Engine revs high after alignment/tire rotation

[kendertaunt]

Greeting all,
I did lots of searching here on this... I couldn't find anything. But I'll be honest and say that I don't know my auto vocabulary, so that could be problem in itself. We need a Mini2 Glossary! (ie. what's the different between 'rev' and 'throttle'?)

But I digress.

Here's the problem.
My 2002 MCS (had her for 3 weeks now) drives the same way it does for everyone else... it has the not-so-great torque at a rolling stop in 2nd, etc.

Until...

My car was pulling heavily to the left (in middle lane in highway, I'd let go of the wheel, and it would get right over into left lane by itself).

So, I took it in yesterday. They rotated the tires and gave Eloise an alignment. As soon as I started to drive out of the shop, I thought the engine seemed a little noisier/whinier than usual, but shrugged it off as my obsessive-compulsive imagination.

However, it's been a day and it's STILL just not the same car it was before I took her in. The engine seems so much noisier, and now I'm discovering it's because it's revving much higher than it used to. At a stop, I step on the gas in 1st, and all of a sudden I blink and it's at 4k RPMs. That *never* used to happen. On back roads driving 50mph in 5th, and it's at 3k RPMs. That bad torque in 2nd at a rolling stop? It doesn't shudder at all now, in fact, I got quite a lot of power in 2nd when I was barely moving.

The engine just seems like it's working *really* hard.
IS it my imagination? The only other thing is they did some poking around to find a whistling/wind noise in the front of the car, but I know they didn't change anything. Is it really possible that an alignment/rotation could change the engine that much?

I just thought I'd get some opinions here by other actual MCS owners before becoming "one of THOSE" clients to the dealers.

Cheers,
Kendertaunt

[SiBradbury]

Sounds odd. Check on the sidewall of your tyre and see if the 'ROTATION' arrow is pointing the way your wheels turn when you're moving forward. Some tyres aren't 'rotational' so if you don't find an arrow don't worry. This is the only explanation can think of as your engine doesn't 'know' your tyres have been moved about!!

[xtremepsionic]

Yeah, very odd. I could imagine that if the alignment was off before, your tires would be scrubbing and reducing power, and your engine would sound more "strained". After the alignment the extra resistance should be gone and the engine should have an easier time.

There is no way we can judge if your car is operating correctly over the internet. It is best to check your tire pressure and the rotation of the tires (if they are directional)

By the way, the different revs at 50mph is purely your imagination. Unless they swapped your tires for a different size, your car will not be revving at a different RPM.

Rev = also known as RPM, the rotation per minute of the engine
Throttle = The right side pedal that controls how much air goes into the engine (engine computer controls how much fuel gets injected based on the throttle position and air flow, MINIs have computer controlled throttle plate as well)

[kendertaunt]

Many thanks for the quick reply!
I went and checked, no directional arrow. (Dunlop Sport 5000)

Seeing as the Mini is so driver-responsive on a normal day, I will take your advice and wait a bit to see if the tires settle in. In hindsight, I can see how even a minor change could drastically affect the way a responsive car like the Mini would drive...

I'll post back if the situation doesn't change in a week or two.
Cheers,
Kendertaunt

[kendertaunt]

After reading that second reply by xtremepsionic (came in after I started replying), I'm wondering if you are correct in that it was the BEFORE situation that was odd, and now it's driving normal.

I know it's hard over the Internet, the only way I could think to describe the problem was by posting how the RPMs had changed.

I went and looked up the tires, that brand is definately not directional. Looks like I need to give it some time to adjust...

Thanks for the reply, it's appreciated!

[SiBradbury]

Another option is to go back and say your car doesn't feel quite right and could they possibly re-check it. Its possible that it has not been aligned correctly, maybe too much 'toe-out'. Putting the tracking guages on a car only takes a matter of minutes, its the actual adjusting that takes a little time. Most good garages will be happy to do this for you if you feel that the car isn't driving how it should.

[SiBradbury]

...or maybe they throw in a free ECU remap with every wheel alignment!!!

[xtremepsionic]

If they rotated the tires, it could also be that the wear pattern front vs rear is different, and you will get a different tire noise for a little while.

That could be all the difference

[kendertaunt]

Just a quick update...

I am going to be bringing the car back to get re-adjusted. It's definately not as big an issue as I thought it was, I just think the alignment/rotation needs some adjusting. I may need a wheel balance also. The real reason I'm bringing it back is because of the steering wheel... it's oscillating on me. It feels very tight now, and pulls itself back and forth, with a preference to the right. In fact, we have a gravel driveway. When I come home and take my hand off the wheel, it goes back and forth, and finally goes WAY over to the right to stop.

I did some research. Remember when I said the engine was so noisy? I have done some more research here, and discovered that the engine noise/whine is, in fact, the supercharger.

It just seems like now after the changes, it's just louder, which is I'm sure the way it was originally suposed to work. D'oh!

I still notice the RPMs are higher from 1st to second, 4000rpm before shifting, and because of this I can practically watch my gas guage go down. But I now believe this is because of the steering wheel oscillating. It's tight.

So, a minor adjustment needed, but I believe thanks to you all and Mini2, I have solved my problem.

I'll post back once it gets completely resolved.
Cheers,
kendertaunt

[kendertaunt]

Forget about bringing the car back - I've done even MORE research here thanks to your replies and fixed the problem.

Apparently, having a Mini Coooper means people think, "small car, small tires." My tire pressure was set to 23 PSI on all tires except the front right, which was set to 20 PSI.

Yeah, I found my problem!

I inflated them all to 35 PSI, and it's like I've got a brand new car. No steering wheel oscillation, nice smooth takeoffs, no more engine working harder than it should have to.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Gotta go motor,
Kender

[xtremepsionic]

Yay!
35Psi is great, you'll get better gas mileage too!

[kendertaunt]

Seeing as I've only had the car for a few weeks, it didnt' even drive like this when I test drove it, so I think the pressure was low then, too.

There should be a new definition for "Exhiliration", and that is, "driving a MCS."

Every time I changed gears tonight I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I could *feel* the power of each new gear, and the supercharger.

I can't believe it. I still can't get over it!!

Kender

[BlackEyedPurple]

Quote: Originally Posted by kendertaunt

Seeing as I've only had the car for a few weeks, it didnt' even drive like this when I test drove it, so I think the pressure was low then, too.

There should be a new definition for "Exhiliration", and that is, "driving a MCS."

Every time I changed gears tonight I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I could *feel* the power of each new gear, and the supercharger.

I can't believe it. I still can't get over it!!

Kender

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