Anybody try running wider tires in the front? I'm curious to see if it could help rotation having a wider footprint up front.

 

It can work, I did that with my first Subaru but you shoud use the same kind of tires front and rear, just different sizes. Some people with stock MINI's are using smaller front bars for more rotation and 1/05 build and later have adjustable rear camber that can be adjusted for more rotation. Rear toe can be adjusted too but that can lead to a very loose twitchy car if you go with to much toe out in rear.

 

Hey Shea,

I've got about the same car as you do.

You've got all kinds of adjustability, and why not just use what you've got?

If nothing else, fiddle with tire pressures.

 

I tried various setups. I've played with the pss9s from full soft to stiff front and back, and rear sway bar settings, soft to stiff. I also tried various combos of tire pressure for the Azenis 615s. The best setting, for now, is 1/3 stiff in the front, full stiff in the rear, sway bar full stiff, 1/8 toe out front, 0 rear, 2.8 camber front, 1.4 rear. For tire pressure, i'm using 36 front and 28 rear. For some reason, the 615s needs less pressure to break loose instead of more pressure.

Personally I can still use more rotation. Possibly my driving style too. I have some good drivers co-driving and they feel that the car can use more rotation.

 

Interesting that different people use such different settings. I started out much like yours but went to half firm at the front, full soft on the rears, rear bar to middle firm, 35 pounds front, 34 pounds rear (running the old Azeni 215s). I've got 2.2 degrees front camber, 1.1 rear, a little toe out front and a little toe in rear.

My car is pretty nuetral. I can get more rotation by adding two pounds pressure in the rears--that's all it takes--but I usually don't. I like it planted so I can go full bore in transitions. But rotation is there if I want to add it.

This may be a story of different tires. If I were you I'd try some experimentation and see where it leaves you.

 

I am a real novice AXer. I also use the 615's. Mine seem stick up to about 40 PSI and then all hell breaks loose. I usually start my rears at 40 to help with rotation and try (usually unsuccesfully ) to keep the fronts around 36-38 and no more than 40. my car is kinda heavy so take it with a grain of salt (2815 empty).

My point... is that the foot print is pretty solid up to about 40 or so with the 615's (im on 215/45/17''s)

 

I was talking to a fellow competitor at the National Tour at Devens this past weekend and he was trying to get more rotation with the 615's also. He tried the rear pressure up to 45 and still not a whole lot of difference. I told him to try bring it down to 28 or even lower and I think he tried around 30. Big smiles from him after the run, and he love the rotation now. Unfortunately for me....he went faster and he beat be by a couple of tenths.....I'm not complaining being his is a JCW. Give it a try...at least it worked for me and another MINI.

I still strongly believe that my driving style is not using the most out of the tires. Ultimately the car might be fine, it's just that I can't get the most out of it. Can't wait til Evo Phase 2 later on this summer.

 

and I am still grateful for that advice. You didn't mention that I damned near spun it on the second offset after the pressure adjustment. Now that I have had a taste of rotation I am hungry for more, so I consulted with Kevin Holmes at Turners (Bill Auberlin's crew chief) and will have adjutable links in the rear pretty soon, to take the the rear end from -2.5 to about -1.0 camber. My hope is that will allow more slip angle at the rear without the slightly non-linear effect of fairly soft sidewalls. We shall see.

 

I'm putting in a sway this weekend, but i'll try it... I use them on the steet as my daily tires as well... they are all kinds of bald in both the front and the rear and an have been getting good rotation the last few days... they've got to last just two more weeks :D

 

In hind sight i wonder f it is the heat giving me problems? when my fronts heat to hells temps.... and pressures get too high .... I can't turn fo shizzle.