Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Rear toe

More rear toe will decrease oversteer. If you run a big rear sway bar (22mm) and a little toe in, you'll get a neutral rear end and a flatter car. It's a good combo for aftermarket springs that aren't as stiff as coilovers. I like to run a medium rear bar and zero rear toe, but the car was lacking roll stiffness till I installed stiffer coilover springs.

BTW, any shop that knows how to align a BMW can align a MINI. Same semi-trailing arm mount setup as most of the 3-series cars.

 

That's pretty much the "tried and true" setup for a MINI--it's a good place to start for anyone (and end for most of us); but you can start with that and go from there.

No toe on the rear can be a pain even on the highway; the car feels so much more stable and less prone to wander with a little toe.


One thing about messing with the rear trailing arms--watch them closely, to make sure they don't loosen up; after you tighten them and drive, make sure to recheck them, like you would lugs on a tire. My passenger rear trailing arm loosened up, not enough that I could move it by hand, but enough that under load it would shift--it took FOREVER until an astute mechanic finally figured it out. I had this inconsistent pull that no one could figure out--set it on the rack, everything looked great. Drive it, all hell broke loose. Car is great now that I'm back to 2 wheel steering.

 

Really......I always understood that the rear toe was not affected by suspension travel. Don't remember where I read this, but it was some years back.

 

Unless it is a very well designed suspension. Toe & camber changes are the rule not the exception.

 

Exactly why in a race car or any high performance car, we stiffen the connecting points....

 

That is true, but not all of the toe change comes from deflection. There is also a component of toe change due to the geometry of the suspension and how that geometry changes as it moves thru it's range of motion. This toe change was most likely intentional from the engineers who designed the vehicle, to help the keep the handling "safe" (understeer) at the limit. Fortunately they did give us enough adjustment range to allow for the different preferences of different driving styles and different goals.

Jason

 

Correct, I just remember reading that the MINI was not affected like others.

 

The MINI being McStrut is far from sophisticated. I will say MINI has done a stellar job of making a front drive car not handle like one. Every time my friend drives my MINI he comments on the handling, saying it is like no front driver he has ever driven.

 

Totally agree..:thumbup:

 

But the rear suspension is rather well designed. Multi-link is supposed to greatly reduce the changes in alignment that can occur with other designs.

 

It is better than many Scott, but even the Miata has a much better setup.

 

:yikes:you used the m-word!

 

But the MX-5 is rear wheel drive..........:biggrin5:

 

Yes it is, but that has nothing to do with the suspenders on it. I love my MINI, but my NOT N MG handles better. If only it had a supercharger. :wink:

 

What's the holdup?

 

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