Hi All,

I put it some adjustable lower arms and adjustable tie rods on my clubby last weekend.

today i got new tyres and had a wheel alignment.

Can someone just have a look at this alignment sheet and tell me if it looks right?

The reference diameter is 14" and there doesn't appear to be any changes to the camber or castor.., but Im no expert, so i wondered if anyone know if this is right... or if anyone might share their alignment sheet so i can compare?



Thanks

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

The rear doesn't look that good. Should be toe in and the camber should match. Might be time for adjustable rears.

Here is my personal assessment.

They have only done toe-in toe-out on the front as rear reading are N/A.

toe-in = +1.4mm, anywhere between there and zero will be fine.

LH Camber -00:21' = approx 1/4 degree negative, that'll work

RH Camber -00:56' = approx 1 degree negative, I would have liked it up to about 1/4 or 1/2 degree negative

Casters not adjusted.

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Dalmeny

There was an excellent article in Mini Magazine June 2013

Given you probably don't have it if you tell me your wheel size and what you will be using your mini for (General road/Road-Sport & Trackday/Race).

There doesn't seem to be a good way to post tables on the forum...

It's probably better to know how each setting effects things so you can tailor it to your preferences.

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

I have 10x5 rims with Falken 165/70 Tyres

Given the camber has barley changed, It looks like they haven't even adjusted it?

should I chase it up with them tomorrow? or are the current values ok?

Its my daily driver, I don't do anything fancy with it, just drive it to work and back.

My previous set of tyres wore down to the belts on the outside tread, but were full of life on the inside tread... all the wear was happening on the front tyres, hence I put the adjustable parts on before getting these new tyres.

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

So the starting point Calver recommends is (Assuming road use):

Caster 2.0 or 3.0
Front Camber -1.5 degrees
Rear Camber -0.5 degrees
Tracking Front 1/16 to 1/8 toe out
Tracking Rear 1/16 toe in.

Other notes were that castor needs to be exactly the same and toe out on the rear is only for talented drivers that like it twitchy and oversteery

For mine I found setting toe out at the front at the upper end 1/8" helped it feel less washy and vague on the gravel driveway I was trying it out on.

Rear castor and camber plates are cheap and easy to install so why not sort that end.

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

They should have checked caster especially now that you have adjustable tie rods and lower arms.

These were my settings I went with using 165x10 Yoko A008's.
Caster 4.0
Front Camber -1.0 degrees
Rear Camber -0.5 degrees
Tracking Front 1/16 toe out
Tracking Rear 1/16 toe in.

the tyre wear would have been from someone doing the toe alignment by eye

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Videos - Turbocharged A-Series on Dyno & at Wakefield
Mafs waz not my strong subgeckt at skkol

14 inches is the diameter on the sidewall where the toe measurement is taken. The same measurement (mm) at the tread or at the rim would give a different toe angle.

Did you give them instructions, or discuss what you wanted to achieve with the adjustable parts?

Assuming that you asked for "a wheel alignment" then I think they've done pretty much what should be expected (and what you'd have paid for). Specifically:
• When they look up a Mini, their book will say that front toe is the only adjustable setting (if such an old car is listed at all).
• They see the task as preventing uneven tyre wear, not tuning your car's handling.
• Having seen your tyres, they are looking for the cause of the rapidly wearing outer edges.
• They have measured front and rear camber to check for anything badly bent and to set the toe.
• The huge toe-in (7.7mm) is consistent with the uneven tyre wear, so they reasonably expect that correcting the toe will fix your tyre wear problem.
• The camber and castor are out of spec but not wildly, so not worth recommending major surgery.

My local place charges a different price depending on what you want adjusted. The standard product is a front wheel tracking alignment, like you had here. For extra money you can have full measurement (including castor, toe out on turns, steering axis inclination, setback), four wheel adjustment or four wheel steering adjustment.

Although they should have a catalogue of reference settings, some aligners will overrule the factory settings with their own judgement / prejudice / ignorance, which can be good or bad for you. In your case, the front should have a little toe-out but they've set a little toe-in. This can affect the handling and the tyre wear. You could go back with a reference for the front toe (eg a Gregory's or Haynes manual, whatever is available) and ask them why they recommend toe-in against the factory spec toe-out. Chances are they don't look it up but set every car they work on to 1-1.5mm toe in. Otherwise you could drive it for a while and see how the steering feels and whether the tyre surface seems to be scrubbing unevenly.

I think the adjustable arms are a separate issue, unless you already gave them detailed instructions that they ignored. Fitting non-standard parts suggests that you want non-factory settings, so without specific instructions they may have assumed that you already have these parts adjusted to your liking. If you want the castor and camber adjusted, you'll need to decide what settings you're after (using the advice others have given above) and give them the list. This is likely to cost more than the job you've just had done. A suspension specialist could give advice on those settings and do the work if you got the feeling that the tyre shop staff don't know what they are doing.

One more thing, that's a great looking Mini. Even better that you built it yourself.

I would find someone who knows Mini's and take it to them...

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"Show me the Mini!"

I took mine to my local British car specialist. They have experience with minis, and I'd installed adjustable lower arms and tie bars as you have. They were able to adjust it to a mild street setup.
Castor 3.5
Camber -1.0

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Thanks Graeme, this answers my question pretty well.

The reason I put the adjustable suspension in was because one my trailing arms was bent, and all the rubbers where needing to be replaced, so i figured i'd put lower arms on while I was at it.

I didn't ask for anything specific, and it only cost my $44 for the actual alignment part of the job... so i guess I got what I paid for.

Given that the camber is not to far out, and even with my own eye I can see that its now Negative camber, where previously with the old components I had slight positive camber.. I think i'll drive it for a few weeks and see how the wear goes.

The new parts (tie rods/ lower arms/ poly bushes and new tyres) have made such a huge difference to the car, ride quality has sky rocketed!

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

Here's my front alignment. This has 1.2mm toe in.


This is the rear

I then filed/ground the rear brackets to equalise rear tracking and increased camber knowing what I had already.

10" wheels with A008's
Love the way it drives.
Has fully adjustable front suspension and that allowed them to set it up to what I wanted.

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Find a job you love and you will never have to go to work !

minis are meant to toe out...

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?