I did order a M7 Strut tower bar as i do have some mushrooming on my towers, now iam thinkin that it would be a good time to also add IE fixed camber plates, and it would be a good time to put some spring to lower my car also, now my question is if this setup would be ok? I know that IE fixed plates are made for stock heigh/stock susp cars. Or should i buy the adj plates from IE?
Thank You very much
Peter

 

I decided on the adj plates because the MINI tends to differ on the camber from side to side. The fixed plates don't allow you to take out the difference.

 

I don't know about the strut tower brace, but I have the fixed Ireland camber plates and H-Sport springs and the set-up works real well. I autocross the car frequently and I am happy with the change. Using fixed plates on the MINI will likely result in some disparity in the negative camber you will end up with from side to side due to some inherent MINI design issue. I ended up with -1.9 left and -1.5 right.

Len

 

I do as well, and there are no problems. Adding Koni FSDs only improved the ride and are very predictable.

 

scott-you do realize MOST CARS generally run morenegative camber on the right to account for the crown in the road? when they are identical, the car will tend to pull right, in most STREET driving conditons. While I don't generally advocate adjustable plates for street cars that are not tracked a lot because most folks don't bother changing the set up once its dialed in and they tend to have a harsher ride, I believe you will find the car will run to the right on crowned road if they are even side to side. my 05S had .68 right.25left neg camber, with the Ireland Engineering fixed plates it now has 1.92 right, 1.50 left negative camber-drove straight before and drives straight now. just turns in much quicker and absolutely has to have tire rotation at 3000 miles to keep em wearing flat, as that much negative will eventually wear off the inside edge if they are not rotated rear. Your fsds should be in your hands tues or weds, let me know if you need any help with install tips. steve in minnesota is quite happy with his tonight!!

 

Ok, I just installed the new IE Fixed Camber plates and used H-Sport springs. My issue is that the rear has nice tire fill in to the fender, but the front has a 1.5" gap between tire and fender. I am running Winter tires on S-Lites. I also noticed that the front wheels seem to be sitting straight up, meaning that the top of the wheel is level with the bottom of the wheel. Is this normal? Thanks in advance.

 

Look down through the hole in the shock tower. The bearing should be closer to the engine. If the bearing is closer to the outside of the car, then you have them installed on the wrong sides. Basically, the bearing shouldn't be near the center of the hole, but closer to the engine bay. With the fixed IEs, there will be noticable negative camber.

**edit** I forgot to mention that it is completely normal for the MINI to have a slight gap in the front fender wells when you add lowering springs. It won't be as wide as stock, but there will still be a slight one. It still sounds like you have your camber plates installed on the wrong sides however.

 

CRAP. That means I have to do the install all over again and switch the IEs?

 

Don't worry about. Just take your time and redo them. It's probably frustrating, but it's a learning experience. I ALMOST did the same thing a few months back, but K-Huevo was the one that pointed out to me the correct wat they go on. I'm very much mechanically inclined, but sometimes I wish manufacturers would send some instructions. Keep us posted.

 

Ok, got them switched and wow, what a difference. That is more like it. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Quick question on these fixed plates... After install, is a re-alignment a MUST or just a good idea? I'm seriously considering (OK, 95% sure) that I'll have these installed @ the Dragon, but want to make sure I don't run into any problems either at the Dragon or on the drive home


Thanks

 

???toe is used to adjust for crown on garden variety cars since camber is not typically adjustable. And this is just an opinion...there are many highways with two lanes traveling in the same direction. So if you dialing in toe or camber for a crown to the right, you would be advised to avoid the other lane since it will crown to the left. Personaly I like my set-up to be 'square' so I can travel in either lane and on the track...although camber differences left to right on tracks with more of one turn than another is common. I've been using 2 deg neg camber for nearly 40K miles with no excessive tire wear...too will drag the tires along the road and absolutely wear tires. Camber angles above 2 deg neg may wear tires faster.

Harsher ride is due to increased damper velocity curve due to new camber angle. FYI

 

I just added the IE fixed plates, to an otherwise stock suspension (only a rear sway). Drove around for ~ 2 weeks before getting it aligned; no major issues, but I could tell the toe was slightly off side to side.

For the alignment, I asked for 0 toe on the front, -1/8" rear. The front camber turned out to be -1.4 deg right, -1.1 deg left. I was a bit disappointed in the 0.3 deg difference, and hoped it would be 0.2 or less. In hindsight, I should probably have gone with adjustable plates. Even so, there is slight groaning in low speed tight turns ('05 with no massaging of the inner fender). Total rear toe measured 0.375" (more than I asked for), and the rear camber was -1.3 deg each side.

Although some have stated that the IE fixed plates ADD TO the stock camber, leading to somewhere around -1.7, I think instead it simply will give an average of -1.25, or about -0.7 more than stock.

Initial impressions - the 0 toe in front seems to give a somewhat reduced on-center feel to the steering. Also, I swear the car takes bumps more gently. Otherwise, it corners great with the added camber. The front is definitely more planted. I just hope it doesn't get tail-happy at the wrong time.

 

Don't worry. You're not the only one to do that.
I did it,too!
Jim

 

I looked @ your sig and didn't notice a rear sway. Do you have one? If not, I would recommend getting one. I have a MM 22mm set in the middle and love it.

I haven't gotten an alignment yet and don't feel any pulling. I will get one done once I am able to get my R105s back on. That probably won't be till Spring though.

 

well when you sit in the car, your weight will lower the left hand side, and therefore you're neg camber will even out

I've heard that decreasing the toe-in makes the off-center steering feel a bit worse

 

Yes, I have the R-speed 22mm set on the softest hole. I agree, sway bar is the best mod after the pulley!

OK, that makes me feel better!