More front negative camber, less rear negative camber and a tic of rear toe in, so as not to be chasing it down the straights, works good for me and my suspension components... That said, as Ben alluded to, your over all set up and your own driving style and needs have to be considered... Not a one size fits all proposition... 2cents
My car double duties as a DD and a dedicated autocross car. Im running a fixed camber plate up front with bc racing coilovers. Lots of bracing and a 26mm comp rear bar. I push the car past its limits alot so I want to control more of the slip angle before I oversteer. Im moving to adjustable camber plates and getting a more aggresive alignment. I was told zero toe will help with the car at the limit with an 1/8th toe in in the front since i have a diff
Step on the brake and zero toe at the rear becomes toe out as the rear of the car lifts, causing the rear to hunt. For more control "at the limit", a little more toe in the rear than front. Oversteer on a MINI with stock front sway bar and stiff springs, not likely, loss of rear traction from too stiff rear sway bar and springs, yes.
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.
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
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.
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.
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:
I agree as well but with the car at the limit(I.E. autocross setup), 0 toe would turn to positive toe allowing the car to rotate under heavy loads like hairpins. I think this would allow you to point the car better in sudden heavy changes in direction while being used along with late apexing, which means you can get back on the loud pedal sooner. Im thinking competitive race car before daily needs. I find that with my car and proper lines and my aggresive driving style that Im having to feather more out of corners due to what wouldnt be understeer but more like lack of rotation, so I cant use WOT till I get it fully pointed in the right direction while losing time.