Im sure this has been asked before, but i couldnt seem to find any related info. IM new to new cars (my current build is a 1940 ford coupe), And im going to get a mini, as soon as i decide what exactly i want on it (probably wait for 06 tho), and i was looking at lowering springs, wont be done until after winter tho, but i was wondering if all this stuff the stores tell you you need is really required (camber plates, adjustable control arms, etc). They all say they are a must have, but of course they would say that now wouldnt they? Just wondering if they are really necessary, or if i would be fine with just a set of alta springs (1.5 in in the rear and 1 in the front). Thanks for any input
In short NONE OF THAT IS NEEDED. BUT (and there is always a but when you are modifying something)....
You dont need to do much on springs as the lowering is not massive and the change in the geometry is not that significant. So you'll probably get away with it if you are only lowering on springs.
If you are lowering more than 35mm, you might pick up a bit of negative camber on the rear wheels, this in turn can wear the inside of the tyre more. Then if you are bothered about that you could go and get the rear control arms.
The front adjustable top mounts (camber plates) are only needed if you want to improve the handling of the car while cornering. And its up to you to decide what you want to do here and how much you want to spend on these mods.
ok, thank you so much. I didnt think that was all required, but i dont know naything about front wheel drive cars or anything like that. My drive shaft is bolted to my rear end in my car, so i dont even have to worry about drive shaft angles! Thanks again
A bonus of having an '05 or later model, they come with adjustable rear control arms, so you can dial out the added negative camber induced by lowering the car. No need to worry about the front camber, as the MacPherson strut doesn't vary camber over the suspension stroke enough to concern yourself with.
when I lowered the car, I had the alignment re-done...and then checked again after 1000km once the springs had settled....I believe this is standard good practice as you've basically 'disturbed' everything under there when changing them...
Once again no, you might need them when you start to subject the car to high cornering forces (when all the other suspension components are upgraded. So if you have stiff anti-roll bars and very hard suspension then you might need them.
I just wanted to add that I totaly agree with everyone so far that you dont need to go "all out" to get your car lowered. If you wanted some feedback on what it feels like when you do more extensive front end work ex: camber plates, larger sway bars.. you will notice a big difference with the turning and wheel feel. Before I had my suspension work done the car felt very postive and sturdy in my hands but at the same time it felt very neutral. When I would take hard turns at high speeds or just higher speed driving on twisty roads, the understeer would show up forcing me to back off a bit. Ever since doing the upgrades the car is much more fine tuned for performance driving and the understeer is gone. My mini jumps into hard curves and turns like it is literally clamped to the road. The ride IS firmer but that's what you get when you do a performance suspension. It's way more aggressive now and its money well invested. If you take a look at my gallery you can see the car with dinan stage 3 suspension on it. Hope this helps you a little bit man... I know where your comin from too I have always had rear wheel drive vehicles. Front wheel drive is a blast though
Last edited by ceddyluv82; Sep 2nd, 2005 at 05:30 AM.
Reason: spellinggg airur ;)
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