Hey guys!

I got myself some NM springs to put on my 2009 MCS, but I'm not sure about the alignment afterward...

I'll be working in a shop that does a lot of suspension work, but I'm trying to get as much as info as I can about the alignment... The shop works primarily on Ford and Chevy suspension, so they're not quite sure if they can align it...

Any recommendations? I've heard that MINI aligns cars by weighting them down and taking measurements... Should I get them to do the alignment? I'd imagine that they wouldn't be able to do so after the suspension changes are made...

Should I maybe have the shop align the car like any other? Do you all think I'll need to change the end links and control arms?

Thanks for the answers guys!

-war6763

 

I was wondering the same question about this as well prior to lowering my car on coilovers.

Most alignment shops, around here anyways, attempt to fix toe by using the real control arms (not a good idea!). With the springs, you shouldnt be far out of spec if at all. The only thing you should really be concerned about is toe rather than camber.

You arent going to be lowered enough to need control arms for the rear IMO. I had to get rear control arms for camber adjustment, but I lowered my car over 2 inches and the stock ones werent going to cut it.

If I had any recommendation, I would say get your alignment done by the ones who know how to do a MINI.....MINI itself. I paid more by going to the dealer to get my alignment, who had no problem with my car lowered so much, but at least I knew they did the job properly and the way it was made to be done.


PS - Id recommend sway bar end links if you are getting preload now. Thats one upgrade I need to look into. My car handles funny now because my swaybars are pre-loaded like a mother now that I am lower. Ive heard when lowering the fronts are too short and the rears are too long.

 

War6763,

Go to an alignment shop that has laser alignment capability. Seems to be the most accurate. It does not have to be a Mini dealership. You can do the alignment w/o preloading or sitting in the car.

It depends on the alignment specs you want (and what you do with the car). Generally, with a lot of lowering, you should get one set of lower rear control arms for better camber/toe alignment adjustments. With a 1.2 " drop for the NM springs, maybe you can do without end links. If you corner balance a suspension, then you will need end links for the rear and the fronts. Then you have to sit in the car to get it corner balanced correctly.

Gilboyto,

The only way to adjust rear toe is to adjust the rear rcontrol arms. You adjust both camber and toe together.

I never go to Mini for the alignment as they tend to align to factory specs which is not what I want. I typically go to race shops that specialize in track cars. They can give you good advise on what you need (provided you can tell them what you want to fix) and have the best equipment. If you do go to these shops, give them the capability to adjust front and rear toe and camber with some added control arms, camber plates etc.