Hello all cooper owners... We have owned ours for 6 months and Love it (first in the family) but at 6k miles it is showing signs of needing alignment. Looked at the tire and saw uneven tire wear. Is this something that should be covered under the warranty since it is below 12k miles? Haven't taken it to the dealer yet so any info please let me know... Thanks again

 

Warranty booklet said factory will cover the first 2000 miles.

 

I think the warranty only covers alignments up to 2,000 miles.

 

I thought it is covered by the warrranty... I didn't know it was only for 2000 miles... what about this 3yrs and 36000 miles thing then?

 

I guess it is mainly targeting brakes and oil changes and any extra fluid. Let me see what the dealer says and get back to you all...

 

Alignment is only covered for the first 2000 miles to protect you from getting a car that's out of alignment from the factory. After that they assume it's from you hitting too many potholes.

 

What kind of uneven tire wear? There's lots of causes besides alignment.

 

I'm at 2 months and 8,000 miles. Rotated the tires yesterday and noticed more wear on just the outsides of the front tires, not inside or middle.
Hmmmm. Camber? Will they adjust that under warranty?

 

Wear on the outside of the front tires is from turning/cornering. That's why you rotate them.

 

You may have a problem with "Toe in" Its better and cheaper to get an alignment than it is to wear out tires. Just my 2 Lincolns

 

It seems to me the 36K maintenance plan included with the car is effectively one oil change and then you hope something goes out like the clutch or brakes so you can use your maintenance package and feel better about it. Doesn't make sense.

 

Don't be alarmed by my response.
You also might want to verify that your strut towers are not mushrooming. There was a thread started in June of this year regarding how susceptible the R56 is to this problem. At that time no one had reported the issue.
This would be the first I've heard of it with the R56's.

Keep us posted on what they determine is causing your uneven wear.

 

crap

my car was out of allignment from the factory, I've not had time to take it in, figured I had to pay for it

now it's got over 2000 miles on it, great, that's just great

 

Hey folks. A good shop does not charge very much for alignment. My local shop that services the local club racers has a top of the line Hunter alignment machine and a lifetime alignment only cost me $69.

I have them check and adjust about twice a year when I get pairs of new tires installed since it now costs me nothing.

Also, sad to tell you that the MINI's simply chew up the outside edges of the front tires. Little buggers handle so well that they can put incredible stress on that outside corner of the front tires. Just get used to it and get used to buying lots more tires than you ever thought you would.

The MINI is not like my grandfather's Buick and will not get 60k miles on a set of tires, especially high performance tires.

 

Consider this an opportunity to have a sport alignment done. Doing so will cause some increase in tire wear--depending on just how sporty the alignment it--but your car will turn in much better, be generally more fun to drive, and the steering will feel more lively.

Except for wheels and tires it's the only change I've made on my car. I highly recommend it. If you autocross it is almost a necessity. But any kind of sporty driving will be more sporty with a proper alignment.

Happy motoring,
Joe

 

Okay, I'll bite. What's the difference between a sport alignment and a non-sporty one?

 

My MINI also required an alignment right out of the factory.

The distressing part is that after they fixed it at the dealership, 30min into my 105 mile drive home, the alignment went bad again and it pulls to the left slightly... again.

/sigh

Guess I'll have to put another 200 miles on the car again to get it fixed. if only there was a clsoer dealer to Champaign, IL. heh

I'm curious as well, what's the difference between a "sport" alignment and regular? I thought straight was straight :P

 

I am having Mach V Motorsports in VA do my alingment. Apparently it has been out since new, but I was attributing the handling to torque. I drove two R56 MINIs, one with Mach V springs and one with factory sport suspension, and neither exhibited torque steer. So, we'll see if this fixes the problem!

 

Update to my previous post.

I got the MINI a 4-wheel alignment today. There is a big difference in the steering feel and handling in corners now. My car was off with the toe-in, and Mach V gave me a tiny bit more negative camber in the rear as well. So far so good. Next step is a JCW suspension in the spring I think.

So, for those of you experiencing more torque steer than you like, or issues with handling on bad roads, etc, have your alignment checked.
Mike

 

Just to update my own experience,


I went back to the dealer again and the car was barely out of alignment at all.

It seems that I'm just experiencing torque steer. I tested it more and it seemed to only exist under acceleration. Sometimes it's bad... sometimes it's barely noticeable.

I'll be keeping the suspension mods in mind.

 

Glad you got that fixed and glad I was able to help!

Straius - do you have the factory sport suspension or not?

 

Torque under acceleration is exactly what it says, if the right front wheel is the driving wheel then all the power is going into that corner of the car and it will try to pull the steering wheel and the car to the right. If you have a limited slip diff you will still experience some torque steer when you accelerate hard but it will switch from right to left and then even out. If you don't like torque steer then front wheel drive cars are not for you. They all have it from extremely mild to "hang on to that steering wheel."