Hello,

So I just put on some new Yokohama S tires and I have noticed that the car seems to push thru the turns when I am on the gas. As soon as I let of the gas it stops pushing. I have an Alta 19mm bar on the back set to the middle hole. I did not notice this with the stock runflats. Car is a 2002 S. Any help would really be appreciated.

Thanks

 

How many miles are on the new tires? May just need some more scuffing to stop pushing.

 

you could also adjust your rear bar for a little more oversteer.

 

That is normal for any front wheel drive car, pretty much no matter what parts and settings you have. Although, the effect is less pronounced with all the stuff I have. Try snapping the throttle off after the apex, be ready to correct & reapply gas. I might also sugest approaching the turn faster than you normally would so that you can apply the brakes quickly and dive the car forward to load the front tires. Then let off and make your turn, you can change how the car takes the turn by where you apply and let off the gas throughout the turn.

It takes practice.

 

The tires only have about 200 miles on them. I tried going in faster, but it seems as I accelerate out of the corner the front of the car drifts towards the outside of the turn. They just did an allignment, Could they have changed some setting? Sorry really dont know anything about suspension setup.

 

Check tire pressures.

Ask for a printout of the alignment so you can see what the settings are.

 

I will call and get them.

Thanks

 

At 200 miles, your tires may still have mold-release stuff on the surface (making them slippery) and they have not been heat-cycled many times, thus the rubber will be softer than it will become.

Please put another 200 miles on them, and report back...

 

Should be able to get those miles in today on the freeway cloverleaf---- My offical testing grounds

 

All of the above can cause this condition; alignment, new tires AND, if these tires are significantly stickier than your previous tires, they can cause the lower front control arm bushing to deflect more which migt add more understeer - push.

I would also check and experiment with tire pressure. too little or too high pressure can cuase this too...but I would expect this to even out if the front and rear pressure is the same.

 

You might want to make sure your outer tie rod ends are in good shape. Knowing the age of your MINI, if you haven't replaced them yet, it's surely not far down the road from needing it. Depending on their condition, worn tie rod ends can make it near impossible to get the front end right in alignment and ultimately proper handling.

 

I will check the tie rod ends and see if they need to be replaced

 

...please check the LCA bushing as well since this will cause the very condition you described. As an aecdote, the Powerflex bushings I've been using for nearly 100,000 miles allow me to throttle my way thru a turn...the car just goes where it's pointed. Not even new stock LCA bushings will allow this.

tie rods are very easy to check and replace - I replaced these three times in 133,000 miles...just because, not because these were worn.

 

So I drove angeles crest to Mt. Wilson yesterday and the tires seem to be sticking better. What is a LCA bushing? Any sugestions on which tie rods and ends to use?

 

Note that road surface type and tire/road temperature can effect tire grip too.

LCA stands for Lower Control Arm. However, the car only has one front control arm, and only one bushing on that arm - two ball joints too, so I normally call it the front control arm bushing. Although a picture is not neccessary, I need to give my fan(s) some more art.



I think the OEM tie rods are good enough, but I'm also interested in stronger replacements if anyone finds any.

 

Nice drawing!!! Contact Aurora for custom rod type tie rods - outer, not inner. I have 133,000 on my car now and the inner tie rods are still tight as hell. I compared movement carefully with the subframe removed against a new unit...after about 15 minutes of playing and testing all sorts of movements I decided the stock units were in great shape...perhaps I should find a block of wood to knock on

 

I'm glad you like it. I might make a whole series of diagrams depicting various part locations. I've been tossing the idea around with Ancient Mariner since yesterday. It will be mostly for entertainment, but they will be accurate. My drawings mesh the cartoony style of a small child with bad handwriting and the knowledge of a mechanically oriented enthusiast who has seen and felt these parts first hand.


If your stock tie rods lasted to 133,000 miles, then I'm sure mine will too. I was just curious if there were any other options. I'll look into what Aurora has to offer.

 

I like them too. Keep them coming. I have the Bentley manual but your schematic "cartoons" are better.

 

I do like them. You cant deny the boys got style.

 

I have drawings of suspension geometry, but as I am a computer moron, I cannot get my drawings into NAM

 

Please ignore this post.