I've got my M7 lowering springs installed... looks very nice with the drop... but the machanics told me that it'll increase the tire wear and the stock shocks will evantually die. to prevent that, i'll need a adjustable camber and a shorter shocks.. is it? i really dunno... plz help me... what should i do now? control arm will help? so i dun have to spent so much for the shocks and camber? now riding it with stock shocks... i actually feel it's really stiff, and do handels well!

 

go drive it! get an alignment and then enjoy it while the shocks last - could be 5K, 10K or even longer... If you like how it rides don't change the shocks until they feel bad...

 

first of all, congrats. You made a good choice, because M7s are the most comfortable ones in the market. Just give it a couple of days (or 100-150 miles), and go to an alignment shop. They will restore the stock settings, so you will not have as much negative camber in the back, which will prevent the inner tire wear in the back.

eventually, you will hurt the stock shocks, because they are not geared up for shorter springs. Depending on the driving habits and the road conditions you should have at least 10K on the clock before your shocks start hurting. Meanwhile, they will start to wear out gradually. Anyways, I am running on h-sports with my stock shocks, and so far so good.

Good Luck

 

Isn't the only thing that can get aligned is toe-in on the front? Everything else from my recollection is fixed and cannot be adjusted. So to adjust front camber, you're going to need camber plates (~$450). To adjust rear camber and toe, you'll need to get adj links (~$460).

 

Please explain how... the camber on the MINI is not adjustable.

 

I thought the 05 had a tid bit of camber adjustment in the rear?

 

yeh, but it's only like +/-1 degree.

with a drop like the M7's, it's best that you go with new camber and
toe rods probably if it bothers you or can't get the rear to turn like
you want it.

 

well, lets not complicate things.... take it to a reputable alignment shop, my car is so close to original settings. BTW, you don't have to buy camber plates for the rear, you do not need too much negative, it will defeat the purpose of your question anyways. Front, yes you will need camber plates if you need to make camber adjustments.

Keep things simple, Ken

 

I'm still confused... how are you proposing that this "reputable" shop is going to add several degrees of positive camber (briging it "so close to the original settings")?

 

Jeff,

first of all, i do not think you have several degrees of - camber in the back to start with. on the other side the stock set-up is at -1.2 degrees in the rear, if i am not mistaking. currently i am running -1.6 rear which is totally fine.

 

Scuderia, there's no adjustment for rear camber on many of the MINIs on the road today 2002-2004. When you drop the ride height in the rear, that adds a ton of rear camber! If there's no way to change it without aftermarket items, why take it to the alignment shop and pay for something they can't adjust?
Warning! I made the mistake of paying for two separate alignments over the 55k miles I've driven. When I found out they could only adjust front toe, I was severely disappointed they took advantage of me like that. I even paid extra to get the "thrust" alignment! The only thrusting done was up my back side. Find another shop that has a separate price for adj front toe (usually a nominal charge of $30.00) and have them set that. The other stuff they can't do, but they'll charge ya for it.

 

You may be able to find a set (4) of eccentric bushings for the rear. Moss Mini had K-Mac bushings on closeout a couple of days ago for $99 but I don't see them on the web site today. Apparently they are closed out. They adjust rear camber and toe and appear to be the most inexpensive way of getting complete rear alignability.

 

berky berky berky,,,there you go again. your car's running H-Sports
that don't drop like the M7's. more drop, more neg camber on this car.

most people get rear camber and toe rods to dial out the neg camber while
keeping the factory toe setting; this is why they are asking about getting
rear rods. imho, on my car, the front can use a tad more neg camber if driving
through twisties, but on chi-town streets the factory camber does fine.
the rear approx -2 is wat keeps me out of trouble.

 

Options are good to have.

So are you saying these are no longer made or available? If so, why did they become unavailable...was it due to product failure?

Anyone know if these can be found via other vendors?

 

I've got M7 springs, and I'm still running stock shocks after about 12K...

I haven't noticed any weird tire wear, and my stock shocks are actually doing really well. I plan eventually to upgrade my shocks, but only for performance benefits, not necessarily because the stock shocks will go before then.

