I'm kind of on a tight budget. I've already put quite a bit of $$ into my Mini this year.
I'm thinking of getting ready to upgrade the rear lower control arms to adjustable. I understand it may not make sense to not do the upper at the same time but like I said...
Is it ok to replace just the lowers w/ adjustable for now?

My suspension is stock w/ new rear shocks and bushings seem to be in good condition. No unusual play, clunking or abnormal handling.
I was getting ready to rotate my tires tomorrow.
However I noticed for some time; the camber on my rear left wheel is slightly, negatively off compared to the right.
I had the alignment done at the dealer 6 years ago. I went back and checked the receipt and it noted that: "the left rear wheel camber could not be adjusted".
Why??? - They never told us this. My fault for not reviewing the work order at the time.
I rotate the tires twice a year. I haven't noticed any unusual wear.

 

Most people only run adjustable lower arms, myself included.

I’m pretty sure only the facelift cars have the eccentric bolts for rear camber adjustment.

 

The 1st Gen MINI GP has 'em but it takes "an act of Congress" to get to them, what with all the underbelly pans blocking access. I found it easier to just add upper control arms along with the lower ones.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.
I watched some installation videos but none of them explained what the eccentric bolt was for/accomplished.

Edit: Just found a video that explains the eccentric/camber adjustment bolt.
My Bentley is in my Mini. It's just too damn nasty outside to go get it.

 

Stock, the camber CAN be adjusted, but it's a minimal amount, at the "eccentric" at the outer end of the lower arms. I don't recall if the uppers have the eccentric adjuster too !
Also, If you wish to straighten up the rear tires to a more reasonable camber, you'll need BOTH upper and...the lower. Ask me how I know.
The toe, and camber are tied together. If you just straighten the camber with the lower arms (can be done !), it "f###'s up the toe measurement, and you...can't...fix it until you put the adjustable upper arms in

I set the camber in my 05, to -.75 degrees. Why -.75 (-3/4 of a degree) ? Because after several trips into the local mountains, the scrub on the rear tires was not all the way across the whole tread, until I set it to.., -.75 degrees. Then the whole tire tread was evenly scrubbed after the same trip.

Again to do this, you'll need both upper and lower, adjustable rear arms.
I used Ireland Engineering arms. I also used their front camber plates to adjust the front camber. Much...easier to do !

Mike

 

Absolutely I did I bought mine apart. I installed the lower's 1st as those are the most important part to give you the ma Castor or camber.
I looked into a few of them and I found that the eBay brand ones are the exact same as Godspeed but for half the price but yet Amazon brand ones seem to be the best made ones judging by how their bushings are made and the thickness of them. Here's mine.. another cheap upgrade is to fill the bushing , like eng , Trans and control arm busings..they all have gaps that can be filled. Makes an awesome cheap upgrade, I actually did every single one I could and it really REALLY helped. Though they take awhile to cure.

 

Just finished up rotating my tires. I usually do them in May and again in November.
Deepgrey was right again. My 04 r53 pre-facelift does not have the lower eccentric/camber adjustment bolt.
Comparing the tires: All four are wearing absolutely perfect with no unusual inner or outer wear. Probably 'cause I rotate them twice a year and usually only average 2,5k - 3k /yr. Unless I have to travel out of state.
My BS Potenza's are fine for dry conditions but wear quickly and not very suited for wet conditions. I plan to change out the lower LCA's and having a full alignment done while replacing the tires the same day.
MiniManAdam - Thanks for that info. I came across the same Godspeed adjustables on Amazon and Ebay. I saved them for consideration.

On an unrelated side note: I took time to finally go back to try and diagnose/confirm a previous issue I had/have ("Jerkin' Back and Forth" ) by ziptie-ing the Bypass Valve closed. With the engine warm, I took a 2mi test drive.
Unfortunately, the "stumbling" problem is still present and perhaps even worse when hitting the pedal hard. I actually watched my fuel gauge drop (BPV tied closed), a 1/16th of a measure, thereafter tripping the ECU into limp mode.
I assume I have a vacuum leak somewhere....
But that's for another thread.

 

Any advantage/preference to either style?
Not much info on the "flat bar" LCA style.
The cylindrical one is (Godspeed )/more typical style of what I've been seeing used on most Minis/cars.



I'm thinking that the cylindrical type has pivoting ends. Perhaps the ability for caster/toe in adjustment?

 

^^^ Just from appearance, the Eibach (upper image) looks beefier, however seems doubtful needs to be so?

(Eibach LCA along with F/R bars and coils (now JCW "reds") chosen early 2006 when mine was track-prepped.)

 

Another data point here. I put the Dorman version of the Eibach control arms on back in 2017 after we refreshed the suspension on the R53. So far, the cheap arms have held and has allowed the tech to set caster and camber exactly as requested. BTW, I got these on Amazon for about $30, they're now $45. A little more, but still quite reasonable.

Not a clean car contest, just showing the rear end of a 240K mile R53 with my kid's feet in the foreground.

 

You can use a cigar and 10$ fluid pump from any autoparts store to make a effective s one tester. I use one when I had to check fir vacuum leaks on my mini . Actually I've used it multiple times and it's worth it's weight in gold. If you need some more info on how to feel free to ask..
I can go take pictures and show it and how n where to use it.

 

I'm actually leaning more towards this Eibach form factor myself. Thanks for the input and the pic. Nice set up. I think it looks awesome. I'm hoping they're just as strong and reliable.

Thanks for that! - I have all the materials and actually rigged one up. Just started searching on exactly where to make the hose connection (?). I was thinking; the pcv valve hose?
Or can you suggest a better way/vacuum hose to connect to?

 

take off the pcv hose and blow it in through there yes...

 

No they don't. They only extend in or out..here are the ebay ones I used MAINLY because they matched my red theme perfect aaaaaaaand lol I get a kick outta telling people it's built with eBay and 2nd hand parts..hehevery few parts I've gotten else where like miniuk


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Adjustable-...-127632-2357-0

 

I have seen both and not sure which one I want to get. I also like the red because it will go with my red and black interior.