Last weekend i fitted a pair of adjustable brackets to the rear of my mini. I am taking it to Pedders tomorrow morning to get a wheel alignment. I'm just wondering what kind of camber is desirable on the rear... What should i tell them to set the camber and toe to? or will they know what they're doing and sort it out?

Also, i had taken it to Bob Jane on Saturday to get it aligned and the bloke there told me he can't do it. He said that they don't have the tools to do it since the way they do it is with the wheels on at which time you can't get to the bits to adjust it. It was them that suggested Pedders.

Also, does anyone have pics of the brackets fitted? I'm looking for something to print out to show the Pedders guy how to do the adjusting. My car isn't in close proximity for me to take a pic myself.

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- Simon -

I went to Bridgestone with my car, with a new steering rack and adjusatbe rear brackets. I said I wanted a full setup with about 1.5 degree negative camber and whatever toe they though would be good for a fast turning road mini.

When I paid for it, the bill was only 30 bucks for a half hours work. I looked at the reciept and it said 'full front steering alignment' which is a bit silly. So I asked the guy and they said sorry they don't do performace adjustments to suspension agles and geometry, only front wheel alignment. Which wasn't perfect at all, but hey it was aonly 30 bucks, and done by some aprentice so I can't expect much.

When I get the front adjustable parts I'm going to a suspension specialist that my Dad's mate recommended. He does rae setups. As for Pedders, being a suspension palce not a wheel place they should be able to give you a good setup.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

most "Normal" wheel aligne place just don`t have a clue,,, take your minis to mini specialists that have wheel alignment machines in house, Adjustable suspension should comprise of hi-los & control arms & rear brakets as a complete kit/package,,, because when you adjust one thing, then you have moved another,,, EG: --> when u adjust the camber then you have most probably lowered the car on that side & most probably changed the caster on the front with any camber adjustment made.

becarefull who you take your mini too for wheel alignments, "Normal" RWD cars have completely different toe/track settings, they tend to need toe in on the front & straight ahead on the rear,,, "OUR" cars need some slight toe OUT on the front & toe IN on the rear

set front & rear cambers at or around .5 of a deg maybe even up to one deg (depends on what tyres are fitted & type of driving u do tho )( My hoosiers like to be straight up & down, but most Falkens like to have at least half a deg or more) & set front caster at about 5deg if you can, as long as your wheels don`t rub on the guard while cornering over a bump etc

lots to go into with this topic & each to their own ... & horses for courses ... etc, so there`s way more than just one setting suits all, you`ll really want to talk with who ever is doing the job & have a good idea of tyres & their characteristics & also your driving preferences/style

ok,,, that`s enough for one day--- class dissmissed

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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.

When you call around to find an aligner, ask them if they can do 10 inch wheels and if they can measure castor, camber and toe on 10 inch wheels. You basically need to find someone with a older style pit type wheel aligner that has degree wheels and brackets etc. Many places these days can only do 20" chrome wheels

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Search is your friend

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic ... caster+toe

Ask if they have had a Mini on the ramps before - I went to one place that said they could do it only to get a phone call and be told that my car wasn't wide enough and they couldn't do it.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

Took mine to Bearepaires in Warwick, They are professional and have the equipment to do professional adjustments of front and rear on a 10 inch wheeled mini.

Same blokes I get to put the tyres on the cooper s rims, matching the tyres to the rims, and using as little balance weights as possible. Balance weights on the inside of the rim, two with 5gram weights, one with 15g, and one with none!! Not bad for 40 year old steel rims with a bit of a hard life before I got em!!

It pays to find the right people for the job, not just the cheapest!!
(talk to Luke)

Cheers
matt

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68 Deluxe.... it's shiny..... I like shiny!!

I found that... didn't understand what it meant. I mean, there's lots of settings but why have people gone for the ones they did and which are more ideal than others

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- Simon -

so why didn't you discuss it in that thread?

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Yeah, some people just want their car to cost nothing, skimp on the cost, try to find the cheapest etc,,, well, there`s an old saying ---> "you get what you pay for"--- i just don`t believe it`s true anymore, most times you don`t get anywhere near what you`ve paid for & get ripped off by some dork who doesn`t know what they`re talking about & only wants to take money off you

all good & well to try to make a living yeah, but not when they are basically lieing to you about their experience/knowledge/ability etc

The only thing i can say here is that you should all be looking to find the very best quallity & pay whatever that costs,,, ask any mini specialist (worth their salt) & see what they say,,, & then ask their customers about the quallity of the jobs they get, that`s where the gold is



now i`m just rambling

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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.

/start ramble

Just one thing to note, be careful of those rattle guns and mini wheel studs. Some are set to 90ft/lbs!!! 45 is more than enough. What happens you ask? Don't be surprised if you are driving down the road one day and your wheel rolls past you in the outside lane!

Over zealous apprentice + rattle gun = disaster!

/end ramble

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

If you're close to Seaford (where exactly 'bayside' are you?) these guys adjusted mine

Miller Racing
23 Wise Ave Seaford
(03) 9786 5863

oh yeah mmm, that`s a good un,,, 42lbs is the factory spec & even tho i use a torque wrench on every wheel nut i do up... it still doesn`t mean anything "IF" they`ve allready had 80-90lbs go thru them at a previous rattle gun time

you just can`t tell if that`s allready happened (unless you have a magnifying glass & can see the thinned out stretch factor of the stud) so even tho you "Think" you`ve done the right thing, a wheel stud can still just break or a nut can simply strip without notice. But , as said, usually from a previous fatigue

funny enough, more mokes cop a broken stud / stipped wheel nut than minis as the larger wheels/leverage & more "spirited" driving tend to add to the situation.

good topics & hope people are listening

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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.

If you go to a quality place (usually governed by the management, not necessarily the name) they will insist on all wheel nuts being done up (for cars) by hand and to the right torque specification for the car, in the right sequence.

did I mention beaurepaires in Warwick yet??

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68 Deluxe.... it's shiny..... I like shiny!!

Yeah this is particalarly aimed at old 30 yr old rusty wheel studs

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K