any answers to my original question? will they be streetable for a daily driver?

 

I don't see why not Dan. I have a set of the IE adj plates and an very happy with them. But I would trade them in for a set of these in a flash.

 

It's only a cost thing - the fully adjustable units will cost more. I like the caster adjustments for the street too.

 

Numbers:

caster: 6.0 degrees
camber: -2 degrees
toe: zero
tire wear: very even across the tires.

Keep in mind, I'm running old LEDA coil-overs with 450lb/in springs front and rear, a big front bar, and a medium rear bar.

 

any pics straight down on the adjustments when installed? one issue I have with my Cross is being able to get at the allen bolts to adjust

 

Great job, guys... I like to have additional caster too and was prepared to sacrafice some camber for a caster gain. I eagerly await your Camber/caster version and benefit from both.
--Dan

 

These look quality....I'll definitely be keeping an eye on these

 

Makes sense...most people won't notice or even care for the difference with the ability to adjust caster. So for them it is basically $100 for nothing. For me though, I think I'll wait for you guys to release them *excited*. 5.5-6 degrees caster up front would be great.

 

I have a set of the camber-only prototypes on my car now with stock shocks and TSW lowering springs, and the combination is fantastic! These plates are beefier than the 'new' H-Sports I took off and the dual bearing arrangement seems to keep the front end flatter through the corners than with just the spherical bearing of the H-Sports. These things are STURDY and the plating job is top notch. My ride height didn't change a bit from the H-Sports either and that's a good thing because I was really happy with the way the car had settled in. I also think they transmit less NVH than the plates I took off.

Right now I have my car sitting at -2.2 deg camber and since I had previously made the "adjustment" to the strut towers to get there on my H-Sports I think the geometry and adjustability of the TSW plates would be capable of -2.5 or even a bit more on the TSW or stock beehive front springs. When we first put them on we pulled them in as far as we could and set it so we could attach a wheel to see where we were, and I'd swear it looked like we were close to -3.0 so we pulled them back out a bit until we finished the install on both side and could check with a camber guage. Adjustment is pretty easy with a ball-end 1/4" allen wrench and you won't need to hack up the strut tower rings to get full adjustment.

TSW really has a great design here that will work well with coilovers or more traditional shocks & springs. There is an ingenious spacer that will allow them to work with shorter stem of stock shocks like mine or longer stems of coilovers like the AST. The price point TSW is trying to hit with these plates is a winner too! I am really looking forward to getting them out on the AX course in a couple of weeks, and on the track the week after!

 

Bump. I'm really really really anxious to hear more. At what stage are we in development? Are we close to accepting orders and shipping product?

:D

 

Plates are being cut right now and will be going straight to plating... Bearings and whatnot are already ready. Hoping to be shipping in < 2 weeks!

 

 

Now that I convinced myself to spend some $$$ on my JustACooper, I have to add, +1.

 

Caster will help with camber gain upon initial steering turn-in.

But, it washes the affects of SAI; Caster causes the outside front wheel to raise and the inside front wheel to lower so the return to center action becomes diluted...and the degree to which this happens is specific to each car and the caster added.

An S2000 has typical honda steering, light and fairly lifeless - I have lots of experience with these cars.

Second, caster will transfer weight to the wrong rear wheel in an opposite lock slide condition...not a great aid in this situation. It will transfer weight to the inside rear wheel and remove it from the outside rear wheel. Inside being the side the front wheels are counter locked to, to prevent a total disaster.

An engineer I spoke with a few times described caster as a "convenient conceit". He designs with zero caster...but he is also controlling everything else.

Like everything else in life, a little goes a long way. Very nice plates!!!

 

Interesting...I didn't know about the changes in weight transfer. That is good information to know. However, it seems as though in reading your statement, that addition of caster becomes a problem when you are in "opposite lock slide condition" or in simple terms trying to correct from being sideways. In this case, I'd say that it is very rare that I am overly sideways in the Mini and that the camber gain would be a benefit. Much more of a benefit then incorrect weight transfer while correcting from a oversteer condition that I rarely get into in this car.

Of course, this caster adjustability could be good for you as well as not only does it allow addition of caster...you can take out the factory caster that is there already. I'm still waiting and looking forward to these plates. Hopefully not too much longer. Though after a recent, and my first track day in the Mini I realize that I desperately need an LSD to keep my front tires from being destroyed.

 

Yea, I agree...it's all about degrees - no punn. I would reduce caster for an autoX event and increase it one a track with lots of fast strights/turns.

Steering force becomes a critical concern on an autoX course, but less so in the other example above.

It's good to know what happens when we change things, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't. Driver preference and good setups have to come into focus in an effort to build driver confidence. And another degree of caster will probably help more than hurt.

 

any update on expected availability?

 

Yeah, we're just about at the 2 week mark here.. :D

 

I hate to sound like a broken record, but we're a little behind our estimate. Trust me, we're VERY ANXIOUS to get the camber plates on the market (and on my MINI!!!) so we will put up an announcement the very moment they are available.

 

Any word on a possible date yet? I want to order wheels and tires and am seriously considering getting plates done at the same time to save the outer tread wall...

 

I have Kw Coilovers Variant 2 and they use the stock rubber upper spring perch, I take it I would need the OEM perch style plates?

 

Bump. Any updates?

 

+1

 

Bump for waiting patiently, tax rebate check on its way...

 

I got some questions, I have Ireland fixed camber plates with H-sport springs and Koni Yellows and I want to know if my caster is uneven because the fixed camber plates have uneven camber from side to side. When I got my alignment done I had -1.5 on the passenger side and -1.9 on the driver. My rear camber was -1. My front toe was 0 and my rear toe was 1/16 toe in. I do remember the guy saying that my front caster was off some. What yout guys think? Where the fixed camber plates a bad idea for a street driven car?