More bad info!
All quotes posted by Mr Bill.
Alignment has three parts to it, camber, caster and toe-in/toe-out.
There is a bit more to it than that. KPI, set-back, Ackerman etc.
Toe-in is used to keep the wheels forced inward slightly to keep pressure on the bearings and minimize wheel wobble and tyre wear.
Not all cars run toe-in, it certainly isn't used to put pressure on the bearings and minimalize wheel wobble?? Toe-out is actually better for tyre wear. Toe-in, toe-out settings are developed to tune the steering and handling characteristics, as well as optimising tyre wear and the efficiency of the contact patch. The most important thing on toe is bumpsteer, i.e. what it does mid bend, Mini is slight bump toe out at the front and toe in at the rear.
An old Behr wheel alighment guy once told me that one front wheel should be positioned slightly ahead of the other to compensate for road camber.
You have got to be kidding!!!! Cars are specifically set up to have the wheel centre line (axle line) parallel, having an unequal wheel position gives you the 'crabbing' that old minis have. Imagine what would happen if you had adverse camber on the road, you'd be forced toward oncoming traffic.
He also told me "If the tires on a sports car don't wear out quickly, it won't handle."
No, it just means they aren't being used efficiently. I could wear out a set of tyres in about an hour on any car, it doesn't mean it handles well.
If it drifts to one side, then it may have a chassis or alignment problem. If it tracks straight, but veers to one side when driven, then the problem may lie elsewhere, such as in the steering rack or the transaxle.
Alignment and the steering rack are interconnected, there is not issue with one which doesn't effect the other.
Power on veer , or torque steer isn't a problem on the Mini as it has equal length driveshafts. Knocking the car out of gear at speed is a better indication as there are no external forces acting on the car.
One might wonder if a car that tracks straight could easily be knocked out of alignment if a pothole or kerb was hit. A properly designed suspension shouldn't do that
So what suspension system have you designed which makes you an expert!!!!!!
A few 'real' facts, the mini front suspension is similar to that used on the following cars, BMW 3er (E36 & E46), Rover 75, Jaguar X-type etc. etc. It is not something new and radical, Rover used it on the Maestro it's just a McPherson strut. Any car no matter what (except perhaps a 4x4, and thats due mostly to tyre sidewall size) will have the alignment knocked out when hitting a kerb, and occasionally if the pothole is big enough. This is not something specific to the mini.
Steering is also affected by all 4 wheels not just the front, rear alignment can actually be more important.
As I have said in the past, it takes time to validate a production fix and get parts made, BMW have stated a fix by March so wait and see.
