almost like when you're driving and a big gust of wind comes by and blows the car around, and then the car would start pulling to the other side. I did notice a slight shimmy when driving on the highway before this, and now this is really, really bad. When I replaced the mounts with the new camber plates, I only disconnected the strut from the mount and managed to slide the old plate out and slide the new one in without much hassle and I didn't have to take the whole thing out or even compress the springs. So I didn't unbolt much and everything was torqued down when it put everything together again. So what could be the problem here??? I don't feel safe driving it on the highway now.

 

Call IE tech support when you friend is standing next to the car. Either somthing he did, or didn't do is the problem.

 

i did the work on the car and i'm really thinking about having to redo the whole thing again. problem is i won't be able to have a lift again :(

 

I would re-torque/check all the mounting hardware. I have had a clunking noise from not re-torquing the center nut on the shock shaft/center of the upper mount. I did notice though that the car is a little more 'darty' with the extra camber up front but I also changed the rear settings at the same time. So who knows

 

i have 3 videos of it i just uploaded. there is a lot of distortion but you can here the sound of what i'm hearing in the background bass. it's kinda like a "woah-woah-woah-woah" sound. you'll see a few times i hold in the clutch and you can hear it better then. the first video you caan hear it all right. the second video about 3:45 into it you can hear it pretty well. and the 3rd video i'm going slower and you can hear it too. you'll notice it isn't quite as fast as the other 2 videos. and at the end of the 3rd video i'm taking an exit off the highway and you'll hear stuff if my car rattling a lot, so that's not the sound of what is going on, lol. you'll see me correcting the steering wheel a lot. i was on a straight section of highway where i wouldn't need to be correcting the wheel at all. again, there's a lot of distortion and if you listen on a laptop, you'll have to listen VERY carefully. if you have a speaker system, you should be able to here in the back ground bass. it'll be the only consistent sound in the background that you can pick out of the distortion. hopefully this will help out. i'll try to get another video of the steering problem when i cut the wheel and straighten it out.

 

while that does make it easier, with some practice it's less than an hour to drop the struts.

Matt

 

Your vids are private so we can't view them.

 

If NAM members can't help you out, and you and your friend can't, I would take it to a shop before something serious happens.

Goodluck

 

sorry about them being listed as private. i must have checked the wrong setting on the video upload. i just changed them so they should work now without a problem.

 

Just in case...are you sure you installed the IE plates on the correct sides? The strut top should be closer to the engine than with the stock.

I just installed mine on Friday also and it took me awhile to figure out which one was which.

 

yeah same here. it took a little while to figure out which one went where but then we figured it out and put them in. i'm thinking that maybe the new issue came apparent after the install. kinda like waking up the sleeping dragon. i think there must have been an underlying problem i wasn't aware of and now with the new camber and alignment, it's clear there is something else wrong.

 

Your pic looks like your car is lowered. What kind of springs are you using? Stock? that's what you should be using with fixed camber plates. Also after your alignment what was your camber on the front? If you have too much camber from using lowering springs, the spring or strut may actually be hitting the body causing the noises.

 

I can not see the pics (work internet) but the fact that you "did not have to compress anything to get the new plates on" tells me that you must have some kind of lowering springs. Because with IE fixed plates and stock springs you need to compress the spring (either by using the spring tool or the buddy method) just a little to be able to get the top nut back on the strut.

I would check the tightness of that bolt. It may have seemed tight first, maybe the spring wasnot seated properly and it was tight enough then but when the car settled the spring can pop in proper place and create additional slack between the strut and the plates that causes noise.

If the camber was too aggressive it could have the spring hitting the body as the strut compresses, I made that mistake back when I had Hsport adj plates with stockk springs.

Good luck

 

i did have to compress it slightly, but i was doing it by hand, just lifting it up into place and holding it there until we had the bolt started. i got the bolt lined up and then pushed it through the hole until i could get the nut on it and i tightened it up from there and used a jack to lift the whole wheel assembly up as it was being tightened down to the mount. i really didn't even consider that compressing the spring but now that you said that you're right. i did have to compress it. sorry for the confusion guys.

and the mini is actually sitting on stock springs and struts. the pic for my signature is it sitting in grass and it made it look lowered. the only thing that makes the car lower than stock is the tires. the stock run-flats were 195/55/16 and the kdw's i put on are 205/50/16 so it is slightly lower.

on another note, i just had a chance to look at the struts this morning before leaving work and i noticed the driver's side seemed like it was leaning inward more than the passenger side. i took a pic of each side and i noticed something else messed up on it.

driver's side strut:


passenger side strut:


it that the just the cover coming off on the driver's side? i still need to address the leaning issue which is why i think it's messed up. you can't really see it from the pics but i'll have to take a ruler out when i get a chance and take a picture with the measurement of the different. it definitely looked like it was leaning farther in on the drivers side where it connects to the camber plate. i just want this fixed!

 

here's the chart they gave me after the alignment. sorry about the quality, i don't have access to a scanner so i took a bunch of pics and pieced them together, but you can see the before and actual.



***the right rear was supposedly maxed out too***

 

You've got more camber than you should with just those plates and stock springs. Your springs look like they are saging alot. I would think about replacing them, if they are saging that is the same as having lowering springs and could be the cause of your noise you need to look at the body and see if you see any marks were the spring is hitting it.

