I'm getting excited for spring - got my Koni Yellows today. Ready to upgrade Fizzgig big time. Koni Yellows, HSport springs, HSport rear bar, Wilwood brakes front and rear and a bunch of bushings. I hope to be finished in time for the Dragon, but since I move at the speed of sludge it might not happen. Really hope to make the Dragon and meet some of the great people here on NAM.

Kevin

 

Have you installed yur suspension yet?

 

I went through 2 sets of front tires with my Yellow Konis, just wondering if your tires are wearing out in the inside.

 

Same problem here only not Yellows. I found that by lowering,yes you gain neg camber but also toe out which if excessive will wear the insides of tires prematurely.I would check camber, i wouldn't think it would be more than-1.7 deg,if thats ok i would look at toe,i like mine about zero to 1/16 in split equally both sides with wheels square with rear wheels.I'm sure everyone has their opinion on this setting but this is mine and handles great with tire wear i can except,as mine is not a daily driver.

 

Due to all kinds of crap, the Koni's have not been installed - until today. Fizzgig is in the shop at this very moment. Also adding H-Sport springs. The tire wear issues are of some concern. If need be, I'll run my current tires until it gets sorted out. I'll post after I get some miles on the Konis. Current tires have worn evenly - will measure tread depth and see how they wear after upgrades

Kevin.

 

You need to get an alignment after doing suspension work. Especially work that involves changing the ride height of the car as both camber AND toe are affected.

 

I'm puzzled by why we are seeing so much tire wear??? Lowering the mini won't add all that much neg camber up front...and typically, additional neg camber adds more tow in, not tow out.

 

Excess toe is much harder on tires than excess camber. It's as though the car is continually turning in both directions. An alignment should be done ASAP following changes such as these.

 

Yes, I know tow will literally drag a tire along the road. What I do not understand is why there is so much tire wear from lowering the car...1"...1.5"...? If there is a significant tow change lowering the car between 1" and 1.5" then I suspect there is another problem. The mini has an incredible tow curve and a decent stock camber curve. I cannot imagine - or from memory - that neg camber will increase by much more than 1/4 deg. This condition should add to more tow in - since the rack is behind the tire center line...so I don't understand why the inside of the tires are wear so much.

If caster were changed - a lot - and the car spent a lot of time on a track or in canyons the neg camber gain might cause some accelerated wear...

In any event, tire wear shouldn't be a surprise if the car in question receives an alignment after installing these components.

 

I just though that the Koni's or the spring rate is too hard that the insides of the tire wear out quicker, with stock suspension it doesn't do it, Shock and Spring rate has a much harder ride thus the wear on the tire. I know of a Mini with Sachs for shocks and Hsport for springs and still running on original tires that has 60,000 miles, had to replace my fronts at 45,000 miles.

 

You would have to compare tires of equal size and purpose to make any comparison since tire frequency and relaxation length is specific to a style of tire...R, Extreme Performance, all Season etc.

Also, many shocks/dampers have the same ultimate damping force but have different damping curves...and usually these control the rate of roll. Once steady state is reached most are on their bumpstops - a relative note.

Heavier spring rates may actually save tires from accelerated wear because in theory, they prevent mass from moving around and as such have the potential to keep the tire in a more prodcutive portion of it suspsension curve.

If dampers and spring are poorly matched - the damper cannot control the spring - tires may wear faster; as the suspension ocsillates up and down due to poor rebound control for example the tire may generate more heat as the side wall flexes in sync with an uncontrolled or poorly controlled spring.

I used 2 degree neg camber for 100K miles - mostly highway - and observed really normal tire wear...but I rotated tires every 3,000 - 5,000 miles.

Tow out will rip tires apart...adding neg camber adds to tow in...but perhaps lowering by itself will add to tow out...I never observed this because my car was always aligned after any work.