hey guys,

noticed the car is pulling to the left under braking so i had the wheel alignment checked and they noticed that the left is 4mm lower than the right and that even with the body height level the left has 3/4 of a degree negative camber compared to the right (which is basically 0). Is it likely to be a sagged cone ? any way i can tell without removing the cone as i don't have a cone compressor. car suspension pretty much stock except adjustable tie arms and KYB excel-g dampers.

As the cars came stock, there is a 2 deg tolerance in Camber Angle from the factory, so yours with only 3/4 degree variation isn't too bad!

At stock ride height, the Camber Angle is actually 2 positive, however, if it has been lowered or sagged, it will become negative.

Check you lower arm inner rubbers and also where the lower inner arm pin goes through the subframe nearest the threaded end of it, as these do have a habit of wearing in to an elongated hole.

Also all the usual stuff - ball joints, wheel bearings, tyres, tyre pressures etc.

At Stock Ride height, the drive shafts should be level and there should also be approx 238 mm between the upper and lower front shock bolts. It's even more in-accurate to quote ground clearances or wheel arch clearances without knowing what tyres you have fitted.

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that's a handy measurement to know

I had a wheel allignment the other week, the car has all new suspension parts, rubbers, wheels and tyres.
When the guy set it up, he put just under half a degree less castor on the front left wheel to stop it 'pulling to the left as these things do'. I don't know if that makes up for drivers weight or what, but the car oddly enough drives dead straight under brakes, acceleration, everything.

hmm, i'll check the caster on the wheels as it does have adjustable tie arms which from my understanding do or can change the castor

if i want to increase my negative camber slightly but without incurring a fortune, are fitting a set of HiLos the best way to go. Vizard mentions that lowering the car alone should give it a suitable amount of negative camber, or is it best to go the whole hog and do negative camber bottom arms as well ?

I'd get 4 new rubber cones and a set of adjustable front arms from UK

in addition too or instead of hilos ?

check your front "tie-bar" nuts to make sure they are actually tight first, then look at other "possible" causes

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

that is interesting and will have to check that when I return home.
You have said you had a wheel allightment done did they do any other checks also or give you a printed out of the spec's. Not just to camber affects pulling to the left on brakeing but adjustment of the rear brakes and also if the rear is crabing. If running on drums on the front the right side may not be adjusted as per the left or the left passenger rear side may be also unadjusted.

Its a Tricky thing Suspention but its always better to get some true data on what you have. try and find a suspention place that can do 10"wheels and get front and back geometry data. then you will have a better idea where its all out. It could just come down to a collapseded Cone but you want know untill you have a good look or data to pinpoint it

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Caster will affect the cars propensity to pull (more of a drift) to one side. Camber should have little effect.

Its quite normal to set a car up with assymetric caster settings to counteract road camber. On most roads in Oz a car with the same caster settings will tend to drift left towards the edge of the road.

Luckily you have adjustable tie arms which do indeed control caster. I would take the advice offered earlier and check the tie rod mounting rubbers..

Cheers, Ian

Agree that you must check your tie bar rubbers and nuts. If bushes are worn or nuts are loose (especially the latter), the situation could become dangerous in a hurry. You may have seen race photos where a front wheel tucks up into the wheel well when a tie bar connection has failed.

Put simply a loose conection of the tie bar to the front of the subframe leads to variable caster, including causing the car to pull to one side or the other as noted above.

Also buy yourself two new 5/16" bolts for the tie bar connection to the lower arms. These are inexpensive and rarely replaced. Also, too many over here in NA do not have the right shank length - unthreaded shank should just reach through the coupling. If not, the bolt can rock in the coupling, wear and fail.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Two degree tolerance for camber from factory?!
Are you sure???

A range of 1.5 - 2.5 degrees positive camber was the reality for Minis shipped to Canada, so the left wheel could be 1.5 and the right up to 2.5 degrees positive camber in stock trim.

Matched or fixed negative camber bottom arms may not suit a given Mini but adjustable lower arms and tie bars (and Hi-los) can give a better setup, allowing camber and caster (and height) to be set up for the use of the vehicle.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Maybe I'm just too used to seeing old Minis with sagged suspension components, which puts the wheels at 0 degrees, or negative.