I just wanted to know. My MINI tracks on all kinds of things. Uneven roads, textured highways, and is especially bad when braking. How bad is it? Well if I don't compensate with force on the steering wheel, the car will wander. I couldn't tell you if it was there from the beginning. To a degree, I think so.
My tires are well worn so its time for new ones. BTW I have 18" JCW wheels. Thanks in advance.

 

It's true. I thought my car was pulling to the right when I braked on uneven pavement for the first time.

 

My 05 does the same thing. One of the main roads that I take to work has indents from the heavy traffic and the mini loves to follow those. Some times I feel like people are looking at the car wondering if the person behind the wheel is drunk because the mini will weave back and forth.

Garrett

 

Any small, light car with a tight suspension does that, especially with low profile tires.

 

Would new sway bars help correct this?

Garrett

 

Can't weigh in on what a sway-bar will do for this, no experience there. One thing I can add, however: check your tire pressure, my pressure left and right is frequently uneven, and this changes your overall traction on uneven pavement significantly.

cheers,
Matthew Z.

 

When I had the original 16' wheels and runflats on our MCC I never really noticed it unless my tire pressures were uneven. I changed out the wheels and tires for 17" and find myself holdin' her back on rutted roads. With the 17's I haven't noticed the tram-lining as much when the L/R tire pressures are uneven until braking. 1-2 lbs difference causes a noticeable pull toward the lower pressure tire side when braking.

 

When I was at the track last weekend, I thought I was doing fine and the instructor riding with me commented "Hey, do you know your Mini pulls to the left when you break?", and I had to say I didn't notice. Maybe we were on a slightly left banked portion of the track, as 6 of the 7 turns were lefts, or maybe he could be right, and my left tire pressure could be a bit low. I've not checked yet, so....

But yes. The Mini does track surfaces a little too well. The crappy DC roads have reinforced this many times. My 94 & 96 camaro used to track too, but my wide wheelbase f150 doesn't on the very same spots. Fairly certain it is the sport suspension combined with the low profile wheels.

 

Mine use to track all over the place with the runflats on there, now that i have different wheels and tires it doesnt do it anymore.

 

It was very very bad with the stock run-flats. No problem with the two other tires I've used. (Goodyear GS3Gs and Toyo Proxes T1-s).

Matt

 

THe '05 Pirelli runflats did it just as badly as the ES100's I have on now. Same size.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I feel better now knowing that it is more or less a common thing with these cars.

Interesting about the thread pattern post. Since I need to buy new tires soon, that interests me. I will be looking at non-runflats.

 

and enjoy the improved tracking as a bonus! Going to non-runflats is the easiest improvement you can do to your mini.

Enjoy! And maybe start a thread about tire patterns and tracking, I've never had the ES100s, and they are very appealing in that they cost less than the Goodyears or the Toyos... But others like different tires as well.. Personally, I like the goodyears more than the toyos, but others feel exactly the opposite!

Matt

 

Yup, the car tracks to well with the road. For awhile I was convinced it was out of alignment but after several alignments, its just the way it is ... with RFs.

 

not really, it all depends on steering and suspension geometry.

 

My Mini with 15" holeys and stock contis does NOT tramline or follow the ruts.

However, I can confidently say that it is mostly the lower profile tires and also the thread pattern that have the most effect. My volvo had 15" wheels, no problem. Changed to 215/45/17 and it was tramlining a lot, and following the road's camber too.

 

i have no tramlining. 205/50/16's GS-D3's. +42mm offset.
yep, i know how to setup suspension for street. :impatient :impatient :impatient

 

Well, today "k-huevo" and I were discussing about the alignment issue on the Minis and he told me something that really made a lot of sense, actually I agree with him. I do not believe in perfect alignment from the factory. My car tends to pull to the left, from day 1, first I thought it was me or the uneven surface, or the 17" rims acting weird on different surfaces. Checked the air pressures on the tires, perfect. I will take it to a real good place for alignment and make sure everything is perfect. Also will start trying different camber set-ups to find the ideal one for my driving habits. It is an advantage with the 05 MCS on the rear, so let me work it a little bit, I will post my experiences. Any input on this?

 

You may still see the car following the crown of the road ... mine does.

 

we speak a lot about car use and intended handling charecteristics. One item that always comes up is allignement compensation for road crown. For street driving, this is nice, as you go straight on most crowned roads. For the track, and real high speed stuff, that may not be desirable.

FWIW, I usually go with a reduced crown compensation, but I only do a few track days a year, so I'm not going ***** out with perfect symmetry. Also make sure your shop wieghts the car how you normally have it loaded. Driver only or driver with passenger, know your seat postition, and wieght with driving gear on.... Makes a big difference (at least, if you have my figure!)

Matt

 

i too agree that the alignment from the factory is not always perfect.

here's a quick way to tell if your car's toe is out of alignment or
not... (on a pre-determined open road that you know is flat and
has no crown, no traffic).

Drive the car with steering wheel straight, let go of the steering wheel
(keep your hands close) and drive around 25-30mph. if your car
tracks straight, slightly turn the wheel to the right and let go of
the steering wheel. If the car continues to track right, then that's
a good sign.

Now point the steering wheel straight again and then turn the
steering wheel to the left and let go of the steering wheel. if
the car now continues to track to the left, then your toe is pretty
much set correctly for normal driving.

 

The MINI standard is 150pounds left & right seats, 40 pounds in the rear. I made them do it with both the wife and I sitting up front and you can see on their instruments it made a difference