Discussion
Suspension settings are the most critical thing on a Mini.
First the front:
Set at 1.5 eg neg and standard ride height, the toe-in/out should be zero i.e. straight ahead.
The castor should be 2.75 degrees +/- .25 degrees.
The tyre pressures about 32 psi.
The rear:
Camber should be zero to -0.5 deg (i.e. 1/2 degree negative. It MUST NOT have any positive camber.
Toe-in on the rear should be 3 mm to 4.5 mm.
If you want to know how to set the rear, email me privately, although I have posted suspension setting info in some detail on here before. Miniman still has this on his website, I think.
Unfortunately you have 13" wheels which are the worst for good handling on any Mini. Best are 10" with 12" as an alternative. With 13" the overall geometry can never be right as the suspension is designed for 3.5" wide x 10" wheels and the swivel hubs and steering has never changed since 1959. For best handling fit the 7.5" brakes and 4.5" x10" dia wheels with 165/70x10 tyres. Ride height should be standard to optimise the available suspension travel which is short enough to begin with. Lowered cars are really only for track use.
Optimum damping is now, arguably, the GAZ adjustable units.
First the front:
Set at 1.5 eg neg and standard ride height, the toe-in/out should be zero i.e. straight ahead.
The castor should be 2.75 degrees +/- .25 degrees.
The tyre pressures about 32 psi.
The rear:
Camber should be zero to -0.5 deg (i.e. 1/2 degree negative. It MUST NOT have any positive camber.
Toe-in on the rear should be 3 mm to 4.5 mm.
If you want to know how to set the rear, email me privately, although I have posted suspension setting info in some detail on here before. Miniman still has this on his website, I think.
Unfortunately you have 13" wheels which are the worst for good handling on any Mini. Best are 10" with 12" as an alternative. With 13" the overall geometry can never be right as the suspension is designed for 3.5" wide x 10" wheels and the swivel hubs and steering has never changed since 1959. For best handling fit the 7.5" brakes and 4.5" x10" dia wheels with 165/70x10 tyres. Ride height should be standard to optimise the available suspension travel which is short enough to begin with. Lowered cars are really only for track use.
Optimum damping is now, arguably, the GAZ adjustable units.
Cheers cooperman, lets not start the wheel size debate. I like my 13s and although it doesnt handle as well as a mini on 10s, the 13s are staying, and so is the lowered ride height. 
As I have fixed front bottom arms (which are mini spares 1.5 negative) I presume the front will now be something like -0.5 so I cant change that.
As I have fixed front bottom arms (which are mini spares 1.5 negative) I presume the front will now be something like -0.5 so I cant change that.
tomkidd said:
As I have fixed front bottom arms (which are mini spares 1.5 negative) I presume the front will now be something like -0.5 so I cant change that.
The camber at the front varies with ride height (the lower it is, the more neg. it'll have)
Edited by Dino42 on Wednesday 17th January 20:00
In 46 years of involvement with Minis I have never, ever, found a sensible reason to lower a road-going one. For use on a track it is a different matter as every tenth of a second is critical to lap times and the surface is billiard-table smooth.
On the road there are bumps and potholes and the basic Mini has so little suspension travel to begin with that reducing it not a good idea if one intends to 'make progress' on country roads, which is where the Mini is at its very best.
It depends on whether one is interested in appearance or performance. Some consider that 13" wheels do improve the appearance. That's a personal opinion and 'in the eye of the beholder'. To me the best looking Minis are the original works Cooper 'S's on 10" Minilites and slightly raised suspension for gravel. But that's again just a personal thing.
For myself I'm really interested in the performance in competition, mainly rallying, so I'll always go for optimum performance. In rallying the Mini has many limitations compared with its opponents of its day. The engineering solutions were good at the time and are still good now.
I built a 1990 Cooper 1275 for the new Endurance Rally Formula 3 years ago, but although my blueprinted engine gave 84 bhp (in standard form!) it was hard work to try to be competitive so I sold that Mini and built a Rover 214Si which is much quicker everywhere than a Mini. The biggest problem with the Mini was lack of traction and poor suspension travel, even though I did raise it by about 2cm all round as a nominal setting.
My Cooper 'S' historic rally car is one of the quickest in the country and it is still great to drive and compete in against it's other traditional rivals like Lotus-Cortinas & Cortina GTs, Sprites, Imps, Healey 3000's, etc. It has 117 bhp at the flywheel and a very low final drive, is slightly raised, has 10" wheels, 'S' brakes, neg camber front suspension, properly set rear suspension, etc, etc., and it handles like a dream. Completely useless on a motorway, though!