As for the rear, you have too much camber there. Get a set of rear adjustable control arms and take it down to at least the min spec if not less. If you start with 2 deg or rear camber when it travels it will be more and chew up the inner rear tires. The camber links will give you the adjustment you need.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/02-06-c...pension/links/

 

Alright Way. I'm thinking that they are probably still the same springs and struts that came with the MINI from the factory, and I have 114k miles on it now (bought it with 80k).

I'll be looking at the driver's side strut to see if it's rubbing. Probably the reason why it's leaning like that. It could be getting caught on the rib.

I wanted to put a suspension kit on it sometime so I'm thinking this might be the calling for it. I would ultimately like something that was fully adjustable. I had a car with the Tein SS Coil-over Dampers Kit and had the EDFC for it and I absolutely loved it. I see that they make a set for the MINI, but it doesn't appear to have adjustable camber plates. What suspension kit would recommend Way? I would ultimately like to get something that I would be able to put an EDFC on it sometime. I loved being able to control the dampering system from inside the car with a push of a button. You never know when you'll find yourself in a place where you just wanna take those windy curves as fast as you can! If there's something else you would recommend, let me know. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot. The Tein kit is about $1300 or so from what I can find. So I'd be looking for something in that range if possible. But let me know when you get a chance Way




Oh! Anyone want some IE fixed camber plates? lol

 

and really, think about what you want out of your car. Adjustable coil overs are nice, but what are you going to use the car for?

If price is a concern, then take a look in the marketplace. People are upgradeing and downgrading thier suspension all the time, and you can find some deals there. Including stock springs and struts for real cheap. If the problem is hitting the drainage channel, this is a known issue and the BFH (big effin hammer) fix has been used by many to get rid of the problem. The spring/strut assembly turns with the steering, so you can put the car up on a jack, and have someone turn the steering while you watch, or just look for the wear spot on the channel and spring.

As far as I know, no one has made an electric adjuster for the MINI yet. I don't know if there is room for it.

As far as what is a good buy on upgraded units, it really, really depends on what you're going to do with your car. Prices for kits start at about a grand and go up (way way up) from there. Take some care to match what you want to do with your car and what your budget is to one of the many fine offerings that are out there.

Matt

 

I had a S13 with the EDFC and I also loved it. Unfortunately, the Mini world (minus Tein of course) has not embraced that adjust-ability from inside the car. Tein is the only option for that. Otherwise, I would look at either KW or BC coils for your car. Check out VAC auto performance for some KW, ask for Steve and tell him that RJ sent you. He will give you a fair deal and explain to you what setup is best for your car!

 

Yeah, I'm just wondering if they will fit on the MINI. I know Tein states that the SS Coil-Overs are EDFC compatible, but has anyone installed the controller kit? I really like Tein. I've had them on my old car and they worked amazing. I don't like the fact that they don't have camber plates though. It seems every other company that makes a kit has them, except Tein. Meghan racing has a kit that's only about $800, is 32-way adjustable, and it has adjustable camber plates as well. Has anyone out there installed a set of Tein SS Coilovers? I'm curious to how well they work. And how about the meghan racing set? Anyone out there install them? How well do they work?

 

I just switched to IE plates (which you already have) and TSW springs. They only lower the car very slightly. The combination with the OEM struts ( i only have 28k on my 05 MCS) is exactly what I want. I daily drive the car and participate in a few Autox events per year. The ride comfort is better and the car is more composed over road bumps etc. You would only have to invest another $200 and you got your suspension set. Try Dustin at Autoxcooper.com for these parts.

Coilovers are great but in my opinion way overkill for 99% of people out there. It takes a very component shop to set up coilovers properly and only after careful consideration of what the owner wants. I think most people waste money on them just to lower their car hence do not use the coilovers for their real purpose. My .02

 

just took a picture of both struts. both were taken from a level angle and both are the same distance and everything. the driver side strut looks to be leaning a lot more than the passenger side does. i'm not going to get a chance to actually take it apart until saturday unfortunately so i was seeing what options i have and any ideas as of this point to check or try to do on saturday. if i can't fix it then, i'm scrapping the whole thing and getting new suspension!

 

look at the engine bay and through the openning in the strut towers. Is the strut and the strut nut in the same position in both towers? what I mean is is the strut leaning toward the engine in both opennings? I think you might find that one is in towards the engine and the other (possible drivers side) is in the middle or towards the outside of the car. that would indicate a problem during install. the plates are switched. This could be it if you splt the plates during the install. The black mounting part and the silver bearing portion of the IE plates.

 

I'm wondering if your springs are seated right in the rubber pieces between them and the mount on the strut. Both the top and bottom pieces could rotate freely. It had to forcefully spin them to get the springs to seat in the rubber bits once the new plates were attached to the struts. It looks like the one on your drivers side is rotated (at least compared to mine):



It also looks like my driver's side is leaning more (the wheel was turned a bit to the left which may be the cause).

 

yeah that's what i was thinking too! i did have to turn the springs when i installed them to get them to seat right, but i could definitely have not got them right, so i'll definitely be checking that out on saturday when i lift the car again. at least i have a comparison to look at now!