Posted: May-05-2008 08:42AM

Dan the rear camber can be adjusted if you slot the hole in the outer bracket (for the trailing arm pin) upwards with a suitable round file to move from positive towards negative camber.  The rear toe-in can be reduced with suitable shims on the outboard end of the trailing arm between the bracket and the subframe.  The factory setup included toe-in at the rear and others have recommended a minimum toe-in here.  My experience with zero rear toe-in and <1 deg. neg. camber at the rear has been good, especially on longer hauls (fuel consumption, tire wear, mind it's the front tires that wear out faster).

Host has fixed rear camber brackets offering 1.5 deg. of negative camber from stock (so, less than 1.5 deg. neg. installed, depending on how much positive camber your stock setup has)...or fully adjustable brackets!  If your stock setup showed different camber values at rear when checked then adjustable items might be the ones.

Mini friends!  Mini rides!

Restored/modified Mini 1000 with 1380cc power unit, 2.95:1 FD, adj. suspension, S discs/drums, 10x5 Minilites, 165x70 A008s, custom trim and matching custom trailer.

Posted: May-05-2008 07:33AM

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

Posted: May-04-2008 02:44PM

one problem in getting Minis 4-wheel aligned is that many alignment shops cannot handle 10-inch wheels.  I know because I have asked.  If all you need is front toe adjusted, you should be able to do this at home with a minimum of components purchased at Home Depot or similar.  I know because I have adjusted front and rear toe in this manner.

Rear toe-in only increases the tendancy towards understeer, so minimize it if you must run any at all. 

If you want a really excellent and complete alignment, and have Hi-los or equivalent, borrow some racing scales(or take the car to where they are available) and set your corner weights "in the ballpark".  No need to go crazy here with precision.  Just strive to get the fronts close and leave the rears where they end up.  Remember to have someone or something of weight similar to the driver in the car when cornerweights are set. By getting the front cornerweights close, you'll minimize the likelihood of one-wheel weirdness when braking heavily.  True enough, many drivers are not sensitive enough, or brake hard enough, for cornerweights to be critically essential.

Posted: May-04-2008 12:55PM

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

Posted: Apr-16-2008 06:43AM

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

Posted: Apr-16-2008 03:45AM

Mini friends!  Mini rides!

Restored/modified Mini 1000 with 1380cc power unit, 2.95:1 FD, adj. suspension, S discs/drums, 10x5 Minilites, 165x70 A008s, custom trim and matching custom trailer.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 07:29PM

I put my Cooper back to stock, except Cooper S disk brakes and wheels. It will be put back on the ground in the next few months, hopefully to get ready for the event in Calif. Sounds like I got to put some miles on her just to get it to look right. Perhaps set the front myself to 1/16 as you recommended and run some old tires for a few hundred miles and if the car looks like it has hit bottom, then get it done professionally. I worry about the back, as in my Mini's of the past always wore them funny.  Thanks Chuck.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 01:28PM

Todd,

You'll have to wait for cones to settle in. In spite of those that think otherwise, the cones were changed at some time (80s?) so that they ride silly high when new, but drop relatively rapidly over the first few hundred miles (depends upon loads and type of driving I would expect) and less quickly over the next thousand or so. I encourage people to use some form of "hi lo" suspension just for that reason; especially, when lots of money has been spent on adjustable suspension parts. Get the ride height where you want it right away; measure at the four "corners"; set up the suspension; monitor and reset as necessary.

If you have all stock suspension, you can ignore all the mentioned settings except the toe out at the front. Set it to the 1/16" out mentioned. Nothing else is easily modified. You can measure the rear. If the toe is more than 1/8" in you can shim it to decrease the toe in. The problem is, once the suspension settles, the front toe will change.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 01:00PM

Chuck, are you saying if one has replaced cones, shocks, and other suspension components that they wait for a period of time for these components to settle in? How many miles do you reckon will be reqd for the final ride height to be set?, then properly aligned? Will the specs you mentioned apply with 145x10 for stock suspension?

