I have an appointment for next week to have the rear wheel alignment checked and the rear tires replaced. At 20k miles, both rear tires are badly worn on the inside tread, and at least one is cupped.

I think this is the first time that I've had a problem with rear wheel alignment on any vehicle.

On the plus side, now that warm weather is returning, gas mileage has been creeping back up toward 34 MPG.

 

Did you rotate the tires?

Minis are known for unusual rear tire wear. On my R53 I rotate every 3k miles, and my R59 its been every 5k miles (along with the oil change).

Note that most performance tires can't be cross rotated, only front to back.

 

Found the same thing when I owned my R53. If I didn't keep up on the tire rotation, the rears would wear on the inside. Asked my mechanic about it, as he does my alignments. He said to keep up on the tire rotation, and that won't happen. *laughing at me* We've actually been friends for years.
Then he explained that the stock setup is about 1.5° inward, which causes the wear. Something to do with suspension, and handling that Mini spec'ed it like that.

 

get you a pair of adjustable rear links...




http://www.waymotorworks.com/h-sport...ber-links.html

 

Definitely look for worn suspension components. Rotating your tires regularly, at least every 5k miles, is a good idea as well. Let us know what they find!

-Luccia

 

Over-inflation is your cause for cupping, never mention if your running run flats or non run flats. What tires you running? Run flats are a horrible tire and commonly wear pretty bad, ever since I installed Michelin Super Sports wear has been even wear across the tread.

 

I had a similar issue with my MCS. The way MINI has set up the suspension requires you to rotate the tires often to eliminate camber wear on the rear and the normal traction wear you get from a FWD vehicle. Also the stock RFT's that came on my mini were Bridgestone RE050's and had a very low treadlife rating only 140AA. Ended up switching to Bridgestone RE960's which have a 400AA treadlife and are holding up much better with routine tire rotations every 4-5k which is my oil change interval.

 

One more post to reinforce tire rotation AT LEAST every 5K. The setup on the rear wheels is a negative camber naturally increasing inside tread wear which is normal. Cupping on the other hand is not and is associated with improper inflation or toe in/out.
MINIs aren't your off the shelf everyday appliances and should not be approached as such. They have some quirks making them unique thus their appeal.

 

They are the original run-flats, not over-inflated (the cupping is on the inside shoulder, where the wear is). As for rotation, I've just been taking the car to the dealer when it was due for service, asking them to do whatever service was required. Looks like I'll have to be sure to rotate them regularly myself.

 

cupping would be a toe issue or bad strut or worn out bushing or very over inflated tires but usually over inflated wears the center tread out faster than the outside.

like mentioned minis do have some negative camber for factory specs but that usually wears the tires evenly on the inside if you know what I mean.

I would rotate more often and give the rear suspension a good look over and shake down. also if car is still under warranty wouldn't hurt to ask your local stealership about it

 

Not in my experience. For me, at least, cupping has been the sign of something loose in the suspension, usually a bushing but sometimes a ball joint or even a fastener. High tire pressures can result in some extra wear in the center of the tread, but actually the overall wear seems to have been lower with higher pressures.

The tires do tilt in at the top (negative camber) to help traction--especially in the rear. The way I usually drive, though, teds to wear the outer edges of the tires. So the overall wear evens out fairly well....

 

That was where my tires were cupped, in the center. I was told by a competent German mechanic that you shouldn't rotate your tires on cars (BMW/Mini) that typically have negative camber in the rear. After 6000 miles on my Super Sports I see no uneven tread wear on the rear tires, toe-in will wear the inside of your tires rather quickly.

 

Our mini's got loads of -ve camber in the back, at least compare to 'normal' cars, not to the ricers lol. That might cause us cup our rear wheels that easily especially when mini doesnt recommend us to rotate the tyres. Mine got cupped in the back at 35k miles, treadless outer shoulder in the front at the same time, but those were 15k old. (typical FWD wear without rotation) If you rotate the rubber even my summer tyres last more that you expected. Using Dunlop SP01 195/55R16 ROF for 18k miles and its still got half of its tread remaining with extremely even wear pattern (not even .5mm difference).

 

whens the last time you aligned the car?

 

I disagree strongly with your mechanic. Negative camber doesn't affect the need to rotate tires--in fact, in some cases it means the tires should be rotated more often! Now, cars with staggered fitment (many high-performance RWD cars have wider rear tires than front) cannot be rotated front-to-rear, just side-to-side, but that is a different matter.

Your statement about toe is backwards. Toe out will wear the inside edges of your tires very quickly. Toe in does not contribute much to the wear. It mostly makes that end of the car less "darty", which is a very good thing at the back of the car.

 

I also try to catch my tires that are wearing on the inside and once they are about half way worn down have the tire shop flip that tire over on the same rim, you can then place that wheel/tire on the other side of the car to wear what was the outside of the tire, ( Is now the inside on the other side of the car ) If you have camber purposely built into your alignment as I do, just regular rotating may not fix it.. A lot of it depends on how you drive. A DD with lots of HWY miles will show signs of inside wear more then if you mainly city/twisty drive the car which helps to even out the wear from turning more..

 

If you're asking me, the odometer just ticked over 20,000 miles, so never. It has been to the dealership for regular service as required since I bought it new, and they have not rotated the tires, nor have they mentioned any problems with the alignment.

 

MINI does NOT do ANY tire rotation for free, they sell tires..............

I rotate mine once because I only get 10K on a set with my driving. I like super sticky hence soft tires. I go thru tires on my motorcycle every 3-4K .