Hi guys

Are there any possibility to change front and rear camber on a stock JCW suspension?
I'm asking because have to set negative camber in front to fit my wheels but I don't know which way to choose, try to change settings on a stock suspension (which I like) or start to look for some aftermarket improvements.

Thanks in advance.

 

I just want to know if this is possible with a JCW suspension. If negative camber can be set, how much can be put in?

 

The OEM front suspension is not adjustable for camber. There are alternate parts available for the hub carrier which provide +/- 30 minutes of camber.

Using these parts I have -.8 degrees at the front axle.

This approach is compliant with the SCCA Street class rules for autocross.

The alternative is camber plates, which put the car in Street Touring.

For racing applications when running under ST rules, I have used -2.5 degrees out front..

Cheers,

Charlie

Here's what things look like with -.8.

 

I think one should seriously consider an alternate class to D-street for the 3d gen Cooper. I ran this through over about 4 Az SCCA events and the car simply cannot get enough legal front neg. camber to be competitive on a National level. Seems to be down on power as well as rim and tire width compared to the rest of DS.

Fun to place 2nd PAX overall at one small event on super grippy WW2 concrete- but generally in a wide open National level 80 to 100 car PAX class, my Cooper S was about 20th. Ex National Champ G-Street Focus always just a little faster then me. 255's for tires and good neg camber plus something like 60 more HP is hard to overcome. Same for heavier Subis that dominate DS with over 300 HP and 8 or is it 8.5" wide rims now?

The best setup in the end for my 2015 Cooper S in DS was 16" rims using 205-45-16 front and 205/50-16 rear with -2.6 degrees rear and -1 deg. front. NM rear bar in middle stiff position. 5mm spacers on all 4 corners. Shocks were FCM revalved Bilstein PSS with special spring seats up front to accept the stock springs for D-street legality. The FCM revalved shocks with ripple control and tons more low velocity damping made the biggest difference of anything. Incredibly fast car in a slalom after that. If I had kept the car, I would have tried 215/45/16 Rivals all around as well as considering camber plates, an ECU tune, weight reduction, and a move to STX. At 2640 lbs. 1/4 tank of gas-the car is rather heavy for its power, rim and tire size- then throw the lack of front neg camber into the mix and its perhaps a mid or lowest 1/3 pack D-Street car at best (Nationally). Oh and BTW, my 16x7 OZ rims and shocks + the never used Bilstein PSS kit springs and platform adjusters are for sale. Haven't advertised the shocks and springs yet, but rims and tires are for sale elsewhere on this forum.

 

I'm only running at a local level, but what class do you recommend for a '17 JCW?

I've spent three weeks looking for an off-the-shelf (not a custom jobber) lighter set of wheels than factory 17" JCW's that will clear the brakes and suspension without spacers and I'm fairly convinced they are not available. I've reconciled to watching Ebay for a set of takeoff's for a price I want to pay to put better tires on than the factory run flats.

 

Staying in D-street is cheapest(unless replacing front tires gets out of hand), but probably going to be rather frustrating in the long run because of tire and camber limitations.
I bought and installed the factory crash parts to stay in D Street and it is totally inadequate (but better than nothing)
The car really needs more like -2.5 deg. neg camber front and rear
The Gen3 JCW weighs even more (90 lbs?) than my Cooper S Gen3 did because of JCW extra cooling and big brakes, unfortunately
Basically, we need to find a class where enough mods are allowed so you can realize more of the potential of the car and hopefully become more competitive.

2018 draft solo rules are not very exciting.
Cooper S and JCW appear to still be in STX. Up to 9" wide wheels (any diameter- so possibly the widest w/out modding the fender lips past the class allowance will be the smallest diameter you can fit which clears your brakes. Tires limited to 265 max width. Can have a header, but have to retain cat.
If one considers a cat-back as the only practical mod because of the expense of a header and its install--Cat-back will be worth some torque for sure- HP increases are questionable since I believe a tune with more boost is not permitted in STX-but I could be wrong.

The fender well allowances need some studying to be sure of this, but there is a chance the MINI Gen 3's are going to still be severely hampered in STX. Even though you would be able to make full use of whatever you can fit on the car because camber mods are free
-you may not be able to fit anywhere as much tire as some of the rest of the cars in the class (like FRS A86, BRZ). In order to be able to fit really big tires, one would have to go to a street prepared class which allows cutting the fenders.

I hope I'm wrong, but the situation for the 3G MINI doesn't look good in terms of being truly competitive in ANY SCCA class on a National level.

Rethinking:
D Street, once you buy re-valved shocks and a set of rims and tires really isn't that much less expensive then STX. Even not being a top car to have in STX, the JCW will definitely be faster and probably lots more satisfying to drive (no wearing out the outside edge of the fronts after 10 events)