On the road there are bumps and potholes and the basic Mini has so little suspension travel to begin with that reducing it not a good idea if one intends to 'make progress' on country roads, which is where the Mini is at its very best.
It depends on whether one is interested in appearance or performance. Some consider that 13" wheels do improve the appearance. That's a personal opinion and 'in the eye of the beholder'. To me the best looking Minis are the original works Cooper 'S's on 10" Minilites and slightly raised suspension for gravel. But that's again just a personal thing.
For myself I'm really interested in the performance in competition, mainly rallying, so I'll always go for optimum performance. In rallying the Mini has many limitations compared with its opponents of its day. The engineering solutions were good at the time and are still good now.
I built a 1990 Cooper 1275 for the new Endurance Rally Formula 3 years ago, but although my blueprinted engine gave 84 bhp (in standard form!) it was hard work to try to be competitive so I sold that Mini and built a Rover 214Si which is much quicker everywhere than a Mini. The biggest problem with the Mini was lack of traction and poor suspension travel, even though I did raise it by about 2cm all round as a nominal setting.
My Cooper 'S' historic rally car is one of the quickest in the country and it is still great to drive and compete in against it's other traditional rivals like Lotus-Cortinas & Cortina GTs, Sprites, Imps, Healey 3000's, etc. It has 117 bhp at the flywheel and a very low final drive, is slightly raised, has 10" wheels, 'S' brakes, neg camber front suspension, properly set rear suspension, etc, etc., and it handles like a dream. Completely useless on a motorway, though!
Understood cooperman, and I appreciate your advice and experience. Im a designer by trade so asthetics are high on my agenda I love minis with 10 inch wheels and fancy building another with 10s but Im happy with my 13s on my car. My next mini (hopefully a competition one) will have 10s. But I'll still have my tahiti aswell. Ive yet to meet anyone that says my car doesnt handle very well though.
Do you have any links to your car cooperman, I wouldnt mind a butchers?
I love minis with 10 inch wheels and fancy building another with 10s but Im happy with my 13s on my car. My next mini (hopefully a competition one) will have 10s. But I'll still have my tahiti aswell. Ive yet to meet anyone that says my car doesnt handle very well though. Do you have any links to your car cooperman, I wouldnt mind a butchers?
I disagree with cooperman, he has more experience but I've set mine up by using a load of maths 
This is what I use and works best for VERY windy flat roads (if I was doing it for gravel and lanes, I would do it like cooperman). The car runs a 1380 at the moment but the FI Engine produces a LOT of power and is very fast.
I'm running it dropped so that the wheels are concentric in the arches, I've added a 14mm rear anti roll bar to keep the back flatter in harsh cornering, otherwise it binds a wheel. The idea was to keep the COG as low as possible. As I want the back to grip, I run sticky tyres (crap on there at the moment for wet weather) I have stuck with -camber on the back (-0.65deg) Rear set with about 1/32" tow in. Front is -2.6 deg, about 1/16" tow out, super strong adjustable everything and the right amount of caster to make the steering nice. I'm on 10's and have balanced steering with track and tyre stiffness, wheels are 5J (on 165's). Have run every setting in the book and timed tests and this is what works best for me. The rear anti roll bar is the best thing I have on my car. It made a lot of difference
This is what I use and works best for VERY windy flat roads (if I was doing it for gravel and lanes, I would do it like cooperman). The car runs a 1380 at the moment but the FI Engine produces a LOT of power and is very fast.
I'm running it dropped so that the wheels are concentric in the arches, I've added a 14mm rear anti roll bar to keep the back flatter in harsh cornering, otherwise it binds a wheel. The idea was to keep the COG as low as possible. As I want the back to grip, I run sticky tyres (crap on there at the moment for wet weather) I have stuck with -camber on the back (-0.65deg) Rear set with about 1/32" tow in. Front is -2.6 deg, about 1/16" tow out, super strong adjustable everything and the right amount of caster to make the steering nice. I'm on 10's and have balanced steering with track and tyre stiffness, wheels are 5J (on 165's). Have run every setting in the book and timed tests and this is what works best for me. The rear anti roll bar is the best thing I have on my car. It made a lot of difference
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