I just got an alignment today after putting on H&R springs last week. Can someone tell me if these specs look good?

The technician told me the rears were fine so he didn't adjust much, but he had more to adjust in the front. He said these specs are now within the "normal stock" numbers.

 

Yes they are ok. Did you let the springs settle. Also there is a plastic pin in the front. If he removed them he could of gotten better camber numbers in the front.

 

I did give them a week to settle, hope that was enough time. I don't know if he removed any plastic pin in the front. He only said if I wanted further adjustments up front to get some camber plates. I'll see how the tires wear and consider getting them if needed.

 

When you look at the top struts, you will see a small plastic pin near the three bolts that hold the strut on. You will be able to see if it was removed. I'd take a picture but I replaced my plates with Vorshlag's.

 

I'd go for less than 3/16 rear toe in, (try for 1/16), and, as above, a little more front negative
camber (especially on the right) by pulling the pin (front toe will need to be re-adjusted again after that),
but otherwise looks fine. I'd usually shoot for 0 - 1/16 toe in on the front.

 

When you say "Do these specs look good" it depends on what you wanting to do with the car. DD, Auto-X, track day etc. For a DD if driven on the highway a lot your going to wear the inside of the rear tires most likely with -1.9 but there probably isn't enough adj to be able to make to change it much. You'll need to rotate on a regular basis to help with that. No rule of thumb BUT the guys that are going aggressive with their alignment and have the ability to make those adj are running say -1.8 to -2.3 in the front and half of that in the rear say -1.0 to -1.3 I'd go as far as to say no one on purpose is running more neg. camber in the rear then in the front assuming your car has enough adj room to change it.. Lowering a stock MINI will give you neg camber in the rear and there is very little adj room built into the car from the factory..

 

Definitely just DD, never hitting the track. Initially I thought -1.9 was too much neg. camber in the rear, then the tech tells me it's within normal specs and nothing more he can do. When looking at the wheels directly from the side you can see the tires angling inward, very slightly. I know the tires are going to wear unevenly because of this. Is this something I am just going to have to live with, or should I look into getting adjustable control arms?

 

FWIW - I think that is way too much negative in the rear. I run -2.2 front(IE fixed camber plates) and -1.2 in the rear and find that to be the right ratio F/R. Mine is a DD but that is pretty aggressive. Too much rear negative camber increases rear grip and negates the effects of the rear sway bar upgrade (assuming you did that). Simply put, you increase the already prevalent understeer our little cars have.

 

Since the fronts wear out about twice as fast as the rears, you should do fine if
rotating frequently. Sure, -1.0 to -1.5 would be better for camber in the back than
-1.9, but it's whether it's worth getting adjustable control arms for that .75 degree
of adjustment is up to you. Stock alignment is -1.5 +/- 0.5, so yes, you're within
factory specs.

 

I didn't do the adj control arms at first but think if you look around and find a used set on the cheap it will be worth your while. Granted with that current setup you don't have to worry about the rear end coming around on you on.

 

This all makes sense now, I don't think the .75 degree is worth the rear control arms. I will rotate accordingly and hopefully I can lengthen the life of the tires.

Thanks to everyone who replied, very helpful.

 

If you drive aggressively around corners, the rears will wear more evenly,
although they'll all wear out more quickly and more on the outside of the fronts that way.

 

Another little trick for your daily driving is to run alittle extra air pressure to force the center to wear more. Just be sure to switch it back before hitting the serious twisties!!