I just added NM Eng lowering springs, Alta rear sway bar and lower control arms to my '09 JCW. When I went to my local franchise tire store for an alignment they told me that their computer states special equipment is required. They claim to need calibrated weights for inside the care and a special device in the front suspension. They refused to do the work.

Is this BMW Engineering thinking I'm driving a race/track car? Has anyone heard of this and found a solution shy of the Mini/BMW service department?

-frustrated

 

I had Monroe tell me the same thing for my R53...they said...they needed weights....and I had to go to the dealer or maybe BMW....
Just went somewhere else...had it done....no problem.

 

Ask BMW/MINI and that's the answer you'll get. That's the way they designed the alignment to be done. I have seen it done here. They actually add about 200lbs to the car then do the alignment. I saw it at the BMW shop as well. That said, yes, you can do it without the weighting, but it'll set up a little differently. IDEALLY, the best way to do it, is to ask if you can sit in the car while it's being done. That way YOU have an ideal alignment when YOU are in the car. Speed shops allow this...general alignment shops may or may not frown at it. No need to be frustrated.....good luck with whatever way you choose.

 

I live in the NY area. I have had my 09 JCW aligned at Mavis with no issues. I have the JCW suspension on my car as well.

 

Because you have lowered the car, you now will have more negative camber both front and rear.

With rear control arms there should be no problem aligning it since you now have much more alignment flexibility. I would adjust this to -1.4 or -1.6 camber and zero toe.

On the front, because of the drop, you now have introduced negative camber. You may not be able to bring it back to original spec of -0.2 camber and -0.1 toe. If you have a front camber plate, you could make this adjustmet easily. But factory spec is quite insufficient for a car that has a tendency to really understeer. I would just specify a little more negative camber such as -.8 or -1.0. It would not really influence tire wear all that much.

I think they want to add weights to the rims/tire, not sure what that has to do with alignment.

 

ANY really precision alignment needs the driver and typical loads loaded in the car. "calibrated" is BMW talk. Also know as BS.

If you normally drive with just yourself, go get a couple of sandbags and put them in the drivers seat when it is aligned. The lighter the car, the more this has an impact. Fill the tank about 2/3 full for a "typical" center point.