Hello all, new here, had a question about adjusting the ride height. I bought a 03 MCS with KW V1 coilovers and the front is just way too low for me. To adjust the height is it just as simple of using the tool and lifting the car up to the height i want or do i have to adjust camber/alignment after i raise the front end up. Looking to raise it up about 1 1/2 inchs.

Reason i asked because today i went to a big tire store to get my rims balanced (i now have a bent rim, what fun) and i asked if they could just raise the front end up while the rims are off and they started telling me i would have to adjust the camber and do a full alignment and such.

Thanks for your help.

 

Do you have adjustable front camber plates ? Raising it up 1.5 inches is almost back to stock height/gap. Why so high ?

 

Does not look like i have adjustable front camber plates. Well maybe not 1.5 inches, but higher than what it is.

I am not sure the previous owner adjusted to camber because the rear tires are starting to cup on the inside.

 

To fix the rear tire wear issues at the current lower height you need adjustable rear lower control arms...or lift the car back up.
You should probably get a full alighnment if you adjust the ride height...it is much cheaper than a set of tires, and will ensure handling is optimum.

 

Thanks for the help, guess this is a bigger job than what I first thought.

 

An alighnment is not a big deal...just changing the height changes the geomertry a bit...with most coil-overs, you just adjust coilovers....most folks seem to adjust them as low as they can get them at install, without causing rubbing issues...most kits do a half or threequaters of an inch from what I have been reading. The coilovers you have are well liked, and common...a quick search should get you more info.

 

Do the alignment, the points have been made well in previous posts. I understand there is the ability to make a small camber adjustment in the stock setup without aftermarket camber plates. If you are returning to a higher ride height closer to stock camber plates should not be required.

 

rear toe is adjustable, but camber isn't. With lowering, the camber gets really high (high camber gain geometry) if you don't have adjustable lower control arms.

for the front, height changes will couple to camber a bit, and camber and toe couple pretty much. The changes in alignment with hiegt will be small, but present. You'll get by for a while, but it's not ideal.

Anyway, some articles on suspension I wrote for MC Squared can be found on this page. Start with "Suspension Basics" then read "Hitting the Twisties".

hope this helps,

Matt

ps, if you dont' have adjustable camber plates, it's fixed on the car and can't be set other than the slop in the bolt holes at the top of the strut tower. The stuff about the full alignement is to sell you more services than really knowing the Mini suspension. -M-