27 replies to this topic

[shaneedwards]

I fitted 4 new tyres 6 weeks ago, and the inside of the REAR tyres have gone completely smooth. I posted a question a couple of days ago and they all replied with camber etc. But there isn't any adjustment in the back of my mini. Could anyone help, as replacing rear tyres every 6 weeks is rather expensive!
Thanks in advance, Shane.

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[rally1380]

Rear wheels toe ing out will cause that too.

 

Get the wheel alignment checked

[Tamworthbay]

There isn't any adjustment as standard, but the rear suspension components wear. That is why it was suggested you get it checked at a decent place. Then you need to compare the numbers they give you with what it should be. Then you can work if the problem is due to wear of one of the components, or worse case scenario, accident damage.

[jaydee]

Looks like too much positive camber, maybe either a worn radius arm or a bent braket causing this

First thing to do, is to get the tracking laser checked, to see what camber and toe values you have at the the rear, if these are toeing out the car will be very unstable and unsafe to drive

[shaneedwards]

I toke the car to be laser tracked today and they refused to do it because they thought there was no point because there isn't any adjustment. The car went through a full nut and bolt restoration just under 2 years ago with everything replaced, I.e radius arms and subframes and the car hasn't been involved in an accident of any kind. Thanks for the quick reply guys:)

[minidaves]

what make of tyre? how many miles? 

[nicklouse]

I toke the car to be laser tracked today and they refused to do it because they thought there was no point because there isn't any adjustment. The car went through a full nut and bolt restoration just under 2 years ago with everything replaced, I.e radius arms and subframes and the car hasn't been involved in an accident of any kind. Thanks for the quick reply guys:)

take it back to them and ask them to do it.

 

it is the only way you will get to know what is wrong.

 

adjustability can be added when you know what is wrong. And there is some. in the brackets anyway.

 

a rebuilt does not mean it is straight.

[shaneedwards]

Nankang, but I had Yokohama before them and it happened to them too.

[Tamworthbay]

I toke the car to be laser tracked today and they refused to do it because they thought there was no point because there isn't any adjustment. The car went through a full nut and bolt restoration just under 2 years ago with everything replaced, I.e radius arms and subframes and the car hasn't been involved in an accident of any kind. Thanks for the quick reply guys:)

take it back to them and ask them to do it.
 
it is the only way you will get to know what is wrong.
 
adjustability can be added when you know what is wrong. And there is some. in the brackets anyway.
 
a rebuilt does not mean it is straight.

exactly this. And when it was rebuilt, were the radius arms rebuilt? Who reamed them? Did they do it correctly? Where any of the mounts replaced? Was the subframe new? Was it BMH or copy? Was the alignment checked? (There is a good diagram with dimensions in the older haynes manual). Have the radius arm pins been religiously greased in the two years since rebuild?


There are a load of questions that could give clues as to what is wrong but without knowing the accurate measurements of what is happening then you won't correct it. What you seem to be looking for is a 'do this......... And it will be cured' but you need to understand what is wrong before you can put it right.

[Phil-R]

I think we've covered everything possible in both of you're topics (the other one is here) and there's not a lot more to tell you.

 

It's sounds more and more likely that you need to get this to a suspension specialist (not a tyre place)... But as a last ditch attempt for us to spot anything obvious, how about a few more photos? One low down looking straight down the side of the car (wheels on. car resting on the ground), one close-up of the area where the radius arm bolts on, and one of the underside of the subframe to see the general condition

[Guess-Works.com]

As Minis have a +ve camber on the rear, then they will normally wear on the outside of the tyre rather than the inside...

 

If you are correct and the tyre is wearing on the inside and you don't have adjustable camber/toe brackets then there is something VERY wrong with the rear suspension... It may be a bent arm, or misaligned subframe

Did you do the rebuild, or was it done by someone for you, or worst of all done by someone else who you don't know and they sold the car on...

[Spider]

If you run your hand across the tyre both ways, does one side hard a 'sharp' edge to it?

 

If it does, then it's a Toe Adjustment, it can be shimmed out to a point.

 

If it doesn't then is a camber problem, most like a bent arm. As the other guys have mentioned, non-standard adjusters are available.

[Icey]

Looks like too much positive camber, maybe either a worn radius arm or a bent braket causing this

 

 

If that's the inside edge wearing then it's negative camber, positive would cause the outside edge to wear.

 

6 weeks would suggest more than just off camber though - on other cars I've run quite large amounts of negative camber and tyres last months rather than weeks. I'd suggest you have a general wheel alignment problem most likely caused by a worn component.

A quick check before doing anything else - is there any movement in the wheel with it off the ground? It's not a sure fire thing but if there is a major component failure you may pick it up before wasting money on a wheel alignment that will need to be repeated anyway.

[shaneedwards]

Hi guys sorry for the late reply, I toke the car to have the camber and toe measured, it turns out the camber is fine but the toe readings are off the scale. The guy at the garage said it could be two things,
Either bent arms,
Or bent subframe
Does this sound correct, and has anyone had this problem before?
Thanks in advance, Shane.

[Carlos W]

Hi guys sorry for the late reply, I toke the car to have the camber and toe measured, it turns out the camber is fine but the toe readings are off the scale. The guy at the garage said it could be two things,
Either bent arms,
Or bent subframe
Does this sound correct, and has anyone had this problem before?
Thanks in advance, Shane.

 

Is it both rear tyres?

 

You're unlikely to have 2 bent radius arms, although I suppose it's possible