Can't get my MCS Alignment done :(
 

Need help
Last week I had my MCS 05 installed Alta spring and I need to get an Alignment done but no one can it. The shop said I need to replace my Control arms on the rears because my rear tires are butterfly. If I replace my control arms with an Alta adjustable arms with that help. Man more moneyhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gif

Any one experience similar situation after lowering their MCS????

no alignment done here after the drop. Im thinking of getting it done
during the next service, but more or less of a maintenance thing rather
and getting an alignment for the drop.

some cars require alignment (like my G35C), some aren't as sensitive to a
1" or less drop. I would just leave it be..unless your car's tracking to
one side or pulling while accelerating or braking. i don't get any of
that from the H-sports.

No my car doen't pull to the side but my rear tires is eating up from the inside. Also the tires are vibrat like crazyhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gifhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ies/NAMcry.gif
Are you running with an 18" too and if so you are very lucky:thumbsup:

I just order myself an Alta adjustable control arms from JCS because they have the best price in town for Alta items. Save $20

I have the same situation.
Lowered my Cooper with H-Sport springs and was told alignment would be complete until I get upper and lower control arms.
https://www.tirerack.com/images/susp...ge/HS13810.jpg
At $460, the Hotchkis links aren't cheap either. :mad:

No vibration from my 16" tires either.
Hopefully it'll be a generous Fathers' Day. :grin:

Wow! Those are too nice to put UNDER the car!

I just had Randy put H-Sports on my car this past weekend and he said alignment wasn't necessary.

Lowering your MINI shouldn't require an alignment, however it will affect your rear camber setting. In order to adjust rear camber, you will need adjustable lower rear control arms. You won't need to replace the uppers.

Camber and toe changes with height changes
 

What you all are talking about is camber and toe changes with the changed height.

1) The the rear, camber moves pretty heavily with height. But you also have no ajustable members in the suspension, the allignment is fixed. So, if you add ajustible lower control arms, you can bring the camber back to where you want it, but you won't be able to ajust toe. It will be fixed for a given height and camber. Adding upper control arms in the rear allow you to ajust camber and toe, and you can set both as you want them.

2) The front is kinder. It doesn't change camber too much with height, but I really don't know about toe. But this doesn't really matter, as the toe is ajustable via the tie rods from the steering rack.

3) The problems with the rear get more sever with increased drop. Mild drop, no big deal, severe drop, and you chew up your tires.

4) For the front, many add camber plates to increase camber over stock. There are some issues with ride height changes, so these are best coupled with coil overs where you can compensate for that.

5) You can still get your toe ajusted at an aligment shop, and get them to tell you what the camber is at all four wheels. You can use this information to tell where your car needs more help.

6) As with all things, you can't expect to change just one thing without it effecting the rest. It's best to spend some time learing about the entire system (in this case the Mini's suspension geometry) so you can figure out where you want to go, and the path to get there.

As an example, I want to make the car stick better. I do some track stuff every now and then (two days this weekend!). I also don't know if I want to go to coil overs or not........ So....

1) Bought RDR camber plates on a group buy. Didn't install them right away. Busy schedule.

2) Got H-Sport springs for christmass. Put both RDR and H-Sports on, and got the toe and front camber set ($90 at Wheel Works....).

3) Rear camber is pretty severe. Looked out for some used H-Sport control arms. Found a pair and bought them. Just got them on, and will get an allignment (grrr, after this weekends track time!)

4) Last set of tires died. Upgraded to new wheels (17x17, 16.4 lbs each, $129 each) and Goodyear F1 GS#G. Lighter wheels good. The free mounting and balencing is good for an $80 savings. I'll sell what's left of the toyos (two are pretty good) and the S-Lites for $150 or so, and the wheels are about 35% off!

So what's left? A rear sway bar (but the need is much less with camber ajustibility and the relative firmer rear springs). And maybe some coilovers later if I get some really big unexpected windfall (not to likely, but I can dream!).

And right now, I have a bit of a ride height miss-match, and slight understeer. I can't corner balence, but this is a commuter car! :wink:

In my experience, toe can be adjusted without the rear control arms being adjustable. I have had mine dialed in to my spec with only lower adjustable arms.

Dr. Obnxs, with all your suspension mods, adding a rear sway bar will allow you to easily tune out any or all of your understeer. Most people would consider the rear sway bar the most basic component of tuning the MINI's suspension, and probably most often the first one installed.

Yeah, but I'm cheap...
 

The rear is held by three points. If two are fixed, you can only change the toe while changing the camber. Play with a triangle, and hold the tips where the connection points are, and you'll see what I mean.

True, but I also belive that you can and should do with they geometry before just adding stiffness. Remeber that a sway bar effects the weight transfer and handling balence at the price of independance of rear wheel suspension travel action, so it's not without it's own set of issues. Hence the start with camber plates. But I fear that the Mini is such that without a sawzall and welder, a rear sway will be a must eventually. I bid on one on eBay (RSpeed, and lost at $150, but got a second chance offer) I tried at $115 and didn't get the second chance, and now they're gone... :cry: So I'll wait, and watch, and wait and hope..... Someone will sell one, or there will be another overstock sale. I got the control arms for 1/2 off, and they looked like new, so I have hopes for the rear sway bar as well.

But you'd be surprised how much less understeer I have now. But the understeer is still there, just less.

Matt

It seems to make sense that toe would be adjustable with the stock components (non adjustable arms) so that the proper alignment specs can be mantained by the dealer. My MIMI is lowered with H&R springs, and in a recent alignment, the toe was set to 0 in the rear, with only the lower arms adjustable. While I did not do the alignment myself, I am basing my point on the printout results of my alignment, and the mechanic who said he did the adjustment. Also, several posts in another thread about suspension settings, support that toe can indeed be adjusted without all 4 arms being adjustable. Here are a couple excerpts from that thread:

"the slotted attachments for the trailing arm to the chassis allow for adjustment of toe."

"All MINI's have adj. toe from the factory. You will need to loosen the THREE bolts at the front end of each trailing arm to be able to slide the front of the arm in the desired direction. Out for Toe out, or less toe in and IN for toe in. Try to adj. both the same amount by comparing the size of the holes visually or using something long and thin as a feeler gauge. It's a straight shot to two of the three bolts but the third one requires you to open a little plastic hatch to get an extention with a socket on it to the bolt."

__________________

Learn something new every day....
 

I guess I will have to get than manual!!! :wink:

Damn you! Now I'll go have to learn how to do it!!!

Matt

Well, I didn't know either. I had the mechanic do it. I figured I don't have a rack etc to do an alignment, so this is one of those things I let someone else do.
However, if you learn to do it yourself, I know myself and others would enjoy you posting a how to. :thumbsup:

Just got my MCS alignment done today with Alta adjustable control arms and the rear tires vibration is now gone.:eek2: At the same time I also got the Front align with out any adjustable control arms addedhttps://www.northamericanmotoring.co...es/NAMgrin.gif
The MCS so now run so sweettttttttttttttt Thank you all help... NAM are the best :thumbsup: