With a 15/16 inch (or vice grip), 3/4 inch, and 1/2 inch wrench* and a tape measure you can set the toe in roughly to zero yourself at curbside. Go up to the same height to the same point on the tire tread at the front and back of the tire with the tape measure. The more camber you run, the more important the same height caveat is. Adjust the tie rods the same number of turns on each side if you want the steering wheel to stay level when the care runs straight. If it's already cocked slightly, you can fix that by turning one side a little more than the other. Turn the end of the boot to straighten it if it starts to twist up. *retaining nut, rod end flats, and tie rod shaft flats respectively.
I just fitted fixed camber plates and FSDs at the weekend on my R53. The ride quality is drastically improved over standard (and old) shocks on shallow bumps but over the really bumpy stuff I'm not no sure - probably about the same although the new rear sway bar may not help much there. If you do go with FSDs and camber plates, standard springs will fit without hitting the strut towers, but if you're a newbie at doing this, remember that the lower spring support is asymmetric so that has to be rotated to make sure the spring is further away from the shock tower in order for it not to rub. I stupidly forgot this to start with ( I was a strut virgin) and had slight rubbing but it was an easy fix (you can rotate it with your hand). I had my alignment done today and the ride is vastly improved! The IE fixed plates gave me about 2 degrees -ve camber , but added 0.34 in of toe before the alignment (0.17 on each wheel). I have a bit of mushrooming on one tower that I need to 'hammer' out as I have a bit more camber on one wheel than the other so I'm thinking of getting some strut plates as double extra insurance (the mushrooming added about 0.4 degree negative camber to the drivers side and it's nowhere near as bad as some pictures I've seen on here - barely noticeable in fact) Btw, my rear sway bar is 19mm. It's an H&R on the softest of the two settings. I haven't had chance to check out the handling yet but with the extra grip on the front and slightly less on the back I'm suspecting it will handle like a dream now as before I used to just get terminal understeer in the twisties. My FSDs were about $525 shipped. I don't know if that's good or not. A lot more than OEM, but then also a big improvement. Hope this helps, Andy.
Thanks for all the tips! Cristo, I'll try to roughly zero the toe before I drive very far to the alignment shop! On a side note, are there any adjustable camber plates that isolate NVH like the oem mounts? I like the idea of the or plates and will likely go ahead and get a set, but was hoping to keep the front camber around neg 1 to neg 1.5.... Fastlane, If you don't mind me asking, we're did you get your MINI aligned? tspoonears, Thanks for sharing your experience with the set up as well. So, your final front camber was -2 passenger side and -1.6 driver side? I didn't realize I needed to rotate the lower spring support to provide enough clearance between the spring and shock tower to prevent rubbing! Also, $525 shipped is a pretty awesome deal on FSD's from what I've seen.... Crashton, Did you have to rotate your lower spring support to clear factory springs with IE plates as well?
Another Hoosier here with FSD, IE fixed plates and a big rear bar. Love the change, and it doesn't eat front tires nearly as quickly as it used to. If you can't spring for coilovers, this is a great OEM replacement. Hijack: where do you Indy folks get your shop work done? I used to go to Way in speedway, but since he moved to Atlanta I've been going to Reggie's Motor Works in Noblesville. (I live in Carmel, very convenient). The same tech that did warranty work on my car at dryer and reinbold works there now. Do you have a great Mini mechanic in the Indy area?
I would love to help with a shop recommendation, but I do most all of the work on my MINI myself..... Partly because it's fun, partly because it's saves some money, and partly becomes I haven't found a "good" shop yet... Where did you get your alignment done?