 

They are also available from PROMINI. Alas the price is $224.95.

 

This concerns me because iam looking to get M7 Springs and havent heard of these issues raised in this thread elsewhere.

Just a couple of n00by questions

1) The problem with stock shocks 'dying' etc, does this also happen with other springs? eg eibachs whose drop rate is almost the same as the M7?

2) This stuff about camber plates , rods adjustments etc is also something new ive read that is 'required' for M7 springs - given that other springs out there (eg again eibach) have similar drop rates, would they also require these things?

Cheers

 

Most people ,take Kilo as an example ,who have bought our springs have not seen the necessity to change any hardware. You certainly can and may get a bit more tire wear but it is not necessary. I drove for over 35 k with a lowered car and no rear adjustable arms with no issues.The additional neg camber really improved my handling actually. Another option would be to take your rear tires after a bit and switch them on the rim to average out the inside and outside wear.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

yes, you are correct, and 02-04 don't have adjustments. Anyways chi-town streets? Chicago Town or Chinatown?

 

I have some Eibach's. Got them cheap. Had them on for the summer with stock shocks and front RDR camber plates. I live in the northeast. RI roads just suck! When the roads are fine, life is good. I autoX (badly) and do some track days (not so badly) . I'm willing to put up with the harsh ride for the better handling on the track. If you have crappy roads in your area (and god forgive me) JCW is the no fuss way to go (ask SNID). They handle well on the track as well (ask SNID). While I put up with riding on the bump-stops and dodging / closing my eyes for the summer, I sure was glad to put stock suspension back in for the winter! I concur with every thing said about how long the stock shocks will last and how well they are suited for lowered springs. It is a cheap way to go. I didn't expect these to last more than the track season. Best thing is to ride in a few cars over some bumpy roads. You'll get a quick appreciation of the difference!

 

Chicago suburbs-town, actually.

 

anyone have a picture of these springs (not installed) just curious to know if there are any M7 markings on them.

Cheers

 

that sounds painful
g00d advice!!

 

i was asked to post in this thread so here it goes...everyone posted good info and I'll just repost a few pointers. the 02-04 cars do not have any rear camber adjustment, but about mid 05 they added rear camber adjustment to the cars, but only for small adjustments. i have also been able to adjust rear toe by losing the arm bolts and making small adjustments to it and then re-tighten the bolts and checking it. a bit of fooling with it and you can get it just where just where you want it. this requires a good alignment shop with a good laser alignment machine. with all drop springs you should add some kind of rear camber bars. by doing this your tires will last much longer and/or you can give it a good camber setting (like 2 in the rear is better than 3), but as noted not all cars will need it. it depends on how you drive and how you want the car to handle. i myself run 1.6 in the rear ( but also have 2.25 in the front) but this is more of a sport street/track/canyon stet up. I'll be trying 1.8 next summer to see how i like that (also with 0 rear toe, i currently run 0 toe in the front). most people will want to run a factory setting as most people like a sport set up, but still do not want to go through a set of tires a summer (or a year for the non snow states). so you have to decide how you want your car to handle and how deep your wallet is. you can buy a set of rear camber arms from 190 to 240 and depending on how you adjust them, an alignment for 39 to 187, or a set of tires at around 400 every year. that should give you an idea.

as for your shocks, they may go bad on you, they may not. i have installed many sets of h-sport and M7 springs on cars. so far none of them have gone bad other than mine. some of it depends on how hard you drive the car and the roads you travel on. i race my car around a lot (street and track) and after about 40 K they wore out. you may have to replace them, you may not. i would just drive them till you as a driver need to upgrade them or they need to be replaced. i went with the Koni yellows as i wanted the adjustment, but i have also heard good things about the FSD gold shocks they came out with. so you will spend 600 to 700 for shocks. but rack up some miles. you never know, you may end up getting the track bug and add coil overs before they ever go bad (if they ever do).

so i hope that helps. any time you need some help or have any questions, feel free to give us here at Detroit Tuned a call.

chad

 

moderators, please lock this thread. He confirmed he races around a lot
on street.

thanks agokart, i think this clears/sums up everything.