Right i am as well but without completing the group buy to get this moving its not going to happen. Thats the problem we are facing right now.
I'm scratching my head. Why isn't this done already? We've been begging for years for plates that can adjust castor, here they are, and there aren't enough people? If you're riding the fence and this fall apart, you're going to be kicking yourself if you understand what you just lost out on....
Thank you cct1 ! Understand that we Gen 1 owners are definitely a niche target audience. There are not many companies willing to do what Greene Performance is offering to do for us. Therefore we need to support those that are willing to work with us and for us. If this group buy falls apart, you can forget about anyone else making these camber/caster plates for us. Yes, as you may have guessed, I am order number 1125.
What is a typical "use case" for these plates? As in: when do you need these and what do they give me the stock BC coils don't get me. I just had my car aligned and it is exactly what I asked them to do (although to get there they had to max out the BC plates to max negative). In front I am at zero toe, stock caster, and - 1.75 degrees camber, down from a rather useless -2.5 degrees on my old setup (tire wear, bad braking, tire slip under accel). Happy with what I have. What would make me happier I can't have unless I join the group buy?
If anyone is wondering why would you want to be able to change the caster? Adding caster will make the steering feel more steady on center, and it also decreases the need for extreme camber angle for front end grip. with additional caster as you turn the wheel off center it adds camber meaning the front end will not need more than two degrees of camber anymore.
Like Dave said, and I wrote earlier in the thread: if you are able to take out the negative camber to -2.0 by adding castor, you get the same excellent grip of -2.5 camber without the castor in turns, but with the less camber and added castor, you get improved acceleration and braking when the wheel is straight, it's a win-win. Tire wear will probably be better too.
It's for legit handling performance versus the dapper/stance look. If i wasn't in the process of buying a house right now... I'd be #4 on the list.
Colin.... Three major plates seem to be involved here... The R53 specific damper mounting plate... The castor plate... The camber plate... So if you came out with a R56 specific damper mounting plate... and also a F56 specific damper mounting plate, you would increase the "group buy" interest with seemingly a small change.... Maybe? It may be harder to spark interest by being limited to just the R53 on the current offer... Of course you may have already considered this....
Like i said, I have R56 parts under development so it wont take long to have the drawing finalized. I already have the part in hand and have started. I have not considered the F56 as much since people dont seem to express a lot of interest in modifying the car.
Yeah, I read this earlier in the post... Was just suggesting you include the other gen's as a possible way to get the interest up for the group buy with minimal risk...
thing is - it will only add noticeable performance if you drive the car in a way that you can dig into that added camber while turning, which in my world simply doesn't happen often enough to justify the expense right now. My car needs a lot of other things that are of more immediate benefit (exhaust, seats, CV boot replacement, etc.) I appreciate that Colin does these things, but I am new to the Mini world with many still open to-do items for the car, while my budget is limited these days with my son wanting his own R53, which doubtlessly will become the same money pit the first R53 has been for me I'm not complaining - I've never had more fun wrenching in my garage, but my funds are limited and I have a long list of mods and maintenance items that are still to be addressed. Looks like the camber/caster plates would be a nice addition, but right now I need to prioritize where I spend my play money. Until my Tundra is sold, all further Mini mods are on hold. If the deal is still open in a month or two, I may still sign on.
Well. I do want these plates but I still must buy swift springs and figure out other issues right now.
Best bet is to handle all the regular maintenance needs before starting on your path to "full retard" mode.