iv heard the mini front camber is very limited from the factory.......
If i upgrade to swift springs/koni shocks will i need to buy camber plates to have a -1.5 street setting in the front?

If i do need plates is there and alternative to adjust camber without the plates to give a max of -1.5 in the front?

 

What kind of driving are you doing that demands you need more front camber?

 

I think you can only go about -0.6 stock without camber plates. The only way to get -1.5 in the front is with aftermarket camber plates.

Check out the Vorschlags, one of the best out there:

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...ent_bolts.html

I have a set of these, they're solid and reliable.

 

This is a good question. I added negative camber because I track my car. If you don't track your car you'll save yourself a lot of money on tires in the long run if you stick to -0.6 degrees max.

A daily driver doesn't really need a lot of negative camber.

 

will they raise the height of the vehicle? will the spring perch be 2.5 if is for swift springs?

what settings would prefer for a daily driver / spirited weekend driver

-5 front -2 rear?

 

For a daily driver they don't make a whole lot of sense. You'll just wear out the tires faster. If you want to make the car turn better a bigger rear sway bar makes a lot more sense. No affect on alignment or ride quality either.

 

They won't raise the vehicle and it should work with Swift springs as a lot of people are already running that combination.

As for numbers it depends. What kind of handling characteristics do you want? What are your damper settings front and rear? Do you have a rear sway bar? How stiff is it?...etc. The suspension components all work together as a whole.
I can tell you though that -5 in the front is way too much for even serious track duty.

You can read up on some other posts that talk about camber settings to get an idea of what most people are running.

 

must be different with mini's ... with hondas we would run -1.5 front -1 rear for agressive street setting

 

That'd be a good starting point on a Mini as well.
I'd avoid -5 degrees though.

 

For the track, I would run around -2 front camber perhaps a little more. Running -1.5 is too little.

 

By removing the plastic pins in the top struts I was able to get -.9 camber on both sides. This was measured at alignment shop after installing the JCW suspension.

 

When we dropped both our 07 MCS on H&R springs and the CLubman on Eibachs both gained camber due to lowering. BEtween -.9 & -.7 on both cars. Rights were less than the lefts on both cars for whatever reason.
We had Ireland fixed plates on the MCS but since we don't autocross the car any more I just recently had the removed. We did have right at -1,7 on both fronts with the fixed plates and the springs.

 

True. I have mine set to -2.5 in front. Works great on the track but the tires wear a little faster as a result.
Definitely worth the tradeoff though if you plan to track the car.

 

I run -2.1 all the time with negligible camber wear.

 

0.4 degrees is a negligible difference so probably due to the tire compound I was running before.
The Dunlop Z1 Star Specs seem to be holding up better than the Nitto NT05s which were fantastic on the track as are the Dunlops.

 

After four sets, I stopped running the original version of the Z1 on dry pavement due to severe chunking especially near full thread. It is a great wet track tire.

Not too fond of Nittos myself. A little too noisy and lack some grip and feedback especially during the first couple of track days. Give the BFG R1 a try next time. Hoosiers are great but just a little too expensive for two-three track days per set.

I am thinking that -2.5 front camber is perhaps a little too much to run as a street and track setup, although I know someone who used to run that much all the time.

 

Interesting. I'll look into the R1s, I've heard good things about them.

I tend to agree. I think I may dial down the camber a bit to something more tame for the street while still providing benefits for track use.

 

After reading some of these posts, I thought I'd chime in with some general info.

You shouldn't use a different car model as a reference point for suspension settings. Every car is different -- some drastically so. Some cars need a lot of negative camber, while others need very little. Caster, bump steer and toe will also factor into how much camber you should use. Also remember, camber primarily benefits cornering, but hurts breaking. Too much camber will wear out your tires faster, seriously degrade braking and lead to unpredictable handling.

The easiest way to tell if you need more camber is to look at your tire wear. If the outside shoulder is wearing faster than the inside, you need to add more negative camber. If your tires are wearing evenly, you do not need anymore camber, no matter what number you are at. Tire wear is the ultimate measurement.

 

For track handling, it is not only about negative camber but the entire suspension as a complete system. Even at -3 front camber along with a race tuned suspension on a Mini. I have not experienced the serious degrade in braking and unpredictable handling you mentioned.

On a Mini, there is a reasonable amount you can do with camber before it signifacantly effects tire wear.

 

I have -.8 in the fronts via the free negative camber method and -1.4 in the back. No tire wear issues at all.

 

can u get an image of what this pin is?