when i got my car(06mcs) about a year and a half ago form carmax, the rear tires were bald on the inside edge. i convinced carmax to get me four new tires, and a alignment, i also had my mini dealer give me an alignment, and was told everything was in spec. now it appears that it is happening again(and i'm still running stock suspension). it may just be in my head but i think i can see the rear wheels leaning in. if alignment is currently correct, what else could cause this. what should i do?

 

I have the same problem, there is no camber adjustment in the stock set-up for the rear. You have to install aftermarket tie bars (atleast one pair) to get enough adjustment to correct it, or 2 pair to get full adjustability...

They weren't lying when they told you everything was in spec, they just omitted the fact that these Minis don't have that adjustment...Stay away from NTB as well, they let me go for the upgrade alignment deal before they gave me the paperwork showing the "Manufacturer does not list alignment specifications for camber adjustment". So now I have a 1 year guarantee that they will re-align my car incompletely!

If I had caught on to this aspect prior to purchasing mine I probably wouldn't have done it! I personally believe the car should have the adjustments built-in to correct alignment issues - toe is not enough of a correction.

Rgds,
John B

 

A stock 2006 MCS does have visible negative camber on the rear wheels. There is also an eccentric bolt on the lower control arm that can take out some of the negative, but not all of it. One word of caution, reducing the rear camber can alter the handling and make the car over-steer in certain situations. Which, if you are not expecting it and skilled in dealing with it, can be dangerous.

If you are not rotating the tires you should really think about it. I rotate mine every 3000 - 5000 miles and maintain fairly uniform tire wear for the life of the tire (44,000 miles on the last set). Another thing to monitor is air pressure. Buy yourself a good pressure gauge and a tread depth gauge and use them religiously.

Measure tread depth at three points across the tread. If the center is deeper then raise the pressure by a few pounds. If the center is shallower, lower the pressure a few pounds. Monitor the wear and keep adjusting the pressures until you get even wear. Keep a written record of the pressures.

Good luck.

 

Great info!

Thanks for posting, Bilbo.

 

The MINI has -1 to -2 degrees of negative camber stock on the rear wheels.
If it's lowered without correcting, it will be even more negative. This will cause
preferential wear to the inside of the tread, but it's usually not too marked if
camber is only about - 1.5 degrees. Excessive toe in or toe out will speed up
that camber induced inside tire wear quite a bit, so it's worthwhile checking the
toe as well.

 

The rear toe has a lot to do with wear on the rear tires because there is a lot of negative camber. Most alignment shops do not like to adjust the rear toe or will tell you it cannot be adjusted without special BMW tools. However, it can be adjusted by any good alignment shop without special tools but it does take extra time. The toe might even be in spec but towards the high end of the spec which will cause the tire to drag across the ground and in this case drag along the inside edge of the tire making it wear faster.
What are the rear camber and rear toe specs after your last alignment?

 

They definately lean inwards at the top. Easy to see when looking at the car from behind. And yes, be very careful about changing things as adverse things can happen to your handling.

Mine wear pretty evenly (06 JCW cabriolet), though that may be in part because I like to corner briskly, even hard and that helps even things out.