Todd, stock 64 Cooper 

Posted: Apr-15-2008 09:04AM

for that, $40 is just right.

But, for a fully adjustable mini suspension, especially when you add right height adjust*, plan to spend a lot, $150~200 or more, on having it done properly.

A real mini pro can maybe save you some dough on that, but any good racing shop can set it up for you. I would recommend to stay far away from any "production" alignment shop for a full, 4 wheel mini align + ride height set, unless you know them, as the mini will be too "weird" for them and they might not set it up as you intended.

Norm

*after each height adjust, they must re-do the settings, and then the ride height gets changed a little by that, and you go around again. A pro can do it in fewer iterations, but it takes patience to do right, the first time.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 08:02AM Edited:  Apr-16-2008 06:25AM

Here's a variation I use with 10s "for the street":

Front: standard Toe Out, 1/16" (measured on a 14.5" span); Camber, 1/2 to 1 degree negative; Castor 4 degrees positive. Work to get the toe out close. Work to get the camber the same side-to-side.

Rear. standard (1/8" to 1/16" Toe In. No less. Camber, straight up.

Make sure the suspension is settled in and the ride height is where you want it before the final setting.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 06:37AM

Great George, thx. I also need to find someone who can turn the rear drums. I had a shop turn a set of minifins I got on a shell and they ruined them. The machine got caught about half way on a drum and gouged it deeply so I won't be going back to them.

 Any other suggestions on settings anyone?     dan

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

Posted: Apr-14-2008 06:54AM

No problem Dan, i have a lot of hook ups in the valley, no need to drive long distances. Tony's tires also does a lot of mini tires, there very careful with the 10" rims.  I also have a hook up with a powder coater, he sandblasted my pickup, then powder coated it, did the sub frames, rims and any misc parts for like $500.00. Since I'm working on 4 mini's, and just recently purchased another 1, you have to shop around and save some bucks, but still get great service.

I will give you a call, with the list of shops, for powder coating, exhaust, paint, tire shop, mechanic, alignment, etc.

George

Posted: Apr-14-2008 02:56AM Edited:  Apr-15-2008 06:29AM

Sorry, I'm running 165/70/10 Yoko's on Dunlop D1's.

George, please email me the info (or call if you still have my #). I was going to flat tow it down to Johnson's Alignment in Torrance but Reseda is a heck of a lot closer.  I'll probably take it down either this weekend or the middle of next week so we have time to talk.   thx dan

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

Posted: Apr-14-2008 02:48AM

More castert doesn't hurt; up to 5+ is OK.

Cheers, Ian

Posted: Apr-13-2008 09:11PM

Mini friends!  Mini rides!

Restored/modified Mini 1000 with 1380cc power unit, 2.95:1 FD, adj. suspension, S discs/drums, 10x5 Minilites, 165x70 A008s, custom trim and matching custom trailer.

Posted: Apr-13-2008 08:19PM

Hey Dan, if you decide to not to do it yourself, i have an alignment specialist, down at Reseda Blvd and Vanowen St, in Reseda.  He has worked on lots of mini's, uses a laser machine. I think i paid 40.00 bucks.  I will get the information if you need it.

George

Posted: Apr-13-2008 07:34PM Edited:  Apr-13-2008 07:35PM

I know this has been posted many times before but I'm getting close to getting it aligned and need some input from our more experienced members on the alignment specs. It's got adjustable lower arms, tie bars and rod ends on the front and Camber brackets on the rear and I plan to use shims to adjust for toe in on the rear if needed. I'm looking for decent tire life, and probably 50/50 freeway and 2 lane mountain road usage so base your suggestions on this. No racing in it's future, just fun!

So far the base numbers I have are:

Front; Camber -1.0, Castor +3.0, Toe out 1/16"  (with some opinions on -0.5 for Camber and +2.5 for castor)

Rear;  Camber -1.0, Toe in 1/8" (with some opinions on -0.5 for camber and 1/16" to 0" for toe in)

How do the base numbers sound or should I adjust them a little based on the opinions in the ( ) and to what end?   thx, dan

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "