1st Gen R53 Cooper S Rear tires wearing on inside edge

Are you suspension bushing in good order?

 

From what I have read in numerous places, the problem you are experiencing is worn out bushings in your suspension. There's a couple of things you can have popped in there, OEM bushings, which will last between 40k and 50k miles or aftermarket bushings that I understand are good for the life of the car and provide a tighter feel in the steering by having less squishiness to them.

I understand that the parts and installation costs are very similar regardless of whether you go with OEM or aftermarket. If it was me, I would go aftermarket.

 

One of the things that makes MINIs so much more fun on the twisties is the way they are set up. There is negative camber built in to the rear suspension. What you are seeing is normal. The way to mitigate uneven wear on a set of tires is to rotate them regularly. Most of those that do, do so around 5K miles. If you are concerned, have an alignment shop check the setup on all 4 corners, they should do that for a pittance. I'll bet you will find everything as it should be. Also, if you are running high performance tires, they will wear faster than others too. Get all that checked out before you spend bucks on something you may not need. Or spend it on something just because you want to. MINIs are quirky and invite you-a-fication.

 

After market rear control arms with an alignment should fix the negative camber.

 

A proper alignment will also correct the issue.

 

The stock suspension set up is designed in such a way so as to enhance the car's handling through negative camber. It will and/or can be set more-so if the lower arms are adjustable. I agree the alignment should be checked for overall piece of mind. Just be sure the technician knows 4-wheel alignment well enough so as not to take away from the designed handling ability.

 

Does the car have lowering springs installed?

 

Are you running runflat tires? If so, are you sure you have always had them fully inflated? How often do you check your air pressure?

Runflats tend to "look" like they're not under inflated, even when they are.
If they're driven under inflated, the stiff sidewalls + negative camber causes the inside edge to wear out FAST. This may not be your problem... But I've seen it before.

 

I have never had any issues with the inside wearing out faster than any other portion of my tires. On my 2008 Clubman or on my current 2012 Cooper S. I also have as much negative camber in the alignment as is possible without modifying the suspension so that I can stay in the "Stock" Class for autocross events.

I'm gong to stick to suggesting having those bushings reviewed by a reputable shop.

 

:cornut: There is a small amount of adjustment in the factory rear end. The MINI new comes with negative camber in the rear standard.

Jason

 

I'm driving an R56, you can get negative camber in the front and rear with the factory suspension.

 

I'm assuming that 2003 mini is driving a 2003 MINI. There is no camber adjustment front or rear on a 2003. That changed in 2005 when I believe you could get maybe 1/2 degree camber out of the rear. So the only way to get camber out of the rear would be a set of adjustable lower arms.

Not seeing what the tires look like it is hard to say what is causing the wear problem. Camber yes that could be part or all of it. Could be the rear toe is not correct & that would also cause an odd wear pattern on the rear tires. A picture of your rear tires would help 2003 mini.

 

Toe or inflation are most likely culprits. Toe could be just in need of alignment, or could be caused by depleted bushings in either trailing arm joint or the control arms. While REALLY worn out bushings can result in ability to wiggle the wheel when lifted, that's not always the case.

 

X2 on Toe.... Most every MINI I've checked has way too much rear toe in, along with funky wear on the inside edge. Adjusting the rear to about 1/16" total toe in seems to be a great street/performance alignment setting that is easy on the tires, even when running a healthy amount of negative camber.


Jason